STF

Infirmary: Rhodes' Return

Posted Nov. 10, 2019, 7:05 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Paige Renee Stone (Chief Medical Officer) (Tyra Schroll)

Posted by Lieutenant Duncan Rhodes (Chief Science Officer) in Infirmary: Rhodes’ Return

Posted by Civilian Lily Locksley (Civilian) in Infirmary: Rhodes’ Return

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Paige Renee Stone (Chief Medical Officer) in Infirmary: Rhodes’ Return
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Three hours had passed since Duncan and Toveka had been brought into the Infirmary of Outpost 42 by the medical team off of the Khazad’hea. Three hours of constant medical treatment and operations to stabilize and begin the task of repairing the damage done by whatever had happened to Lt Rhodes and Lt j.g. Brine, taken to a different area of the facility. Duncan was the only patient in the room here, and the nurses and doctors had mumbled more than once that it was a miracle that he was alive at all considering the injuries and clear lack of medical treatment available on the small Klingon warship other than the most rudimentary.

The console beside Duncan monitored his vital functions and showed a readout and display of his injuries to those that could decipher the medical system. The bandages he had been covered in when he arrived were gone and Duncan now lay in the standard Starfleet issue medical garment all patients had to wear when they were at the mercy of Doctors. Much of the work that had been done after his internal injuries were stabilized was that of regenerating his skin to avoid infection but it was clear that there was much still to be done.

Duncans breathing was shallow, the impaled pieces of metal in his chest having punctured his lungs, the injuries of being thrown across the cabin and the moments the interior of the runabout were exposed to vacuum having done the expected damage. His blood loss was substantial although the synthesized Federation replacement would support his weakened body through recovery. The large area of burns from the exploding consoles and following fire had done damage, but modern Federation technology would heal that without a mark, eventually, but the process would not be slow as layers had to be repaired over time. Despite the many wounds and burns Duncan had survived, and he had survived in his entirety without missing parts. He had been conscious when he had been taken from the Khazad’hea, but an army of hypo wielding medical staff had ensured that he wasn’t going to be awake for what they were about to do to him. Before he had fallen into sleep, Duncans eyes had turned to the crowd. His vision blurred and stinging from the bright light on the station, he had been looking for only one person in his half conscious state. His hand had begun to reach out to a random figure in the crowd before a nurse had clasped it and pushed it back under the covers, hiding the burns and charred state of it. Her touch was different, he thought. It wasn’t the touch of the woman in his mind that he had been looking for.

Lt Rhodes, CSO

Lily inhaled deeply as she emerged from the unconscious state of a deep sleep to the the hazy fog of reality. Stretching she glanced over at Duncan lying in the medical bed. She wasn’t sure if it was his rank or the fact he and the executive officer were close but Duncan was in a private room. This allowed Lily far more leeway in being at his side. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stood moving to the small window that looked out among the stars. The only blackness had always been beautiful to her before two days ago. Now all she could see was death. What once held so much wonder and awe seemed like a cold graveyard that could have been Duncan’s final resting place.

Strange thoughts always entered people’s mind in moments like this. Duncan was fine. The doctors said he would make a full yet slow recovery. The what if’s however flooded her mind every time she looked at Rhodes. What if he had died? How did he want to be buried. What if he was more severely hurt than the medics predicted? Where would they take him to rehabilitate? How would she ever be allowed to go with him? The questions didn’t stop coming in the silence with no one to answer them.

Wrapping her arms around her body she hugged herself tightly with the small hospital blanket they had provided for her. She was still in the clothes from two days ago. Jessica had brought her something to change into but Lily hadn’t wanted to leave the room to even shower before Duncan woke up. He looked far worse than her and she doubted he would comment she didn’t look the best if he saw her before she changed her clothes.

Moving over to the bed, Lily pulled over a chair and sat down next to the bed. Taking Duncan’s hand she spoke softly. “The coffee is terrible here. Evie came by and brought me some yesterday. Actually, she packed me a picnic lunch,” Lily gave out a weak laugh. “Let me show you,” she pulled the basked up and set in in her lap as she began to pull out the remaining items. “I ate breakfast but she dropped off lunch when I was sleeping I guess. We have a roast beef sandwich and some kind of soup,” Lily felt her throat start to choke up and she sinuses start to swell. Dropping everything back into the basket she set it next to the chair.

“Wake up Duncan,” she said in a firmer tone than she ever had used before. “I need you. I…I can’t do this. Sit here and just wait for you so wake up and talk to me,” she felt her voice taking on a whining quality. Pausing for a moment she picked up his hand and kissed it. “I love you. Please don’t leave me here alone. We were going to go to England. You were taking me for a ride on the Thames and I was going to take you back home to Risa and show you people could make a living on beach glass jewelry,” she stopped talking as she held his hand against her face.

When she had heard about the accident, Lily rushed down to where they were unloading the wounded. No one would let her near him. She didn’t have his name and so few people knew they were together. Watching from behind the lines as his face seemed to scan the crowd broke her. It should have been her hand holding his as they rushed his stretcher to sickbay and not some stranger tucking it back under the blankets. Stone had been dealing with the injuries so Lily was left with the medical staff that was too busy to help her find him. She had had no idea what was happening until Jessica showed up. Teller had found out everything that was needed and gotten Lily to his side. For that, Lily would always be eternally grateful to Duncan’s boss.

She had hoped that Duncan would regain consciousness a few hours after the surgery but the hours came and went, along with the doctors. Lily slept, waited, and ate at his side never leaving for an instance. When he woke she would be the first person he saw. If that took a week or another month, Locksley would not move from this room. The well-wishers came and went. Jessica along with Aedan had shown up twice. Jessica and Evie showed at least three times a day to check-in and spend a few minutes with their friend. So many others tried to come that the medical staff had placed a no visitors sign on his door. This meant the gifts, cards, and flowers were left outside the door for Lily to bring into the room. She did not mind it. It gave her something to do. Arranging the flowers and cards on every surface gave the room a more homey feel and less of a sterile medical one.

Sighing deeply she pressed his palm to her mouth and kissed it gently before placing his palm on her cheek. She liked the feel of the heat from his hand on her face. When Lily closed her eyes, she imagined he was cupping her cheek and she was not just holding it there. “Duncan I need you to wake up so that I can tell you my day and you can tell me yours. I need to hear that tone in your voice when you tell me, no but I know you are going to say yes because you love me. The tone you used the entire time we took the kids on the field trip and when I convinced you that ambrosia was salad and not a pudding. I need you,” she leaned into his palm. “So wake up and tell me you love me. That you will love me until we are too old to hear it and then have to repeat it a hundred times,” Lily said softly. “Until you do I am not leaving your side.”

“Except to take a shower,” Evie said in a gentle tone holding out a bag of clothes. Lily had no idea when she had shown up but Lily was sure she heard most of what was said. “Now go. You will feel better. The bathroom is in the room and I promise if he starts to wake up I will throw a towel over his face so that you are the first person he sees,” Evie shook the bag slightly. Knowing this McGarrett was not going to take a no just like the other McGarrett, Lily got up and disappeared into the bathroom.

“You have no idea how much she loves you,” Evie said taking the seat Lily just vacated. “That girl is fully assuming to be Mrs. Rhodes so don’t disappoint her. She has not left your side and never will. I did bring you a gift though,” Evie said pulling a book from her purse. “I figured it would be something to pass the time.”

Lily’s shower was the fastest on record Evie had ever seen. It felt like the woman hadn’t even left the room but the near dripping hair and clothes half stuck to her damp body told Evie it was time for her to leave. After kissing Duncan’s forehead and sweeping the hair off his brow in a motherly fashion, Evie disappeared for the night.

Once Evie left, Lily moved back to her position in her chair picking up the coffee that was always on the small bedside stand. That was where she found the book Evie had left. Not caring about rules, Lily tried something different for the night. Lifting Duncan’s hand she curled up in bed with him and placed her head on his chest careful to avoid the injured areas.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Well if that isn’t a sign I don’t know what is,” she laughed reading the first page of the book. “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us,” Lily’s voice filled the room. She read for at least an hour and eventually until she fell asleep.

Lily Locksley.

Paige came in and looked at the two “What is going on?” She asked one of the doctors that was on duty and waited for some response as to why she had the CSO and her receiptionist both on beds.

CMO

OOC: Heya Mouse, with Duncans injuries etc and the story I am running for him, I didn’t want to get bogged down with medical surgery posts so we moved it along to his recovery. I believe that for something significant like this, the CMO would have been the one doing the surgery so I am playing it was Stone that saved his life. Feel free to adjust your post if you like, Stone would know why Duncan is here in a private room and Lily staying by his side.

IC: “He is still asleep,” the orderly said, handing Duncans medical file to Stone for review. “His vitals are good, but he took a beating. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet but that woman hasn’t left his side.”

------------- The next morning -----------------

Slowly, the lights in the medical ward came up brighter as the ‘day’ dawned on the Outpost. For most, the day was just another in the long and never ending tasks and duties that befell those on a Starbase. Outside the station the Klingon warship was still docked, and in Duncan’s quarters Jessica gave Trico a naughty sliver of bacon and reassured the small creature that Duncan was alright and that she would be allowed to visit him today.

To one person however, that day was something special. It was something that he had never expected to see again let alone feel the softness of a bed, the comfort of a blanket or the warmth of a woman’s body pressed next to his. That moment when he had opened his eyes had been a shock, a moment of wonder at the bright lights and white walls before his eyes travelled down to the weight on his chest.

There lay a book and a hand. That hand belonged to an arm that he followed to a shoulder and on that shoulder was the most beautiful sight that he had ever seen. It was what his grandmother had described as an angel, but to Duncan it was everything his life had needed right in front of him, the last thing that he had seen in his mind as his world had gone black and he had felt the pain of metal and the cold vacuum of space. That last thing he had seen was now the first thing he had seen when he opened his eyes. It was a sign, perhaps, and it was the most beautiful thing that he had ever known.

His hand moved to the book and he moved the cover, and smiled. He could smile still. That was unexpected. The fact he had breathed in and opened his eyes was unexpected but the smile, let a flood of relief wash through him. “It was the winter of despair, we had everything before us,” he recited the words from the book, but winced at how weak he sounded and felt.

Letting the book lay down again, his arm rose and followed the curve of her arm and shoulder to her face. Again realizing how weak he felt, he grit his teeth and made himself move the lock of hair from Lily’s brow and tuck it behind her ear, smiling as she stirred lightly and pressed into him tighter. “It is the Spring of hope, and we have everything before us,” he adjusted the words as he watched her move against him, he let his thumb brush against her cheek but it was heavier than he intended in his weakened and tired state. “Good morning sunshine,” he said to Lily, “I love you. I never told you that before. I need to tell you now though, every chance I get. I was a fool to never tell you that before. I love you, Lily.” Duncan let his head rest more to the side, tired from trying to hold it in one place to look at her. His eyes were heavy and everything seemed to hurt now, but all of that was background emotion to how he felt looking at Lily waking up beside him.

Lt Rhodes, CSO

Paige arrived for her duty shift and was reading through the overnight notes. She glanced over at Lily and Duncan and gave them a moment or two before she walked over “Good morning, How are you feeling Lt?” She asked as she looked at the bio bed readings and the notes “How would you feel about going to your quarters today?” Paige asked as she looked over the notes.

CMO


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