The Same Mistake Twice

Posted on Mon Aug 8, 2022 @ 9:30am by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Commander Zachary Addams

726 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: We Will Take Care of You
Location: Sickbay

He knew he was lying down. That much he was pretty certain of. He wasn't sure of much else at first. He was in the Dark Place again. His brain was alert though, and that helped him keep calm and start to try and get more awareness of his body. He was warm, but then again he was always warm. He heard a few familiar beeps and chirps and deduced he was in Sickbay, and as his senses returned to him, he felt a warm pair of soft hands holding one of his. On a normal day, he could wake up quicker than a snap of the fingers. The fact that his body was taking so long to catch up to his brain told him something had gone very, very wrong.

He tried to piece together what he could remember. He'd been working, he remembered that. He was examining a patient....Commander Walker....

He felt himself fly upwards back towards the waking world as the rest of it snapped into place. Walker springing up, pinching his shoulder. He didn't know what happened after that, but he guessed it wasn't good. He was surprised he wasn't in any acute pain, just a general ache, and burning skin. *It happened again,* he thought.

"You smell like her..."

Walker's voice was echoing in his head. He was replaying the last few lines Walker said to him when his brain reminded him someone was still holding his hand.

He managed to open his eyes and take a deep breath. What little relief being semi-aware had provided him evaporated, and he let out a groan of discomfort.

"Hey, don't try to move," a soft voice said beside him. He looked over to see Penny, her baby blue eyes wide with worry and staring at him. He immediately felt a wave of annoyance and took his hand from hers and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "How long?" he said, surprised to hear how hoarse he sounded.

"A few hours," she said. "Your temperature was getting dangerously high. They had to submerge you in an ice bath in order to--"

"I know," he said.

"You...you know?" she said, confused, tilting her head.

"This isn't my first rodeo," Zach said, sighing. He sat up slowly and winced.

"Take it easy," Penny said, "don't push too hard."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to file that under 'obvious medical advice,'" he said, more acid in his voice than he'd intended, but less than he felt.

The effect was not lost on Penny. She tilted her head and looked confused. "What's wrong?"

"Other than the obvious? Couldn't say," Zach said. "I'm sure it's nothing to do with your boyfriend nearly killing me. Or the fact that you went on a few dates with me and neglected to tell me you were seeing someone."

Penny's head tilted. "I--"

"I specifically said I did not want to be involved with any drama between you," he said, his voice cracking. He swallowed hard.

"Cullen did this?" Penny said, shock clear in her voice. "He's...I know he's intense, but he has a code of honor."

"Well evidently that code allows for the murder of one of his shipmates," Zach said.

"Zach, there has to be a reason," Penny said. "His behavior does not fit his usual pattern. Something must have set him off."

"He assaulted and threatened me in the crew lounge, now he's following through. Sounds like a pattern to me," Zach growled.

"And you think he did this because we went on a date?" Penny said.

"Two dates," Zach corrected her, his voice turning bitter. "Thank God it wasn't three."

Penny tilted her head again. "What's the significance of the number of dates?"

Zach sighed. "By the third date, I can usually tell if I'm going to be invested in the relationship. If the girl is someone I'm genuinely attracted to and want to get closer to." He blinked away some moisture from his eyes. "Dodged that phaser fire."

Penny felt herself starting to choke up as well. She let his hand go and stood up quickly. "I need to...get back on duty," she said.

"Good idea," Zach said, not looking at her. "I should get dressed."

Penny turned and left Sickbay quickly before he could hear her cry.

 

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