The Hand You're Dealt

Posted on Fri Nov 1st, 2019 @ 9:11am by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Lieutenant Aurelius Davis

Mission: Mission 1 - One Step forward
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Day 4, Month 1, Year 0 06:30
1024 words - 2 OF Standard Post Measure

Aurelius opened his eyes and blinked them a few times to clear the blurriness. At least the pain was at a tolerable level now, this was a much nicer way to wake up. He moved his eyes around him, checking that they still worked and then tried to turn his head. Not so good, it hurt to do that. He must have hit it. He remembered flying backwards and then everything doing dark.

The red haired commander was standing nearby him but she wasn't looking in his direction. "Psst," he made the noise with his lips and tongue.

As the strange noise that interrupted her thoughts, the Officer in Charge turned around and looked at the man relieved for a moment before she strode over. "I am glad to see that you are awake Lieutenant." She admitted softly thinking it had been nearing 12 hours and he had not stirred properly.

"You say that like you didn't think I was going to wake up?" His voice was raspy but at least it still worked. "What happened? I only remember bits and pieces. I hit my head." It was a statement and not a question.

"It has been about ten hours since you hit your head. The HELM console overloaded with the calculations." The woman commented as a medical nurse came in noticing the man away and talking. She took a few steps back to let her get to the injured officer.

He blinked at her again, his vision still a bit wonky. "Concussion?" He asked, taking a deep breath. At least his ribs seemed to be all right. There was something else in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite pinpoint. Something he'd done or found . . . "Commander, Am I going to be all right?" Aurelius swallowed. He expected her to tell him the truth.

"Concussion. You are going to be hurting for a while." Beth slowly approached when it looked like the nurse was not going to tell the man anything and she could not let him discover it the way he could. "You hurt your hands." She started grabbing the PADD to show him exactly what had happened.

He glanced down. They were covered in some kind of mittens, but he could still move his fingers . . . . at least the base of his fingers were still there. He felt a surge of adrenaline. He looked up at her again. He didn't want to feel this fear, he wanted everything to be okay, but was it going to be? "Will you go out with me?" Aurelius said it before he'd even thought much about it. He just wanted a distraction and she was certainly that.

The woman found herself laughing at how ridiculous his words were in the current situation. "Um... not the time or the place to have that type of conversation." The woman said moving so he could see the information. It was easier to show him properly when she could not pronounce half the words.

"Maybe, but asking you out helps me not think too much." It seemed she was determined to give him the information though. "What am I going to do if I can't fly?" Aurelius asked, it was rhetorical, but maybe she had some ideas.

Beth was silent for a moment as her mind went back to the conversation with Mattias and his positive attitude that had seemed so different from the rest of the ship. "Morale." The woman spoke finally looking up at him.

He'd heard the word perfectly clearly. His head might be pounding and the sensation gone from his fingers but that didn't stop him from being able to understand what she was saying. Still, he looked at her blankly and replied. "What?"

The woman looked at him carefully. Had she been speaking French or some other language? "We need a Morale Officer." She said sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him carefully. "Aurelius we are 150 years from home and I think you are the type of man who would be perfect. You just tried to ask me out to take your mind off your own issues." Beth pointed out her rationale behind it.

"Isn't that rather a sign that I'm nuts and should be in therapy rather than trying to help other people through their problems? I mean I don't mind helping people, I just question if I'm the right person for it. What if I say something stupid?" He scooted over just slightly to make sure she had enough room on his bed. The fact that she had just dismissed his question rather than telling him an outright no was giving him some hope.

"I believe you." Was all the Officer in Charge said softly as the realisation hit her of how Leah had once said the same thing to her? Was this how an OiC was meant to be? They were meant to have blind faith in the people they lead. "I do not think you could say anything stupid in the current situation." They needed all hands on deck and even if his hands were injuried he could be put to work. Having a reason helped recovery.

"Really," he said quite amused and having nearly forgotten about the pain he was in. "Asking you out wasn't stupid?" He chuckled. "Okay, I'll think about it and I'll leave you alone. Thanks for . . . . distracting me."

"Really." The woman took his comments as her hint to leave and slowly rose. She patted his shin and nodded. "Get some rest. I will be putting you to work soon enough Aurelius." No one could be idle anymore. They had to get home one way or another even in it was not going to be them or their children, they had to get back to prove that they did not abandon Earth or the promise that the universe was offering.

He gave her a small grin and closed his eyes, unable to keep them open for a moment longer.

OFF::

Commander Bethsabee Leroux
Officer In Charge/Chief Communications Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant Aurelius Davis
Chief Flight Control Officer
NX Atlantis