From: Christine Fontaine
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 23:09:02 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Memories (Part II)
SD 90311.2308
<< flashback >>
Scene: USS REGENT: Sickbay
The news from the bridge was not good. It seemed that they were in
for a bumpy ride. Dr. Ledoux could also sense the desire to get back
on the bridge emanating from Lt. Wilson. She wished she could
release him, but that wouldn't be prudent, not yet.
Forestalling the next question that she knew would be coming from
Rich, Catherine stated:
"No, I'm afraid I can't let you get back to work yet, Lt. Richard
Wilson. I wasn't kidding when I spoke with you earlier. I really
performed some pretty serious repair work on you, and you still need
some time to heal."
She was, however, willing to grant him access to a computer.
Especially if he was going to be cooperative and ask nicely.
Especially if he gave her one of those disconcerting smiles.
For some reason Rich's grins were infectious, able to bring a slight
smile to Catherine's lips.
It was certainly disconcerting.
The vet waited for the question that she knew was coming.
While the doctor talked, Rich watched the alert light flashing.
Flashing. Flashing. Something major was happening on the bridge. And
he wasn't part of it. The thought of ESN Lahne sitting at Ops through a
tense situation scared the Lieutenant. Lahne could barely hack it while
sitting at SpaceDock. He had to lay all his cards on the table.
"Doctor, I understand your concern, I really do. No one wants me at one
hundred percent more than I do. Can't we cut some sort of deal-"
"No deals, Lieutenant."
"Let me finish." Catherine nodded. "Let me have a PADD with an active
link to the computer. I'll stay right here and start to catch up on
things." The doctor was already shaking her head, "I'll allow you to
monitor me, and as soon as you've felt that I've had enough, I'll pull
the plug and nap like the good little boy that I am."
Rich reached up and pushed some hair out of his eyes while the doctor
thought over his request.
"OK. You can have the PADD. Remember your terms, though. As soon as I
say you've had enough, it goes off."
"Yes Ma'am."
Catherine walked to the desk and picked up one of the devices. She
returned and started to hand it to Rich. Just before he took a hold of
it, she pulled it away, "For now, you have one hour."
"One?"
"One."
Wilson sighed, "OK. I promised."
As Catherine walked away from Lt. Wilson's side she was shaking her
head, a wry smile crossing her lips. She hoped that she knew what she
was doing, giving Rich computer access like that. But, she reminded
herself, it was only for an hour. That shouldn't cause too much strain.
*** *** *** ***
An hour later, the doctor's chronometre sounded. Rich's hour was up.
It was time to check on Lt. Wilson and see how he was doing. No doubt
he was enjoying his limited amount of "freedom." A smile alighted on
Catherine's lips as she imagined the protests that Rich would make when
she restricted his access yet again.
Schooling her expression back to her "professional doctor" face,
Catherine returned to the biobed where Lt. Wilson was happily working
away, apparently engrossed in whatever it was that he was doing. The
doctor's trained eye however noticed that his energy reserves seemed to
be lagging. The way he held himself, for one, indicated that the Lt.
still needed time to rest and recover.
Looking up from his PADD, Rich noticed Catherine approaching and
flashed her a smile. Then the grin faded as he realized why she had
returned.
Hand outstretched, awaiting delivery of the PADD, Catherine addressed
the Lt. "Hour's up."
"Please, just a little longer..." Rich asked.
Her hand not budging an inch, Catherine stood there. "I'm waiting."
"Alright, I promised." And with a sigh, Rich returned the PADD to
the doctor.
"Thank you Lieutenant. Now, how are you doing? And don't give
me any 'I'm fine doctor'. I can recognize fatigue when I see it. And
you, sir, need your rest. Understood?"
Rich nodded.
Catherine relaxed a fraction. It seemed that Lt. Wilson had decided to
be cooperative. Or, perhaps he was too worn to voice a protest. The
doctor wondered if now would be a good time to ask him about his Romulan
surgery. Catherine was still intrigued by the entire situation.
Taking a deep breath she decided to plunge right in.
"You know," she began, a little timidly, "I fixed up a lot of poorly done
surgery on you, and I was wondering, well..." Catherine paused,
nervously tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Another deep breath. "Well, if I'm not prying, I was... well..."
Catherine could feel her cheeks beginning to acquire a pink warmth,
"well, I was wondering about how you came to acquire the cybernetic
implant in the first place. It's the most... unique construction I've
ever seen."
There, she had come out and said it, even if in a roundabout sort of
way. Cheeks now fully flushed, Catherine's eyes were fixed on the floor
as she waited to see what Rich would reply.
Rich chuckled to himself. She wanted to know about his arm. Well, if he
couldn't roam around the Regent and do his job, perhaps he could have a
little fun with the Head Doctor. He faked a very serious mood.
He took a very deep breath, "It's very hard for me to talk about this."
Shutting his eyes tightly, he raised his head as if to stare at the
ceiling. He sniffled.
Was that overdramatic? Nah. She's eating this up...
"After that day, I didn't think I'd ever be able to set foot in a small
workpod again. You did notice that I flew the large runabout, right?"
He didn't wait for her response. Quickly in his mind, he reviewed his
personnel file. The source of the workpod accident had been classified,
due to the bizarre nature of the engagement. All she would know is that
it happened while he was serving aboard the Regent.
"I volenteered for the mission. It was extremely hazardous duty. Lots
of children being held hostage on a Romulan Warbird. I was dispatched to
rescue them or die trying.
"I mated the workpod on the side of the Rommie ship and cut my way in.
Phaser in hand, I found the children and was able to beam them back to
safety. It was that point that the Romulan Security goons found me in
the transporter room.
"They strapped me to a table and tortured me for information. It had to
be hours that I was there....
Inwardly, Rich was laughing hystarically. The story kept pouring out...
"...I made my escape in the workpod. They fired on me, damaging the
workpod. I called in for a transporter lock and abandoned the little
coffin. I drifted away from it, exposed to vacuum, and they phasered it
into oblivion. That's when I got beamed aboard here."
Rich panted, out of breath. He trembled in fear as he recalled the
horriffic events.
"And they removed your arm as part of the torture procedure?" Catherine
was horrified.
"Yes."
"I don't believe that anyone could treat another living being like that."
"Catherine?"
"What is it, Rich?"
Rich offered her his best smile, "I made that story up."
Before the doctor could react, the ship trembled under the force of an
explosion. Instruments fell off their shelves. Catherine had to grab
the edge of Rich's bed to keep standing.
"Anna! Open a real-time channel to the bridge!" Rich started to lean
over for the PADD that the doctor had dropped.
The speakers in the sickbay echoed the sounds from the bridge. Rich
closed his eyes and pictured everyone rushing about, trying to coordinate
their actions. Voices shouted damage control figures. Brock was calling
for computer assisted combat manuvers.
"Ric! What's happening up there?" Rich strained to pick Ric's voice out
of the crowd.
[It's not a good time to chat, Rich. We're under attack here.]
"I know! That blast came from aft! Damn! Doctor, give me that PADD!"
Blushing at being taken in by Rich's story, Catherine bent over to pick
up the PADD herself. In as calm a voice as she could muster under
the circumstances, she addressed the Lieutenant, keeping her eyes
lowered. "Commander Sunbright is on her way to the bridge even as
we speak. I believe that she'll be able to handle the situation."
Catherine's tone was beginning to display her annoyance and a bit of
fear had crept in as well. She didn't relinquish the PADD.
"Now you, sir, need some rest, and I need to prepare for the
casualties we'll likely be receiving after that blast." Hopefully
no one had been seriously injured in the attack but Dr. Ledoux
wasn't counting on it.
Taking a deep breath the doctor continued, "I know its not easy to
sit here and do nothing, but that's exactly what you need to do. I'm
not about to have you running around the ship only to end up back
here in even even worse straits than when you left." Catherine
was doing her best to keep the exasperation out of her voice. She
could hardly believe that he had made up that stupid story about his
arm.
"Now I also know that it's useless to try and ask you to rest under the
circumstances so I won't even bother. Whether you realize it or not,
your body is still in desperate need of recuperation time and, as
tempted as I am to dose you to ensure that you get your sleep, I've
decided not to." Catherine sighed. "But please don't fight me on
this, or I may change my mind.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
Catherine briskly turned on her heel and stalked away, intent on
preparing for the injured crew that would soon be trickling in to
sickbay. As she thought about Rich's fabrication, anger began to
well up inside of her. Why had he created such a story out of thin
air? Was he mocking her?
As first one wounded person, and then another began to arrive in
sickbay, Catherine and her staff commenced their unpleasant task of
patching up the damage, healing and helping as they could. Luckily,
the first few arrivals were relatively minor injuries, quickly and
easily taken care of. Dr. Ledoux hoped it would remain that way.
The familiarity of the common medical tasks helped to calm
Catherine's thoughts. As she was setting and then fusing a broken
arm back together, she thought about Rich's "interesting" story. It
seemed as if the Lieutenant had simply been teasing her. But why?
Giving it some more thought, Catherine figured that he had likely
been bored, and thought that relating his fictional account to the doctor
would provide a measure of amusement.
Thinking about it a little harder, Catherine had to confess to
herself that is was rather amusing. She began to chuckle softly
under her breath. As the science officer she was treating looked up
at her in surprise, Catherine blushed and stammered an apology.
That Lt. Wilson certainly was a character. Catherine didn't know
what to make of him. That disconcerted the doctor, her people
skills a trifle lacking in the first place. And her curiosity still
hadn't been satisfied. Well, she wasn't about to ask him about it
again.
<< end flashback >>
Scene: USS CHESAPEAKE: Sickbay: CMO's Office
Tears were streaming down Catherine's face as she remembered Rich's sojourn
in sickbay. While he had been an incredibly frustrating patient to deal
with, even back then, he could always make her smile. What had ensued
afterwards in sickbay, well, it was one the most unusual things Catherine
had ever experienced within the sickbay environment. Rich, bored out of his
skull, had decided to throw a little party in sickbay, inviting all the
members of the Senior Staff to join him in a card game. Entertaining, that
was Rich.
Through the tears, a small smile graced Catherine's lips as she thought
about what had happened afterwards...
<< begin flashback >>
Scene: USS REGENT: Sickbay
After the card game ended, Dr. Catherine Ledoux was still feeling
slightly off-balance. While she couldn't say she had thoroughly
enjoyed the experience, on the other hand, she couldn't say that she
had disliked it either. All in all, Catherine felt confused, and,
not knowing the reason why she felt confused, she didn't like feeling
that way at all.
The doctor turned to Lt. Wilson, who was fidgeting with
impatience, eager to be on his way out of sickbay, no doubt. While
she ran the tricorder over Rich's body, ensuring that everything was
back to normal, her cheeks were painted with a rosy blush. She was
still a little embarrassed by their earlier exchange in her office,
dismayed that her emotions had taken control of her yet again.
"So, how about it Doc, do I have a clean bill of health?" Rich
flashed her a smile.
Still blushing furiously, Catherine responded, "yes, Lt. Richard
Wilson, you are restored to active duty. "
Rich's smile brightened even further.
Then, with a faint smile of her own, and a weak attempt at humour,
Catherine added, "and my repair work should hold a lot better than
that lousy Romulan surgery. Just don't go messing it up. I don't
know if I could stand having you as a patient in here again."
Then she turned away, her colour rising even higher, embarrassed at
her forthright words, astounded that she could be so bold.
A flood of thought rushed through Rich's mind. While he was very happy
to be leaving the confines of sickbay, he had enjoyed his stay in some
twisted and warped way. He put the thoughts aside for the time being and
blurted out something shich he never thought he would.
"Would you have dinner with me sometime?"
The look of shock on Catherine's face struck Rich like a blow. He
immedietely continued talking.
"Dinner. Food. An, um, Thank You for, uh, patching me up. Dinner,
drinks- Did I say drinks? I mean like cola and water. Those are drinks."
He shut his mouth before he did any other damage. Never before had he
been so at a loss for words.
Catherine stood there, stunned, mouth gaping open. Realizing that she
probably looked like a fish gasping for air, she immediately slammed her
jaws shut. Had she heard correctly? Dinner? Was Lt. Wilson not only
thanking her for doing her job, but asking her out to dinner on top of it?
Speaking much too quickly she blurted out, "Dinner? Why that would be
wonderful!" Then realizing how that probably sounded, Catherine raised her
hand to her mouth, and, blushing furiously, she averted her gaze, staring
intently at her feet resting on the floor.
"I mean, I... Yes, dinner would be nice," the words tumbled out of her
mouth. Catherine couldn't believe how stupid she sounded.
Here she was, acting like a nervous schoolgirl, and for what? Rich was
probably just being polite, nothing more than that, right? Now
thoroughly confused, one hand began to anxiously play with her long wavy
hair, wrapping a golden strand around and around her index finger.
Then she darted a glance back to Rich. She could hardly believe that
this was the same fellow who had been telling her tall tales not all that
long ago. And here he was stumbling over his words almost as bad as she
was? Catherine could scarcely give credit to it. If she hadn't been so
flustered herself, she would have found his discomfiture rather humourous.
As it was, she stood there, fingers still nervously plucking at her hair,
wondering what to say or do next.
Rich stood smiling at the doctor. She'd said yes. She'd answered in a
positive manner. And now she was standing, twirling her hair. Rich
assumed that it was his turn to say something.
"Great! Then it's a da- Uh... Dinner. Yes, a dinner." He grinned and began
looking for his uniform. The sickbay gown suddenly felt inadequate. He
scrounged through the drawers while holding the back of the gown closed.
"Uh, Cath- Doc. Where's my uniform?" He felt his cheeks begin to burn.
"We had to throw it out. There was way too much blood on it to have it
cleaned."
"Oh." Rich rubbed his eyes for a moment, "Anna, repli-" The replicator began
to hum. A few seconds later, its panel slid open revealing a new uniform.
Rich jerked this thumb towards the computer terminal, "Anticipatory computer."
He smiled to Catherine, "Um, do you think you could leave me for a minute so
I could get dressed?"
"Dressed? Oh! I'm sorry!" She quickly left the room.
The uniform was a nice fit. Anna sure knew how to make them, Rich mused. It
was nice to be back in uniform, though. And it felt even better knowing that
soon he would be back to work.
After a few more awkward words with the doctor, Rich made his way back to
the bridge.
<< end flashback >>
Scene: USS CHESAPEAKE: Sickbay: CMO's Office
That was how it had all began.
Catherine was weeping, longing for Rich, for his solid presence, his warm
embrace. Oh, she missed him; she missed him terribly. Without Rich,
Catherine felt vacant, incomplete, an empty vessel that could never be
filled. She wanted him. She needed him.
Her life would never be the same.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine
LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM
Chief Medical Officer
USS CHESAPEAKE
<< NRPG >>
As I said, just background on Catherine, and shameless character development...
All of the flashback material in these two posts was written by myself, and
by my fiance, Chris Morley, who plays/played Lieutenant Commander Richard
Wilson, who was a Lieutenant back when the events Catherine is remembering
occurred. Most of the funny stuff is his (the other Chris). We both had a
lot of fun with those posts...
Anyhow, ignore or enjoy as you wish...
Chris
***********************************************
* Christine Fontaine cfontain@uoguelph.ca *
* http://www.uoguelph.ca/~cfontain/chris.html *
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* "If I waited for perfection... *
* I would never write a word." *
* - Margaret Atwood - *
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