Body Work

Posted on 23 Jun 2014 @ 8:14pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle

1,408 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Workout Room
Timeline: MD 05 - 0627 hours

[ON]

Seated on a bench at the back of the compartment, Andreus Kohl was looking far more rumpled than he usually allowed at his duty station. His honey-brown hair was an unruly mess and his beard was showing signs of bushiness. He was dressed for the matter at hand, in a crimson tank top, white shorts, and shoes made for running. Clasped between both hands was an entirely too tall bottle of iced tea that he was slurping at through a straw.

The doors to the workout room hissed open and Delainey entered, wearing her own white tank top and black lightweight exercise pants. Her blonde hair was pulled all the way up in a tortoise shell clip, and she carried a small duffel over one shoulder and a water bottle in one hand. She exercised not because she wanted to, but really out of necessity. She liked her sweets and she liked her endorphins.

Making her way toward the treadmill in the back of the room, she stopped short, seeing not just a familiar face, but a friendly one. "Hey stranger! Fancy meeting you here."

"Oh, you are going to meet me here far more than you might like," Kohl remarked sardonically. He took another sip of his tea, before setting it aside on the bench. He braced his hands against the bench, hard, and use his upper body more than his lower to lurch into an upright position. "I think my doctor would prefer I clock more hours in here than in my quarters, to be honest."

Feeling like a bit of a jerk, she offered, "I can't know what this has been like for you exactly, but I imagine it's difficult to make the choice every day to keep plugging along. The fact that you're here speaks to more strength than maybe you give yourself credit for."

Something churned in Kohl's stomach at the feeling of Delaney's spotlight shining on him, shining right on him. He didn't like to think about what others thought of his recovery, because it forced him to think about what he thought about his recovery. Worrying about the impact on his career, or his job title, was so much easier than that. Before he realised he was doing it, the speech he used to give patients was coming out of his mouth. "I am the only one responsible for my own life," Kohl said. But, also, he was saying it because he believed it. "If I'm not prepared to put in the effort; I can't complain later if I'm displeased by the result."

"That's...true enough," Delainey replied, finally settling on the right words. Thinking of her conversation with Scarlet about Carlisle's career frustrations, Delainey felt a bit embarassed, though she knew Andreus was not chastising her at all. "That doesn't make it feel any easier when you're in it, I suppose."

Kohl took a couple of steps towards an indoor rower, and he shook his head as he did so. "No... No, you're right, it doesn't," Kohl admitted. "I suppose it's the fear, then. I'm terrified that I could end up being responsible for my own permanent impairment, permanent damage, through my own inaction. ...Not that it would make logical sense to blame myself for the results of a physical attack on me."

"I think that makes sense," Delainey replied with a nod, reaching for a hand weight. "When we're confronted with so many things we can't control, it makes sense we'd be anxious about not messing up the things we think we can that could make a small bit of difference."

Nodding at her words, Kohl remarked, "And how about you?" He slowly lowered himself into the rower and settled his feet on each of the pedals. Kohl playfully asked, "What small bits of difference are you struggling to make in your world?"

Delainey gave a wan smile and a shrug to cover the irrational discomfort at being asked to share her inner world. Still feeling a pang of guilt over allowing the dam of frustration to burst in front of Scarlet, Carlisle was mindful not to come across as complaining. Delainey had always prided herself on her professionalism and team player mentality, so it bothered her to acknowledge she had felt she had erred somehow. "Oh you know, just trying to help people cope with all we've been through, especially in light of what the crew has experienced with the Cardassians."

"And how did you cope?" Kohl asked in reply, when Delainey's answer sounded more like how she was helping other people through other people's struggles. He gave her an easy out, though. He asked, "Where did you spend your shore leave?"

"On the Orion homeworld," Delainey answered, instantly brightening. "It felt like a pretty decadent experience overall, with good food, good shopping, and good times with the people that went with us. Of course, going with Lirha was a good idea. She knew her way around well."

Kohl grabbed hold of the rower's handles and he pulled them towards himself as he pushed his feet against the resistance-offering pedals. "And what was that like?" he asked, in a manner suggesting he was expecting the juiciest of gossip. "My tenure on the senior staff was terribly brief. I can't say I've spent much time with Saalm in the past year."

Delainey set down her weights and moved closer. She wasn't the sort to gossip even if she had that kind of information to share, but she recognized what she wanted to share was more intimate than average shop talk. "I enjoyed my time with her, though I can't say I know her any better than before. She appears to keep a friendly but professional distance from people outside her intimate circle, which I can relate to and respect. She was very generous in inviting us with her."

"That sounds like a shore leave memory to treasure then," Kohl said, sounding very pleased indeed. "My leave was, well, let's say it was productive, but I spent it in medical facilities. No matter what world I was on -- medical facilities. I may as well have stayed in Sick--" From between Kohl's outstretched legs on the peddles of the rower, an alarmed purring sound could be heard. A ball of fur, hardly larger than a fist, came rolling out of the mechanism of the rower.

"What," Kohl said, "is happening?"

Startled, Delainey jumped back and then knelt down. "Oh God, this is a tribble. I'm praying someone just brought theirs here. This one isn't one of mine."

"One of yours?" Kohl asked in equal measure of surprise and delight. Awkwardly and stiffly, Kohl clambered off of the rower, trying very hard not to kick the tribble in the process. As he kneeled beside the rower, Kohl closed his hands around the furry animal. "You have a tribble?"

Reddening slightly in embarrassment, Delainey explained, "I adopted two from this Tribble farm on shoreleave. They were going to be someone's dinner, and I was feeling especially maternal that day." Perhaps hormonal was more accurate, Carlisle thought to herself wryly. "I need to name them. I was actually thinking of putting it to a ship-wide vote."

Kohl grinned at the story of how Delainey adopted her tribbles, but the ending brought a puzzled curl to his lips. He hugged the tribble close to his chest. "Why would you want to crew to name your own pets?" asked Kohl.

Delainey shrugged. "I'm having trouble deciding and I thought perhaps it'd be fun for the crew as a whole. A morale activity, you know? I could take nominations and put them to a vote."

"Should be fun," Kohl said and he nodded at Delainey. "Oh, but hopefully you won't end up with tribbles named... I don't know... Dirtbag and Lorenzo."

Carlisle snorted and nodded. "That's a fair point. On the bright side, the result could offer some insight into the crew's mentality I wouldn't get otherwise..." She considered that for a moment and shook her head, offering with a deadpan expression,"Never mind. I'm not ready for more information." Changing gears, she said, "Up for grabbing a drink? This talking has made me thirsty."

"I'll do you one better," Kohl proposed, "I'll take you to breakfast."

***

[OFF]

Lt. Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Counselor/Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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