Neighbourly Concern

Posted on Sat Aug 1st, 2020 @ 11:39am by Ensign Duncan McManus & Lieutenant JG Mattias Constantine

Mission: Mission 3 - 100
Location: Deck E - Sickbay
Timeline: Day 38, Month 2, Year 0 15:00
2389 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Duncan looked up from repairing the door to sickbay and noticed his friend had not moved from where he was sat hunched over holding onto Ensign O’Connery’s hand as people went through the motions of oblivious to what must be going through his head. He slowly set out storing all his tools and stuff away before coming over to Mattias.

“Hey, Mattias. Are you okay? She okay?” He wondered trying to sneak a look over her stacks but it was impossible to see properly. He hoped she was okay as the ship could not lose anyone else and his neighbour was crushing on her pretty hard.

"Huh? Oh, hey Duncan." It had taken a moment for Mattias to snap back to reality after having zoned out for the better part of the last ten minutes or so. The day's shift had gone by in a blur. Thinking back, it was difficult for him to pinpoint any specifics. Sure, he had eaten at some point and assisted various repair teams by carrying bulky, heavy, or otherwise awkward items that were easier for someone of his stature to handle, but he had put his brain on autopilot for the entire ordeal. He was vaguely aware that someone was there repairing the door - it had been opened and closed an inordinate amount over the past weeks - but it was only when he heard Duncan's voice that he realized it was him.

"Sorry man, I'm kinda out of it," Matt admitted to his next door neighbor. He kept his voice quiet, letting go of Lexi's hand in order to stand up and step away from her biobed so he wouldn't wake her. "I'm tired as hell, but otherwise okay. Dr. zh'Kenarh is the CMO now. She saved Lexi's life. It's a long road ahead, but I think she'll be fine after a while. How are you holding up?"

“Why I am coming to check on you. You did not even come and mock my work.” Duncan commented on. He could see the woman was hooked up to all the bells and whistles so it must have been touch and go. “Fancy a quick walk?” He asked thinking the man could use a bit of a timeout.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea to me. It'll be good to stretch the legs out a bit," Constantine nodded, stifling a yawn as he stretched his arms out above his head. He took a second to shake some of the stiffness out of his joints before walking over to join Ensign McManus. "I gotta say Dunc, you fixed the hell out of that door." A glimmer of Matt's usual humor peaked through as he pressed the keypad to open the door "That thing squealed like a twenty year old office chair all day, and now listen. Nada."

Duncan smiled relieved that he did not have to use any of his prepared lines of 'she is in the best place' or 'you will be no good to her if you end up in sickbay yourself'. It was a relief to not have to but he would file them away for a later date. "Well when you are as genius as I am sometimes you have to lower yourself to the more medial of things." He commented as they stepped outside into the brightly lit corridor.

"Hey, you said it, not me," Matt cracked a small grin. His brain was still getting caught up to speed, but as he suspected, getting up and getting the blood moving started to make him feel more human. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since the Vrav so rudely invited themselves over. I'm sure you've been kept busy, huh?"

"It was pretty rude of them. Two days of just chaos my friend. I have never repurposed so much stuff in my life." He had grown up a boomer making do and mending but it was amazing what he was teaching the other engineers. "I literally thought I was going to die defending my hill." He admitted shaking his head as they turned left and started walking that way.

"Ah, yes. Necessity being the mother of invention and all that, right? Explains why I've been asked to carry so much random shit from place to place. At first, I thought you might've been messing with me somehow, but then I saw someone using a crowbar to keep an access hatch propped open, so I stopped asking questions." Constantine walked as he talked, wondering if his friend was finally starting to show an emotional side. "Well, for what it's worth buddy, I'm thankful you are alive and well. I've missed the sound of your singing since I've been spending nights in sickbay."

Duncan stayed tight lipped for a moment about messing with him before he broke into a grin. He would not have considered it there and then in the middle of chaos but at least it had made the man think of him. “Aye, afraid not. Shame though if I was in my own mind I could have gotten you back for the communication centre.” he mused scratching his stubbled chin before the mood changed. He knew it would eventually but did not think it would be so quickly. It seemed his friend need to talk about it all. “Is she awake yet?” He had not been able to tell whilst fixing the door.

"Lexi? Yeah, she wakes up now and again, looks right at me, and then pretends to fall asleep again so she doesn't have to deal with me." Another wry smile spread across the communications officer's lips. He looked at Duncan, realizing that the engineer actually cared for his well being, despite the constant fraternal-like bickering that they were both guilty of instigating. Matt realized that maybe, just maybe, he had gained a brother in the process. "On a serious note, I think she's out of the darkest part of the woods. Now, it's just all about the recovery and rehab that's going to happen. And I'll be damned if I let her go through it by herself. I know I would want somebody there if it was me laid low for a bit. As an aside, I've gotten pretty good at sleeping in those reclining chairs," Constantine chuckled.

Duncan smiled a little. That was positive that the woman was at least waking up. “Well if I was waking up to your ugly mug I would probably pretend I was still sleepy,” Duncan assured quickly feeling himself waking up just a little more. “Do you not think though she would want you actually awake and able to function by sleeping in your own bed?” The Engineer wondered knowing it could not be comfortable. “I could sit with her for a bit?” He offered instantly hoping his friend would take him up on the offer.

"Oh, believe me - she's told me several times to go and look after myself, but then when she wakes up there's a moment where her eyes go frantically searching for something or someone. I'm being really selfish, but I have this tiny hope that it might be me or at least that it helps to have someone there, ya know? Sorry man, I know you don't really like talking about stuff like this, I guess the long and the short of it is that I'm in trouble when it comes to the subject of that woman," Matt playfully punched Duncan in the arm to let him know he had heard the comment about his appearance. It was true, he needed a haircut and a trim of his facial hair, but it seemed wrong to focus on such trivial things.

"Anyways, you do you. She's not critical anymore so the nurses aren't being restrictive about visitors. Knowing her, she'll probably think it's flattering. I won't hear the end of it for weeks. 'Matt, remember that time when you and Duncan were fighting over being by my bedside?' I can hear it now." It was all Constantine could do to keep from rolling his eyes.

"Wow, that was deep," Duncan said not sure for a moment. His friend really was in deep with no help of escape at all at the moment. It was humbling to see it and bare witness to something that was going to crash and burn or lead to something bigger. He would support either way but at the moment Mattias needed some help. "I think you are in trouble. No hint of escape but I really do think you need to take her advice just for a night? Get some rest in your own bed where you are not squashed into a far too small space and relax. Like you said she is no longer critical you do not need to keep watch. Let me help even if she mocks you for me being there."

He could not deny she was pretty and he had a thing for women with dark eyes but she was strangely not appealing to him at all in that way because of the way Mattias looked at her. He could never break that trust at all. It would be unkind and he loved the man like one of his brother though he would never admit it at the moment.

Constantine kept walking beside him for a moment without saying anything. It was taking him longer than usual to think through things, but in the haze of his fatigued mind, Matt realized that his friend was right. He was going to need to get some rest - proper rest. And the fact that it had taken him so long to realize it was further evidence that he needed to sleep in his own bed for a night or two.

"You know what Dunc, you're right. On all accounts. Thank you, it means a lot to me that you'd be willing to help. Whenever you need the favor returned, you know who to call, alright? You're my brother. I mean it," Matt paused for a moment, allowing another crewman to pass them in the corridor before retaking his place beside Ensign McManus. The two of them had made a lap around the deck and were nearly back to the entrance of sickbay.

Duncan just grinned a little and waited for the crewmen to pass them by before he seriously thought about things in the comfortable silence. It took them arriving back at the sickbay to knock him out of the thoughts. “So where exactly are you both standing? If we end up talking I do not want to put my foot in it?” He wondered thinking about them. He wanted to be the man's wingman so to speak and back him up even though Mattias had done half the work.

"Willing to lie on my behalf too? Oh Duncan, you spoil me," Constantine finally had enough blood moving around that he was starting to feel like himself again. That, of course, meant a return of the sarcastic back and forth that he and McManus had pretty much perfected over the past few months. "I don't really have an answer," he admitted. "I think we are probably close to having a long talk about where we stand, but the Vrav keep interrupting, you know? But I couldn't be luckier dude. We started as friends, which is important to me. She gets my humor and dishes it back even better than you do sometimes. We share a bunch of the same interests from studying the same things, plus I think she's cuter than hell. Honestly, after our talk in laundromat the other day, I was kinda kicking myself for not seeing it earlier."

"Not so much lie. More help you stay out of trouble." he laughed a little. Duncan was sure Mattias was going to put his foot in his eventually in a silly way and was going to need someone to back him up. "Well someone has to get you cause you are not my type." Duncan laughed a little knowing the feeling of the Vrav interrupting stuff. "She is pretty cute."

"God, listen to us Duncan. It sounds like we're in high school. Simpler times, right?" Matt had no choice but to laugh at himself. "Well, I know I've got a good thing going, and I'm going to give it my best. Plus, with you watching my back and giving me the perspective I need, I can't lose," he winked. "Enough about me though man, I want to hear about you. Still not 'the right time' for anything with Darcy, huh?"

"I did not go to high school but I get the sentiment." Duncan reminded with a roguish grin. It was hard to remember sometimes for the majority of the crew that not everyone grew up on Earth. "Best is all anyone can ask for. And me and Darcy are literally just friends. My brain cannot handle Vrav attacks and women. Too complicated." He mused thinking that maybe he could invite her to the rec room to teach her chess and hope for the best. "Go on. Say your goodbyes if she is awake and I will clean up and go sit with her."

Constantine stopped just outside the door to sickbay and gave McManus's shoulder one last playful punch. Sure, it was just a walk, but it had done him a lot of good. No gesture went unappreciated, especially given the current circumstances they were facing as a crew.

"Hey, I just hope you're happy Dunc. Nobody gets to determine what that means except you," he nodded, keying his entrance to sickbay. The door performed flawlessly. "Thanks again - for everything.."

The caducei on the doors parted as Matt walked back into a place that was becoming more and more familiar to him. He saw the same, tired chair that he had spent countless hours in waiting for him, but instead, he asked a nurse for a writing utensil and a piece of paper. Scratching out a quick note, he folded it in half and left it on her bedside table before turning to leave. As he did so, he expressed his thanks to the medical staff again, taking one last look towards the biobed before exiting.