It just so happened that even without dragging out a farewell, it was hard regardless. Slowly but surely any real traces of Alma being awake and present were eradicated. The humble small tree was taken down, the things she used on a daily basis to pass boredom in the main living space were put away. Things were sorted out, straightened out and packed away.

She stood looking at the chamber before her. "I don't want to go back."

"Believe me when I say I do not wish for you to either." David stood by her side, back in his usual grey shirt, Alma had only just really relinquished her ownership of it after being told she couldn't go back to sleep with it on. David didn't exactly give a reason as to why she couldn't, but he just shook his head. So with a sigh she had taken it off and handed it back to him, she now stood in the simple cotton bindings and underwear she basically woke up in, in the first place.

"Can't I stay with you?" She asked while turning to look up at him. "You know I don't take up much room, and I won't interfere with any lessons you've still got to do. Heck, I won't even pass comment when you want to watch Lawrence of Arabia five million times on a loop. I may, however, tell you to shut up if you sit there and recite it word for word!" Alma laughed, even David let out a quiet laugh over her almost pleading yet joking words.

"You have to go back."

"This place can sustain life for how long? Just one person, I'm not going to take up many resources!"

"Miss-"

"8!"

David frowned down at her unhappily. "No. You have to go back, you must wake up with the others. I should not have woken you up in the first place. Though I do not regret doing so." He said while placing his hands on her shoulders. "Thank you, for sharing Christmas with me."

"Thank you for waking me up for it." Alma said with a casual shrug. Though she still looked sadly around at the others. They had not got a clue about the turmoil which was happening here in the conscious world. They were all sleeping peacefully away, dreaming of who only knew what, Alma hoped happy content things. Nightmares would surely be hell when in hypersleep. Never ending, and on a constant loop. She shuddered, she hoped none would appear to her now that she was thinking about it. "Will you visit?"

David looked at her with a small frown, "As if I wouldn't."

Alma reached behind herself and braided her hair loosely. "You don't have to drop by every day, David."

He placed an arm around her shoulders loosely. "I believe visiting you would be a good respite away from the other things I'll have to contend with."

"David, I know you have finished all lessons that were set. I've sneaked a peek at the log. You have nothing to do other than go over everything to refresh, but then you remember everything. Sorry to say that's a curse maybe, never being able to forget."

"That is not a bad thing, Alma. There are some things which I would not wish to forget." David said while brushing a stray piece of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"Oh, come here," Alma wrapped her arms around him and held onto him tightly. "I will miss you."

"It's only a year."

"Easy for you to say!" She exclaimed while pulling away and jumping up to sit in the chamber. She hung her legs over the side and looked up at him sadly. "I hope you don't get too bored, David."

"With you as company here and there, I highly doubt it." He smiled and helped her fully in by holding onto her ankles and lifting her legs up and into the cushioned interior. She sat with her legs outstretched, she let out a shaky sigh and looked up at him. "It'll be okay, Alma. Nothing will happen. I am here, remember? Nothing shall be different. It will be exactly the same as last time." He said as reassuringly as possible, nothing would be different. She'd lay down, go to sleep and be peaceful for the next year until he woke her up. That was it. He'd visit her like he used to, they'd converse and he'd leave and nothing, that was it. She had no reason to be worried. He didn't quite grasp her concern. He didn't understand why she was like she was. But then he never had to be confronted with something like this, so maybe he would never understand. "Just go to sleep, Alma. That's all it is. Just going to sleep for a long time, like that fairytale."

Alma laughed, "Sleeping Beauty or Snow White?" She couldn't help but laugh at the irony, especially when glass coffins were involved. The chamber was very reminiscent.

David's head tilted in thought as he rested his hands on the side, near the small console which was attached to the machine. "Maybe a bit of both?"

Alma raised an eyebrow at him, "You've read fairytales, David?" She couldn't help but let this suddenly sink in, and now that she did she found it quite funny.

He looked bemused for a moment before relenting in a slow shrug. "I got bored."

That was it, she burst out laughing. "I knew you got bored, but that bored? Oh, David...you'll be reciting fairytales to me now instead of a script, huh?"

He inclined his head and helped her lay down, she shuffled and stretched her legs out fully. "I will not, you have my word." He paused and looked a little offended. "I do not recite a script at you anyway, thank you very much."

Alma grinned, "Made you think though, didn't it?" Tilting her head on the pillow she rested her hands on her stomach. "Can you read to me?"

David pulled a stool over and sat down slowly. He glanced at the console for a moment, making sure he got the new wake up date correct. He had reprogrammed it all earlier, but he liked to make sure. This was Alma, and he couldn't double guess or slack. He had to make sure everything was right. He didn't want to run the risk of her getting hurt. "If you would like." He sat with his hands in his lap for a moment. "Are you ready, Alma?"

"No."

He smiled sympathetically. "It was rhetorical. I didn't need an answer. I can see well enough how against this you are. You must understand though that you need to go back to sleep. We knew this all along. You were expectant of it too. It's just happening a day earlier than we originally thought." David said while she looked plainly up at the white ceiling with its blinding white lights. She bit her lip and nodded slowly, he was right, how could she disagree? "But I will come and read to you, if you so wish. Any preferences?" David asked, he actually didn't know what sort of literature she liked. She had books back in her apartment, but they were such a mix he honestly didn't know.

"Surprise me, David. You continue to do so everyday, you may as well keep going." Alma said while tilting her head to the side to look at him.

David smiled, "Okay, Alma." He took some pride in the fact that he seemed to be able to throw her through a loop. He knew full well – that and she had told him – that he was more than she ever expected. Self-aware and evolving, there was no way Alma could ever know what he was going to do or act like; David was very much his own person, and as much as he liked it this way, he realised she did too. "Ready, Miss?"

"We're returning back to that, huh?" She looked back up at the ceiling with a sad laugh.

"Sorry, I will continue to address you by your first name when alone. But I must show respect to the others."

"Even those you don't want to?" Alma flicked her eyes to look at him.

David hung his head and nodded slowly. "I cannot go against some things you've programmed in. Manners seemingly being one such thing."

"Doesn't stop you from being a cheeky bugger though." Alma pointed out with a smirk. She had no doubt whatsoever that whenever him and Meredith crossed paths, he was the more sarcastic and sly of the two. Don't kid a kidder, and all that; Alma was certain that David had enough information about human dialogue stored in him to know any which way to sneak around topics and in arguments always come out as the winner.

He leaned his arms against the side and rested his chin against them. "I resent that." He smirked, Alma rolled her eyes. He may say that but he didn't seem very convicted. "But yes, we are returning to that. I would prefer it if you continued to call me by my name though. Even though you use my number as a joke, I do not want the others joining in." David frowned seriously down at her.

"You know I don't mean it." She said gently, "You are David, and you will always be David."

"Thank you, Miss."

"Forever welcome," she said while nodding slowly. "Come on then...this is dragging the moment out. I'm here, you're there, the chamber is..." Alma waved a hand around, it was more than ready for her.

"Making the last moments count, Miss." David said with a smile, she nodded agreeing with him. Speaking even when asleep really wasn't the same as talking in real life. She would miss this. Time was obviously going to move differently for them both. She'd be frozen in time, and he'd continue to exist and toil away doing whatever. "Pleasant dreams," he placed a hand on top of her head and stroked a thumb across her forehead. He did it several times, the soothing action seemed to calm her and he was more than pleased with that.

"I'll look forward to story-time." Alma beamed, he laughed and looked around before looking at her. "Whatever it may be. As long as it isn't a manual for air-conditioning."

"I'm certain I can find something more entertaining."

"Don't get too bored, David. And I hope the next year goes quickly so you won't be alone for long." Even though a year was a long time. Was there even a way for it to go fast?

David merely nodded, he was leaving that as their final thing really. Leaning down he kissed her on the forehead lightly before leaning back and pushing the few buttons it took to operate the chamber. He sat and watched as she slowly ebbed away and into sleep. She seemed to try and hold on, but in the end she shut her eyes and returned to the world of sleep.

David sat and watched her for a few moments before slowly sighing and looking to the side. He tilted his head and leaned down, he picked Lawrence up from the floor and placed him back on top of the glass. The poor teddy had been rather shunned and forgotten about. David patted the soft fur and slowly stood, he could keep guard while David took to finding something to do. Alma needed some form of companionship, even if she couldn't see or sense that it was there, and while David was away Lawrence could fulfil that role.

——

"Once upon a time a very poor woodcutter lived in a tiny cottage in the forest with his two children, Hansel and Gretel. His second wife often ill-treated the children and was forever nagging the woodcutter." David read from the tablet that sat within his hands. "This already seems like an awful story. Why did you choose this one?"

"Gingerbread house, David! A house of gingerbread! How can you not find some strange fondness at that thought?" Alma's excited voice responded eagerly.

David shifted on the stool and took a moment to think over that. "And the supposed witch?" Alma had briefly explained the plot of the story. He seemed curious by it and chose to read it to her. But now he wasn't too certain.

"Eh, she gets pushed into a fire."

"Well that all escalated quickly, didn't it?"

"She tried eating the children, David."

"So, she deserved to burn?"

"Bloody hell, it's only a story! Be grateful I didn't throw Little Red Riding Hood out there. The wolf gets proper hacked."

David shifted again on his stool and frowned from behind the yellow visor. "Do all these stories involve murder and gore?"

"Pretty much. But they usually have happy endings."

"You like happy endings?"

"I'll take any ending really."

"But you prefer happy ones?" David asked again, "I'm taking the silence as a yes."

"Can you carry on?" Alma asked instead.

David sighed and nodded even if she couldn't see it. He was holding his promise to read to her. This was day twenty of doing so. So far they'd gone through most classical literature from Shakespeare to the Brontë sisters, Edgar Allan Poe appeared too and was followed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Mary Shelley. Now it was the time of childhood stories, or at least that's what Alma classed them as. Although David didn't quite know whether she was read these as a child. It seemed a bit macabre.

"'There is not enough food in the house for us all. There are too many mouths to feed! We must get rid of the two brats,' she declared. And she kept on trying to persuade her husband to abandon his children in the forest." David paused again. "'Brats?'"

"Eh...well..."

"Why couldn't they all just go and find this house of gingerbread that you referred to? Wouldn't that do the job?"

"Well that does happen in the end. And also it defeats a purpose! Where's the story if they just all go off in search of this house, huh? There's no adventure then. No danger. And no exact happy ending!"

"I see you feel quite passionate about this all."

"Hah, what? No! Just I don't think you fully grasp this story and it's meaning."

David sighed, "Perhaps fairytales aren't the way forward."

"Not without doing the voices too it isn't."

"Sorry?"

"You have to do the voices."

"I think not. Sorry, Alma."

"It's fine!" She paused, "Though it would've been a laugh."

Deciding to put the tablet down and forget reading, David placed his hands in his lap and looked to the sleeping woman before him. "How are you though?"

"Bored." She paused. "Am I close to waking yet?"

David smiled. "If only. Did you want to know how long is left?"

"If you wouldn't mind?"

He gave a nod and remembered the calendar log. "You've still got six months, a rough estimate there."

"Really?! That's a lot of reading material to get through, David."

He laughed quietly. "I think you'll end up growing bored of forever hearing me go on and on, Alma."

"Oh no...never think that. I value our conversations you know that. Don't go saying things like that. Take it that's possible loneliness talking, huh? It's okay to feel lonely, David. You are after all alone out there. But I'm here! Sure, I may not be able to physically talk to you...but I'll always be here to talk to, David. Don't go feeling sorry for yourself, okay?"

He slowly smiled. Trust her to find words to reassure him even if he didn't wholly need it. "I promise."

"David..."

"Honest!" He laughed and glanced around himself. He supposed really he should go and check on Peter Weyland. But the conversations with the old man were always so serious and pessimistic to a point. "I'll let you sleep now, Alma. I'll come back later, or tomorrow."

"Without any fairytales, David." She said in a light tone.

"Your preference?"

"Hm...Treasure Island?! Pirates and all that, I think you might weirdly like this story, David."

He smiled and slowly stood up. "I shall find it for you," she said a quiet bye which faded away as he pulled the visor from his head and just like that he was back in the room, on his own, and in silence.

Running a hand through his hair to sort it back out he placed the visor down and decided he'd find the story first before possibly going to speak to Weyland.

This was how David now spent his days, reading to Alma for the majority and then just aimlessly walking about the ship for the rest of it. It was monotonous, boring, dull; he soon ran out of things to do that he even went over lessons to buff up on knowledge he knew full well was as programmed in as possible. He was rather unable to forget, unless someone physically tampered with his mind, then everything he said, done, learned was in there for life; and David's life was endless, unless someone yet again physically took him apart and struck the more sensitive machinery which kept him going then he was going to be here for a long, long time.

He shook his head, deciding that really the thought of forever living didn't exactly please him. He sat down and turned to Alma, he frowned slowly and looked over the readings which were coming through on the small monitor which was attached to the chamber. It basically kept a reading of temperature, brain activity and heart rate; basically all the important things were being logged. He placed the tablet in his hands to the small wheeled table that he had moved over a while ago. He found it was just easier having it close than having to forever lean over and reach for it when he wanted to place something on the surface.

With his hands now free he took to scanning through the readings which were coming through, he stood from the stool and walked over to the nearest person to her; Kate Ford, she seemed fine, nothing was particularly shocking about the readings coming from her. If anything she seemed to be in a state of peaceful sleep. In comparison though, Alma's readings were low, David didn't understand. He had visited her more or less everyday and she seemed to be okay, she spoke...if only her response time was a little slower sometimes, especially over the last few recent days. He didn't think anything of it just pleased to finally have a conversation, his want for some form of communication totally bypassed the initial task of looking out of everyone.

David tilted his head to the side and continued to try and pinpoint just when exactly the slow decline in her hypersleep health appeared, it was a common thing that some people just didn't do well within the frozen state. She had been fine until he woke her up, David's eyes flicked up and he looked around seriously. She had woken up, her peaceful state had been fractured and she had gone back to sleep when probably feeling the most active; recovering from three days of basically having free will, walking about and all that. The constant visiting probably didn't help, to talk it meant disrupting her brain out of deep sleep, even though she didn't seem to care it was clear that it was doing more harm than good.

All in all, there was a contribution by himself of possibly leading to her failing life signs; not that she was completely failing, but she was fading. If left in there for much longer, she was going to die. That much David knew, he quickly took to setting to waking her up, even though this seemed to cause further harm than good. No sooner was she detached from the support the machine gave did she start to convulse. He didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he could pitch a guess that her brain was not willingly cooperating with what was happening. From being kept asleep, to waking, to the being induced again, and then finally to woken up again, her brain couldn't deal with the shifts.

He ignored the alarm which came with the indication of failing life signs and picked her up. There was a MedPod onboard, calibrated to Peter Weyland or not, it could still be used. Bypassing the gender application would be simple, David doubted she needed any operation of any sort. Even still the thought did cross his mind which caused him to hold her tighter and run as quickly as he could towards the MedPod's direction. The doors slid open quietly and he made his way towards the separate room where it was standing stationary, it was a bit awkward having to shift the now still form in his arms for the sake of opening it up, but he managed it nonetheless and laid her down. He stepped back and programmed the machine to do a scan. He stood and watched, hands slowly balling at his sides only to relax and clench again.

He should've predicated that something like this would happen. He decided to push logic and everything as such out of his mind just to spend a few days with her, and now look where it had got them. Alma clearly having a seizure and him being pretty much helpless to do anything about it other than hope the machine she was now in would know what to do. David watched it all, the scanning process even the machine injecting something into her arm, he moved forwards when the doors started to open. He leaned against the side and reached forwards, he felt a pulse, she was breathing, he presumed because the machine had finished doing its thing that she was fine.

He flinched when she suddenly coughed and inhaled shakily. Her eyes looked around, wide and confused. She rapidly continued to breathe as she slowly turned her head and saw him. "David?"

"You had a close call," he explained while she turned onto her side and shook her head. Remembering much a similar reaction when she first woke up he managed to find something she could be sick in before getting rid of it.

She remained laying on her side, shivering slightly. David didn't know if she was cold or if it was shock. He placed a hand on her shoulder, she jumped and opened her eyes. "I don't get it." She said softly, her eyes looked dimly around.

"I believe I just saved your life." David helped her to sit, more like placed his arms around and under her and picked her up. She was so limp and lifeless, it worried him that something more may be wrong. But the MedPod stopped its basic workings, so she was probably just on a come down. Her body was possibly in shock, he decided, and her mind needed a moment to catch up and make sense of everything.

"You...wait, I nearly died?" Alma looked to him as he paused in helping her get her legs over the side of the large chamber. He let her ankles go and stood back up straight, she ran a hand shakily through her hair and looked around distantly again. Her breathing picked up and David placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to be on the same eye level as her. "B-but...what? How? I don't get it..."

"You need to slow your breathing down, Alma." David instructed calmly, "That's it," he said while she did so with her eyes shut, he softly rubbed circles against her skin. "There you go," he smiled when she seemed to be breathing normally again. Her eyes slowly opened, they looked darker than usual to him. "I believe the waking up, and the constant visits weren't doing your mind or body any good."

Alma frowned, "Don't say it like that. It makes it sound like by wanting to have someone to talk to you were also accidentally killing me."

"I suppose in part that is what was happening." David mused with a frown, "Can you stand?"

"I don't think so."

"Hold on then, Alma." David hooked her legs with an arm and wrapped the other around her. She gave a small fidget and was soon being carried away. She looked around the large white room they were walking through and leaving. "Miss Vickers," he explained, "It is her room."

"Swanky." Alma muttered, they all got basic living space and here she was with a full blown apartment. Peter Weyland's daughter or not, there seemed something a little unjust about this. Not that she was particularly jealous, she quite liked her little room. "David, you weren't killing me, by the way."

"I do feel like I am the fault of you being here, yet again." He looked down at her as she lazily moved her head from his shoulder and looked up at him. She twiddled her fingers which were in her lap and sighed. Leaning back against him she shut her eyes. "Though it is good to see you again, I did hope it would be at the correct time and with everyone else."

Alma nodded slowly, "How long is left?"

"Two months, thirteen days." David said and looked down quickly when she looked suddenly up at him. "Problem?" He asked curiously as she double took and seemed to take a moment to think over what he said. "You were asleep for a lot longer than you thought, Alma. Would've been even longer if...well, let's not think or dwell on this any longer. I imagine you are wishing to get washed and changed, I'll find you something to eat while you do so; as I presume you do not need assistance there." Alma's eyes widened and she stumbled a little over what to say while he just continued to smile down at her. "Well that's that sorted then, I have to say the food still hasn't improved. But I do believe there is still some popcorn hiding away, not that I expect one bag to last the next two months. But considering the ordeal you've just been through, I think a little sugar might actually do you some good."

——

(Edited: 27/Feb/2021)