Elly cried herself softly to sleep on a wave of crushing anxiety and tranquilizers.
Aizawa carried her to bed and dragged his worn yellow sleeping bag into her room so he could stay by her side until she woke, keeping his promise. As he lay on the floor and listened to her panicky, shallow breathing he ran through the turn of events in his mind. He had misjudged Zoro, but unlike him, did not blame himself for the other man's outburst. She was safe, and he would not make the same mistake twice.
They would deal with the situation when she was clearer headed. The other man had agreed to be placed in a holding cell without a single word of protest. In fact, Zoro told security he would stay there for as long as necessary. He was currently sitting motionless in a corner of the room where he was confined, staring at the wall.
Elly slept for almost half an hour, and when her eyes opened the first thing she did was call out his name. "Shota?!"
Aizawa's eyes snapped open. "M'here," he slurred, throwing an arm up onto the bed. "Floor. On the floor." He dragged himself up with his lower half still cocooned in the bag.
"Oh," she gasped, catching him in a huge hug. "You stayed."
"I promised."
"Yes." Elly was starting to believe him when he made such a claim. She examined the small bandage on his cheek closely and was pleased to see it hadn't bled. "This doesn't hurt?"
"No." He wriggled around, kicking off the end of the bag so he could sit beside her. "It's just a scratch."
"It's kind of late. How about I make some coffee here and we can talk?"
"Sounds just fine."
Aizawa yawned and paced the area in front of the kitchenette while she bustled about. Soon the smell of fresh brew filled the suite and she handed him a cup.
"Thanks."
"Mm hmm." She sweetened hers with cream and motioned towards a small table nearby where they could sit. "Man, this all sucks."
"I wish things hadn't turned out this way as well." He took a long swallow and reached over with his free hand to take hers across the table. "We need to decide what to do about Zoro before we discuss the matter in general. I would normally make the call myself, but believe you would like some say on the matter..?"
She sighed deeply, rubbing one arm with a small frown. "Yes." He squeezed the hand he held and she smiled weakly at him.
"Do you wish him expelled from the compound?"
"No."
He nodded. "I thought so. I have another suggestion. We can send him to a far corner, like the forest."
"Or one of the weyrs. I - I think that might do him good. Maybe he could choose where to go, if you choose how long."
Aizawa had taken his hand back and was entering some quick texts. "Yes. Smart, safe and fair, my queen... I will let him know. Do you want to see him?" He raised his eyes to hers over the phone.
Elly hesitated. "I don't think so. That is, I do, but I don't want to cause him any more ..." She shook her head. "Discomfort. I guess. I doubt he would accept that he's in pain."
"Are you certain?" His gray eyes were concerned. "If you regret this later, it will be too late. I'm giving him a strict no-contact notice for a year."
"Yes. It has to be this way."
"I'll get immediately on it. I'm sure you don't want him to languish in that cell all night." He slipped his phone into his scarves as he stood, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Try to get some more sleep. It will all be over when you wake in the morning." He ducked into her room to grab his sleeping bag and left, dragging it out behind him.
Her tail curled around the chair and she watched him leave with a melancholy sigh. She knew she was not going to sleep for the rest of the night.
Aizawa wearily made his way to the security office. It was not long due to the fast transportation, but he made sure the night staff had printed a copy of the rules he wanted and informed Zoro he was on his way.
Once there he grabbed the copies on his desk and went downstairs to confront the swordsman. He looked over his shoulder when his name was called, but continued his silence.
"Please come forward."
He got slowly up and moved to the front of the cell.
"It has been decided that you are to have a year of suspension - away from the main compound. You may pick the area, but it needs to be of the farthest reaches of Moy Mell." He handed him a small pamphlet. "There are other stipulations that are covered here, such as no contact. I emailed you a file as well."
Zoro stared dully at the papers he held in his hand. "More than I deserve."
"It may be, but she doesn't want to throw you out or press charges. If it had been anyone else, things might have gone differently. Chris?"
Chris Redfield opened the door. "Sir?"
"You're going to need to escort Zoro to his suite to pack. He'll be transferring to a distant sector." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Text me with the decision. I won't need to be there, we'll let the regional boss take care of the confirmation."
"All right."
The big man spoke no more; he reached down, took his swords back from the bin they had been laid in and placed them back under his sash. Chris spread his hand out, indicating the door, and they walked out to gather the rest of his possessions for the move.
Aizawa spent a few minutes composing a quick email to everyone on his staff explaining the situation and letting them know that he would be extremely busy all day. He delegated responsibilities and set everything up to run as smoothly as possible without him so he could devote himself completely to Elly and her well-being. He knew she must be devastated, but she appeared to be taking things a bit too well.
It worried him.
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