Red Djabuul needs food badly

Posted on Mon Apr 1st, 2019 @ 10:45am by Lieutenant Commander Peter Garabaldi & Maria Garabaldi

1,387 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 97 - Cultural Exchange
Location: Cardassia Prime Hotel
Timeline: MD6 noon

On:

Jacaranda had not moved since she flopped down on the couch. Not even having her toolbelt digging into her legs made her move as she was so physically drained by the efforts she put out through working on the repair tasks the Cardassians requested.

Peter and Maria, had come home after the meeting with the Admiral, they had spent the day together and she took her mission to add weight to his frame, very seriously. So while Jaca slept, she had pretty much stuffed her husband with anything she could.

He had seen pictures of his son, Maria had done a good job raising him. He Called his dad to let him know he was alive again. That was a fun conversation, Dad raised hell, at first then he saw his father cry.

So now they were home, he was still getting used to, a lot. Right now he looked at the piece of plastic he had placed on Jaca’s head.

“She still hasn’t moved, is she...ok?”

“I think so.” Maria said, “she’s never slept this long.”

“Wow.” He looked at her then back at his wife. “How...did you two meet.”

“It’s been a few years, we met when she was on Earth visiting something, and having what she termed Delicious fun.”

“What the hell is that?”

“No one knows. But she’s encouraged me to find a ‘delicious friend’ or something.”

“Sounds like a good friend.” He paused, “So did you?”

“What?”

“Find someone?”

Maria shook her head first not wanting to bother him but then she told him, “Yeah, I had one date, after 4 years, I tried to move on.”

He nodded, “So I’m not going to find this guy moved in right?”

She blushed a bit, “no, not at all it was one dinner, but…..I loved you since we were kids, I still do.”

He then looked at her then to Jaca. “I’d feel better knowing she’s not dead.”

“I don’t think she is.”

“By this point I’d have gotten up to pee at least twice.”

“I guess she’s different.” Then Maria picked up a back scratcher and handed one to Peter, “let’s see if she moves if not I’ll call sickbay.”

“Ok.” He then smiled, “Who thought we’d spend a romantic evening poking your friend on the couch. It’s just like college, but with less finals.”

That got a laugh from Maria, It felt great to laugh.

But then they each poked the sleeping Djabuul, once, twice. Waiting for her to stir.

Jaca still didn’t move with the poking beyond what movement happened from a hard poke. It was enough to now have her drooling on the couch.

Peter looked at her then poked Jaca again. Maria shrugged and shook her friend, “You awake?”

Jaca was still pretty crashed out though with the further poking and shaking, she’d moved enough to have a pillow stuck on a horn.

Maria sighed, “You know what, she’s breathing, let just have breakfast you want eggs?”

“Sure.”

The smells of bacon began to waft through the apartment, Maria then asked, “You still like your eggs scrambled.”

“It’s been a few years since I’ve had eggs.”

“That must have been a hardship.”

“Yeah one of many.”

“Can I help.”

“I got it.” She waved him off, “Jaca you want eggs?” She called out to the unconscious Djabuul

Jaca was still out of it but eventually the smell of food dinned in and she stumbled up as if a switch was flicked and followed her nose, oblivious to the couch pillow still stuck on her horn.

“Uhmm...you got a...thing.” Peter said indicating the pillow. “....right there.”

Maria turned and grabbed the pillow off her horn. “Ok how do you want them?”

Jaca shrugged, her joints snapping and popping loudly from not moving for as long as she had, “I’ll eat them any way.”

“Yeah I know.” Maria sighed, she began to cook eggs, scrambled for Peter, over easy for Jaca, omlette for herself.

Peter stared at her, almost confused.

Maria gestured with the spatula, “In case you didn’t remember Jaca, this is Peter, my husband, Peter, Jaca, the pain in my ass and best friend.”

“Hi.”

Jaca got up from her seat and promptly pulled up Peter’s shirt to check her handiwork. Nodding in satisfaction, she went to sit back down. “Worried I left a thumbprint or didn’t smooth something down enough.”

That made him sputter, a bit. “Well...thanks. But what is she talking about?”

Maria looked at him, “Yeah she sort of fixed a big wound in your back.”

“Oh…”

“It was impressive.”, Jaca said as she woke up more, “Had to realign the nerve network, reattach some muscle connections, smoothed some cracks in the bone. Was a bit difficult stuffing everything back in, but nothing some lean on with the knee couldn’t take care of.”

Peter looked uneasy at the description. Maria glared at her, “Too much information, You might want to tell him LESS.”

“You Federacatl are just so sensitive.”, Jaca said, sounding more like herself, “It’s not like I had to do a total rebuild. Though that would’ve been interesting too.”

Maria stared at her almost pleading, ‘don’t freak him out I can’t lose him again’ She was saying with her mind.

Peter just looked just confused, was she saying he was dead or very near death. It made him uncomfortable, he was looking a bit pale when Maria walked by and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

Jaca was a bit oblivious as to how Peter was taking what she said. Noticing he’d gone pale, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “You feel like you’re leaking inside? You’re going a not usual color I’m used to seeing from humans.”

Peter still looked a bit shaken, and looked at Jaca, “Are you saying I was actually dead?”

Jaca snorted incredulously, “Hardly. Low lifespark, yeah. Gave you a jump though. Waking the offworlder dead’s tricky even on my Homeworld. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and more often they don’t come back right.”

. He looked at Jaca and exhaled, “So I almost died?” That made him blink, “Look this is a bit nutso for me you have to understand.”

“Nutso….interesting word. I’ll have to use that sometime.”, Jaca said, “My people’s crafting skills aren’t quite what the Federacatl are used to. Mostly we just shine when we’re working on our Homeworld. Away from Homeworld, there’s all these picky rules and prohibitions.” She rolled her eyes as she said the latter, showing how much she genuinely felt about Federation and Starfleet twitchiness with Djabuul craftworks. “If you just laying where you were, eventually you would have died.”, she said.

“Then thank you for saving my life.”

Jaca flashed him a needley toothed smile. While she could’ve said that he was a great timepiece for helping her time the pillar repairs, she’d been around humans enough to know that probably wouldn’t be taken well.

Peter smiled back, then Maria began to set out breakfast, “After that Peter you take your vitamins. “

“Yes dear.”

“Good you remembered.”

Jaca started eating with a gusto that made one think it best to keep thier hands and feet away from her mouth. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out but figured it was probably a while. “How long we have left here?”, she asked with a mouthful of egg/bacon/toast.

“Probably a day.” Peter explained, “Admiral said we should be heading back soonish.”

“You were out for two days straight.” Maria commented, “and...you snore.”

“Do not.”, Jaca said in semi protest, “You confuse me with the sehlat.”

Peter looked at Maria for an explanation she responded, “Itchi, her Sehlat, Roberto loves him.” He nodded. While he was eating he began to read a padd. Only to earn a glare from his wife.

“You are on vacation Mister, no work.”

“Well if I’m going to be chief of security for this base I have to know what’s going on.”

OFF

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