Infiltration - Part 5

Thomson still had not come back. Emi was starting to get tired, but still, she waited. In the hope he would finally stop shooting people and come back to her.
He was already hours overdue, four by her reckoning, but she clung on to her hope. Hope was the only thing stopping her from worrying.
She hoped nothing bad had happened. She hoped he was distracted by trying to figure something out. She hoped he was on his way back to her.
She was starting to think he'd never come.
Emi felt second best in their relationship. She knew Thomson cared for her... But there was his job. It took him away from her and she wasn't sure how long she could stand broken promises for.
Even though she had given birth to their children, she still felt like the insecure girl who had left the Fleet to go to Earth. She was feeling sensitive.
Thomson had broken his promise about coming to see her. She knew he was trying to stop her being killed, but she thought he could have been more use getting his team to come on board the Falcon and protect her. But no, he had left her with Bei, who was probably the only reason why she had not lost faith in him completely. She was always there, telling her everything would be alright and how Thomson was trying to protect her. She was the logic to Emi's illogical feelings. She silenced the part of Emi who thought that everything would all go terribly wrong.
She still hoped she would not be used as a slave if the gang captured her. She dreaded it. She decided that she'd rather die than be treated like that. She shuddered, even at the thought of the things they'd do to her.
She needed to get some sleep. She could feel her eyes slowly closing. Emi took the elevator up to their quarters and fell asleep almost instantly.

Emi knew she was dreaming. It wasn't hard to miss, even when asleep. She was walking through a dark corridor, aware of the creaking floor boards beneath the red carpet, and the almost gothic feel to the walls surrounding her.
She recognised it. The Houses of Parlay, or something similar. Parking, maybe? No. Parliament. The Houses of Parliament. Where she was taken by Cerberus.
Only this time, most of the corridor was shrouded in shadows. She continued walking, though a familiar sensation brewed within her stomach. Fear. Something bad was going to happen.
Even though she was fully aware, she couldn't stop herself from opening a door and stepping inside the room that it concealed.
Once again, it was covered in shadows. She couldn't see much, though she didn't have to.
She felt something wrapping itself around her wrist. She looked down at it, seeing a blue pulsing chord of wire. It pulled taunt and made her raise her hand above her head. A similar sensation appeared on her other hand, and a few moments later she was unable to move.
She struggled against the wires, but to no avail. There was the sound of discharging energy next to her. She recognised the sound.
Emi turned her head involuntarily, and looked up into the face of a Banshee. She screamed and struggled as much as she could.
It reached towards her with a clawed hand, stroking the glass of her helmet with talons in an almost caring manner.
It lifted her up into the air, snapping the wires with ease. It screamed directly into her face, shaking her to the very core. It pulled its hand back, then plunged it into her stomach, and through the other side.

She woke to the sound of her own screams.
Emi took several deep breaths, trying to get her rapidly beating heart under control. She could feel a fine layer of sweat coating her skin, but the cleaning system in her suit was making light work of it.
"... You bosh'tet," she whispered to herself, "... That never happened."
She had not had a nightmare in ages. Maybe it was all the negative feelings she had, added with the fact Thomson was not with her, that had caused it.
She hugged herself, still trying to calm herself down. She imagined Thomson's arms wrapped around her waist, telling her that everything was alright.
She soon snapped out of it, though. He was not with her. But she really needed a hug... She still felt scared and shaken.
She thought for a few moments about whether waking Bei up was a good idea... It would be selfish of her, yes... But she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to sleep again. She wanted to be told that everything was alright. She wanted someone to comfort her.
Emi slipped out from beneath the duvet and walked towards the elevator. She activated it for the third level, where Bei's quarters were, and waited for a few moments whilst it moved down to her desired floor.
She stepped out of the lift and made her way down a corridor towards Bei's bedroom.
She could have opened the door instantly by pushing the hologram, but she thought it was rather rude to do so. So she knocked instead.
"Come in," she heard a quiet, muffled voice say a few moments later. She then pushed the hologram and the door slid apart, revealing the room inside.
Bei had a bed the same size as the one she and Thomson had - kingsize. There was a lamp on a bedside table casting a warm glow over the room.
Bei was sat up in bed without her faceplate on, though the rest of her helmet was in place. Only a few Quarians slept without the glass on, though most chose to wear it all the time. She herself, at age 4, had a brief stage where she couldn't have slept without dismantling her helmet.
"Are you alright?" Bei asked, "What are you doing awake at this time?"
Emi shook her head, "... It sounds silly... I had a nightmare..."
"Aww, are you ok?"
"... I... I think so... It scared me, though..."
"Look, I said I wouldn't let anything happen to you and I won't," Bei said, "No matter what it is. You have no reason to be scared. Would you like to tell me what your nightmare was about?"
Emi shook her head, "... I don't think so... Sorry I'm being stupid... Waking you up for this..."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I did say "no matter what it is". That includes being scared by nightmares."
"... Is it ok if I sleep here? Don't worry if you don't want me... Normally I'd have Thomson to comfort me... I really wish he was here... I'll even sleep on the floor if you want me to..."
"It's fine. But I'm not having you sleep on the floor. I have this giant bed and I only use about the quarter of the space. So of course you can sleep here."
"... Thank you..." said Emi. She nervously walked around Bei's room to the side of the bed that was unoccupied. She peeled back the duvet and climbed in. She snuggled into the warm covering.
"... I bet you think I'm a child..." Emi said to Bei.
Bei laughed, "No, not at all. Everyone gets nightmares."
"... Even you?"
"Especially me."
"... Then I'm kind of glad I woke you up... Are you ok?"
Bei nodded, "Yes, I'm fine."
"... I don't want to go to sleep..." Emi said.
"I'll wait up with you, if you want," Bei suggested, "I'm not tired anyway. And, I shouldn't be asleep since I have to protect you."
"... Sorry... If I was good with a gun I guess I could've protected myself..."
"Really, I don't mind. You're my friend, Emi. I don't want you to be hurt."
"... Thanks, Bei."
Bei smiled at her, "It's no problem, really."
Despite the fact the duvet was pointless, as her suit had internal heat regulators, it felt... comforting, to have one over her. It was almost like the duvet protected her from her nightmares.
"... You're the best... Well, one of the only friends I've ever had..." Emi said, "... You're always looking out for me, you're nice to me, you don't laugh at me about what happened with the miniature mass relay..."
"You're the best friend I ever had too," replied Bei, "And I'm sorry about this..."
Bei reached over to Emi's helmet and unfastened her glass faceplate.
"... What are you d-"
Bei kissed her.