Highs from a first meet

Posted on Friday, 20 November 2020 - 4:21pm by Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt

Mission: Operation: Ouroboros

Ryan was reading a medical journal as he waited for his surgeon. The journal was a bit dated, and wasn’t holding his full attention, and he found himself glancing around the hospital more than actually reading.

A short, ginger engineer carrying a tool box wandered into his room. "Sorry for the delay doctor, the vent on the biobed will only take me five minutes," she had a soft voice, it held some nervousness. She was British, maybe south-east.

“No worries.” He smiled, moving aside to give her full access to the bio bed.

The engineer smiled at him, looking him over subtly. She sat on the floor, opening the panel and making a start, humming some non-committal tune, which make have been a theme tune for a building show. After a few minutes, she started screwing the panel back on and stood up, hitting her head on the edge of the biobed, "ouch!"

Ryan grabbed a tricorder from a nearby counter without really thinking about it and hurried to her, almost bumping into his surgeon as the man entered the room. “Doctor Rose.” The other doctor chastised. “You are here as a patient.”

“We’ll just be a moment.” He told the surgeon, without actually looking at the man. He smiled at the ginger engineer. “Are you terribly concussed?” He teased.

Scarlet blushed and picked up her tools, "not this time, Doctor. Sorry. Your biobed is now fixed. I'll be sorting the repairs in the entrance next. Your emergency kits are due an upgrade." The engineer flashed a small grateful smile to Ryan, before rushing out, mortified.

Ryan sighed, realizing he hadn’t even gotten her name. He handed the tricorder over like a recalcitrant child and dutifully got on the bio bed.

****************

Ryan wasn’t quite sure where he was when he came too. It smelled like hospital, but then that was nothing new. It wasn’t his office. He slowly sat up, and was surprised that his ribs didn’t hurt. Oh right, the follow up surgery to get those ribs completely fixed. Wow, they had him on the really good stuff.

He carefully slipped out of bed to use the restroom, not letting go of a wall the entire time. He managed to wash his hands, and splash his face with water, but things were still very much in happy la la land.

As a doctor he knew better than to go wandering around while high on who knew what kind of pain killer, but he wasn’t thinking, and found himself standing at the door to his room looking down the hall. There was the ginger with the adorable blush. He wavered his way towards her and smiled. “Hi.”

Scarlet looked up from her tool kit that she was packing away. It was the end of her shift and she had finished everything on her list, "hi. It was Doctor Rose, right?"

“Yes.” Ryan smiled again. “Ryan.” He stuck out his hand. “I didn’t get your name. I’m sorry.” And he really did look sorry, far more sorry than simply forgetting to get somebody's name.

He seemed a little off, but she went with it, shaking his hand, "Scarlet Rogers."

He took her hand and shook it lightly, more a caress than a real shake. “Nice to meet you.” He beamed. “Are you.” He looked at her packed bag, a bit confused. “Starting shift?” He tried to fathom a guess.

"Finishing," she replied looking at the toolbox then back to him, "are you alright? You've been here a while, I saw you at 0900 and you are still here at 1805...6."

“I am on something very high grade.” He grinned. “I”ll probably regret it when it wears off, but right now I feel fantastic. Do you want to have dinner with me?” He just tacked on the invitation in one big blurb.

Scarlet chuckled, "I can tell." The woman thought about it a moment, "I'll enjoy reminding you when you're sobered. How about I grab take out from the hospital kitchens and meet you back in your room. I don't want to be in any more trouble with the doctor."

“Ok. And don’t worry. He still wants my help with that double by-pass for the Rigellian consulate advocate. I’ll protect you.” He grinned, then looked around. “Where’s my room?”

Scarlet chuckled again, "on my way to the kitchens." She picked up her toolkit and began walking with Ryan back to his room.

Ryan padded back to his room with her, then turned and smiled at her again. “Hurry back.”

Scarlet put her toolkit down just inside the room, "anything you don't eat?"

He just looked at her, confused. “Umm, rocks?”

"No to a klingon salad then," she smiled and walked out to the kitchens.

When she returned, Ryan was sat up in bed, but the bed was lowered so it was more like he was sitting in a very large chair. He had a hospital meal on his tray, untouched and pushed to the side except for the pudding. He smiled and pointed to it as she entered “Look, I saved you the pudding.”

"Thank you," she smiled and sat on a hospital chair opposite, "I wouldn't eat the patient's hospital food. Only the stuff from the direct kitchens is any good." Scarlet handed Ryan a fat club sandwich and a chocolate melt in the middle, small cake and then started opening hers.

“Thank you.” He clumsily got into his sandwich, and took a bite, swallowed, before talking. “So, you’re an engineer.” He’d gathered that much, even with the brain fog. “Do you have a specialty?”

"Medical," she replied, "I fix stuff in the hospital and then create upgrades and invent stuff on the side. It's selling the idea to the min doctors here that's hard. Though, aside from one, they often say yes. So, you're a doctor? I haven't seen you here before."

“I am. I’m on the Standing Bear though, not here. We are just in the area, so I’m here for a tune up and to visit family.” He quickly explained, but was far more interested in her. “You invent stuff? He fumbled around, as if a drawing pad was going to magically appear, then sighed when he realized it wasn’t. “I have so many things to show you.” He chuckled, “When I’m not half conked on pain meds.”

Scarlet smiled, finishing her bite, "well, once you're sober and whatnot, you'll forget me. So where are your family based? You have a similar accent to those that work here."

“Just south of here actually, down the coast a bit.” He smiled. “I won’t forget you. What about you? England?” He asked, not sure he was a good judge of accents at the moment, or even most of the time, but he gave it a shot.

"I'll remind you of that," she replied, teasing before replying, "not too far from London. A town called Aldershot."

“I need to see England.” He commented, then yawned.

"Not as much to see as in the States," she replied then looked concerned, "I don't know what you were here for, but perhaps you should rest."

“Proly right.” He slurred slightly, clearly being pulled back under. “Too out in the open.” He mumbled, pulling pillows from behind himself to ‘barricade’ one side of the bed. He popped his head up. “Wait, where are you working tomorrow?”

"Uhh, I think I'll be doing some upgrades in the OR," Scarlet fumbled for her PaDD, "yes, OR. I'll tell you what: I'll leave my name and if you remember me, you can call me."

There was a vaguely affirmative noise from the bed.

Scarlet smiled, watching him fade into slumber. The woman finished her food and then left him her name as promised along with a quick note saying, "sober or not, thank you for the company."