"Thank god you’re breathing" FOR BARASH :))
barash can’t look at jean-luc. they can only BARELY breathe, air welling up in their chest & throat and not going anywhere. just resting there, festering. they’re crying. the sensation is new, not typical of their species, perhaps, but barash has become something far too close to HUMAN to be considered an oniasan, or whatever it is they’d been originally.
no, this is an all-too human reaction. one they can’t CONTROL or slow to something more manageable. an underlying anxiety over being alone again consumes them. this had all been an accident. OVERWHELMED by the death of their adoptive father, barash had opted to seek out anything that could provide some relief for the pain they felt.
the pain they feel. even now, it STINGS more than their physical injuries. turns out, will had been right. it’s dangerous for a child of barash’s size to play PARRISES SQUARES. it’s far too easy to break one’s neck. barash had come close, is still on the floor looking like they probably SHOULDN’T have survived the fall they suffered.
barash is aware of dr. crusher’s presence, can feel jean-luc’s concern without checking to see if it’s really there. they don’t need to see the captain’s expression to know what’s going on.
it’s only been a WEEK since they all, collectively, lost will. barash is all the crew has left. an argument could be made that UNCLE TOM counts, but he’s still pulling himself together. he doesn’t have the time or the energy to help anyone grieve.
“i’m fine,” barash replies with a groan, curling in on themself as much as possible before the ACHE coursing through their bones becomes too much to bear. “just leave me here. i’m okay. they didn’t need to CALL you. i know you don’t want to be my dad.”
jean-luc can deny it if he wants to, but barash knows TOM is the one who managed to convince jean-luc to keep them on board. not to make the kid leave the only home they’d ever had. whereas will had opened his heart to barash almost INSTANTEOUSLY, it had always been more difficult to connect with jean-luc. and barash had tried.
“i don’t blame you. seeing me must make you think of DAD — will. i know you miss him…”
&. HOO BOY what are we unboxing here. / @picardtm.
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