"For The Sake Of Friendship"
[Previous post: 'Sometimes…', written by the brilliant duo of Tallulah Habib and Jessica Solarik]
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Stardate: 60309.1025
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
After breakfast with David, Lea had returned to her department to get some work done. There had not been that much to do, but still the Assistant CMO had found a few things to keep busy. Trying to cheer David up had taken a lot out of Lea, and right now she needed time to recharge.
Lea had just begun a thorough inventory of the medical equipment when Susan walked in. The Assistant CMO smiled at the Cns and said, "are you feeling alright? You look like you ate something that was replicated over a week ago."
"I'm fine," Susan said, "I was just talking with Maya…"
"Talking with her will do that to you," Lea said before the Cns could finish her sentence. "I swear there are times when I think she has an undetectable energy cell somewhere inside her body that is directly linked to her vocal cords. That girl can outtalk and outlast most of the Academy's professors."
"She did talk a lot," Susan said with a nod, "but that is not why I feel this way." Bouncing up on a nearby biobed, the Cns sat down and just looked at Lea enjoying her company. The chat with Maya had made her realise how fortunate she had been in not sharing in the Shillian's ordeal.
Lea continued to work and occasionally met Susan's eyes. "Well if it wasn't her incessant talking that brought you here, what can I do for you?"
"Just wanted to be with someone else for a little while," Susan said, leaning back on her extended arms.
"I know the feeling," Lea said looking at the empty beds around them. "But there are a time when being alone does have its advantages. You and I are in jobs that make us see people in their time of greatest need. When we are alone, it means that everyone else is doing well."
"An interesting point of view," Susan said. "Since your parents worked in the field of Archaeology, I would have thought that you would enjoy a crowd. Archaeology is not exactly a field where there are a lot of people."
"Don't you start psychoanalysing me," Lea warned waving an empty hypospray at Susan. "I do enjoy the hustle and bustle of a crowd, but I have learned to also enjoy the quietness of solitude. It's nice to be alone for short periods of time during which I can get some work done."
"Alright," Susan said jumping off the biobed, "I get the hint. I'll leave you to your work and get back to mine. I'm sure there is something interesting in your psych-file that will keep me busy."
Lea turned ready to toss whatever item she had in her hand at the Cns, but Susan had already vanished behind the closed door. Laughing to herself, the Assistant CMO returned to her inventory thinking that the two of them would work well together.
For the next several minutes Lea worked in what she believed to be a completely empty Sickbay. That perception was shattered when Lea felt a gentle hand land on her shoulder sending her scrambling forward.
Holding her chest for fear that her heart would break free, Lea glared at the owner of the hand that had touched her. "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack!"
"Please accept my most sincere apologies," Luke Onison said in his ever so charming ways. "It was not my intention to startle you."
"You did not *startle* me. What you did was to scare the life out of me," Lea said stumbling backwards searching for something to lean against. "How did you get in hear? I didn't hear the doors open. Did you beam in just so that you could try to kill me?"
"I would never dream of hurting you in anyway way," Luke said laying on the charm as thick as he could. It didn't take long for Lea to fall for it and forget about what had happened. The question of how Luke had entered Sickbay without her knowing had been dismissed.
"That is sweet of you to say," Lea replied, finding it impossible to resist the man's practiced charms. "So what can I do for you?"
Luke moved closer to Lea and just looked deeply into her eyes for a brief moment. "Nothing, just wanted to see you," and without saying anything more Onison turned around and walked out of Sickbay.
**Why do I have the feeling that this is going to lead me onto Susan's couch one of these days?**
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #100
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
