[ddd][log][forward-dated to Saturday]
The day had started out weird, and it had just grown progressively weirder as it went on. To start, Scotty had woken up to find a dog in his bed. A big dog. And she talked. She'd opened her eyes, grinned a doggy grin at him, and greeted him with a cheerful "Good morning!" before hopping down off the bunk to stretch. His response had been an incredibly coherent "Um." And after a few minutes of groggy questioning, he'd come to the conclusion that he was still asleep and probably dreaming, until Aileas - that was her name, Aileas - jumped back up on the bunk and nosed him awake. He'd come to the conclusion that it must be something to do with the community, and once he'd woken up a bit more, and after a few more questions, he'd come to the realization that Aileas was his.
He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. Aileas belonged to him, and he belonged to her. But he couldn't take her down to the engine room with him. She tried to argue, but he insisted, and got dressed, and left his quarters, with her pleading with him not to leave her. He tried to explain, but she wouldn't listen, and finally he just walked out. And he made it all the way to end of the corridor. And then the pain started. It wasn't something he could explain any more than he could explain how he knew that Aileas was his, but he knew it was because he'd left her behind. So he'd gone back, and let her come with him, and she'd trotted along at his side, tail wagging as the two of them headed to the engine room.
That would have been that, except as they were waiting for the lift, someone passed by them in the corridor, and - before Scotty could say anything, before Aileas could say anything - they patted her on the head, absently remarking to Scotty that they didn't know he had a dog. He couldn't manage a reply. And when they were gone, he dropped down to his knees beside Aileas, hugging her to him a moment, burying his face in her fur. She let him hug her a minute before getting antsy and nosing him again, and they took the lift down the engineering deck - and it just got worse as they headed to his office. Well-meaning crew members kept patting Aileas on the head, or trying to give her a scratch or two behind the ears, and by the time they'd reached his office, she was shivering and cowering against him, tail tucked between her legs, and he felt about the same way. He couldn't leave her in his office. He couldn't take her with him out into the engine room. So he'd packed up what paperwork he could and went back to his quarters, trying to avoid everyone as much as possible.
He managed to get through a bit of it, curled up on the couch with Aileas curled up next to him, her presence warm and comforting and just right, but his failed trip down to the engine room had left him feeling like he needed a shower, so eventually he'd given up the paperwork and left Aileas on the couch while he went to take a long, hot shower. And she nosed at his PADD, picking up the stylus with her teeth, carefully typing out a message to Jack, because she didn't want to be stuck inside all day. Scotty needed a vacation in Cardiff, and so did she, she'd decided.