Long Day's Journey

Posted on Fri Mar 15, 2019 @ 5:26pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

3,090 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Corridor/Lab

Thomas walked at a relaxed pace, holding his lab case at his side. "So you and Nicole are....friends?" he said, not wanting to sound presumptuous.

Camille wasn’t sure what to tell the man. On the one hand, she knew Nicole didn’t like him at all. On the other hand, she still struggled to figure out exactly why. Some of it had been explained, but not enough.

Plus, she wasn’t the least bit ashamed of their relationship, and she felt that denying it seemed like she was.

“We are friends, yes,” Camille began, “but not long ago we began a romantic relationship.”

"Really?" he said, grinning amiably. "That's wonderful. I'm pleased she found someone to care about." He paused, chewing his bottom lip a bit. "I'm guessing she's been less than kind in her description of me," he said, quietly.

“You’re, ah, not entirely wrong,” Camille replied. “She’s not said a lot, but what she hasn’t hasn’t been...gracieux”

"Well, I'm sure it's all true," he said, sadly. "Forgiveness is not her strong suit, and she's had plenty of time to be angry with me." They stepped into a turbolift and he leaned against the wall and sighed. "So...this virus, what can you tell me?"

“It’s surprisingly vicious,” Camille explained in the turbolift. “At it’s core it’s Parvovirus B19. But it’s been heavily modified. The immune system doesn’t recognize it as a foreign invader. It’s just an innocent, expected infection. It also jumps species very easily.”

Thomas frowned. "That's unusual. Parovirus B19 shouldn't be able to just leap between species. It's largely a human virus. I'm curious to see how it's been modified." They stepped out of the turbolift and continued down the corridor. "How long is incubation? And once it's active how long until death?"

“Thirty-six to forty-eight hours,” Camille said. “I don’t know exactly how long until death, but it’s rapid.”

As they walked into the lab, the lights were slightly dimmed. Nicole was sitting at a station, her black doctor's bag next to her, and an old, dog-eared book in her hand. She looked over as the doors opened and closed her book.

As they stepped in, Thomas' smile faded and he got a sober look about him. "Nicole--" he started.

"Let me stop you there, and sum this up," Nicole said. "You are, indeed, the foremost expert on genetics in two Quadrants. And the three of us in this room know why. So for that reason, and that reason alone, I will tolerate you on my ship. Once we have solved this, you will leave. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Thomas said, a tinge of sadness in his voice. He put his lab case down on a counter and looked at her black bag. "This looks antique," he said.

"It is," she said, taking it and moving it closer to where she was sitting. "It's from an Earth Doctor that mother was friends with."

"That would be "H.J.?" Thomas said, reading the initials engraved on it.

"Are you here to work or not?" Nicole said, shoving the scanner's viewer towards him.

"Of course," he said, his voice deadpanned. He sat down on a stool and looked into the scanner with practiced ease. "Hm," he said, making some adjustments. "Nasty business."

"To put it mildly," Nicole said, sitting back and folding her arms.

"What have you tried so far?" Thomas said, continuing to scan the sample.

Nicole blew a lock of hair out of her face and thought, then began rattling off a list. When she finally got to, "--irradiated it, tried rapid tissue regeneration, and even tried full plasma filtration." She looked over at Camille. "Did I miss anything?"

“Nanoparticles,” Camille reminded her. “The virus kept detaching from them, which shouldn’t be possible. Short of bleaching the entire patient, we’ve tried everything.”

"So your goal has been killing it," Thomas said, sitting back and folding his arms as well, thinking.

"It doesn't seem to be the kind of virus a person can live with," Nicole said, somewhat darkly.

"No, but we could try taking the bullets out of the gun," Thomas offered. "What about creating prions designed to attach to the virus and render it incapable of replication? If it can't infect the cells, it can't replicate, damage and destroy."

Nicole glanced at Camille. "It could be worth at try..."

Camille thought a moment, subtly nodding as she did so. She pushed her glasses up her nose again. “It might work, but we need to be careful with prions, Doctor Anderson. Euh, Senior. I’m going to need to find a way to differentiate you two by name.” She smiled sheepishly, but it promptly went away as she caught Nicole's scowl.

"Call me Thomas, or Professor if you prefer a title," he said, genially.

“Your idea has merit," Camille said, "but we make a mistake and the patient might end up with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. We can’t trade rapid, theoretically stoppable death for slow, incurable death.”

"Fair," Thomas said. "Maybe we can at least slow this virus down and give the body a chance to fight it naturally. If it's based on Fifth Disease, the cure may be similarly derived."

“A very carefully created prion could maybe unfold capsid proteins,” Camille said. “Make them unique and obvious, like lighting a flare on the surface. New antigens might generate an immune response.”

"All right," Nicole said, quickly unfolding her arms as she noticed her father's position. "Let's build a prion."

Camille smiled. “Professeur, could you begin setting up while I speak with Nicole a moment?”

"Of course," he said, smiling and turning his back to them, giving them what privacy he could. The initial scans and blueprints would take some time. It was something they could set running overnight at least.

Nicole looked at him with a frown as she let Camille lead her to the other side of the room. "What?" she said, trying to soften her voice as much as her temper would allow.

“I...” Camille said softly, not needing to work hard to match her quiet tone. “I’m sorry this is happening. Whatever you need, tell me.”

Nicole chewed her lip. *You hold him, I'll get a phaser,* she thought. "If I start to lose my cool, just...drag me out of the room," she grumbled, turning and sitting down at a station. She didn't want to have a conversation about her feelings, certainly not in front of him. "I'll be fine," she said, quietly, monitoring his work from afar. "We should be able to let the test simulation run overnight," she said.

“Okay,” Camille said. She reached out and squeezed Nicole’s hand. “Let’s get back to work.”

Nicole squeezed Camille's hand back, but kept her eyes on the screen.

Camille stepped back towards Thomas. “You’ve found the data files?”

"I have," Thomas said. "Well organized system you have here." He pulled up their scans of the virus as well as a series of protein chains. "We should be able to have the computer come up with a few design schematics based on what you've done so far. By tomorrow morning we should have options to try."

Camille nodded. "Make sure the computer knows to test whatever it finds against normal-type PrP-C. I've not played much with prions and would really prefer we not accidentally make a new disease."

Thomas smiled as he set the simulation. "I've played with a lot of prions and I can promise you, I don't intend to create anything of the sort. Besides, that's what simulations are for."

"Bien sur," Camille said. "If we just need to let the computer program run, is there much else to do here? Should we conclude for the evening?"

"I think this should get the ball rolling," Thomas said, turning. "Thoughts, Doctor?"

Nicole had several, but she kept them to herself. "I think for now we have enough started," she said, not turning around. "I'll see you both at 0900 tomorrow."

She stood up and left the lab, not turning back.

Thomas sighed and his shoulders immediately slumped, looking defeated. He looked up at Camille and gave her a polite smile. "If you will excuse me, my dear, I think I am going to the mess hall for something to eat, and a drink, and then find my quarters."

"I can bring you to the mess hall if you like," Camille said, smiling politely. "I think the Captain has asked that we be hospitable. It's the least I can do to make sure you're well fed."

Thomas smiled. "You're very sweet, but I don't want to trouble you," he said, standing, wincing at a small pain in his back. "I'm getting too old for lab chairs," he groaned. "If you wish to come along, I won't stop you."

Camille was of two minds. On the one hand, how angry would Nicole be if she dined with this man? On the other hand, how angry would Captain Kennit be if she left him to eat alone? While she was starting to love Nicole, she was genuinely concerned for her career, too. And Captain Kennit could be scary.

"I need to eat, too," she said, trying to deflect her discomfort any awkwardness. "And the ship's layout isn't obvious to newcomers. Besides, your arrival wasn't exactly smooth. I'd like to keep you company. Make sure you're fed and watered before you rest." She smiled sweetly at the man as they approached the lab exit.

"Well, I suppose not getting lost is important," he said. They walked out and down the corridor in silence for a time. As they approached the lounge and the doors opened, Thomas took a breath at the starscape outside. "You know," he said, "when you spend your entire life planetside, being on a ship across the galaxy is quite a treat, and quite confusing. The corridors here feel so small, but just outside is the Great Big Empty. I'm honestly not sure whether to feel claustrophobic or agoraphobic."

Camille giggled a bit. "I used to feel the same way. My first time off-planet was part of an Academy assignment, and this is the first time I'm living outside of Sol. The claustrophobia was bad at first, but it went away. Never really thought about agoraphobia though. If I was concerned about being blown out into space, I wouldn't make for a very good bridge officer, I think."

"I hadn't actually considered being blown out into space, but thank you for putting that thought in my head," Thomas said dryly. He walked over to the replicators and then stepped aside. "After you," he said.

"Merci," she said. "It's been a long day and I need something from home. And my doctor isn't looking so I can eat unhealthy tonight." She turned to the replicator. "Poutine. And a glass of ice water." A plate containing french fries, swimming in gravy and topped with cheese curd, materialized before her, with a glass of water next to it. Before picking it up, she blushed, feeling sudden shame. Why did she have to bring up that Nicole wasn't there?

Thomas smiled and ordered a bowl of Irish stew and a glass of ale. He took his tray and followed Camille to a table. "The Health & Wellness director at the University is a bit of a bullhorn. Many of us sneak off campus for lunch to avoid disapproving frowns over our eating habits, so I understand the feeling." He sat down and picked up his mug. "Cheers," he said, saluting and taking a drink. After a sip and a bite, he looked Camille in the eye. "How long have you known Nicole?" he said, casually.

“Not long,” Camille said, after matching his salute with her drink. “She was my first friend when I joined the crew. After a rough introduction we talked and got to know each other.” She speared some potato, cheese, and gravy in her fork. “We started spending more and more time together, and a little under three weeks ago it became properly romantic. She’s incredibly sweet and caring. And very protective.” She smiled widely at the thought of Nicole, and the memory of her protectiveness at the Captain’s door. She didn’t tell the whole truth, but this man didn’t need to know that it started as casual sex.

"Professeur," she continued. "Thomas. Nicole's told me some things. I hesitate to say she's given me the complete picture. But I do have some questions for you."

"Go ahead," he said.

"Two questions come to the forefront of my mind," continued Camille. "But they don't exactly have much to do with each other. First, why didn't you tell your wife that it wasn't just another fertility treatment? Second, how long had you been working on the elixir when Nicole showed up at your office that day?"

Thomas put down his fork and sat back, wiping his mouth with his napkin and folding it carefully, taking time to choose his words. "I told her the truth, but I suppose I didn't tell her enough of the truth. I told her I'd been working on a way to create a stable embryo that could survive her body's augmented environment, which was true. I told her I was going to try IVF, which was true. I was being cautious in not getting her hopes up, at least in my mind, by not telling her the zygote was already viable, because if it failed...I didn't want her to carry that pain. I thought risking the pain of another failed conception would be preferable to the pain of a failed pregnancy."

He sighed heavily. "When the morning sickness hit, she asked how I'd succeeded and I showed her. She was upset. She'd given up some time ago, but let me continue, because she wanted me to have the hope she'd lost. She never believed I could succeed. When she realized what was going to happen...she left." His eyes got moist and he took a moment to compose himself.

Camille regarded him blankly, waiting for him to finish, eating her food.

"The elixir..." he said. "I started working on it maybe six months after she left. I don't know why, maybe to feel closer to her. She'd lived with her condition for so long, I don't really know what I was thinking I was doing for her, but it helped me work through things. After I moved to Mantilles, it became somewhat of a back-burner project; something I took out of the cupboard on our anniversary and toyed with rather than dwell. I hadn't even looked at it in almost two years when Nicole showed up in my classroom."

He smiled at the thought of her. "My little girl...a Starfleet cadet. I was so proud. After she left...I was a mess. I locked my lab, cancelled my classes. I cried for...I don't know how long. And then I went through the loss all over again, but at least this time I knew she was out there, doing great things."

Camille put a hand on Thomas's. "That's what I thought. You had it ready for her the instant she arrived, so you'd obviously been working on it for a while. Why did you never give it to her mother?"

Thomas looked her over, came to a conclusion, and gave a small smile. "Because I made it less for her and more for me. But in the end, it got put to good use. It's allowed Nicole to see the galaxy, enjoy a life, do things."

"And she is doing great things," Camille said. "Be proud of your daughter's accomplishments. I don't know them all myself yet, but she's the best doctor I've ever seen. And she makes me happier than I've ever been." She smiled widely, but the smile faded after a moment. "This time with you here will be hard on her. I intend to be the rock she can use as a foundation. But you'll need to do your part, too. Be patient, don't be offended, and if she needs space, please give it. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here, and so is Cassandra. I didn't realize you knew her though."

"You're very kind," Thomas said, heavily, "but I'm not here to convince Nicole to accept me in her life. I'm here to stop a plague. I've accepted that what's best for her was to keep a distance. I can't expect two miracles at a time."

Camille gently shook her head. "You misunderstand. I wasn't implying that this was to get you into her good graces. This is to make sure that when you leave she's as strong as, or stronger than, she was before you arrived. I'm offering my or Cassandra's ears to you because if you're distraught, you can't work work as well, and you're more likely to try to talk to Nicole. I respect you a great deal, Professeur, and I want to help. But I'm discovering that there are few limits to what I'll do for your daughter's well-being. So please do me a favour and consider what I said before." Camille sat there, stunned by what she'd just said. Apparently she was growing a spine.

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "All right," he said. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Camille," she said. "Camille Lévesque." She cordially extended her hand across the table to him with a polite smile.

"Well, Camille Camille Lévesque, thank you for everything," Thomas said. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my quarters and turn in early. I suspect we'll have a busy day tomorrow."

“Bien sur,” Camille replied. “We’ll see you in the lab tomorrow.” As Thomas got up and left, Camille sat and slowly ate the rest of the poutine. When she found out she would be deployed to the Delta Quadrant, she didn’t think she would be searching for the cure to a genetically modified viral illness all the while helping her vampire girlfriend deal with the arrival of her hated father, one of the Federation’s most respected geneticists. None of that was in the brief. Hopefully she would do well though. So she finished her poutine in peace and hoped Nicole would come talk to her later.

 

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