Night Nurse

Posted on 26 Aug 2014 @ 4:47am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Crewman Corealina Vipsania

1,837 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 3 - Sickbay
Timeline: MD 08: 0800

ON:

The woman's pale yellow eyes caught the reflection of the lights as she entered sickbay, briefly narrowing them to adjust. In a Starfleet uniform, trousers and all, Coraelina Vipsania felt...strange. She felt constricted and yet free. Her white hair was put up and she had darkened her eyebrows the way humans had theirs. She liked how it made her feel. The same way she liked the way no one seemed to notice much of her. She touched the arm of another nurse, talking softly before the nurse gestured her towards where a man was standing, clearly reading a PADD. She smiled and gave a half bow of thanks, moving towards the man. "Doctor?" she asked, her voice soft and she smiled, lowering her eyes. "I am Nurse Vipsania. I have an appointment for a medical clearance check? To enable me to work my shifts..." she looked up at him, slowly, the smile still there. To her, he looked human.

Dr. Alexion Wylde watched her with surprise, holding his breath before giving a small smile. "It has been a while since I have seen a Radvani...."

She looked at him with surprise before the smile warmed and she bowed her head, tilting it slightly to expose her neck, even as her hands opened before him, in a more traditional female greeting of her people. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Doctor."

"Alexion Wylde," he motioned her towards a biobed, watching with curiosity. "I have not seen another of your kind in service."

"I...do not believe any Radvani women have served before," she said as she walked to sit down, watching him as she undid the uniform jacket. "The men would not allow it...no, I am here without my people."

Alexion couldn't quite help a small smile at her words. There was some spark under the demure exterior. "Good job you do not need them then."

She met his eyes, folding her jacket as she watched him. "You flatter a poor woman," she said softly, but there was a teasing note to her voice. "You are not a human. I feel at a disadvantage. You know my secrets but I know none of yours."

"I'm Vaeron," Alexion said with a small smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes as he got his tricorder and pulled the tray closer to the bed.

Lina watched him, her eyes softening. She reached out, her hand touching his shoulder, stroking lightly. "My deepest sorrows for what your people suffered and still do," she said quietly as she watched his face. "We heard from traders about your people, told the way these things always are. Dark warnings that there is always a storm brewing."

Alexion watched her with surprise at the depth of condolence and the sincerity in her pale eyes. He gave a small, but grateful smile, holding his breath for a moment with it, not used to others knowing about his people. "Always a storm. Always another on the horizon. Thank you."

She bowed her head and let go, taking a slow breath as she nodded. "They say that the deities only put what we can hold in our minds. It is a sorrow you survive carrying. It does not lessen it though."

"The sorrow remains, but it puts fire in my souls," he said quietly, shaking his head gently. He was silent for a moment in grief before taking a sharp breath to reignite himself. "Well, let's look at you," he patted the back of the biobed for her to lie down.

She eased back, her hands folded over her stomach as she lay there. She gave him a smile, wanting to put him at ease. "I have been neglecting these."

"All the more reason to get it done then, you should know that as a nurse," he tutted as he started to scan her with the tricorder. "....we are the worst patients..."

She laughed softly, taking a slow breath to stay still. "We are. We prefer...to focus on others rather than ourselves."

"Have you had any previous problems?" he asked, his eyes on the tricorder rather than her though, giving some privacy.

The smile faded and she swallowed. "None that has ever stopped me working," she said softly.

"That is not a real answer," he shook his head with a slight frown, lowering the tricorder. "The arch is about to come up," he warned, bringing the arch up around her to set it for a more thorough scan. "Let me rephrase it...have you had any previous problems that affects your health?"

Lina considered it for a moment before smiling weakly. "Only headaches when the lights become too bright at the end of my shift. And not always. That is all that affects my health."

"Now that is inherent in your people, yes?" he thought on it with a frown, watching the results as they scrolled onto the main panel.

"Yes...it is," she said and closed her eyes. "When I come off duty, I take a soothing bath to candle light...it helps it."

"And you are happy with the natural approach?" he nodded, satisfied this wasn't a medical problem, but 'one of those things' as he had heard it expressed.

"Yes...yes, it eases it. I am not fond of taking medication. I have herbs that eases it too, especially when I bathe," she said softly, her body relaxed. "At times, my daughter rubs scented oil into my hair. That has a longer effect, the scent eases."

"Your daughter is with you here?" Alexion asked softly with surprise, glancing up momentarily from her readouts.

She smiled and opened her eyes, watching him. "Nia. She is not my flesh...she is human and Cardassian. But she is my daughter, I have raised her."

"Then she is yours," he agreed with a faint smile coming to his lips. "You should bring her in for a check up too."

"I will...she is asleep now, in our quarters," she admitted, shaking her head slowly. "She needed her rest."

"Whenever she is ready," he nodded firmly, looking back to the screen with a slight sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "How have you been feeling recently?"

Lina considered the question for a moment before frowning. "I have not been sleeping well. I keep...dreaming," she confessed softly.

Alexion glanced to her at the words, knowing that it could mean many different things. "Dreaming?" he asked, but not wanting to put words into her mouth.

She watched him before frowning, sitting up and bowing her head. "I keep dreaming of home. And then I keep dreaming of the Federation. I...question myself, at times, as my daughter grows older...if I went to the right place. She is looking more Cardassian now than she did when I first had her. Starfleet...do not like the Cardassians. I worry. And when I worry, I dream..."

He nodded as she spoke, following her and understanding well. He leant against the consol, watching her with a thoughtful frown. "You know that if you had gone to the Cardassians, they would not have been kind of her human side."

"That is why I stayed with the Federation," she said as she held his eyes, searching them for a long moment. "It is her I worry for."

"I have learnt that children are far tougher than you might fear," he said quietly, holding her eyes for a long moment, shaking his head gently.

"You know it yourself?" Lina asked, with a small smile as she shifted to be on her side, watching him...the examination forgotten.

"I have a son, Laeon," he gave a soft but gruff laugh at mentioning him. "Adolescent. Even now, he still manages to surprise me."

She smiled warmly, shaking her head. "It is what life is meant to do. Surprise. He must be a handful...but he will grow to be a strong man."

"I hope so," Alexion admitted quietly, shaking his head with a frown. "I think we worry because we love. Even if there were nothing in their life to worry about, we would still worry."

"And there is love in that too," she said and bowed her head, biting her lip. "You are blessed. As am I."

He nodded, leaning a little closer to her, his voice quiet. "So stop worrying," he said softly before chuckling gently. "If you need, I can give you some sleeping medication, to put you in a deeper sleep."

She frowned, shaking her head. "No...I think it is the changes. Earth is different than here. Once I settle, once she settles...we will be good."

Alexion nodded, accepting it easily. It was her choice, and he knew he wouldn't be fond of the idea either. "If you change your mind, let me know."

"I will," she promised and bowed her head, with her smile returning. "I...is everything else alright?"

"The results show that you have anaemia," he said quietly, frowning as he tapped his fingers against the edge of the consol. "As you know, it makes you tried, but if you have had trouble sleeping, you might have assumed that was why."

Lina looked at him with surprise, shaking her head. "I...did not realise something was wrong with me."

"Many people ignore the symptoms of anaemia," he admitted with a half smile, shaking his head with a soft sigh. "They are pushed aside as just normal tiredness." He moved away to grab a hypo, loading it with a vial before moving back to her. "You will need one of these every day. You may as well get it when you come for your shift," he pressed it to her neck.

She closed her eyes, leaning into the touch of the hypo. "Thank you, doctor," she said softly, touching his arm. "You are very kind."

"Just doing my job," he shook his head with a small, knowing smile. She was a nurse, she would know. "Any other concerns you would like to talk about?"

"No," she admitted before looking down. "I think I will feel a lot better once the anaemia disappears. It will be interesting to see. Perhaps...I can bring my daughter in later, for her check up?"

"Good idea, I will wait for her," Alexion nodded quickly, tapping the controls to enter the details and treatment on her medical file. "Then it is all done with. You are cleared for duty, on my side at least."

She smiled as she nodded, putting her jacket on. "And I appreciate it," she said softly, getting off the biobed. "I will enjoy working with you, Doctor."

Alexion touched his forehead before motioning to her with the same hand in the Vaeron way. "It will be like old times."

Lina bowed her head with respect, smiling at that. "Your words warm my heart."

OFF:

CN Corealina 'Lina' Vipsania
Nurse
USS Galileo
[PNPC Rice]

SWO Alexion Wylde
Doctor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

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