A Boy and iGirl II (Backpost)

Posted on Tue Mar 8, 2022 @ 10:56pm by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Commander Zachary Addams

1,561 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: We Will Take Care of You
Location: DQ8
Timeline: T-Minus 33 hours

Penny was half walking, half dancing down the corridor. She was bopping her head to the music and quietly singing along, but was also drawing a few glances, since the music was all in her head.

“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
Barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving
They just use your mind, and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it…”

She decided to visit the replimat and see if anything interesting was going on. It was a bit later in the evening, so she figured the place might be quiet, but she was restless and in the mood to explore a bit.

As she entered the open atrium-like space, the first thing she heard was a cough, so she walked up quietly to see what was going on.

“She’s been doing that all day,” a woman’s voice said, sounding worried. “We finally had a moment to go to the infirmary, but there’s just a nurse on duty right now and frankly she wasn’t very helpful. She examined her and said it was ‘just a sore throat’ but I’m hoping to get a second opinion tomorrow.”

The man she was talking to looked down into the large brown eyes blinking up at him over a cup of apple juice and smiled. “Well, why wait?” he said, reaching into the pocket of his overcoat. He pulled out a small, thin flashlight and held it like a cigar, then looked at the girl. “Hey, Princess. Can you give me a big ‘AHHHHHH’?”

The girl obediently opened her mouth and throat as best she could. The man flicked the light and a narrow, but bright beam shot down into the depths of her esophagus. He looked around a moment until she couldn’t take the discomfort to her throat and closed her mouth, going back to her apple juice.

He returned his flashlight to his pocket and sat back. “Well, the good news is, it’s merely a light case of streptococcal pharyngitis. The bad news is, that nurse wasn’t very thorough; she didn’t look deep enough.” He sat back up and crossed his legs. “Have her look again to confirm it and get a hypo, and she can have Jennifer back to jumping on her bed by breakfast.”

“Thank you,” the mother said, sounding relieved. “I appreciate your time, Doctor….?”

“Addams,” he said, shaking her hand. “Any time. And by all means, send for me if you’d like a follow-up tomorrow.”

“I will, thank you again,” the woman said.

He smiled down at the girl again. “Hey, Jen? You know what’s even better than apple juice for a sore throat?”

Jen shook her head, looking up at him.

Zach reached over behind the girl’s right ear, and as his hand came back, he suddenly held out a decent-sized, spherical sucker. “A lollipop.”

The girl lit up like a supernova and looked at her mom for permission.

“It’s pure honey. Good to soothe the throat,” he explained.

Before her mom had even finished nodding, Jen’s hand had grabbed the stick and she grinned up at the doctor. “Thank you!” she squeaked.

“You’re very welcome,” Addams said, chuckling.

As they left, the girl now with the sucker in her mouth and the apple juice in the recycler, Penny approached the man. “That was slick,” she said.

“Thank…you…” the doctor said, looking up at her. His smile faltered for a moment as he momentarily lost himself, but then shook himself a bit and sat up. “I’ve found, with my younger patients, a little magic goes a long way to impress.”

“I’ve seen that trick before,” Penny said, “but you’re really good at it.”

“Thank you again,” he said. He reached up into the air between them and plucked a silver coin out of the air. “It’s a skill I’ve had since I was a teenager. I suppose that level of manual dexterity helps when you’re a surgeon.” He rolled the coin between his fingers idly, smiling at her.

“You sure keep a lot of stuff up your sleeve,” Penny said, laughing.

“You think so?” he said. He stood and took off his coat, draping it over his seat, then rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and sat back down. He held up his empty hands and bare forearms. “There. No sleeves to have something up.”

“And no coin,” Penny said, realizing what he was hinting at. “So, obviously, you hid it while you took your coat off. It’s probably rolled up in a sleeve.”

“Maybe,” the man said, smiling, then glanced at the empty seat across from him. “I was going to have a late snack before I became sidetracked. Care to join?”

“Oh, sure!” Penny said, smiling.

“What can I get you?” he said, standing up.

“Um….oh, how about kulfi? Pistachio, vanilla and strawberry flavor? If the replicator has it? If not, regular pistachio ice cream will do.”

“Coming up,” he said, making his way to the replicator. A moment later, he returned with a tray. “One Pistachio, vanilla and strawberry kulfi on a stick,” he said, setting the bowl with the frozen dessert in front of her. In front of himself he had a small plate with two buns stuffed with some kind of red and white protein, and a glass of light brown-ish liquid.

“Lobster sandwiches?” Penny said.

“Lobster rolls,” he corrected. “A steamed and toasted bun with a hint of butter; fluffy, buttery lobster; and a dash of salt and pepper. The essence of simplicity, elegance and damn good deliciousness on a plate. That and a mug of ice cold apple cider, a treat fit for a king.” He held up a roll in salute and took a bite, sighing with contentment.”

“It’s not as good as home,” he said, once his mouth was freed up, “but it helps.”

“Same here,” Penny said, holding her dessert. “My mom makes this homemade and it’s so different from the replicator.”

“I think that goes for most everything in the database,” Addams said. “It’s the nature of the replicator. Things that are artificially recreated are rarely as good as the genuine article.”

Penny paused mid bite of her food, but relegated the possible interpretations of the statement for later analysis. “So, are you from Maine?” she said.

“Connecticut, actually,” he said. “Maine may think they have the claim as the Lobster Capital of Earth, but this piece of heaven,” he held up his roll,” was invented deep in the heart of Connecticut.” He swallowed another bite. “I take it you’re from North America as well?”

Penny nodded. “Hawaii, actually.”

“So, you’re from Hawaii, but enjoy desserts from the Indian subcontinent. Very cosmopolitan,” Addams said.

“My adoptive parents were Indian,” she explained. “So I got to enjoy my mom’s home cooking and the local cuisine.”

“Cool,” he said, smiling. Suddenly, he hit himself in the head. “I’m so sorry, where are my manners?” he said. He wiped his hand clean on a napkin and held it out. “I’m Zach.”

Penny’s smile froze a bit and her hand paused on its way to shake his. “Zach?”

"Yes?" Zach said, looking confused. "Were you expecting another name?"

"No," Penny said. "I just wasn't expecting another Zach."

"Ah..." he said, awkwardly. "Well, if you knew another Zach, maybe consider me the new and improved model? Just sharing in name only?"

Penny blinked. "Oh that's a good idea," she said, grinning.

“I take it there’s a bit of a story there,” Zach said.

“It’s….complicated,” Penny said.

“Most stories like that are,” Zach said, nodding. He looked at Penny for a longer moment then cleared his throat. “And you are?”

"Oh! Sorry. I'm Penny." She finally held out a hand, smiling.

Zach smiled back and shook her hand. "The pleasure is all mine," he said.

"Probably most of it, yeah," Penny said, still smiling sweetly.

Zach blinked but let it pass. Just ask her out, idiot, you’ve got another day on the station, his mind reminded him. He ignored his brain and instead wiped his mouth again and tidied up his tray. “Well, thank you for sharing this little repast with me. If you’ll excuse me, I should be going.”

“Nice meeting you,” Penny said, smiling.

Zach tried not to get lost in the ocean of blue staring from her eyes and nodded. “You as well,” he said, giving her his usual easygoing smile. He recycled his tray and put his coat over his arm, then started to walk away. After a few steps, he grinned and turned around, giving her a friendly wave.

She waved back and smiled, then her eyes went wide as he reached up and, sleeves still rolled up, plucked the silver coin out of the air once more. He flicked his thumb and with a ping the coin sailed through the air. She caught it and tilted her head, looking first at it, then up at him as he walked quickly back down one of the corridors.

"Hm," she said, looking at the coin carefully.

 

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