Posted by Lieutenant Sheleah Ruby (Diplomatic Officer / CNS) in Sickbay

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Natasha Knight (Chief Medical Officer) in Sickbay

Posted by Lieutenant Sheleah Ruby (Diplomatic Officer / CNS) in Sickbay
Posted by… suppressed (16) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Sheleah had liked mornings for as long as she could remember.

What better time to get her medical exam done? she thought.

Stepping into sickbay, she looked around for the CMO or whomever was on duty at that moment.

• Sheleah, CNS/CDO

“And I am telling you that if you do that I will kill you in your sleep and jettison the body,” Natasha said into her personal comm. The room was silent except for the fiesty medical chief this morning. She was clearly on about something as Dante referred to it. The person on the other end of the line however was a mystery. “Mad,” she let out a chuckle. “No, mad is when I start sounding like this. Ne zabyvayte, chto ya russkiy. Kholodneye sibirskoy zimy tol’ko kogda ya zlyus’. Ne besi menya. My pridumali balet, vodku i krovnuyu mest’. Podumay ob etom.” Snapping off her call, Natasha threw back her coffee like it was black vodka. Setting it on the counter with a clink, she spun to see someone standing at the door of sickbay.

“Hello can I help you with something,” she said in a friendly but neutral tone.

Natasha Knight CMO

Shaleah couldn’t help but smile. The situation was simply comical from her perspective.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Lieutenant Ruby here for my routine physical.” Shaleah spoke with an indefinable accent born of someone who travelled frequently, “You think I could get a cup of that coffee? Rex ran me out of my quarters before I could grab my second cup.” she said.

• Sheleah, DPO/CNS

“Absolutely,” Natash flipped the take in PaDD from her hand and onto the bed next to her. It would be extremely obvious the woman was not in the mindset to do a check-in. Something else was on her mind and the idea of a cup of coffee was far more appealing at the moment than a check-in. Whether Ruby meant to have it as a leisurely thing during the check-in or as a total break was not something Natasha clarified.

“Come on,” she motioned for the woman to follow her back to her office talking all the way as she walked. “Ever have a moment where you are debating the pros and cons of the brig? I mean true there is not a lot of freedom but it is sorta like a spa. Dark, cool, quiet…time for contemplation of whether or not you should have strangled someone. Right now I am leaning to justifiable homicide as my defense. Regular or decafe,” she said gesturing the woman to a seat as she stood at the replicator. This was definitely not something Natasha normally did but something about the woman’s mannerisms and voice felt hypnotic and soothing even in the short conversation. It was as if this woman wanted to listen and having someone to talk to might just save an Italian’s life from an angry, short Russian.

Natasha Knight. CMO

Natasha Knight CMO

Sheleah followed and sat down listening all the while. It was obvious to her that this Doctor had no idea who she was but, that was alright for the moment. Letting the woman speak was far more important than formal introductions.

“One man’s justifiable homicide is another woman’s possible temporary insanity but, yes, I’ve contemplated that a few times. Oh… I don’t do decaf. What has you contemplating such drastic measures?” Sheleah asked in her best calming tones.

• Sheleah: DO/CNS

“My husband is an idiot with a death wish,” Natasha said setting the cup down and moving around to the other side of the desk. Plopping down she picked up the cup and took a large sip. “Tell me if I am being irrational,” she looked at the woman. “Be honest. I mean completely honest because the Italian stallion is saying I am acting crazy which of course,” she waved her hand about, “just makes it worse.”

“So I come home from work yesterday and he is giving our son a bath. He says it is to help me relax because it was a tough day. Anyway so I walk into the bathroom and there are soap suds everywhere. That kid splashes more than any kid I know. Granted when I have done it I get water everywhere too but I look in Dante’s hand and see my,” she squeaked the pronoun out, “bath pouf. Not only do I see it but I see my soon-to-be ex-husband using it on the kiddo’s tummy. Of course, I blew a fuse but he counters that the belly is super soft and sensitive skin and doesn’t know why and freaking the hell out. I return with if he expects me to sleep with his ten-foot lizard any time soon the man is in for a rude awakening. So…be honest…am I crazy for letting my husband use my bath pouf on our son?”

Natasha Knight CMO

Sheleah took a few seconds to process all of that.

“First I need to know one very important thing. I’m fairly new to the ship and I might be missing an inside joke. Is ten foot lizard code for his… Um… I mean you did call him the Italian stallion didn’t you?”

Natasha’s eyes widened before she broke out laughing taking a sip of her coffee and half choking and half laughing. “You know I guess that is some need-to-know information.” She could not help but feel some of her hostility ebb away at the woman’s comment. Natasha did not know this woman from Adam but she instantly liked her. The woman had a sense of humor that matched Natasha’s and was fast on her feet.

“No, that is Krull the Warrior King,” Nat shot back with one of the thousand names she had heard over the years. There was no way to save face right now so she didn’t even try. For the briefest moment, she imagined this woman slipping out the Krull moniker to Dante, and Dante trying for the next few hours wondering what this woman was talking about. The thought of Dante mulling of this over in confusion ebbed more of her hostility away. “Italian Stallion is me being glib because he is from Italy which I am about ready to send him back there mob style.”

She paused and took a long drink of her coffee.

“So are you on Team Crazy or Team Idiot,” she look a sip of her coffee shaking her head.

“No, I don’t think you’re crazy for not wanting him to use your bath pouf on your son. You seem to be a very passionate person and I’ve only known you a minute. How long have you and your husband been married?” she asked.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“That,” Nat shook her head, “is a long story. Ever wake up next to someone on your anniversary and after you say the blah blah blah I love you. Blah, blah, blah, happy anniversary the real thought on your mind is my god how can it only be three years because it feels like three hundred.” Leaning back in her chair, Natasha propped up her booted feet on the edge of her desk. “We were three times a charm in that adventure. The first time we tried to get married he stood my up at the altar. Do you know what that is like? I mean I was the one in white. It was a little hard to just slip out after saying hey guys the Broadsword along with the groom and his best woman will not be attending this event due to a border skirmish. So meet me at the bar and be ready to drink up because it’s paid up.” Natasha let out a deep sigh as the memories of that day resurfaced. None of it was Dante’s fault really and it was not like she was bitter. Dante was an officer and duty-called. In truth, Natasha always found this part of the story rather humorous instead of tragic. “Lucky for me I was stationed on Outpost 42 which is where we were holding the wedding. It made it easy for me to get drunk and stumble back to my quarters and equally easy for Dante to hunt me down which of course he did. If he hadn’t then I would still have a bath pouff and Bruce would still smell like a swamp gator.”

This woman was way too easy to talk to. There was a part two and three of the story however that last thing she wanted was to bore the woman into a coma if she wasn’t interested. “Are you married,” Natasha asked her. While Nat could go on for another hour about Dante, she needed to at least give the woman a chance to change the topic. No one liked being a hostage friend. Nat would give her a chance to escape if she wanted it.

Lt. Commander Natasha - being saved from a premeditated murder charge by a stranger - Knight, CMO

Sheleah laughed and put up both of her hands. Her soft pink polish was chipped and she had several long scratches but no rings. It was an archaic symbol but important to her.

“No. No husband. No nothing like that for me. Rex is my ocelot, not an overprotective mate although, at his age, maybe he doesn’t know the difference. I haven’t really stuck around long enough to decide whether a long term anything is a good idea. You’d think I know that being a Counselor right?”

Sheleah paused and frowned. This was where most of her possible friendships changed. People instantly became guarded around her, watched what they said, and how they expressed themselves. Somehow she had a feeling Natasha didn’t fit that mold.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

Natasha froze with the cup suspended in the air as her mouth was opened but not drinking. Her face went completely neutral and almost unreadable past showing Natasha had just received something that surprised her and was mentally processing it. Oh holy hell. You can not be the mother loving counselor. Buying time to figure out how to respond, Natasha took a long sip of her coffee letting the two women sit in silence.

Putting the cup of coffee down, Nat looked off to the side shaking her head slowly before turning her gaze back to Ruby. This time her emotions could clearly be read. There was a tight lipped smirk on her face and a slight hint of red to her cheeks. “So you are the new counselor,” she stated nodding before losing the smirk to a chuckle and full on smile. “The new counselor whose first impression of the Captain is through his wife that not only threatened to blow him out of an airlock but told you about Krull the Warrior King? This is your first impression of Mr. and Mrs. Knight’s mental stability.” The more she talked, the more Natasha laughed. It was clear that Natasha was in no way mad or upset but was finding the entire situation rather humorous as she took a casual drink of her coffee and waited for Ruby to respond. In no way was this Ruby’s fault and Natasha knew she was one hundred percent responsible for this situation. As if to drive home the fact, Natasha looked at Ruby and replied, “well you are luckier than most. It usually takes new counselor twenty four hours to realize Dante and I can be a handful off duty.”

Natasha Knight

By this time Sheleah had finished her coffee and was quite pleased at the way Natasha seemed to take the news.

“If two of the most highly active people on this ship, who just happened to be married with a child and a ten foot lizard, weren’t a handful off duty, I’d be really concerned to tell you the truth. So it may be explosive and it may look alll wrong from other people’s perspectives but, I think the two of you know, deep down, that you’re doing something right.”

“Boy does my bedside manners have you snowballed,” she winked with a smile.

Pausing she laughed and smiled.

“Besides, this isn’t my office so absolutely none of this goes in my records. I’m not on the clock.”

• Sheleah. CNS/DO

Tapping her fingernail on the desk, Natasha got a concerned expression on her face. “Okay confidentiality is going to be a huge issue but I gotta tell you…it felt good to just vent. I got an idea,” Nat said slapping her hands on the table. Opening a door on her desk, she pulled out two baseball hats and tossed one across the table to Ruby.

“Okay bare with me for a second and keep an open mind,” she said to the counselor putting the hat on herself. “So I have a friend that is a counselor. She jokes that at times counselors are just as crazy as anyone that walks into the door. You are just better at hiding it. Anyway, she and I had this game. It basically fits under the idea of everyone having to wear different hats.” Flipping her hands up as if showing off the hat on her head Nat continued.

“You are bound by paperwork as am I. Anyone that walks through the door we need to document services for. Of course, we can be clever but I am way past trying to find a place that is not your office or mine when we need to talk off the record. Obviously we can’t always use my place if I want to gripe about Dante and it really doesn’t add to crew morale if they see him as a friend or human. The crew needs to have the impression he has honed so that no one ever blurs the line between boss and normal guy. So I am going to propose this. If it is a true professional thing then we play by the rules. You come in and I treat you. I come in and you counsel me but,” she held up a finger. “If we just need to vent we can wear the hats. That means we are confiding with each other as professionals but maybe off the record. Trust me at times I just need someone to talk to but not in a strictly professional manner.”

“While I have never seen an issue with people needing counseling, it does get complicated when the entire senior staff appears to be having some issue and is using the counseling suites like it is a revolving door. Impressions can matter. So what do you think?”

Natasha Knight CMO

Sheleah sat back and listened.

Damn this one is quick on her feet. she thought.

Picking up the hat, she looked at it and nodded slightly.

“Yeah, venting with hats on. I can do that. And to be fair, I don’t always wear my official uniform when performing my duties because some people just need to see me as more accessible but, I like your style. I think this is definitely a good idea.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“So tell me about you,” Natasha leaned back in her seat. “You said you have an ocelot named Rex. How did that happen,” she smiled. Pets were family to the Knight household. People didn’t understand how anyone could love a lizard. To be fair, she didn’t and wanted to kill Kelly and Dante when they brought the thing back home but life without Bruce was almost as unimaginable as life without Dante. They had had the lizard for so long, it took a lot of work to remember a time when he wasn’t part of the family. An ocelot though was a completely different beast. People had always loved to own exotic cats but they typically weren’t picked up at the local pet shelter. Secretly, Natasha could not lie and say she kinda wanted to meet this Rex if Sheleah would let her.

Natasha Knight CMO

This made Sheleah relax, smile, and brighten.

“Well I travel quite a lot but I actually happened to be on Earth about eighteen months ago and I was kind of trying this relationship thing. It didn’t work out but that’s another story. He was a biologist and we were in Brazil and that’s where we found Rex and his littermates. They were barely three days old. Would you believe some people still hunt for sport?” Sheleah paused, frowned, and took a drink of her coffee. The thought of those particular few days still made her angry.

“So we tried to rehabilitate the three of them but it just wasn’t goi9ng to happen for little Rex. He basically imprinted on me and it took a lot of discussion but, I decided to keep him. Now he’d at the stage where he should be leaving his mother, scouting out territory, and finding a mate but, basically, he’s just a big kitten. Fully immunized and walks on a leash.” she explained.

Finally Sheleah dug through a small bag she usually carried and brought out her personal PaDD with pictures. They showed Rex in multiple stages of life doing everything from sleeping, eating, and even playing in the bath.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Oh my god he is so freaking adorable,” Natasha instantly gushed and like one mother sharing baby pics to another, she responded as expected. Taking the PaDD from her for a closer look, Natasha could not help but wear a huge grin. The images started with what looked like a ball of fur and took shape to become a kitten. It was clear Sheleah was attached but the look in the animal’s eyes in some of the pictures showed Rex adored his mommy. “So why the name Rex if it is not too personal of a question? Bruce is actually Dante’s brother. Years ago he made Dante promise to name his first son after him. It was a long story but when Bruce the baby lizard hatched and we discovered he was a boy, Dante kept his promise. His brother was less than thrilled but a deal is a deal,” Natasha laughed.

Knight CMO

“Well Rex is Latin for King. I basically had to carry him around in my blouse until he was about five or six pounds and bottle feed him for quite some time so, he was the little King. It just seemed to fit” Sheleah explained going quiet for a few seconds.

She remembered those last few days in Brazil when it was obvious things weren’t going to work between her and Sam. They spent the last few hours dividing up meager possessions and discussing how to deal with feeding, care, and monitoring of Rex and his sisters.

“So has Bruce’s uncle finally come around to his namesake?”

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Is it still socially acceptable to fart in church,” Natasha laughed. “Bruce says he wants a redo but that would require me to have another baby or two because I am not nameing a girl Brucinia. I get that Dante’s is Italian but the whole Brucinia thing is a bit to Roman for me.” Setting her cup down, Natasha let out a mumbled curse in Russian as she looked at the time.

“I really hate to do this but.” Pulling out a tricorder she scanned the woman quickly and wrote something hastily on the PaDD. “I got another appointment I am about to be late for. Unless there is something you are cleared for duty.” Standing up she extended a hand to Ruby.

“Well the only thing I really need toknow is who it would be best to complete my check in with. The Captain or the First Officer?” Sheleah gave the CMO a look the other woman would come to know as her professional look.

“I would do both. I mean it will give you a chance to get to know them,” Natasha said.

Natasha Knight CMO

As the woman walked to the door Natasha paused. “You wanna come by for dinner later. Say around seven? I would love to chit chat some more.”

“Sounds perfect. I’m still working out the kinks with my replicator. I’d love to strangle whoever had my quarters last.”

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Perfect,” Natasha said happily. “Oh and super informal and relaxed. I am going to be in my fat pants and t-shirt. Bring Rex.”

Natasha Knight CMO