Burn Notice - Part 3

Posted on Thu Feb 20th, 2025 @ 3:39am by Captain Kett V'Laass & Lieutenant J'airesh Mora-Heath & Lieutenant JG Aurania (Rani) Anderson MD & Ensign Matthew Kensington MD

Mission: Season 6: Episode 5: A church beyond heaven
Location: Main Sickay
Timeline: MD3
1338 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Previously:

Ket rested one hand on the pummel of the lounge chair arm. He sucked in a bit of breath shook his head politely and pressed on the drinks replicator. Ket had a tendency on pushing his recovery when it came to his own body in the hospital environment and said environment was one he was used to. "No Thank you. I need a beverage." He almost dragged himself to the drinks replicator, his face stinging as he did so.

Rani let him go but stayed with her weight on her forward foot in case she needed to lunge forward and catch him anytime soon.



Current:

"I was planning on fetching that for you" she said quietly. Her tone was neutral and her face gave nothing away yet. "But if you don't want my help I can leave you here and go about my other duties?" he didn't fall and she didn't have to lunge forward to catch him so she allowed him to get on with his own drink. She didn't move a long way away, just far enough to be able to hurry back if it was necessary.

"My Apologies Doctor it was not my intention to cause any offence....." he trailed off a little as he ordered a drink "Ice Water." The replicator made a slight hum and gentle whirring noise as faded blue light cascaded together in the centre of the replicator pad to form a glass of ice water. ".....it is perhaps my own stubbornness, when it comes to my wellbeing that makes me push my recovery. An old habit from to much time in hospitals" He turned to look at the Doctor "Can i order you a drink?"

"Don't worry, no offence taken but it is of interest to me as your night carer to know that you acknowledge your own stubborness as you have called it, that makes you want to push your own recovery past that which I was offering you. It actually is pretty early for a medic to ask you to get up for the first time after a debilitating shock and near collapse and let you venture even as far as I took you. I would have to mention that pushing harder than is safe - if you should get to that point - purely out of sheer determination to escape us here, due to some unfortunate excess time in Sickbays or Hospitals in the past, might be counter productive if you were to over do it?" she suggested with a mild and non judgemental tone that she hoped would come across as she intended it - i.e. advice, perhaps unwanted, but hopefully helpful?

"I will take your advice under consideration doctor. It may be of interest to you that one of said hospitals was on Betazed for almost a year before i was discharged." The Marine captain sat down in the rest chair his hand on the arm rest steadying the Vulcan as he sat. Ket let out a long breath from the exertion and then settled his breathing. Yes he certainly had a habit of pushing his recovery, He wondered if their was a deep seated psychological reason for it. Logically, he mused, it must have something to do with a sense of missing out. The last time he went into a hospital a war a had come to an end without him.

"I know, Captain, I was there, and being hospitalised for a whole year was a lot and you did spend some of it in a medically induced coma, didn't you?" Rani lowered her eyes, feeling a little hurt that he had forgotten her part in his care, but she didn't blame him, it had been a dreadful time and he needed intense psychological therapy to put his mind back together after the Cardassians had attempted to disassemble him from the inside out. Medically, it was perfectly reasonable that he should have shut out or compartmentalised a lot for his own safe recovery over time.

He could not place the face. Not really. He remembered dreams. Dreams of a calming and comforting demeanour. The face of someone caring and gentle. The image was in his mind like the passing whisp of a lucid thought trapped in the bottle of emotional anguish. the first few months as the facility had been 'challenging for him.' But their had always been that guiding light and soft voice. That guiding light, that seraph that "guardian" he said softly.

"Guardian?" Rani repeated, moved and with all hurt banished by that description. "Who was? Do you mean me? Do you remember me?" she asked him, just to make sure that was what he had meant - it was only one word and she shouldn't jump to conclusions so huge as that one would be.

Kett's normally emotionless face was perpetuated with a hard swallow as he looked into the Lieutenants dark almost black eyes. "I remember......" Kett looked a little off into the middle distance as he put the jigsaw pieces that made up his memory of his first few weeks of psychiatric incarnation. "I remember a soft caring voice and it was very comforting."

Kett took both her hands and held them in his. He looked at her with his usual emotionless features, but is eyes were warm and grateful. "Thank you. I appreciate all you have done. This is a fortuitous meeting. I had always wished to speak with you again and convey my gratitude." Looking down at his hands held in hers. He suddenly let go, thinking to himself that he had probably crossed over professional boundaries. He coughed to clear his thoughts and clear his mind, but his thoughts lingered on her gentle touch. He stood and smartened his uniform.

"You are, and were at the time, very welcome" Rani replied warmly but she recognised his very Vulcan shut down, the straightening of his uniform a form of displaying his internal closure and she smiled softly. She understood and knew she needn't say anything else, in fact, it would embarrass or discomfort him if she lingered on the subject. If he were ready to bring it up again sometime in the future then she would need to wait until he was ready to do so. Otherwise, she would let it lie. She hoped to gain more of his trust by respecting his emotional boundaries.

Instead, Rani returned to the previous conversation, lightly and with no fuss. "Yes please" she answered an earlier question as if it had only just been put to her. "I would like a drink, if you're comfortable with me staying here a while longer?" She probably wasn't really needed any more but if he had no objection, she would quite like to stay. "Terran Rooibosh Tea, please, no milk or sweetener thanks."

Kett nodded politely, a slight glimmery twinkle in his eye. "I am indeed comfortable with it. Please allow me." Stepped over to the replicator, his fingers dancing delicately on the LCARS touch screen display. "Computer. Two Terran Rooibosh Tea. Hot. No extra's" The replicator made its familiar humming sound, a small ball of blue energy began to swirl in the middle of the replicator pad. It coalesced together then materialized into two chine cups on saucers. Kett picked them up and carried them over, passing one to Rani.

Rani smiled broadly at Ket. "Thank you" she accepted the hot mug and steaming tea and held it just above her lap, warming her hands. It wasn't cold but a hot drink was always a comfort anyway. She blew on the drink, absently but her smile didn't fade away. Watching the Captain's gait, Medics were never really off duty, Rani silently and almost subconsciously assessed how much his steadiness had improved.

"You look as if you've got over your initial post-treatment trauma" she noted. "I'm glad! How are you feeling at the moment?" She couldn't help herself but ask the medical check up question.


TBC