Last chance

Posted on Mon Aug 15th, 2022 @ 4:12pm by Lieutenant Jackson Blake Dr

735 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 113 - No One Left Behind
Location: Personal Quarters
Timeline: MD1 0730 hours

For one moment - barely more than a breath - there was peace and there was quiet. Nothing existed beyond the man staring down his own reflection as if the weight of the world rested upon his shoulders.

Yes, those shoulders were strong. He was strong. Physically at least. Yet his last mission, despite the many accomplishments he could recite, had shown that mentally... well, perhaps he was not quite so strong as he once was. Was that honestly so surprising?

At just shy of 43 years old, his medical career had seen him witness the miracle of new life entering this mortal coil and the frustration of being unable to keep others on it. His career had made him cry from laughter and happiness... made him scream in anguish. But every shift, he and countless like him had dusted themselves down, donned a fresh uniform and gone straight back out to do it all over again.

They were expected to be better. Consummate professionals in the face of death and horrors. In the face of patients they could save - if it were not for ignorance. For people relying upon faith over science.

He felt his hands ball into fists again and forced himself to think of other things. Of his wife, of his children.

What was done, after all was done. He had lost his control, acted in an unacceptable way and been swiftly punished. A demotion and the news that when he returned to Starbase 400 as planned - and in no uncertain terms was it made clear he would indeed be going back there - he would no longer be Chief Medical Officer.

That had been a bitter pill to swallow. But his wife had encouraged him to give it time. Because he was too good a doctor to just throw away his career out of pride. And regardless of his rank or his position, she had convinced him that he could still do good here.

And it helped that they were a long, long way from his mother.

The doors to the bedroom opened and for a fleeting moment the brighter light from the next room spilled inside, framing the shadow of his wife's petite frame as she came to check on him. And with the light came the noise. You did not get to be a father of four without realising that silence was a priceless commodity. He could hear music, he could hear laughter, he could hear tears and he could hear tows all competing to the loudest thing on the station. It was... a lot.

As Abigayle stepped forward, the door slid closed and the noise cut off abruptly. She came to stand beside him, dwarfed by his towering frame as she slipped a hand around his waist and smiled up at him. "Just wait and you'll see," she promised, "get through today and the rest will take care of itself."

"I do not deserve you," he concluded as he leaned in to kiss her, is hand coming to rest, as it often did, on her heavily pregnant belly. "Please try and get some rest. I'll drop the kids off on my way to sickbay. And any sign -"

"Jackson," she interjected with her gentle, Irish lilt, stopping his worries dead in their tracks. "In case the barrage of noise next door didn't remind you, my love, we have done this before. I promise, when the baby decides it is time, I will call you.

Now, if you have finished admiring the fine specimen of a man that you are," she teased, "you need to have a talk with Jake. He's been getting distracted at school, losing his temper. I think part of it was that he missed you, but he wouldn't talk to me about it."

Blake's and their tempers... He nodded, flashing her a reassuring smile. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you," she smiled, sparing him one last kiss. "Now put some shoes on, you need to go or your new boss is not going to be impressed."

Quite.

Today was not strictly his first day. That would be tomorrow. Today was a getting to know the CMO, Doctor Woodhouse, and refamiliarize himself with the extensive facilities on the base. Deep down he knew his wife was right, he could still do good here. Even if it wasn't quite the position he had left behind.

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