Just a drink

Posted on Mon Feb 1, 2016 @ 8:33pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

1,963 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Fall
Location: O. Mess
Timeline: Day 7 of the journey to Helios Coliny

OOC: Not bored? Too busy? JP is the cure!

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During the events on Abora, Chris had suppressed his emotions in order to concentrate on the task at hand. It was a discipline he had learned from his father. The side effect was that when he removed the emotional block, he would have extreme emotional outbursts. To protect others, both emotionally and physically, he would isolate himself until the storm blew over.

He was finishing some fixes to some minor sickbay systems. When he heard about the bugs that Doc Nicole needed fixed, he thought it would be the perfect task to focus on while letting his emotions return to normal.

"Halloway to Anderson," Chris said, tapping his comm badge. "I've finished everything I can from Engineering. Will I be too much in the way to come by sickbay to finish my repairs?"

Nicole was sitting in one of the Officer's lounges, a tall glass of chocolate milk in her hand. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she stared out the viewport and tapped her combadge. "Whatever fires your thrusters," she said.

Chris could almost hear the eye roll in her voice. "A bit testy today, are we?" he replied through the tiny speaker. "Perhaps you should take some time out and relax. We've all been on edge for the last week."

"Thank you for that sound psychological advice, Mister Halloway," Nicole said, hiccuping slightly, "I will be sure to consider it. Perhaps when you're done adjusting Sickbay's systems, you can assist Doctor Sanders in her work. Anderson out." Nicole knocked back a large swallow and sank back into the couch, relaxing as best she could.

Chris paused and stared at nothing, perplexed for the moment. What did I do to her? he wondered. Still feeling the effects of his emotion Suppression, he raged internally for a moment. "Computer, report location of Doctor Anderson," he ordered.

"Doctor Anderson is in the Officer's Lounge," the computer replied sweetly.

Taking the edge off his anger, Chris stormed out of Engineering. The rest of the repairs would have to wait.

Arriving in the Officer's Lounge, Chris spotted Nicole sitting at a table with a couple empty glasses containing what appeared to be milk residue. She glared up at him with a third glass in her hand.

"What the hell is that about, huh?" Chris all but shouted. Noticing some sideways glances, he lowered his voice slightly. "I inform you that I've fixed your stuff and suggest relaxing, and you decide get sarcastic. What did I do to deserve that? What did I do to you?"

Nicole threw the last of her chocolate milk back and slammed the glass down. She stood up slowly and looked at the two other occupants of the room who were eyeing her nervously. "Out," she said, a feral growl coming form her throat. As the two of them scrambled for the door, leaving her and Chris alone.

"You kissed me," she said. "And I'm an idiot. That about sums it up." She walked over to the replicator and ordered another drink, going back to her seat and dropping into it. "Cheers," she said, raising her glass and taking a long sip.

Chris couldn't believe his pointed ears, but he could believe his sixth sense. Nicole was in some kind of inebriated state, but he had never heard of chocolate milk doing that to someone. It didn't matter though, it just would help her tell the truth. Still smoldering, he shot back, "In most places, being kissed is, at the very least, a compliment! Also, I believe your exact response was, 'No regrets.' And you're a doctor, so you can't be an idiot. Try again!"

Nicole growled and stood up, coming towards him, somewhat unsteadily. "I don't regret it, and that's why I'm an idiot," she said. "I had a perfectly okay thing going with a nice guy and then I let myself get charmed by the first handsome nas-kaluk I meet! I actually kissed you! And I'm most pissed off because I don't regret it because as it turns out Hister Malloway you are a damn good kisser! Then I go and mess things up by telling AJ about it, and now he says he won't fight?? Well, hell, all I do is fight, and I don't know how to respond to that and you, being a perfectly nice guy, are standing here getting yelled at while I turn into the Queen of Mixed Messages because I can barely figure out what I want now, and I swear, by Providence, I had a f*cking point when I started this speech!" She threw her hands up in frustration and turned away.

Chris gently but firmly grabbed Nicole's arm and turned her around. After blocking her reaction strikes, he looked her directly in the eyes and said, "I didn't come around to take you from anyone, especially Mr. Taggert, now that I know who the other man is." He released her arm. "You told me that you were seeing someone else, and I pursued anyway. I trust that you will be mature in your decision. That said, I will not compete for your affection. I seek a monogamous, exclusive relationship, however we've not known each other long enough to ask that of you. It will be some time before I could. None of this will change how I treat you now. I won't tell you how to continue."

Nicole's eyes widened when she realized she let AJ's name slip and she had to remind herself that his fighting skills were a match for hers, unless she applied all her strength, and even then, it'd be a challenge.

Her shoulders dropped and she sat down on the lounge's couch. I used to drink to feel something, now I feel everything and I want to numb out again," she said, rubbing her eyes, picking up her glass and putting it down on the table with disgust. "You're a good man," she said, looking at him sideways. She gestured to the seat next to her.

"Once upon a time," she said, "I met a guy. He was sweet, had his fighter side, and he never knew what I was. I fell for him hard. He wasn't my first love, but he was the first one I really felt I could connect with.

"And then they came. They were called 'Soul Leeches.' A race of undead creatures that would suck a person dry of every ounce of blood. And we had to go up against them and their leader. And he saw what I really was. He was confused, shocked, and for a moment, terrified."

She wiped away a tear and looked out the window, seeing those moments fly in front of her. "He tried to stand by me. Might have if I'd let him, but as scared as he was of that moment, I was scared of the future, scared of myself."

She looked down, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "I 'lost my balance' as we say back home. I tried to just...let go. I gave up on him, love, even life itself. If Cass hadn't found me...." She rubbed her eyes again. "Took me a long time to get past it. I still am, somewhat. I've spent the last couple years trying to deny who and what I was, now I'm trying to accept it, and I'm trying to get back to who I was."

She looked at him and gave him a half smile. "It's hard to make a mature decision when I'm re-maturing all over again, but I'll try." She closed her eyes as the lounge spun a bit, the sugar in her system beginning to hit her hard. "I need to do this next part sober," she said.

She stood up and walked over to the replicator and keyed in a medical override. A hypospray and a large glass of water appeared. She took the hypo and pressed it to her neck, groaning a bit as the sugar was neutralized and the hangover came charging in.

She took a long drink of water and let her head clear a moment before going back to sit next to him. "Chris," she said, "I have....I am..." She felt her throat close up. The thing that she found most endearing about Chris was how comfortable she'd felt talking to him so far, but for this, she didn't have the words.

Chris sensed her need for help and her helplessness. He could feel that she needed strength to continue. He knew she wanted to. Raising his right hand toward her face he asked, "May I?" Nicole hesitated then finally nodded.

As he reached out, she leaned forward. She lowered her mental barriers and looked him right in the eyes. "Your mind to my mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts," he said. She let him see what she was, every "genetic abnormality" she had. In her mind, she bared her fangs, her eyes blazed red. She shouted at her father for creating her, stood off Breen privateers, met a nice boy on a posting, fought the Leech Lord, killed a traitor on her ship and saw the abyss she'd begun to crawl out of. Chris struggled to sift through the memories, thoughts, and emotions. He felt her anger, her strength, her endurance, but most of all, he felt her pain.

He released her, and she finally sat back and took a deep breath, biting her lip nervously. "Now you know almost all there is to know about me," she said.

Chris was determined to take her pain away as much as he could. She did it every day for every member of the crew, but that pain was only physical. This was much worse. "Oh, Nicole," he mumbled. He reached for her again, this time as he put his hands on her face, he pulled her in for another kiss. But unlike last time, this wasn't a hormone infused desire. It was caring and passion. He hoped she could feel the unwavering support that he was trying to convey. She needed someone, and in the little part of him that was being selfish, he wanted it to be him.

Nicole sighed deeply and kissed him gently, then pulled back. "Thank you," she said, "for trying to understand." She sat back and took a deep breath, feeling a bit more centered. She blinked and gave him a sad look. "I still have to decide where I'm going," she said, "but until then, I promise, I won't treat you differently either."

Chris gave her a supportive smile. "First, I think we should take this somewhere more private. Shall I accompany you back to your quarters?" he offered, extending his hand toward her. "I've got a feeling you don't want people to see you like this."

Nicole mentally rolled her eyes, hoping he didn't mean that the way it sounded, and smiled at him, standing up. "You're right, I don't, but unfortunately I have something else to attend to now, and you have to get back to duty. She pulled him in quick and gave him a tight hug. "I'll see you later," she said, walking past him and to the door.

Chris watched the gorgeous woman walk out the door. He could feel that he'd lifted a weight from her, although it wasn't all of it. He didn't know what she needed to attend to, but he knew one more way to improve her day, even if it was only slightly. With a deep breath, Chris headed off toward sickbay to realign the EMH holoprojectors.

LTJG Chris Halloway
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Victory

&

LT Nicole Anderson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Victory

 

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