Food fight

Posted on Fri Nov 15th, 2019 @ 2:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Corrigan MD & Commander Hades,MD

1,398 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 101 - Peace During War
Location: USS Pegasus, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD1, 1900 hours

Just perfect...

Entering the mess hall, Doctor Corrigan paused as her blue eyes swept the room one more time. Just to be sure. It was karma, she knew, for ignoring the constant reminders which kept popping up on her workstation for the past hour. The work of Hades, no doubt.

Now that she was actually hungry, the mess hall was packed and the only free seat was at a table already occupied by Dr Harris.

Taking a deep breath breath, holding her tray she headed towards his table. “Mind if I join you?”

Harris smiled, "About time you did." He indicated the chair across from him. "I see you finally gave in to the...um.. subtle nudges."

“There is nothing subtle about Hades,” Carolyn retorted as she set down her tray and slid into the chair. “Is this going to be a regular thing? So he makes sure I eat three meals a day?”

Harris laughed, a rich baritone sound, "Well I don't know. With Hades all things are possible. He does tend to be a bit of a...ghoul about things." He waggled his eyebrows at the slight pun to Hades' name.

“That humour would be a big hit with our ICU patients,” she quipped as she took a drink of water and the studies her tray to decide what she wanted to eat. She had ordered way too much. “Though maybe not give up the day job just yet.”

He smiled, "Well you're in fighting spirit so that means you're feeling a bit better."

“Maybe I just like fighting with you,” she reasoned, “and I feel fine.”

He shrugged. "Young lady I'm too old and cantankerous to care what people think of me." Truth be told he was thinking of retiring. He wasn't much older then Hades but...he'd relish a chance to stay at the colony. Now that Nivar had arrived on station to watch Hades Harris was thinking about resigning. He studied her. "How go the reports."

“Done. One good thing about a photographic memory, I suppose,” she shrugged, “makes reports easier. I checked in with the station, Counsellor Monroe’s baby is doing better than expected too. By the time we get back maybe she’ll be ready to go home.”

"Good. Sounds like you are on top of things." There was no sarcasm or surprise in his voice. "You'll be a CMO in no time."

“Yeah right,” Carolyn rolled her eyes as she stabbed a chip with her fork. “Not going to happen. And I’m fine with that.”

"It will happen. You are good Carolyn. Ridiculously good. Just keep working as hard as you do." He did argue with her a lot but he did respect her. Hades respected her and he knew Hades had, for a fact, put in a good word with the Starfleet Medical files for her. He'd, in fact, asked for a commendation that he was hoping she'd get. "You just need to see in yourself what others around you see."

“My previous CMO had... differing views,” she said, trying to be diplomatic about it. “I dont think he liked my attitude. Imagine that...”

Harris laughed. "Well now the attitude is a different thing. Just be like me and you are a shoe in for the win!." He winked at her knowing that he'd better end the shmultsy fan club.

“I think I’ll pass,” she decided, flicking a pea at him, “and you being nice is freaking me out.”

Harris stared at her. "Really? A pea?" He picked up a carrot and tossed it back. "That's how you food fight."

“I didn’t want to break you, old man,” she explained as the carrot came flying back at him. “I’ll be sure to pick food fighting options next time.”

Harris' lip twitched. "Excellent." He rubbed the back of his neck. "What a long few days. Any word from the station on how sickbay repairs are going?"

“As far as I know to the main work starts tomorrow. Hopefully they will keep the family space, as far as I know the plan is still to make it a memorial of sorts for the medical staff we lost during the attack.”

"That's good." Harris studied her. "I guess it's good that you are here. I was going to come and see you next hour. We have important things to talk about."

“Oh?” She said, grateful for a chance to change topic. “What’s wrong?”

"Can I ask you a question and get a completely honest answer?"

“You probably know me well enough to know I would never make such a deal,” Carolyn countered, “but depending on the question, I promise not to lie.”

"Do you care about Hades?" He sighed. "I mean how do you feel about him?"

“Personal much?” she replied, rolling her eyes. Taking a drink she settled back into her seat, considering. “Do I care about him? Of course. He may be infuriating and overprotective at times, but he is a good friend. He’s the main reason I came back to the station at all after my leave.”

She regarded Harris for a moment, “why did you ask?”

"Well that's good. I'm counting on you to keep an eye on him when I'm gone."

“Gone where?” She asked, confused.

He smiled, "Once this ship docks back at the Starbase I will be tendering my resignation and shipping out."

“Why would you do that?”

He sighed, "It's time I went to the colony. I want to be with people like me and I think that I need a break from everything. I just...feel too old for this anymore." He said honestly.

“True,” Carolyn said thoughtfully. “I guess at your age, you’d want to settle down. Find someone special to share some puréed food... how old are you anyways? Like, 98? And then, you’d probably have status of Hades, yeah? So you could still say hi. Or not look cos there is no way someone made a statue of him smiling... they’d probably capture that look of eternal annoyance instead.”

He was silent a moment and then burst out laughing. "Actually I have a holo of the statue so...you're not far off. " He shook his head. "I just...don't know what to do with you. One minute you annoy the hell out of me and the next you get me laughing." Although she had hit a bit of a spot. He was only 42 years old but he did feel as if he was in his nineties.

“It’s a natural talent,” she quipped with a dismissive shrug. “So what’s your grand plan?”

He shrugged, "Go back tot he colony, start a medical practice. Nothing grand. Just...enjoy life."

“Fair enough,” she shrugged, “although some might say that if that is the kind of quiet life you really wanted then it wouldn’t matter if I was watching out for Hades or not. Some people. Not me. I don’t mind what you do and if you are paying a daily pilgrimage to a Hades statue and being a country doc, you can’t really annoy me.”

He looked up at Carolyn for a moment feeling somewhat frustrated. Her words hadn't sank in the right way. "You know what. Never mind." He stood up and started collecting his tray.

“We’re you looking for approval? Because that would make zero sense,” she pointed out. “Especially when you’ve made it clear in the past I don’t have yours. Go live a quiet life. It is, after all, your life.”

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you?" It had been Harris who had also recommended Carolyn for a citation of valour. He liked her alright he just hadn't liked her self destructive streak. "You know nothing child." He headed away.

“Of course I don’t,” she fumed quietly, stabbing her fork into her food. Child. The condescending son of a - she stabbed another chip. “It’s always too complicated for me. You’re all perfectly happy for me to be the one between you and Hades’ temper when it all goes wrong though...”

Pushing away her largely untouched tray she stood - wincing as she moved a little too fast - and walked off in the opposite direction. They were fast approaching DS9 and she had work to do.

RSS Feed