by Dabin Reece
81003.2000
After Easier Said
-=Transporter Room, USS Alchemy=-
81003.2000
After Easier Said
-=Transporter Room, USS Alchemy=-
She had refused all attempts and offers by the medical staff to take him to Sickbay. She sat still, with his body gathered up in her lap, waiting for him to awaken. Her legs had long since fallen asleep from supporting his weight for so long, but running her fingers through his hair relaxed her, and she hardly noticed. She wanted to be there when he woke up, and frankly did not want the hustle and bustle of a noisy Sickbay around her.
His eyelids twitched as the sedative began to wear off, and his extremities moved for the first time since he had been brought on board.
"Come on Dabin," She urged gently, as became more animated, and his eyelids began to crack open. His lips parted, and tried to form words that she could not understand. Each passing moment brought him closer and closer to lucidity, and his slurred speech began to take form.
"Landry," He finally managed to breath.
*Landry?* February thought. Not exactly the word you want your love to whisper breathlessly upon waking from a deep sleep.
"Get away from me, Steele," He whispered next.
"Dabin wake up. Did she hurt you?" February's joy was suddenly replaced by concern, wondering if Steele had turned on Dabin somehow.
Her voice brought him back, and his eyes focused on her.
"My head hurts," He said, rubbing his temples with his fingers to punctuate the fact. "But you are a sight for sore eyes."
He was able to sit up now, so February assisted him, and moved to sit beside him on the transporter pad.
"What did Landry do to you?" She asked once again.
Dabin shook his head. "I can barely hear you February. Your thoughts are so, intense. Are you all right?"
"I'm just worried about you," She stuttered. "We did not know what was going to happen for quite a while." Her sentiment was entirely truthful, if not totally honest. "You said Landry's name, what happened?"
"Well, bitch came at me with a hypo." He cracked. "I tried to fight her off but it was like she was possesed or something." His attempt at humor was tempered by the waves of nausea that coursed through him. Instictively he clutched his stomach and began to rock in place.
"It was the Sylph." February said. "They had your ship, they must have used Landry to subdue you because they could not control you."
"Yeah, well until we can be sure, keep Princess Narcolepsy away from me, because I feel like I'm about to lose it and my temper is shorter than her skirt at the moment."
"Do you want to go to Sickbay now?" She asked.
"No, but I need to."
February helped him up, and slung her arm around his lower back to help support him.
"Ug. Thrusters only Lieutenant Grace." He asked, as he shuffled groggily towards the door. "So, anything new while I was out helping save the galaxy again?"
"Yes my love, something new." Her mind was still abuzz, and he knew the mental chatter would be clouding his ability to read her. "We'll discuss it when you are a bit more lucid."
"It's a deal!" He said with mock glee. Truth be told walking was making him queezy enough. attempting to talk at the same time was not proving helpful to the situation. "I'm just going to focus on holding down the acrobats in my stomach, but I love you February."
"I love you too," She said, helping him into the turbolift. "Sickbay."
They found Dalton McKay busying himself around a sleeping Carrack O'Sullivan upon their arrival. Upon seeing the limping Reece, he admonished February for not having brough him sooner.
"Darlin' when the house is burnin' you don't wait until Bonanza is over to call the fire department."
"I know Doctor. I know. I just wanted a few quiet moments with him, and the medics said he was not in any danger."
In his holographic mind, McKay instantly reviewed the files of both February and Dabin as he talked with them. Immediately he was aware of her pregnancy. With a silent motion he inclinded his head towards her abdomen, and then towards Dabin. She shook her head, indicating Dabin did not know yet.
He flipped open a tricorder, and took a look at his newest patient. "Son you are lucky to have ever woken up. They gave you enough sedative to knock out a country boy at a bicuits and gravy cook off."
"I wonder what he'd sound like with a Swedish accent." Dabin thought out loud, as he regarded the Doctor. "Ja, I was jumpn' higher then June bug on trampoline." Reece laughed to himself, still somewhat delirious.
"If you go tampering with my program I'll go tampering with yours." McKay warned, waving a hypo around.
Reece gasped, as the hypo brought back bad memories. "Maybe it was you! You altered your program to look like Landry! Sicko."
"Dabin, I can't tell if you are serious or not." February said with a smirk.
He rolled his eyes, and she nodded. "Yeah, I thought not."
"Just keep him rested and comfortable. He'll be back up and around in no time." McKay said. "No permanent damage."
"Thanks doc." Reece said with a smile. He watched McKay leave, and again focused on February. "By the way, I saw the kid over there, did we do it?"
"Of course you did it, with some help at the end from us."
He could tell something was troubling her. Well, perhaps not troubling her, but weighing heavily on her mind. The static in her thoughts, the rocking from one foot to the other. All indications that something big was going on in her head.
He wondered if someone had been hurt, or not come back alive. Maybe perhaps something good had happened, like the replicator had become jammed and was despositing an unlimited supply of sugar cookies in their quarters. He doubted that was the explanation. Dabin narrowed his eyes, giving her a mock glare.
She hid her face in mock shyness in return to his gesture.
"What's going on?" He asked slowly.
"Something wonderful," She said. Her eyes seemed to say she believed it was, but she wasn't sure if he would. "But when I tell you I want you healthy, up and about. You've been through a lot and I don't want to pile on anything else that may cause you some sort of additional medical issues."
February chose her words carefully to avoid giving any indication of said medical event would be a good thing or a bad thing. "Besides I think you are going to want to be up when you hear what's been going on."
"If you say so." He said. "Nobody is dead or dying, are they? Cause I really don't have time for that right now."
"Nobody is dead or dying."
She looked at him, and all of a sudden her thoughts went even more random than they had already been. *Will he want a boy or a girl? What color should they nursery be? Do they wait until the baby is born to pick out all the furniture? Is Arie old enough to babysit? Is Hok ready to pull doubles at the helm while I'm pregnant?*
*Will I nurse? Do I trust a hologram to perform the delivery if none of the Doctors are available? When can our child be allowed to date? What do I say when he or she asks to go to Trill? What if our child wants to be joined? Can I stop everything I went through with my own parents from affecting me? Where will he or she go to school? Do I even want my child in Starfleet? Will my child be ashamed of Dabin and I for Reassociating?*
*What color booties should I crochet? What do I get for the first birthday? I wonder what programs are good for our child to play on the holodeck...*
"Bru?" Dabin asked. He was waiting patiently for her to stop staring off into space, and perhaps calm her thoughts a bit. They were still coursing through him like a river spilling over its banks and into the surrounding streets.
"Yes, Dabin?"
He reached out with a weary hand, and took hers.
"It will be okay." He said, his voice gentle, soothing, and sincere. It was the loving Dabin that she needed to hear at times like this, not the irreverant Reece. She loved them both, but she leaned on only one in her times of need.
Even though he did not know what would be okay, she trusted him, that it would be.
Commander Dabin Reece
Chief of Sciences
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Chief of Sciences
USS Serendipity NCC-2012