Waking Up (Backpost)

Posted on Sat Oct 29, 2016 @ 7:58pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant AJ Taggart

798 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Fall
Location: Main Sickbay
Timeline: 14 Hours after 'Error In Judgment'

AJ was walking down a dark and foggy cobblestone road, a fog that seemed to penetrate every corner of his vision. Continuing his walk, he felt a chill that permeated every fiber of his being down to his very soul. As he walked, he felt an increasing sense of emptiness- almost as if something was missing and the cold was filling the void. His mind was buzzing with a sense of half cocked logic combined with a sensation of intense pain all over his body. Reaching the end of the street, AJ stared at a wall that appeared to be moving and pulsing. Reaching out and brushing it with his fingertips, he was overcome by a bright flash of light and he found himself facing the ceiling of the Victory's sickbay.

Attempting to sit up, his head began to pound and colors began to swim. Letting himself fall back down, he could feel a twinge down his back and across his face. Continuing to stare, he noticed a grey tinge at the edges of his vision. Running his fingers along his face, his longing increased as if something was missing in more than just an aesthetic sense. Somehow, he felt disconnected from something bigger than himself- the Collective. For a few brief moments, he had been a part of something, he had been detached. Now it was all over.

AJ had been moved to isolation once they had been relatively sure he was all right. Nicole had finally joined him and had been curled up in a chair next to the bed, waiting to hear the alarms in case anything went wrong. The rest of the staff had been discrete, giving her both privacy and a chance to rest. The sound of his moan of consciousness and resulting thud back against his pillow, however, roused her and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

She saw him feeling along his face and staring at the ceiling and briefly worried she'd missed some scar tissue, then realized he was feeling for the implants. "AJ?" she said tentatively.

AJ turned his head, letting his hands fall to his chest. "Nicole?" he said as he tried to sit up again, unsure if the voice was a dream or not. Feeling a series of twinges in his spine as he rolled on his side to face the voice, he felt a sense of warmth that helped dispel the perpetual chill in his body. "You saved me." he said softly, smiling feebly.

"No need for dramatics," Nicole said, trying to maintain her usual brass, but she squeezed his hand affectionately. "But going forward, how about we stop being an ass and let someone else get assimilated, hm?"

She checked the readings on the biobed. "You and the Captain are going to have a devil of a time recovering," she said. "You are going to be in bed for about a week before it's safe to have you moving about freely." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Try to keep still and get rest, okay?" She gently eased him back onto his back and tried to make him comfortable.

AJ groaned slightly, ignoring Nicole's ill timed jab. He hated being confined, especially to a bed. Looking at her longingly, he stuck out his lip slightly. "You're telling me that there's no way to get me out of this bed?" he asked wearily, reaching for Nicole's hand.

"Oh absolutely there is," she said, sweetly. "Rest." She took his hand and squeezed it, leaning down on his bed. "In three days, you will be out of Sickbay, and back to your quarters. A couple days after that we can try sitting up and some light walking. A couple more days and it's back to light duty. And then I'll kick your ass for letting yourself get assimilated." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Was it worth it though? Did you get what you needed?"

AJ groaned slightly as he had to resist telling Nicole that he didn't even know what information that they had gleaned from the Borg vessel. "You could say that." he said slyly, coming towards Nicole for another kiss.

"I did say that, but evidently you won't," Nicole said, sounding disappointed. She pushed his shoulder back to the bed. "Easy, tiger. Don't push yourself too hard." She leaned over and kissed his forehead and patted his hand. "Sleep. I'll wake you for some food later. Doctor's orders."

She grabbed a hypospray, programmed it quickly and pressed it to his neck before he could argue, watching his eyes flutter and his breathing calm.

She folded his hands on his chest, pulled a blanket up over him and adjusted the anti-gravs to keep him comfortable and immobile.

JP

AJ Taggart
CIO

Nicole Anderson
CMO

 

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