"Late Night Counselling Session"
[Previous post: "New Roommate", written by the ever ready Mark Hutchings]
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Liz, Lea and Susan's quarters
Lea sat on one of the two beds, her eyes locked on the PADD she had
brought with her. The CMO didn't remember leaving Sickbay or leaving her
assistant in charge. Lea didn't even remember that her friend had
followed her from Sickbay to their quarters. The only thing in the
Doctor's thoughts had been the Nausicaan and his condition.
"He'll be fine, in time," Susan said to her friend as she sat next to
Lea. It had not taken a Betazoid empathy to know what had been
troubling the CMO. After she had returned to sickbay after her blow out with
Pravat Lea had done as the Marine had asked. By Nico's bedside Lea had
done all that she could to make the Sec/Tac more comfortable. The
combined energy blast of five Breen weapons set on high stun had done
enough damage on their own. The flight through the air and the crash
landing of the large Nausicaan had done the rest. The Cns had been right, in
time Nico would be fine, but in the meantime he was stuck in bed.
Because of the restraints placed on Ens. Rostov to make sure his backbone
didn't move the Nausicaan could not even turn his head. The slightest
move could aggravate his injuries so absolute immobility had been required.
The CMO knew that this had been necessary but Lea had not liked the
idea of leaving Nico in this state. Even if they had rushed back to NEW
ALEXANDRIA the Nausicaan would have been in the same posture. Stuck on
a bed looking up at the ceiling wondering how long this would have to
last. What bugged Lea the most was that she had no idea of how long the
repairs to his spinal cord would take. Aside from being strong
warriors there had actually been little known about Nico's race. This lack of
medical knowledge had left the CMO feeling powerless to help the
HATHOR's Sec/Tac more than she had.
"Lea," Susan said, "can I ask you a question? As a friend?"
The CMO nodded her head without taking her eyes off the PADD. If only
wishing it could make things better. But the CMO knew that this
universe was not so benevolent in its ways.
"Why are you holding Pravat responsible for what happened to Nico?" The
Cns asked, trying to catch the eyes of the staring CMO.
Susan was surprised when Lea lowered the PADD and turned to look
straight at her friend. As Susan been just a little closer, Lea would have
hit her when she had turned. "I am not angry at Pravat! Why would I be
angry at him? It was not him who fired on Nico. Nor was it him who
broke his back in three separate places." The CMO caught herself before
she said more. Her words had said one thing, but her tone had conveyed
an entirely different message.
Susan reached out and placed a comforting hand on the shoulder of her
friend. The Cns could only guess at the turmoil raging in the mind of
her friend, and it was her job to help in any way she could.
"You said it before and I know that you are right," Lea said with a sigh bringing the PADD back up. "Pravat was just following the orders of Cmdr. Serenna and in turn his marines were following his. What happened was not planned and is was nothing more than a freak accident. I guess being able to lay blame on someone helps make it a little better. At least for me if not for Nico. Did you see him in Sickbay? He just stared at the ceiling and said nothing after I explained to him what I had done."
"You were expecting him to thank you?" Susan asked, sliding a little
deeper into her friend's thoughts.
"Maybe," the CMO replied. "Or at least ask a few questions; maybe even
be angry at me or someone else. Heck I would have been happy if he had
been angry at the universe or the Breen. The real ones that is, but
instead he just laid there staring at the ceiling saying nothing."
"We each have our own ways of dealing with adversity," Susan said
taking hold of her friend by her shoulders. "Although Nico is a member of
the crew, I doubt many of us can truly say that we know him. The
closest he has to a true friend onboard is Uxtar, and I doubt that they share
a lot about their personal feelings."
Lea glanced sideways at her friend and after a few seconds smiled. "Yeah, it's hard to imagine them sitting on a bed doing each other's hair."
Susan laughed out loud at the image painted by her friend. After regaining control of her laughter and breathing, the Cns smiled back at her friend. "All we can do is give him time and support, and wait to see what happens. As long as he knows that he is not alone, I am sure that he will be alright."
The CMO reluctantly nodded her head. Susan had been right, again and as much as Lea had wanted to do something, there had been nothing more for her to do.
"Here," Lea said handing over a hairbrush to Susan. "You can do my hair."
Susan grinned still having the image of a Hirogen and Nausicaan doing
what the two women were about to indulge in.
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Lt. J.G. Lea Summers
And
Chief Medical Officer 2005 post #583
Stardate: 60331.2330
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
USS HATHOR
