action;
[ it's the working with dead crewmates part that's going to take deanna longer to adjust to. hugh had helped them all see through the liberated drones with something other than a purely anti-borg lens, but even he would not be able to fully dissipate years' worth of fear and terror. the crew of the enterprise-d, and now the enterprise-e after its trip to 2063, would always remember what had happened to their captain and fellow crewmates and nothing would be able to penetrate the fear that had settled over them all. meeting the former drone calling herself seven of nine had been a shock for deanna; she could imagine it had been worse for captain picard and will riker.
but she doesn't want to think of any of that, so she focuses on the movements he's doing against her scalp and then the soft urging once he's through. keeping her eyes closed, more to avoid getting soap in them, she steps exactly where he directs, using it as an exercise in trust for the both of them. his words fall gently and easily on her ears and only when he's through rinsing her hair out does she respond, first trying telepathically out of habit and then verbally when that fails. ]
Imzadi. I love you, too.
[ and that's really all that needs to be said. sure, she could offer a thousand other words, a direct response to his attempt to reassure and uplift her, but somehow those seem to fall short compared to these five little words. a smile graces deanna's lips and for the first time in hours, days even, she breathes easily, the soft cycle of breathing coming far more naturally to her. she knows she hasn't overcome it fully, but she has people here who will help her, whose presence she can trust, whom she loves as dearly as family. she'll be fine. they all will be fine. ]