Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Hannah Lori Asimina (Doctor) in Long Term Correspondence

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Hannah Lori Asimina (Doctor) in Long Term Correspondence

(snip)
Hannah sat down at the desk in their quarters. It was amazing and dream-like. Several times a day she found she wanted to pinch herself to make sure she was really awake. All she really had to do was reach for his dog tags though. She felt strange without them. She had worn them everyday for the last 5 years, resting over her heart, holding onto them as she slept. They were a part of her and now their absence was testament that she had Daniel back. His presence was the only reason she would take them off. She looked around the room, pieces dotted around the room, evidence that they both lived there, together.

Daniel wasn’t home yet and so she decided to try and get in touch with Alexis again. Something from their last talk just made her queasy and concerned. Alexis had a boyfriend and Hannah was ecstatic for her. But there seemed to be something else going on besides that. The return of that other man into Alexis’ life worried her. She hoped that Solomon Kane really could keep Alexis safe from that man. He was dangerous and scary. Hannah had never liked him and though her heart broke for Alexis, Hannah had been relieved when the relationship ended.

The younger woman appeared on the screen and began signing immediately. She seemed to be in the arboretum, which was odd. “Hannah! How are you? How is Daniel?”

“I am good, Alexis. Daniel is wonderful. Or I think he’s wonderful, but I’m biased. He’s still on duty, settling into his new position. Are you in the arboretum?”

Alexis nodded, “Frigga needed to run so this is where I was when you called.” A dog nose appears in the corner of the screen and then Alexis throws a ball hard and the dog disappears. “You said he was promoted to XO last time? But…” Alexis has a hard time with ‘girl talk’ but Hannah is her best friend and understands that Alexis does care; she just isn’t wired to think that way. “You said you would tell me all about it.”

Hannah signs ‘yes’ and pauses her head tipped to the side, thinking. “You remember I decided to ask for a transfer off of the Fearless. I had been there so long and needed a change. Well I got the transfer to Saracen and of course I looked at who the captain was and the CMO but didn’t look at the rest of the crew. And then my first night on board we got pulled through a temporal rift. It was chaos. There were so many injuries from where the ship was damaged. I didn’t have time to notice anyone who wasn’t a patient or medical staff.”

Alexis nods understanding. Sickbay was usually routine, until it wasn’t and then nothing mattered but the patient in front of you. “So three days later everyone is taken care of and we are back across the rift. My duty nurse, Claire Temple, comes in and says ‘You have a patient, it’s his knee.’ I get up and go into the main med bay…” Alexis stops her, “I remember you said Daniel had a damaged knee. An old injury from before.” Hannah grins, Alexis never forgot details. “He did. So I walk into the main med bay and there he is, larger than life, out of nowhere. He’s there on the biobed, knee swollen, damaged, and needing replacing.” Hannah shakes her head going quiet thinking about it. “He hugged me. After so long without him, it was just…” How to explain it to Alexis? “Like you told me about your Solomon. I was alive again, home, cherished. Like I had simply been on autopilot. There but not aware of the world going on around me.” She paused again wondering if Alexis understood.

Alexis was still for long moments except for momentarily wrestling with Frigga to get the ball and throw it again. “Two months ago I wouldn’t have understood, and I don’t think I can really explain it. But I am very happy for you Hannah.”

Hannah watched Alexis for long moments. “I think you do understand Alexis, and that makes me very happy for you. This Solomon is good for you I think.” Her laugh, different sounding, but genuine, filled the small silence between them when Alexis turned a shade of pink. “So there Daniel is after all this time, and he needed surgery. I’ve never been so nervous to do a surgery. And I’ve done hundreds. But it went fine. The next day we talked for a long time.”

Alexis was not great at reading people, she knew this, but she’d known Hannah a long time and something about the way she hunched her shoulders told her something wasn’t quite right. “Is something wrong Hannah?” Was he there, but it didn’t work out? Did they fight? Alexis couldn’t imagine Hannah arguing with anyone, she was just too sweet.

“He’s been back for two years, Alexis. Two YEARS. He…he saw me on Starbase 12, but he…” A small sigh escaped Hannah and she shook her head, “He thought I was with someone. He thought I’d moved on, and so he left. I feel horrible about it Alexis. That my actions, though misinterpreted, only extended…” and Hannah’s hands expressed the situation as descriptives rather than words.

Alexis was fluent enough she was able to understand the concept Hannah was trying to convey. Daniel had misunderstood, and Alexis could actually empathize with that. She wasn’t sure how Hannah would interpret her thought, but she liked Daniel immensely for wanting to let Hannah be happy. Alexis knew Hannah hadn’t been, she was miserable without Daniel, but he’d put her before himself. She liked that. “But he’s there now. So what has happened? You aren’t wearing his dog tags anymore. So that’s good, right?”

“It is good. Daniel asked me to move in with him, and of course I did. He suggested we knock a wall out to make more room. After shift that next day I come home and he tells me he went to the Cot and demanded the XO quarters because we needed something bigger. Threatened to leave the ship and Star Fleet if we didn’t get it.”

“He did what?!” Alexis couldn’t quite wrap her head around that. Hannah laughed, “He was joking, Nugget. He was just teasing me. Cot Knight promoted him to First Officer. I am really proud of him. Oh! Aaannnddd I got a promotion, too! Full lieutenant.”

“Hannah, that’s amazing! You deserve it. Tavenough should have promoted you years ago. You are one of the best doctors in your field. I’m glad someone finally noticed your brilliance.”

Hannah shrugged, it didn’t concern her much, but she knew Alexis would enjoy that piece of news. Then Hannah stopped looking hard at Alexis’ hand that she had just thrown the ball with. “Nugget? What is that? Oh My God! Alexis Claire Bonner, Is that an engagement ring?!”

Alexis looked at her hand and then nodded. “Honey, are…are you sure?” Hannah wasn’t sure if she should be over the moon or not. She had no idea it was that serious. “I am. Hannah I have to go. My shift is soon and I have to take Frigga home first.” Alexis paused, hesitated, “Hannah…I don’t know if I say it enough, but you’re my best friend and you’ve always done so much for me. I probably don’t thank you enough; you mean a lot to me, I hope you know that.”

Hannah looked perplexed and concerned. “Alexis? What…” but the screen had gone blank.

Lt. Asimina, Doctor