Bones are Easier to Heal

Posted on Wed May 15th, 2019 @ 12:10pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Captain Enalia Telvan & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Asa Dael & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Main Sickbay
Timeline: 2396, after the assassination attempt on Lt. Dox.

Being carried into sickbay on a grav-lev gurney, Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox was more angry than she was in pain and it was making it slightly difficult for the medical crew.

“Look, you can let me down. I can make it on the biobed myself, okay?” She protested in vain as the crew prepared to move her into place for Doctor Asa Dael to work.

“Please lie still, Lieutenant. Scans show you have a broken left patella, two hairline fractures in your left hip, a break in your right ankle, two cracked ribs and a mild concussion.” The medic read off the bio-scanners as they moved the patient to the biobed.

It was just after zero two fifteen hours in the morning and the Red-headed Romulan pilot was the survivor of an assassination attempt in Shuttlebay two from a small but deadly Scorpion droid. It locked down the bay and tried to use a work bee shuttle to kill the resilient Lieutenant. But she wasn't nearly as angry about that as she was that it had succeeded in killing the flight office she had assigned the overnight duty in that bay, Ensign Raphael Paulson.

The sickbay was almost empty and unusually quiet as Doctor Asa Dael rushed out of their office, with Dox's bond-mate, Mona Gonadie right beside them, looking extremely concerned as she ran ahead of the doctor to the bio-bed.

Her feathers were in a flurry as she inspected her lover and bond-mate from head to toe, worried beyond belief and petting Dox gingerly on the head like a Miradonian child, her other hand instinctively taking her lover's hand. "Are you ok? Where does it hurt? Ooooohoohhhhh... You're going to be ok, ok? Everything's going to be ok now. Asa's here and they're going to make everything ok."

Wincing slightly as she tried to scooch up in frustration, Mnhei'sahe tried to calm Mona down as best as was possible. She hated how often her love had to see her in sickbay like this, but she hated why she was there on this night more than anything else. "I'm okay. I'm okay, Mona. It's really not a big deal. It's not... It's not me."

Scrunching her face angrily, Dox shut her eyes as she muttered through the pain coming from her broken legs. "It's Raphael. It killed Raphael in the Shuttlebay trying to get to me."

Mona paused for a moment as that news sunk in. She wasn't the biggest fan of Paulson and his cocky attitude, but he did well enough and he was a reliable pilot that always volunteered for extra shifts. "I'm sorry... We'll have to... he loved lilies... Someone will have to water his flowers..."

Trying to think about her duties and not focus on the unknowns of the assassination attempt that was just made on her life, Dox muttered. "I'll have to talk to MacNielle. I... I think the two were seeing each other." But as the two women were talking, Doctor Dael stepped over to the bed to do their job.

"Ladies, I need Lieutenant Dox to lay still now, ok?" Asa said softly, squeezing their friend's hand in comfort as they set to work.

Starting at Dox's head, Asa began correcting the concussion, confirming Mnhei'sahe's pupils were symmetrical and the correct size before moving on. Using the osteo-generator they set about mending broken bones, and soothing cuts and abrasions with the tissue knitter. All told the procedure took only about 15 minutes, but the wide-scatter of damage spoke to how tough the battle had been for the young officer.

"OK, I'm finishing up your abrasions now, bones are all set. Concussion is mended... Now is not the time to be tough. Going through all this would make anyone feel horrible. Any pain? Are your bones sore, tissue itchy? Anything?"

Laying on the bed, Dox was still a swirl of emotions and her pain was the last thing from her mind. But considering how often she had been on Asa's table since coming on board the Hera, the anxious Romulan pilot wasn't going to be difficult with her best friend. "Yeah. My muscles are still really... sore. Stiff."

"That's understandable. I'm going to deliver a mild muscle relaxer. Um, be forewarned it may make you....talkative. It tends to relax inhibitions as well as muscles, but not in the same way as alcohol. Don't fear, you are among friends, nothing you say will offend us."

With that Asa delivered the relaxer and sedative with a mild pain reliever mixed in for good measure. The concoction flowed through Mnhei'sahe's veins, delivering a feeling of warmth and relaxation.

But that sense of relaxation was limited to her body more than her mind and the physical relief only served to fuel her internal guilt and, ironically, her anger at herself as she fidgeted on the table, trying to sit up. "I'm better. I am. Can I... I need to get out of here. I need to..."

"You need to lay down, Lieutenant," Asa said in full doctor voice. The usually genial doctor had a bit of iron in their voice now, and while their eyes remained concerned, a bit of fire was visible there as well. The good doctor did not tolerate their patient's recovery being endangered.....not even by the patient themselves.

Softening their voice a bit, Asa continued, "You have been through an ordeal today. And unlike times in our pasts where both of us have decided to push through at the cost our own sanity later on....you are going to rest. You are going to lay here and let me monitor you. You are going to let Mona fret and hold your hand and send her love through your bond. You are going to just be for just a while, ok?"

Flumping her head back a bit, Dox sighed and rolled her eyes like a petulant child, but she conceded and replied contritely. "Yes, Doctor. Sorry." Then the frustrated pilot turned her head towards Mona and opened her hand with a half smile.

"Excellent," Asa replied, "Now I'm going to set up some monitoring for the next few minutes. You seem to have dodged what could have been a far worse encounter, but better safe than sorry. The bed is running the program now. I'll be back in a bit to check on you. I'm just in my office if you need me in the meantime. You two love-birds, pun fully intended, take a breath together. Everything is going to be ok."

The brightly plumed Miradonian smiled and nuzzled on her lover, intertwining her fingers with Dox's. "Everything will be ok. You're safe now. Let's just focus on that for now, ok?"

Nodding, Dox shut her eyes and just tried to focus on Mona. On her warmth and her breathing and the rhythmic thrumming she made whenever they touched. As she tried to relax, her mind flooded with horrible thoughts. What if the assassin droid had attacked her in her office or quarters. What if it had been Mona that had gotten in its way.

At the thought, Dox's entire body shuddered ever so slightly as she gripped Mona's hand tighter and the two simply held each other for a time.

After a few moments of this, the doors to sickbay opened and closed, allowing in the ship's captain as she silently headed for her Flight Control Chief. "Hey. How are you feeling?" she asked, lightly placing one hand on Dox's shoulder.

Though groggy from the muscle relaxers, Dox looked up to see her Captain standing above her. "I'm... I'll be fine, C... Captain." She replied weekly, her voice trembling as a wave of guilt built up inside her.

Enalia recognized that look all too well. She'd seen it in the mirror countless times and she knew nothing she said would get through to the young Romulan right now. She could at least offer the comfort that she wished she had gotten on her first time losing a crewmember though.

The captain smiled as she did her best to do so. "Hey, that's right. You will be fine. I know it hurts now, but we're going to catch whomever is responsible and they're going to be spending a long time in a Federation prison. We just need to keep moving forward, ok?"

Nodding lightly, Dox pursed her lips. "T... Thank you, Captain. I'm... I'm sorry I couldn't... I was too late."

The spotted captain shook her head lightly and patted Dox's shoulder. "Hush. Maru is supposed to make sure systems breaches like this don't happen but was occupied elsewhere because of something I asked them to do. On top of that, as Captain, I'm responsible for the conduct and actions for the officers and crew under my command. You know what that means, right?"

Nodding again, Dox shut her eyes tight. Her head was a jumble and the muscle relaxers made focusing nearly impossible, but she understood. "Yeah..." She answered.

Then she looked up, her eyes heavy. "Maru... they saved me. I was... I couldn't stop it... And they... I said thank you... but... please... let them know..." Dox was rambling and emotional as she clutched Mona's hand just a little tighter.

"I will. Don't worry." Enalia smiled softly for a moment before turning to Mona. "Will you brief the Flight Control Office in the morning and adjust the schedules?"

"Yes ma'am, I'll take care of it," Mona replied with a nod. "I heard that Paulson had just started dating Ensign MacNielle though..."

"I'll pay her a visit tonight to break the news to her, then," Enalia replied.

"Captain, wait..." Dox said from the bed reaching up to put her hand on the Captain's arm, plaintiffly. "Please, This is... it's my department. I'm their supervisor. I should... I would like to talk to her myself, please." Her head was clearing as the meds were settling in and her strong metabolism did its job.

Enalia studied her for a moment before finally nodding consent. "Ok... But you'll make it brief and you'll go home immediately after and rest, ok?" She wanted to make it Captain's Orders, but then thought better of it, instead holding up her pinky finger in what she knew was childish, but she still took it seriously. "And no beating yourself up over this. Pinky promise."

"Thank you." Dox replied, reducing the near-death grip on Mona's hand back to a normal one. "And... I will try. I promise." The injured Romulan woman's predilection for beating herself up was almost legendary on the ship at this point among the command crew, so she knew better than to make a promise she knew she couldn't keep.

As Enalia stood there with her pinky held out expectantly, Mona cleared her throat. "You can't leave the Captain hanging like that, Minay... It's a pinky promise..."

Trying her best to let a light smile fall across her face, Dox brought her hand over and hooked her pinky to the Captains. Of course, the young Romulan officer raised on a smuggling ship found herself facing yet another weird affectation she was unfamiliar with. "Uh... what do we do now?"

"Now you declare your promise," Mona whispered to Dox as Enalia looked on with that innocent smile of hers. "And if you break that promise, she gets to keep your pinky."

"Okay... uh. I won't beat myself up over this." Dox replied, still a little confused and wiggling her pinky back and forth. "Not literally, at least." She had a weak smile on her face as she spoke.

The captain wrapped her pinky tighter around Dox's and leaned in a bit, still smiling. "Good. I'll hold you to it." She then let go and grinned wider. "If you'll excuse me, I should check on the investigation and see if there's anything else I can do to help on that front."

"Of course, Captain. Thank you again." Dox smiled a little bit more authentically as the Captain nodded to make her exit.

"Thank you." Enalia then pointed to Mona. "I'm counting on you to make sure she gets plenty of rest." And with that, the Captain was gone.

"Should I just have Asa chop it off while we're here? It seems easier." Dox turned to Mona, trying to joke even though the emotional storm in her head was clearly evident on her face.

The brightly plumed aviatrix chuckled softly. "I was kidding, silly. That's just an old chick's tale. Though with the look on the Captain's face, I wouldn't put it past her to try... Never play poker with that woman..."

"I'm drugged. It's hardly a fair playing field at this point." Dox replied, getting some more clarity back as she looked around. "I... I don't know what I'm going to say to MacNielle, Mona. I know it's important. She deserves to hear it from me, but what do you say when something like this happens?"

Mona took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, I normally start with 'I regret to inform you, but...' And then I list the time and that there was an incident at this location and that they are no longer with us. Then offer my condolences and support."

Dox didn't say anything in response at first, instead simply holding Mona closer, trying to relax enough to feel their empathic bond. It had been getting stronger over the last few weeks but was hard to find in the moment through the lingering pain. But it was still there and Dox could feel it just enough to give her a measure of strength.

"Thank you, Jhu Dhael." She whispered, using the term of endearment she used for Mona, the Rihan phrase for 'Angel Bird'.

"You're very welcome, Minay." Mona went back to thrumming softly as she did her best to snuggle. "You know... I don't much care for holodecks... But we could go spend some time in one this afternoon, if you feel up to it. I could maybe show you what my homeworld looks like?"

Bringing her hand up, Dox cupped Mona's face and smiled. "No... All I want is to be in your arms. Besides... not all your dreams were nightmares when we were still that linked. You've shown me and it was almost as beautiful as you "

"You always know just the right things to say," Mona replied, thrumming softly.