Science is just magic that we don't understand yet...

Posted on 10 Feb 2022 @ 10:48am by Commander Scarlet Blake & Petty Officer 2nd Class Leon Inaros & Lily Blake
Edited on on 15 Feb 2022 @ 1:45pm

3,125 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 08, 1400 hrs

[ON]

Nurse Leon Inaros frowned slightly as he was leant over a console, checking the stocks versus what was on the requisition list. He had already organised the shifts of the nurses...not the regular one, but the ones where people had swapped shifts. He wanted to make sure everything was as it should be, that they would not be short a hand. At Starfleet Medical, in the Trauma wing, it had been the Charge nurse of the shift that had been overseeing it. Here, it seemed to be whoever volunteered. So Leon had volunteered to do it for this shift. It was a whole week's worth, but truthfully, it gave him more to do.

Would he ever get used to how quiet a sickbay could be? Few patients, except check ups, the sterile and almost pleasant scent with an underlying of...was it lemon? Something citrus-related, maybe even not from Earth. Different from the metallic scent of blood, the raw, almost primal scents of sweat and blood and vomit. He suspected those scents would come eventually and linger, penetrating the pores, leeching out of the patients and staff. But right now? It smelled...pleasant. His PADD chimed and he looked at it, smiling. A medical check-up of a minor, low priority so it got given to a nurse rather than a doctor. The name made him pause. Lily Blake. He opened the file, seeing the smiling picture of a young girl, his eyes going to the guardian. Scarlet Blake. A name uncommon enough to make him wonder if it was the same Scarlet Blake he had once known.

"This is Sir Puffalot..." the stealthy young girl held up a toy dragon to him, red with golden scales along the back. She'd made her way up to his side, but not too close. Doctors were tricksy. "He has a sore throat and grumbling tummy. What's the diagonal-sis, doctor?"

Leon looked at her before he smiled, looking at the dragon and then back at the girl. That was his patient, alright. The dragon was a surprise but he liked dragons, reminded him of the stories his mother used to tell him when he was little. "I think we need to put Sir Puffalot on the biobed...but it sounds to me like he might have overused his dragon fire..." he said lightly. "I'm Nurse Leon...and you must be Miss Lily Blake."

She giggled at him using 'Miss'; it wasn't something she was used to hearing. She offered the dragon over easily enough though, watching with interest to see what he would do next. "What's the difference? Nurse and Doctor?"

"Well..." Leon thought of a good way to put it. "A nurse does...a lot of things to make sure things are in order. And the doctor comes in when you need extra help. Like...you and Sir Puffalot are here for a check up, which I can do because you don't work for Starfleet. But a doctor needs to sign off properly on those that do work for Starfleet, so they do those examinations. Does...that make sense?" he met her eyes before he chuckled. Maybe not. It was a complicated way of putting it, even for him. But the more cynical way wasn't something he was ready to share with a child.

Lily shook her head honestly, but smiled to him all the same. "So long as you can fix Sir Puffalot..."

"I told you, petal, they only fix people here," Scarlet said lightly from where she was leant in the archway, watching them with a small, fond smile.

Lily narrowed her eyes before leaning up to try and whisper at Leon. "He is a real person..."

Leon looked at Lily, smiling before he nodded. He looked at Scarlet, watching her with surprise. He had been right. He hadn't really thought he would be. But she wore a different uniform now, just like he did. No such things as Marines anymore. "Sir Puffalot has a case of over-use of fire..." he looked at Lily before he nodded. "I have just the thing that will help him. And after that, shall we have a look at you too? To make sure you aren't over-using your fire?"

"That's a great idea," Lily smiled, moving quickly around to the other side of the bed, shifting the dragon to make him comfortable.

"I thought that blue might suit you," Scarlet moved to Leon with a small smile, offering her hand over. "It's good to see you again. When I saw your service record turn up I was pleased to see you in the medical team."

Leon smiled and took her hand, holding her eyes. "And I am glad to see you, Commander," he said softly. He had liked working with her, however brief it had been. He looked over at Lily and let go of Scarlet's hand, moving to get the bandages. "Didn't have much choice, it was blue or mustard..." he took a strip of bandage and looked at Lily. "Let me put this on Sir Puffalot...it will make him feel better."

"Lily, Nurse Leon and I worked together, before you were born," Scarlet chuckled gently as she moved to Lily's side, crouching so she had the same view of Sir Puffalot's treatment that the girl did. "When I was a soldier. He used to do this for the soldiers who were poorly or hurt."

"Ohhhh..." Lily looked up to him with a curious smile, her elbows resting on the edge of the biobed. "So...you helped their poorly bodies and...Mummy helped their poorly feelings?"

"Exactly like that," Leon said with a warm smile, meeting Lily's eyes before he started to bandage the dragon's neck. "I helped them so they could get to somewhere safe and be healed properly. I wasn't...a doctor. I was more put a plaster on it..." he stepped back a little and nodded. "That is Sir Puffalot sorted! Let's have a look at you, Miss Lily?"

"Hmm....okay then," Lily said with a slight frown, trying to clamber up onto the bed next to the dragon. "So long as I don't have to have any medicine."

"The Nurse has to decide that bit," Scarlet warned with a gentle tsk, shaking her head with a small smile as she helped her. "But if Sir Puffalot can manage, then so can you."

Leon nodded as he took the medical tricorder, starting to scan her. "You are a brave girl after all," he said softly, watching the reading. "I know it, or else you wouldn't have Sir Puffalot following you around."

Lily giggled softly at that, watching the tricorder with curiosity, leaning to try and catch a glimpse, as if she could understand it. "Can it tell I have an achy ear?"

Leon smiled gently, showing her, watching the girl for a long moment. "Do you have an achy ear?" he asked softly, trying to read her face to see if she fibbed.

Lily nodded with pursed lips, reaching up to rub close to it. "But no medicine though..." she said stubbornly, reaching to put her hand between the tricorder and herself, as if that would stop it.

"Bet you wish you had the Marines again, hm?" Scarlet teased him softly, pushing herself up to stand now that Lily had settled on the bed.

Leon chuckled softly, giving her a look before he moved to sit next to Lily, turning the tricorder off. "I'll be honest...I am not keen on medicine either. Makes my tummy funny, you know?" he looked at her, meeting her eyes before he smiled weakly. "But you know what? Sometimes...it's worth it. I used to get achy ears all the time. And that throbbing that kept me awake at night, making me all cranky. It's no fun, is it, when it gets that bad. But the medicine...it would help. Now, you might not need it, but I can't tell unless you let me have a look. I won't touch it and I will be careful. I promise."

Lily considered thoughtfully for a long moment, looking to her dragon and seeing what a good job he'd done at bandaging him up. "Hm...okay then. Sir Puffalot says knights have to follow orders sometimes."

He smiled warmly at that before he nodded. "You are right in that...lower your hand for a moment," he took the tricorder, not touching her ear as he took the reading. "That's good..." he put it down and touched Sir Puffalot's head for a moment. "Now Lily, there's a bit of an infection. So there will be medicine. But you are a brave knight too, so I know you will take it and be fine. Because you are a strong and brave girl. Okay?"

The girl pulled a face at that, but it was clear from the soft sigh that she'd already decided she probably should. "Did the soldiers get poorly ears too? Did they have to take medicine?"

Leon nodded at the words, smiling gently. "I once had a burst ear-drum...and trust me, I had to take the medicine. I did ask for a little bit of ice cream afterwards..." he said in a stage-whisper before he winked. "I am just going to talk to your mummy about what medicine to give you, but why don't you talk to Sir Puffalot for a moment and explain to him that he has to gentle play for a week while his throat gets better?"

"Okay, but he's not going to like it..." Lily shook her head with a dramatic sigh, picking up the dragon to set in her lap.

Scarlet moved away from the bed, giving a small, half smile to Leon. "Just an ear infection?" she asked softly, just to be sure.

He nodded as he watched Scarlet, moving to stand close to her. "Just that, ma'am. Early stage too, so it is up to you if you want to do hypos or pills. Whatever you find agrees best with your routines," he said softly, holding her eyes.

"Whatever is best," Scarlet nodded, giving something close to a slight sigh. "She'll be absolutely fine with it, and I want her to learn she can trust what you think is right."

Leon held her eyes before he smiled gently. "Is a hypo okay? It's what she'll be most using as an adult so...makes sense to warm her to them now," he said softly, keeping his voice low.

Scarlet glanced over to the young girl, letting out a gentle breath. When she was an adult. It didn't seem like five minutes since she'd been carried around in the crook of her arm. "Talk through what you're doing, her curiosity will win out."

Leon nodded and touched her arm for a moment before he walked over to get two hypos. One with medication, one with saline. He headed to Lily, meeting her eyes. "Okay...so we will need some medicine. You ever had a hypo before, Miss Lily?" he asked, holding one of them up so she could see.

The girl frowned as she shook her head, leaning slightly away where she was sat crosslegged on the bed. "That's the one that hisses like a snake..."

"It does...and it puts medicine in you," he watched her face before he just let her look at it. "It's not bad. It feels a little funny, like a pressure and a tickle. Strange, right?" he winked before he removed his jacket and rolled his left sleeve up. "So, I think I should show you. Do you want to take the hypo from me and put it on the inside of my arm, by the elbow?"

She watched him with ever so slightly narrowed eyes, an expression that showed her likeness to her mother. She carefully reached out for it, biting her lip as she carefully rested it in place. "Hm...it's not tricksy like a snake..."

"Exactly," Leon said with a warm smile, glad to see her at least trying it. "When you have a steady grip against my arm, press that button," he said in an encouraging tone, wanting her to have a good experience with this. And he was used to it, so he wouldn't be flinching or grimacing.

Lily perked up at that, understanding that this was a moment of great power and responsibility. She used both hands to make sure she was steady before pressing the button, her mouth making an 'o' shape.

There was that familiar little hiss and a feeling of pressure and something like a tickling, not painful, but different, as the saline was pushed into him. He nodded, watching her with a warm smile. "There. Put the hypo down and have a look...you can't even really tell it happened."

Lily did as told, leaning in close to really inspect it, trying to find any signs to catch him out. "Like magic!" she lifted her hands with a giggle.

Leon laughed warmly at her reaction, nodding as he rolled his sleeve down. "So...are you going to be brave and try as well?" he asked as he put on his uniform jacket again.

"Yeah!" she pulled her sleeve up eagerly as she leant to him with a warm smile. "Does it turn into magic dust?"

"I wish it did! But the magic will be that it will make you feel better," he said and took the hypo, putting it against her arm. "And..." he pushed the button, smiling to her. "There we go, Miss Lily. All done..." he put it down, giving a nod of approval.

Lily scrunched her nose up with a soft laugh, rubbing over it. "Tickles...definitely fairy dust," she gave a firm nod. "It's okay, I'll keep it secret."

Leon chuckled warmly at the words, nodding as he winked. "Good," he whispered softly. "Some magic needs to be kept..." he straightened and looked over at Scarlet. "That should clear it up. Might be a bit tired today but should be right as rain in a day or two."

"Thank you," Scarlet said softly, smiling gently as she looked to Lily who was already telling Sir Puffalot all about how hyposprays really worked. "You dealt with that well. Does the 'fleeter life suit you?" she asked quietly, but with a slight chuckle.

"Still getting used to it," he admitted, his voice soft as he shook his head. "My transition was at Starfleet Medical. Did some rotations but spent most time in the Trauma Department. I suppose I am getting used to things being quieter. The time to think."

She searched his features before nodding with a small, wry smile. "Sometimes I feel like the harder times are the quieter times. Maybe that's just where we came from."

"Maybe," Leon gave an answering smile to hers. "My counsellor said I needed to get out of my head more often. Still working on it, but...it's good advice. So I keep busy when I can during a quiet shift."

Scarlet nodded with a small smile, glancing around the Sickbay. "Very true. But I should warn you, Inaros, the Galileo never really stays quiet for long..."

"So I have been told, Blake," he said quietly before he shook his head. "I can't believe I am standing here in front of you. It feels a bit surreal. Last time I saw you, things...were very different for both of us."

"Too true," Scarlet said quietly as she looked to Lily. Her daughter hadn't been born for a start. "When I left the marines, I started off in blue too. Counselling though."

"Seems you have done well for yourself though," Leon said and raised an eyebrow, almost daring her to disagree. "Commander." He knew it wasn't his place, but he was proud to see one of them to advance like that here.

"It wasn't quite the plan," she admitted, shaking her head with an arched eyebrow to him. "I...feel strange though, that I didn't see it through to the end, like you did."

"You really didn't miss anything," Leon assured her quickly, a slight frown coming to him. "The Marines went out with a dull thud in the dark, not the blaze of glory we had expected."

"When you put it like that, maybe I'm glad I wasn't there," she shook her head, unable to decide. "That must have been rough, Inaros, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was above all our paygrades," Leon said with a small shrug and his smile returned. "Once a Marine, always a Marine. Would not have traded that for anything, but this is another chapter of my life."

"And it will be a good one," Blake gave a firm nod, watching him with honest eyes, not just trying to make him feel better. "You'll see a lot here. Learn a lot too, I'm sure. I went from Counsellor to First Officer, you can do whatever you set your mind to."

Leon met her eyes at the words, taking in the way she looked. Honest. Warm. He believed her. "For now...I will be happy if I can convince people that sickbay is not a scary place," he said and chuckled warmly. "Baby steps, right?"

"Well you made a good job starting with that girl over there," Scarlet chuckled as she nodded to Lily who was happily talking Sir Puffalot through how hyposprays converted fairydust to medicine. "Once you get settled in, if you ever want to talk about your future in the fleet, let me know. We can talk through your options."

Leon swallowed, giving a small nod. "I...would like that," he said before he took the PADD, signing the paperwork. "There. You are both free to go. She will get sleepy soon, it's normal...her body just needs to recharge."

"Thank you. We should catch a drink sometime, talk about push ups and trekking through mud," Scarlet teased with a soft chuckle, shaking her head as she moved to Lily, reaching to pick her up. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"But it's Sir Puffalot that needs the rest..." Lily protested as she held on, looking over Scarlet's shoulder to wave at Leon. "Thank you, Nurse! Your secret's safe with me!"

"Thank you, Miss Lily!" Leon chuckled as he waved back, watching her go. He would take Blake up on the offer. It would be good to talk to her anyway, with everything that had been going on in his life since he had last seen her.

[OFF]

--

PO2 Leon Inaros
Nurse
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

Commander Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lily Blake
Civilian Child
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

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