It is never too early for chocolate...

Posted on Tuesday, 27 October 2020 - 12:56pm by Lieutenant Alex Kingsley & Lieutenant Ryan Rose MD

Mission: Operation: Ouroboros
Location: Mess hall
Timeline: MD1, 0430 hours

Nursing a hot chocolate, a half eaten slice of chocolate cake on the plate beside her, Lieutenant Kingsley absently rubbed the back of her neck as she finished reading. She had been unable to sleep and, rather than risk waking her husband or Bones, she had left their quarters in search of chocolate. And she found it, along with the corner booth of the mess hall empty.

She had so far signed off on the last of her outstanding reports, caught up on the latest scientific journals and only stopped eating when she felt on the verge of a diabetic coma. Frankly, if there hadn't been scientific evidence to back it up, she could never have believed that too much chocolate was bad for you.

Setting aside the PaDD she stared absently out of the viewport as she considered dragging herself to the gym, home or maybe a run on the holodeck. She was still debating it when she realised that someone was speaking to her.

Ryan had been checking on one of the few remaining patients being cared for in the mess hall when he spotted Alex. He headed over to the newly minted second officer. "Good morning Alex." He smiled politely.

"Morning," she offered, shifting so he could have a seat. In almost the same instant she slid the plate and the rest of the chocolate cake towards him. "Do you like chocolate. If I eat the rest of this I will die so as a doctor, I feel you should help. And wasting it would be just plain wrong. Besides, you've been through a lot. Chocolate is a time proven food group and healer."

Ryan snickered in amusement. "You don't have to twist my arm to finish chocolate cake." He took a bite just to show his approval. "So what brings you here so early?" Ryan asked after fully chewing and swallowing.

"I couldn't get back to sleep so I figured I'd find a quiet spot, do some reading," she shrugged as she took a drink of hot chocolate. It was cooling down, fast, but she wasn't prepared to let that stop her. "How about you? How are you... after, you know, everything?"

Ryan just shrugged, not really wanting to think about it. He'd been doing well just ignoring the situation. Especially since Emerick had fixed his ribs enough that he wasn't in a lot of pain. "Well, I should let you get back to your reading." Ryan didn't want to be a nuisance, especially if she'd been looking for some peace and quiet. That was often hard to come by on this ship.

"No, it's okay," Alex assured him quickly. "I'm done. I've read every science journal there is."

Ryan took another bite, enjoying the not at all fit for breakfast treat. "They'll be two dozen more tomorrow, don't worry." He teased. He was sure science journals were just as bad as medical journals when it came to trying to keep up with the latest news. "Oh." He interrupted his own train of thought. "I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your promotion. You deserve it."

"Feels like it was a lifetime ago," Alex admitted with a grin. "But thank you. So long as I get to spend time in my labs, I'll be happy. Actually, while we are here, I want to check out some of the facilities on Jupiter station. But I guess it kind of depends on what Soral wants to do. Have you made plans yet? It isn't every day we are this close to Earth."

Ryan nodded. "I'm going to head home if I can. Even if just for a few days." He blushed a bit. "Let myself get doted over for a little while. Just...unwind. I'm not familiar with the facilities on Jupiter Station, anything interesting there?"

“If you are an engineer or a scientist you’d probably enjoy it but it can’t compare to Earth,” Alex conceded. “Besides, you deserve a break. It can’t be fun always patching us up.”

Ryan smiled. "Actually that is the fun part. I am a bit tired of getting blown up, experimented on, and placed on questionable missions. But patching up the crew, makes it worth it. I think some time off will be good for everybody though."

“I will keep that in mind,” Alex grinned. “And yeah, I think most of the crew could use a break.”

"Or at least a nap." Ryan quipped. The mention of nap had him yawning.

Alex grinned as she picked up her PaDD and stood. "It sounds like you definitely need one," she said, "I'll let you get finished up so you can sleep. I wanted to stop by and see T'Lanna anyway, if that's okay? What with Raith still unconscious, she is kind of on her own and she'd be the first one to fuss over any of us."

Ryan smiled. One of the perks of being on a small ship was that he didn't have to follow the technicalities such as visitation quite so strictly. "I'm sure she'd like that. Feel free to drop by any time."

OFF