Uh Oh!

Posted on Mon Feb 24th, 2025 @ 10:48pm by Lieutenant Commander Kara Starr {Kelea-Salik} & Lieutenant Commander Malakai Starr [Taylor]

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: TBD
1703 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Malakai entered Sickbay cautiously almost sneaking in. He was looking for Kara and he didn't want her to see him. The reason?
He was holding his broken right wrist. He had been in holodeck trying a new martial arts program and he had the safeties off. The program? He was practicing martial arts with Bruce Lee and after warming up the pair got down to having a match and the legend turned one of Mals moves into a nifty countermove and snapped his wrist like it was a dry twig and now it was hanging limply. He knew Kara would be mad that he had the safeties off once she got over being concerned. Hence his reason for sneaking into Sickbay. Now if he could just find a doctor and an empty exam room before Kara found out.

Kara had already sensed her husband’s arrival in Sickbay, her keen Betazoid senses picking up on his familiar presence. Popping her head out of the office she was in she caught him red handed, or rather floppy handed. “Mal?” She gave him a concerned look as she quickly walked over to him grabbing a medical scanner on the way, and motioning him to a biobed. “What happened?”

Hearing Kara's voice. Mal groaned silently. He had been so intent, focused on avoiding Kara, he forgot about her Betazoid abilities and the bond they shared. "Oh, hi Kara!" He replied, his face splitting into a bright smile. As he moved to the nearest biobed and sat down. "Um, nothing darling, just a little accident. Nothing to be concerned about." As he tried to pass the fact that his wrist was broken, perhaps in multiple places broken as no big deal. "So, are you having a good day sweetie? No extraordinary emergencies? No epidemics sweeping the ship?" He asked hoping making small talk would distract Kara from being mad at him.

Kara gave her husband a knowing look, it was obvious he was hiding something from her besides his injury. "The day has been good so far" Kara nodded as she gently placed her hand on his arm noting his wrist injury. "Let me see Mal" running a quick scan she sighed as she saw the extent of his injury. "How on Earth did you do this? you're about one snapped bone away from needing surgery to set this properly!" she took a deep breath knowing being annoyed wouldn't help.

Mal saw Kara's look and even he knew she was annoyed, Oh, concerned for sure but annoyed as well. "That's great Kara. A nice nonstrenuous day. Just what the doctor ordered." He chuckled at his joke, more to defuse Kara's mixture of annoyance and anger at him. Then it being funny. "I was in the holodeck, running a new program." He said quietly. He left out the fact he left the safeties off; a fact he was sure Kara would immediately notice but one he wasn't going to volunteer or that it was a martial arts program. he knew his wife and he knew she would be angry, very angry at that.

"Stop beating around the bush Mal, you were running a program with the safeties off again weren't you!?" Kara gave him a look that said 'don't you dare lie to me.'

*Busted Mal, you are so busted* He said to himself as Kara point blank asked him what happened even though she had correctly surmised what he did, He looked into her eyes, "Yes." He admitted softly. "I was running a martial arts program with Bruce Lee, and I had the safeties off." he had never lied to Kara, and he never would it was better to face the music and have her be angry or upset than face her wrath if she found out he lied to her. That would be hell.

"Bruce Lee? Seriously?" Kara gave her husband a curious, yet amused look. "As much as I like Bruce Lee, I most definitely would not have run a program with the safeties off whilst learning from him." she sighed but kept her criticism light hearted. "You know how foolish that was, so I'm not going to reiterate it." she put down her tricorder. "Okay this wrist is going to have to be reset, and it's going to hurt. I'll give you some pain relief, then I'll reset it, and get to work on repairing it." she grabbed a hypospray from a nearby tray and pressed it to his arm. "You might want to lie down for this."

Mal listened as Kara gently criticized his choice. "I did learn something though Kara. I learned the next time I train with Bruce Lee; I will have the safeties on!" He said smiling at her. "I'm sorry Kara. I do know how foolish it was. I honestly thought I was going to be okay. Shows what I know. I'm a dope Kara." He said dejectedly. He lay back on the bed so Kara could repair his wrist. "Go ahead Kara, do your thing." He answered as he heard the hypospray hiss into his arm. The pain still there but more manageable now.

Kara offered a more relaxed smile, she never could stay angry at Mal for long. “Okay, I’m going to have to reset this wrist first, I’ll numb it up for you first or it’s going to hurt like hell.” She grabbed a hypo pressing it into his arm just above his wrist. “What would you say if it was me who was injured because I’d turned off the safeties? You’d be the first one to give me a lecture.”

Mal nodded as Kara spoke to him, the pain in his wrist was nothing compared to the worry he caused Kara. "You are 1000 percent right Kara, I would be upset, angry at you. Ask you what you were thinking? Because clearly you weren't. I guess this falls under do as I say not as I do." He looked at her, "I'm sorry Kara. I won't do it again. I thought I was better than I am." He finished dejectedly. "I still have a way to go to get to Bruce Lee's level."

Kara couldn’t help but smile at that one. “How’s the pain now? I can sense that you’re still hurting, it should be lessening off once the numbing kicks in.” She gave him a concerned look.

Mal turned his head to look at Kara. "It's fine Kara. No worries." He answered he was determined to tough this out. It was part of the penance he had to pay for screwing up and worrying Kara.

"Okay in that case it's time to set this wrist, it's not going to sound nice." she offered a smile before grasping his hand, a few moments later there was a unsettling crunch and cracking noise as she manipulated his wrist back into alinement ready for the bone knitter.

Mal clenched his jaw tightly as Kara manipulated his wrist back into place. He ignored the cracking and crunch, but it was unsettling to say the least. Lying there he figured he deserved the pain for screwing up like he did so, he was just going to lie here and take his medicine.

“You lied, that hurt like hell, now stop punishing yourself.” Kara offered a worried gaze, she didn’t like to see Mal in pain. “I’ll get you more of that local anaesthetic.” She picked up a hypo and gently pressed it to his wrist. “Now that it’s back to how it should be I can get on with knitting those bones back together.”

"It is alright Kara. I'm sorry I worried you. The pain I am experiencing pales in comparison to the pain I caused you. I don't ever want to be a source of pain to you." Mal said softly even as Kara was picking up a hypo and injecting some more painkillers into his wrist. "I am sorry Kara."

“I know” Kara offered a loving smile as she paused treatment long enough to lean in for a kiss. “Now let’s get this wrist finished off, then you can go organise something nice for dinner tonight as your apology.” She grinned as she picked up a bone knitter and got to work.

Mal's eyes closed as he kissed Kara the woman, he loved more than life itself. He nodded at her suggestion. "I will prepare you a meal fit for a queen because you are a queen Kara. You are my queen and I love you very, very, much." He looked at the wrist Kara was repairing. "Any instructions concerning the wrist?"

“Well you’ll need to give it a good 48 hours to fully heal, it’ll be uncomfortable for a day or so as well.” Kara offered a comforting smile. “You’re lucky I didn’t have to put you down for surgery, so please be more careful from now on.”

Mal nodded at Kara's instructions. He was indeed fortunate that the injury wasn't worse than it was. "Okay, I'll baby the wrist for the next several days Kara. I will definitely be more careful and I will keep the safeties on any and all programs I run. I promise you. I don't want a repeat of this."

Kara smiled relieved to hear Mal had learned his lesson. “That’s good to know, I don’t want to have to worry every time you go to the holodeck.” She finished off his wrist. “Okay your wrist is all done.”

Mal smiled at Kara, "I don't want you to worry Kara at least not about me running programs in the holodeck." He looked at his wrist, it felt stiff. "Thanks sweetie. My wrist feels stiff so, I will definitely baby it especially as I prepare an elegant, romantic dinner for you." He finished smiling broadly as he did.

“I said to rest it, not over work it” Kara grinned. “But it’s a sweet gesture. I’ll see you at home later.”

"Yep. Okay Kara." Mal replied already laying out plans for a dinner kara would not soon forget. I'll see you at home darling."