Hiding out, Reaching out

Posted on 17 Feb 2016 @ 7:02am by Commander Andreus Kohl

2,667 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Compartment 04-2725 JO
Timeline: MD 09 - 2009 hours

Previously on “Uneasy lay the shoulders that wear a medical smock” from Episode 8 - NIMBUS...

Kohl offered his congratulations on the twins, and then he said, "That's another-- that's good reason not to worry about a posting as Chief Medical Officer. You are a father. You're going to be..." --Kohl lost track of where he was going with that sentence, and so he ended up saying-- "A father. ...Some more. If you have raised children, come on. Serving as CMO will take only a fraction of your skills."

"A fraction?" the Vulcan arched an eyebrow at him. "I do not understand. What does being a father have to do with being a CMO?" He shook his head. "My three children are adopted commander, my late wife could not carry a child to term and after one attempt and her nearly losing her life because of it we decided not to risk her life like that again." He paused, licking his lips nervously. "And now Eva told me she is expecting twins...my life is in a rollercoaster. Pon Farr, bonded, pregnant mate... I am not sure I can cope..."

"Could you invent who you're going to be? Decide who you're going to be?" Kohl asked, and this time his manner was conflicted. He was both genuinely asking out of concern, and also suggesting it as an Officer who needed his Ship's Doctor to not fall apart. At the same time, he was questioning if it was even possible for a man in Naois' condition to affect a change to make it real. All three thoughts were blatantly evident in the cadence of Kohl's words and the natural emoting from Kohl's face. "Be a Chief Medical Officer. Be a father to your medical staff. And whatever it takes to be those things, decide to be those things." --Kohl shrugged-- "...For a little while."

The Vulcan seemed to brighten at that suggestion. "That is an excellent idea," he said, a genuine smile touching his mouth and which also reached his eyes. "Like a father to my staff. Thank you.”

---

[ON]

With one hand on his hip and one hand braced against the bulkhead padding, Andreus Kohl was stood to one side of the turbolift car. Although his posture was relaxed, Kohl was staring intently into the strobing light set into the bulkhead. He watched as each flash signified the car's descent through the turbolift system.

"Kohl to Lieutenant Mercy," he called out to the communications pickup. His intonation was casual, if slightly lyrical. "May I ask you a favour, kind sir?"

Still recovering from his surgery, though released to his own quarters, Naois nearly missed the page. "Mercy here," came the somewhat odd-toned response. "What can I do for you?"

"The repair crews have made it to my quarters this night..." replied Kohl. His body swayed, just slightly, as the turbolift changed direction and continued its hurtle towards its destination. Kohl chose not to mention that his quarters had been relatively unharmed by Galileo's transit through the crack between universes, and had, rather, been slowly disassembled and damaged by Kohl himself during his long incarceration within. "Can I hide out in your quarters to write a couple reports?" he asked.

"By all means, if you do not mind company," Naois replied, "I am off duty and will not be returning to it anytime soon. My desk is at your disposal."

"I am a social animal," came Kohl's explanation over the communications speakers in Naois' quarters. He didn't say more than that, as a few seconds passed, and then the door chime rang out. "I always crave company," Kohl said, from the other side of the door.

The door opened as the Vulcan occupant called for the guest to come in, but said occupant did not move from the curled up position on te couch. "That you do," Naois acknowledged with a small smile. "Please, make yourself comfortable, you can stay as long as you need to."

"Well, look at that," Kohl said between a self-satisfied smile. "I was right about you. Ever the Chief Medical Officer in spirit," Kohl said. He padded into the compartment as if it was his own, and he flopped down in the desk chair. Kohl spun the chair around to turn his back to the desk, and turn his eyes on Naois. Kohl called back to the conversation that had begun between them weeks ago, during the NIMBUS war games, when Kohl had commanded the USS Nautilus, and Naois had served as his Chief Medical Officer and ersatz pilot. Kohl explained what he'd been saying, with, "Naturally acting as father to other crew members..."

"I do not know what you mean," Naois replied quietly, shifting slightly on the couch to face his guest. He still hid the lower part of his arm under the blanket that covered most of his body. "I am no longer a chief medical officer, nor even a medical officer. I have transferred back to the counselling department though for the next several weeks, I am not fit for duty."

Kohl lowered his palms onto his knees and he smiled thinly back at Naois. Weeks back, aboard Nautilus, Kohl had done his part to bolster Naois' self-confidence in his temporary role as Chief Medical Officer. Equating the role as the role of department father had been part of Kohl's approach, but maybe that hadn't been what had gotten through to Naois. "It was-- that was just a metaphor-- Never mind," Kohl said. He took a breath. "What do you think about returning to counseling?" Kohl asked.

"I already have," the Vulcan replied softly, "it is what I was trained to do before becoming a medical doctor, and I do believe I am a better listener than a hands on doctor. Also....being a counsellor gives me more time with a patient and get to know them and create a path towards their healing. It is a slower process, but it is something I enjoy. I am considering specializing..."

Without thinking about it, Kohl found himself nodding at Naois' words. "When I was a medical officer," Kohl said, "Rehabilitation was my passion as well. I didn't have much desire --or skill-- for surgery. I much preferred the process of recovery. The incremental rise and fall of a patient's gathering strength and recovering ability over time."

"I was thinking along that line too," Naois agreed, "post trauma care, or rehabilitation psychology or something. I will see when we get to Earth and I can contact the academy. I believe Eva has plans to visit family and naturally I will go with her. We may also visit family on my father's side. Do you have plans for shoreleave?"

Kohl muttered, "Oof," and he said, "Shore leave always sneaks up on me before I've made any arrangements." He shook his head in annoyance and stared up at the ceiling. Soberly, Kohl said, "I don't remember the last time I've been back to Argelius. (I haven't even seen my father's sepulcher.) ...But it will depend on the transport ship schedules. I'm taking a command seminar at the Academy as soon as we return to sector zero-zero-one. I haven't decided what I'll do after the seminar..."

"Perhaps we can attend together," Naois suggested, "even if we have different classes. I will be spending a lot of time at Starfleet Medical to begin with." For the first time since Kohl entered, Naois held up his right arm, showing his handicap.

His head hardly moved, but Kohl nodded to acknowledge what Naois had chosen to share with him. "When I was paralyzed," Kohl said suddenly, "was when I stopped practicing medicine too." --Kohl pursed his lips and his gazed drifted somewhere over Naois' shoulder-- "Can't recommend doing it that way." --He tilted his head to the left and blew out a breath-- "Haven't regretted it yet, mind."

"I had already transferred back to counselling," Naois explained, "it is not a decision I made lightly. The ship is short on qualified counsellors and it is something I was trained to do even before I received my medical degree. I studied medicine after my firrst wife died and decided I needed a change of pace. Now, I do not believe I will fully practice medicine again however I will still assist in sickbay if I am needed there."

Reaching a hand out, Kohl indicated Naois as he stared right at the other man. "It sounds as if your mind is made up," Kohl said to see how Naois responded.

"It is, and I need to spend my time somehow during this leave, without dwelling on my injury. And I discovered that study works just as well..." He stared back. "What are your plans for this leave?"

"I'm taking that command seminar at the Academy," Kohl answered. With his lips pursed together, Kohl shook his head. He offered Naois a shrug, when he said, "I haven't decided what I'll do after the seminar..."

"When was the last time you have visited your homeworld?" Naois asked curiously. For him, Earth was home as he was raised there. Vulcan was just a world he had occasionally visited, but it wasn't home.

Leaning back into his chair, Kohl folded his arms high across his chest. "Oh, it's hard to say," Kohl said. The intonation came out of his mouth blithely and he gave a bit of a shrug. "Where do you consider home exactly?" Kohl asked.

"Earth," Naois answered without pause. "I was born on a starbase, but raised on Earth. My father is Human and he was reassigned to Earth. My mother is a civilian and so she went wherever he was assigned. During my childhood, my father made sure we did not move around too much and so only accepted positions on Earth."

"I have nostalgic memories of Earth," Kohl admitted. He nodded at Naois, and his eyes glanced over at the viewport, as if their transit might have passed in an instant. Of course, it hadn't. "Memories of my time in the Academy; memories of Earth all tangled up with how it felt to be accepted by Starfleet, to be facing a future with infinite possibilities. But the planet --the planet itself-- I don't entirely see the fuss. The weather is... moderate. The culture is... moderate. The people" --and he shrugged-- "Moderate."

"Where do you call home Andreus?" the Vulcan asked in return, sitting up a little to lean forward a bit. "If not Earth, then where do you consider yourself to feel home?"

Kohl shrugged and he shook his head. Staring at the ceiling, Kohl counted backwards through the different beds he'd known. His education and postings as a nurse had been relatively brief, and his career as a diplomat had been briefer still. The neighborhood where he'd grown up had been torn down and transformed into a block of luxury hotels. The only starship he'd served on for more than... "...Here?" Kohl said, but his voice cracked, as if he were a bit embarrassed by it. "I don't know what it is about this ship... People I love, they come and go, and even half the ship itself has been torn apart and reconstructed... But Galileo means something to me. I hurt when she's hurting. She's home."

"It is a constant in your life," Naois agreed, "and a starship, in my opinion, can be home. Or can be made to feel like home." He reached out with his hand, aiming to touch Kohl's if he would allow it. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about where you feel like home. Here is where your friends are, and your work." He smiled a little. "Some say, home is where you make your bed."

"Well, there you go," Kohl said, amused by the metaphor of it all. He clasped Naois' hand between both of his own. "I don't even make my own bed. Galileo neats it up for me."

"You do not make your own bed?" Naois blinked in surprise. "I make mine every morning...if I do not, Eva gets very cross with me."

"Aww, Naois, no," Kohl said in exaggerated sympathy. "You have the cleaning settings on your living quarters set low, set far too low. This is a Starfleet starship. Galileo knows how to clean herself with forcefields and sonics. You've got to turn your self-cleaning settings way up, especially if you have a family."

"I have never heard of that," Naois confessed, "though...there is something satisfying in teaching your offspring to learn how to pick up after themselves, and something communal about cleaning up together. You will have to agree with me on that...though...I doubt I will do much cleaning up for a while...I am..dysfunctional."

Staring at Naois, Kohl considered the Vulcan's words, considered the way he'd said them. Slowly, Kohl said, "Now I can't agree with that one." He shook his head. "Maybe you'll need to find new methods, maybe it will take you more time than it used to, but I don't see why you would quit your daily habits while you're recovering."

"True," Naois had to agree with that assessment, "at least until I will be fitted with a replacement. That may take some time however, as my body still needs to recover. my hand was the worst, but not the only injury I suffered." He paused, looking away. "The shame of being tortured and degraded...the damage to my psyche, that will take longer."

"I can help to fill some of that time," Kohl offered, "If you like. If you need someone to yell at or strike? Someone to listen? Or, even, I can sit here and drink while you sit there and read a book? I can do that. ...You have very pleasant quarters."

"I would never strike you," Naois objected, a little fiercer than intended, "I have never lifted a hand to anyone, but in combat, and I never will. But I could use someone who would just listen....or just keep me company. I...probably should not be alone for too long."

"It was a jest, Naois," Kohl said, apologetically. Naois' objection had certainly had the biggest impact on Kohl. "Hyperbole. It's just how I communicate. I didn't intend to offend you."

"I am not offended," the Vulcan replied then gestured towards the PADD. "What are you working on?"

Turning his head, Kohl followed the gesture to his PADD on the desk. Kohl looked back to Naois, and Kohl was displaying the kind of guilty expression Naois had certainly seen on the faces of his children. "I'm not working on anything. I wanted to check-in on you, but I feared you might be tired of people checking-in on you," Kohl answered. He picked up the PADD and showed the display side to Naois. On the display was an unfinished game of Asteroid Crush. Although Kohl hadn't been writing any reports, there were reports that needed writing before his shift began. Kohl rose to his feet, and he said, "I thought you might be more receptive to helping me out. But next time, I'll just ask to see you."

"No-one has come to check in on me," Naois confided and smiled. "I appreciate your train of thought however. You are not required to ask to come and see me, you are welcome to visit at any given time. Provided it is not a time in the middle of the night."

"You'll be safe. Don't worry," Kohl remarked. As he padded towards the door, Kohl explained, "I've got bridge duty through the middle of the night."

"I am not worried," Naois replied dryly, "especially not when you are on watch during the night."


[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant j.g. Naois Mercy
Counsellor
USS Galileo
pnpc Tyrion

 

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