From: Christine Fontaine
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 12:15:59 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Siamese Cats & Siamese Sivaoans
SD 90315.1214
MD 03.0630
Scene: CMO's Quarters
Something cold and wet was touching Catherine's cheek. Turning over in her
sleep, the vet tried to escape from the unpleasant sensation.
A moment later, the cold wetness returned. Flipping over to the other side,
Catherine mumbled something, still asleep.
Once again, something wet and cold brushed the vet's cheek. Sleepily
reaching out with one hand, Catherine attempted to swipe whatever-it-was
away. Sluggishly, the vet groped for the disturbance, seeking, but unable
to find the source of the cold, wet annoyance. Suddenly, her hand
encountered something warm, soft and furry. Then another sensation struck
the vet, rousing her to wakefulness. Something that felt like rough, wet
sandpaper rasped across her cheek. Cracking her eyelids open a fraction,
Catherine came face to face with the lilac-coloured mask of her little
Siamese Dawn.
Dawn, unfazed by Catherine's sleepy motions, continued to lick the vet's
face,
drawn by the remnants of the salty tears that had meandered like rivulets
down Catherine's cheeks. With her rough, pink tongue, the little Siamese
gently caressed the vet, seeking to groom her as she would another cat.
Catherine could no longer ignore the touch of Dawn's tongue, for the
Siamese's touch began to tickle, propelling Catherine fully awake. Drawing
her head back away from Dawn, Catherine reached out with one hand, hoping to
satisfy the little Siamese with a few loving pats. Dawn, however, simply
took another dainty step forward and, settling her paws beneath her with the
grace of a ballet dancer, began studiously cleaning Catherine's face once
again.
Yawning, Catherine mumbled, "Dawn, stop that." Then, giggling, "that
tickles silly girl."
Flipping back over to her other side, Catherine pulled the covers up over
her head. Hopefully, that would stop the little Siamese and the vet could
get back to sleep. Curling her legs up to her chest, the French Canadian
wished that she could just lie in bed all day. Getting up involved far too
much energy.
Dawn, a persistent a feline as ever there was, stuck a lilac coloured paw
under the edge of Catherine's blanket, seeking to lift it up. Having
succeeded in creating a tiny opening, the Siamese next stuck her head into
that hole. Butting her head against the soft covers, Dawn tunnelled under
the blankets, wriggling her haunches forward until, once again, she was at
Catherine's side.
First a cold nose touched Catherine's cheek; this was soon followed by a
rough, wet tongue. Sighing, Catherine realized that this was one battle
she wasn't going to win. It was time to get up, and the little Siamese was
making sure that Catherine did get out of bed.
"All right, all right," Catherine sighed. "I'm getting up." Dawn butted
her head against the vet. "I am," Catherine protested, as she flung off the
covers.
Still, Catherine didn't rise, but lay there, savouring these last few
moments of rest. A very tempting thought crossed the vet's mind: it would
be so nice to just lie there all day. Yawning, Catherine was beginning to
fall back beneath the hypnotic waves of slumber when Dawn let out a delicate
meow.
Fixing her deep blue eyes squarely on the vet, Dawn meowed again, letting
Catherine know in no uncertain terms that she was not going to let the
doctor fall back asleep. Extending a delicate paw, the Siamese touched
Catherine lightly on the cheek.
Expelling a sigh, Catherine pushed her hair out of her eyes. "All right,"
she told the Siamese, "I'm getting up."
Catherine's arms seemed to have lost all strength as she forced herself into
an upright position. Everything took so much effort; it was as if she were
moving through thick, viscous molasses. What was wrong with her?
If Catherine had been honest with herself she would have realized that a
lack of restful sleep, combined with a lack of wholesome food, was
responsible for her lethargy and weakness. The last time that the vet had
eaten, as opposed to just playing with the food on her plate, had been
aboard the REGENT, before news of Rich's imminent departure had reached her
ears. Catherine, already thin, too thin, from her ordeals during her last
mission aboard the REGENT, could not afford to continue fasting for long.
Rubbing her face with one hand Catherine felt tired, very tired, even after
a night's rest. Feeling very alone and very vulnerable, the vet had not
slept well. Without the comfort of Rich's warm embrace, Catherine had
tossed and turned all night long. It had been nearly impossible to get any
sleep.
Sighing, the vet tried to force the thoughts of Rich from her mind; an
impossible task, for Rich was always in her thoughts, in her heart and in
her soul. *I'd better get moving,* Catherine thought to herself, *otherwise
I'm really going to get depressed.*
Heaving another sigh, Catherine threw back the covers the rest of the way,
and, stretching like one of her cats, rose from the bed. "Alors, on y va,"
(alright then, we're on our way,) she mumbled under her breath. It was
time to begin a new day.
*** *** *** ***
MD 03.0815
Scene: Sickbay
Her morning shower, a real shower, with real water, had done wonders for her
disposition, Catherine reflected as she approached the CHESAPEAKE's sickbay.
While the vet still felt somewhat tired and drained, at least she was awake
and functioning. Although thoughts of Rich continued to float through her
mind, Catherine felt that she had her emotions under control. At least for
now.
Striding into sickbay, Catherine's deep blue eyes opened wide in surprise.
An absolutely gorgeous feline, clad in an aquamarine uniform sash, was
cataloguing medical equipment from one of the cargo bins that had yet to be
unloaded. Blinking her eyes a few times, Catherine had to admit that this
was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.
Lustrous fur, golden honey in colour, covered the feline's form, shading to
a darker burnished gold at the points. Catherine marvelled at the exquisite
pattern, which resembled that of her Siamese cats. Then, as she caught
sight of the feline's cerulean eyes Catherine was convinced. This had to be
a Siamese; larger than her own pets, but nevertheless a Siamese. All
Siamese, no matter what their coat colour, possessed brilliant blue eyes.
This particular feline was no exception.
A moment later Catherine thought that the officer might be a Sivaoan, but
she was much tinier than any Sivaoan Catherine had ever encountered.
Standing just over a metre in height, the golden furred feline was
definitely short in stature. Most of the Sivaoans that the vet knew were
close to two metres tall.
*She is so _adorable_,* Catherine thought to herself, wishing that she could
just reach out and stroke the plush fur. No doubt the Sivaoan, if Sivaoan
she was, would strongly object to such treatment. *But she's so _cute_,*
the vet added to her thoughts, *you just want to reach out and cuddle her,
like a Teddy bear.*
Smiling at her own silliness, Doctor Ledoux finally decided to go over and
introduce herself to the intriguing feline. As she saw the tip of the
officer's golden tail began to twitch, that clinched it for the vet. Only
one feline species that she was aware of had a prehensile tail, and that
race was from Sivao.
For some reason, Catherine had always found it easy to relax and just be
herself around Sivaoans. She just had an easier time interacting with them
then she did with individuals of any other race. Aside from Rich, and she
tried to push thoughts of him to the back of her mind, Catherine's only
friend aboard the REGENT had been a Sivaoan, Ensign StarWander to-Vallrisa.
Catherine had even been able to relax a bit with Commander Sunbright
to-Ennien, who had been the REGENT's First Officer; normally, Catherine was
extremely shy and reticent when dealing with superior officers.
Approaching the golden Siamese, Catherine halted a few paces in front of
her. Placing her hands in front of her, palms facing upwards, the vet
extended her fingers out fully and then curled them in, miming the action of
sheathing one's claws. At the same time she introduced herself. "Hello,
I'm Lieutenant Commander Doctor Catherine Marie Ledoux," the vet knew how
important proper names were to Sivaoans. "I'm the CHESAPEAKE's Chief
Medical Officer."
Then, suddenly one of the biofiles that Catherine had read sprang to mind.
Wondering why she hadn't remembered it earlier, she smiled at the young
feline officer. "You must be Lieutenant junior grade Doctor DawnFire
to-Ennien. I'm pleased to meet you."
Catherine paused, hoping to see the Sivaoan's tail loop as she addressed her
correctly. Receiving no response from the Sivaoan, she added, "I would be
honoured if you would address me as Doctor Ledoux, or Commander Ledoux, if
you prefer." Catherine smiled warmly at DawnFire.
"Thank you, Doctor Catherine Marie Ledoux," DawnFire chose to use the
honourific 'Doctor' as opposed to the CMO's full rank. "I am Doctor
DawnFire to-Ennien."
"Yes," Catherine replied, wondering why the Sivaoan hadn't offered her a
shortened version of her name. Most Sivaoans serving in Starfleet extended
that courtesy to their fellow officers. It just made things easier,
all-round.
DawnFire, however, appeared to be one of those Sivaoans who preferred to be
addressed by her full rank and name. Catherine could respect that; after
all, the Sivaoan doctor *had* earned her name by completing her walk. The
vet would just have to remember to use this Sivaoan's full name at all times.
Deciding to try another approach, the vet shyly smiled. "I understand that
you are a bard," she said. "I've been lucky enough to hear several Sivaoan
bards perform, among them Rear Admiral StarWind to-Venrse and her son,
Ensign StarWander to-Vallrisa. I hope that you'll be able to entertain us
with a concert at some point in time. I know I would be absolutely
delighted to hear some beautiful music." Catherine hoped that DawnFire
would be receptive to this idea.
DawnFire, however, seemed taken-aback by the request. "I don't think a
concert will be possible, Doctor Catherine Marie Ledoux."
Catherine, sensing that it would not be wise to pursue this matter any
further with the Sivaoan physician, simply stated, "oh. That's too bad."
Tucking a loose curl behind one ear, the vet suddenly felt very
uncomfortable, her natural shyness and timidity suddenly returning full
force. "Well, I guess I'll see you at our staff meeting at 0900. A
pleasure meeting you, Doctor DawnFire to-Ennien." Catherine's cheek were
fully flushed.
"Likewise," the Sivaoan replied.
With that, Doctor Ledoux turned and headed to her office. After all, she
had to prepare for her Medical Staff Meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine
LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM
Chief Medical Officer
USS CHESAPEAKE
<< NRPG >>
Next post: that staff meeting... I was going to get to it in this post,
but the first half of this just kind of took on a life of its own...
Masako: I'm still working on those joint post ideas. :) And, as always, I
enjoyed the flashbacks. :)
And oh, as someone asked me, I realized I was being a bit unclear as to the
colour of Catherine's hair. It could either be described at light
brown or dark blonde, whichever way you choose to look at it. And
there are lighter golden blonde highlights throughout her curls. I think
that covers it.
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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