Garwa directly confronts Brianna about it

"I should tell her something's wrong." Garwa said resolutely, going in the direction Brianna left in

"Garwa? No!--" You gave chase, quickly catching up. "She is perfectly aware of what's happening to her, I talked to her about it last week."

"If she is so aware, why is she not alarmed by it? Why are you not alarmed by it?" Garwa's eye that was on the same side as you looked into one of yours.

"I don't know why she isn't, it's probably a side-effect." You say definitively, blocking Garwa as she approaches a door in the hall.

"You avoid my other inquiry." Garwa says, staring straight through you. "Why?"

"I don't have to answer every question you ask me." you respond, a little anxious.

"Mr. Zambac, you've answered every question I've asked, why is this the one you choose to decline?" she crosses her arms and rest her weight on one leg. She has you cornered, but you've got an out, sorta.

"Look, you wanted to check on Brianna? Let's do that, let's make sure she knows what's up and that she's okay." You feel confident this will buy you time.

"Very well, I'll ask you some other time. Let us check on your colleague." Garwa strode past you and you followed. She stopped, turned in place towards you, "Where is the laboratory she labors in?"

"Even for you that's a weird way to say that" you chuckle slightly, "But, uh, it's this way." you took the lead towards that specific greenhouse Brianna works in. You spent your time trying to think of what to say or how to apologize for Garwa saying something blunt, however.

"Brianna, we have come looking for you." Garwa's words exploded your train of thought, you had caught her right outside the greenhouse.

"Is everything okay?" Brianna asked a little confused, but smiled a little at you.

"Yea every-" you started.

"Mr. Zambac has told me of the 'side-project', are you aware of how you are rotund?" Garwa stated. You and Brianna both blushed red and looked at each other, then she looked at Garwa and squared herself to her.

"I am not, 'rotund', I am only s-slightly overweight..." her word trailed off.

"Garwa, you don't just say that to people." You cut a look at your alien coworker.

"Mr. Zambac, I am ensuring the well-being of your colleague, I thought you would be more appreciative of that."

"I am, but there's better ways--"

"You told her about what we did?" Brianna said, looking at you a little hurt.

"She asked and Garwa woulda figured it out either way--" you're cut off again as Garwa talks over you.

"You consumed berries that made you hungrier, yes? And you seem very calm that you have become larger due to this." Garwa said

"You don't have to keep pointing that out, okay?" Brianna crossed her arms, her modest chest pressing together slightly, "What is this about really?" Brianna's voice held back emotions poorly

"Garwa wanted to tell you the obvious things happening to you, and I tried to stop her, but I couldn't--" you tried to explain, again, but Garwa cut you off, again.

"I inquired Mr. Zambac as to why he wasn't alarmed by your rotundness and he deflected my question, opting instead to lead me to you." Garwa stated in her synthesized vocal tone.

"God DAMNit, let me finish, Garwa." Brianna and Garwa both looked at you a little shocked.

"Go ahead, Mr. Zambac." Garwa bowed slightly. Brianna turned more towards you. You glance down to her hips and take a moment to recompose yourself after your outburst.

"Sorry about that, I don't like yelling." You started, "Anyway, Brianna, it is obvious to all of us that you've changed in the last week. Garwa is wondering what your feelings are since you don't seem alarmed." you sigh, "That's my piece."

"You still avoid telling me why you are not alarmed." Garwa states.

"Because I told him my symptoms last week." Brianna started a little quietly with a flippant tone, "And I stated eating, and eating, and it just felt good. I'd still grab a berry or two during my shifts because they taste really good, and it makes everything else taste better too." She stares at the her feet and holds her arms. She looks up at you then Garwa, and back down again. "It f-feels like medical school all over again, only this time the stress is I might lose my job for conducting an unapproved experiment o-or because I'm eating specimens. A-and my coworkers, I can tell they're gossiping about me. All this medicine that makes being overweight basically healthy and they still act like it's 2184 and being fat is the devil." She heaves slightly, tears welling in her eyes, "And now the one person I confided in has told the rudest person on the station about it."

"I am not rude, I only state what I observe to be truthful." Garwa responds.

"Why'd you tell her? Why did you lead her here?" Brianna looks at you, tears now rolling gently down her face.

"Brianna, I-- Garwa is--" you sigh, knowing what you need to say. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't've said anything about it to her, but she's here because she cares, and I care." You inch closer to Brianna, "We want to make sure you're okay, and if you're under a lot of stress like you say, I want to help you however I can." You gingerly place a hand on her shoulder, it's soft, not almost boney like it was a week ago.

"Michael, I--" she started to speak but sobbed instead, leaning onto your chest. You two hugged in there in the hall for a moment as she cried it out.

"What were you going to say, Ms. Brianna?" Garwa asks, as emotionless as ever

"Garwa, please, give her a minute." You respond, your rub Brianna's back softly, and after a few more minutes, she slowly stops. You pull a fresh rag from a pouch on your belt and hand it to her

"Thanks." she sniffles, "I just... I don't know if being complacent is another side-effect of the berries. I've noticed it. When I think about it, all that stress wells up and I'm back in my dorm cramming and snacking. Then I meditate a bit and I don't even think about when I eat, and I've been trying to diet, but like I said, everything just tastes better after eating a berry or two."

"Sounds like they may be possibly addictive." Garwa observed.

"Yea *sniff* but I can't get a test for that done without the **** lab techs finding out what's going on."

"What can we do for you right now, Brianna?" You ask, she gently takes one of you hands and runs her fingers around it, feeling the knuckles and between the all the joints, "What are you...?"

"I really like hands, okay? I think they're cool, and you have really nice, and I've been wanting to feel them and it's really calming so just lemme please?" Brianna replied all in one breath.

"Yea-yea, okay." you smile at her and then glance at Garwa, who is peering at you as if slightly suspicious, you stop smiling. After a while, Brianna lets your hand go and wipes her face with the rag you gave her

"Thanks, uh, I need to get back to, is it okay if I message you afterwards?" Brianna asks

"Yea-yea," you reply. She smiles and heads into the greenhouse.

Later, in the maintenance bay.

"That was not what you were saying." You reply incredulously to Garwa

"It absolutely was. Everything I've observed or read about hoo-mans points to her being romantically inclined to you." Garwa said, putting away a set of hand welders.

"This isn't a story or some video, Garwa, this is real life. I'm helping Brianna because I got her into this mess." you park one of the hoverpallets next to a workbench and turn back to your coworker.

"Either way, I am convinced there is more going on. Part of my reason being here is to understand hoo-mans more, and you are proving difficult to understand." Garwa crossed her arms.

"Yea well, get used to it." you smirk as you clock out