Sushi time! (Babysitting the Mercys, part II)

Posted on 23 Jan 2015 @ 10:56pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D.

2,420 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 4, Section 19, Room 16 - Lt Mercy's Quarters
Timeline: MD41, 1530 hours

OLD:
"Sounds good," replied Tuula before turning back to Delon. "Now, I don't think I've met Laura yet. How about you introduce me to her, then we can have some fun before dinner." A wicked grin appeared on her face. "Tell me, do you like sushi?"

NEW/ON:

Delon made a face. "Ewwww fish!"

"I like fish!" came the call from one of the bedrooms, "and Laura's in here with me."

"Revan, is that you?" called out Tuula as she rolled herself into his room, coming face to face with a studious little boy looking up from his books, and a short blonde-haired girl playing with a toy spaceship. "I remember you from the holodeck," said Tuula. "And you must be Laura," she added. "Your hair reminds me of my sister."

The three-year old smiled shyly as she scooted to hide behind her brother. Revan grinned, closing the book. "Yes ma'am, I'm Revan." His black eyes shone brightly like two orbs of obsidian. "And I do love fish, though which sort is debatable because I can't stand herring but I do very much love tuna."

"Excellent. Sushi for dinner it is then," replied Tuula. "We'll make sure to order some nigiri pieces with tuna, and some veggie rolls for Delon. And my favourite, Klingon octopus!" Seeing Laura hiding behind Revan, Tuula began maneuvering herself around him. "What's the matter, Laura, are you shy?"

"Vegetable rolls?" Delon looked jealous, now that his brother had successfully drawn the cool doctor's attention. "Laura doesn't talk much yet, she doesn't want to and she doesn't like strangers much."

"Oh. Well, you know what they say, a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet." Tuula leaned forward towards Laura and patted her on the head. "Yep, you're just like my sister." Leaning back up, she looked over Revan's books. "So, what are you working on?"

"Psychology," the child answered, "and biology. But I'm not making much headway, usually dad helps me out. He used to be a psychologist."

"I love biology!" exclaimed Tuula. "My first degree, before I went to medical school, was in biology. I can definitely help you with that."

"So can dad...really it's nice but I'd rather dad helps me with this."

Delon tugged at her sleeve. "Just leave him, he'll come around on the homework thing when dad gets stumped. Dad's smart but he doesn't know everything." HE scooped up his little sister and dumped her on Tuula's lap. "Go on Lau, say hello."

The girl's eyes widened and her bottom lip started to quiver.

"Awwwww, don't cry," said Tuula in a cutesy voice, holding Laura with one hand and rummaging through her messenger bag with the other in search of something that a three year old might find reasonably entertaining. "I got something here you can play with. It's a special toy called a tricorder," she added as she pulled it out of her medkit. She pushed a couple buttons, causing the screen and the lights on the device to light up. "You can scan things with it, and scanning different things cause it to light up in different ways. Here," she said, handing it to Laura, "give it a try."

The little girl grabbed the device but instead of using it for it's intended purpose, the three year old tried to stuff it into her mouth. Delon chuckled as he shook his head. "I guess she's hungry," he shrugged, before disappearing out of the room.

"Are you hungry?" asked Tuula. With Laura sucking on her tricorder, the answer seemed to be obvious. "Well," she said, rolling herself and the little girl sitting on her lap into the kitchen. "I suppose we can have a little snack, but we don't want to ruin your dinner. Computer, one small biscuit with jam." She rolled her way over to the replicator, careful not to let Laura get away from her, and, holding Laura with one hand, she placed the biscuit in front of her mouth with the other.

Almost greedily, the child dropped the tricorder and munched away on the biscuit.

"Greedy sod," Delon muttered jealously, while pretending to be busy with a science project.

"Don't worry," replied Tuula. "If she fills up on biscuits, that means more sushi for us!"

"Yuck." Delon scrunged up his face, his slanted brows furrowing into a solid "V". "You're going to make me eat that aren't you?"

"Have you ever tried sushi, or are you just assuming that it tastes bad because you think it sounds gross?" countered Tuula.

"I don't like fish. Sushi is raw fish isn't it? I'm not a fish person, I hate fish."

"It doesn't have to have fish in it," pointed out Tuula. "There's all kinds of sushi -- vegetarian, shrimp, and my favourite, raw Klingon octopus!"

The Romulan shuddered visibly. "What about meat? Can it have meat?"

Revan just rolled his eyes, stood from behind his desk and sat on the armrest of Tuula's chair. "I love fish," he whispered in her ear, "any kind of fish."

"We'll have lots of fish," replied Tuula. "And it's not traditional, but the replicator might have some chicken or beef recipes for Delon as well. Though," Tuula placed a finger on her chin and let out an evil grin, "I'm going to have to insist that you try the Klingon octopus. It's my favourite."

"Do I have to?" the boy whined, watching his sister munch on the cracker.

Seeing Delon's unrelenting opposition to eating anything aquatic, Tuula relented. "No, I suppose you don't have to," she replied. "But it's always good to try new things. You never know what you might like."

The boy relaxed visibly. "Maybe another time," he compromised, moving to sit on the other armrest. "How fast can this thing go?" he then asked, gesturing at the wheelchair. "Do you uhm...run competitions?"

"It can go as fast as I can push it," explained Tuula, as she rolled back and forth slightly for emphasis. "I suppose I can get it up to a good jogging speed if I'm in a hurry to get somewhere, but it's not really meant for racing," she added. She liked Delon, he was curious, and clearly thought that she was pretty cool.

"It's not? That's lame," he complained, "you should make it capable of racing, that's so much more fun! And how do you push when you're sat inside it? Can't push yourself can you? Or do you have someone run behind you and do it?"

"Here, let me show you," she said, gently pushing him off her armrests. "I just grab the rims here, and I can push myself forwards and backwards. And I can spin myself around, like this," she added, spinning in place for Delon.

"That's awesome, "the Romulan breathed.

Revan just rolled his eyes as he hopped off the other armrest. "I'm going back to studying, can you all just stay here in the main room and not bother me? I like the quiet...."

"All right," replied Tuula. "We'll just hang out here until dinnertime." She looked down at Delon. "Now, you wanted me to tell you a story. Hmmmmmm..." she said, pretending to be deep in thought. "Now, I do know one about the princess doctor and the mean green witch of the fleet..."


--A few hours later--

"Computer, one tuna roll, one futomaki roll, a shrimp tempura roll, an assortment of nigiri -- with Klingon octopus. And some tempura and edamame." She looked down at Delon. "And a teriyaki chicken roll."

"Revan! Laura!" she called out towards the room where Revan had been studying quiety and watching his sister for the past few hours. "Dinnertime!"

Dragging his sister along, Revan emerged from his bedroom and helped the little girl up in her seat, them climbed onto one of his own. He cast his brother a simple glare, before looking up at their temporary caretaker. "Smells delicious," he said, "and I think you said octopus? I'll try it..."

"All right," said Tuula, having placed the tray on the kitchen table. "We've got tuna, futomaki, shrimp tempura, some teriyaki chicken for Delon, and some nigiri. This is the octopus right here," she said, pointing with her chopsticks to a few pieces of rice with a slice of raw octopus on top of each. "Feel free to dig in!" she exclaimed, delicately taking a couple pieces of the rolls in her chopsticks and placing them on a small plate for Laura.

The little girl poked away at the slices, then flicked the bits of fish off before stuffing the rice into her mouth. Delon quickly stole away the pieces of chicken while Revan delicately picked up a bit with octopus. "This is safe right?" he asked carefully, studying the bit of squid.

"Of course," replied Tuula, taking one of the octopus pieces in her chopsticks. "I eat it all the time. It's all replicated, so there's no chance of any food-borne parasites." Holding her piece of sushi in front her her face, the strong smell of raw Klingon octopus wafted into her nostrils. As she stuffed the piece into her mouth, the raw octopus tingled her taste buds before sliding down her throat. "Mmmmmm, that's so good!"

"No but there is a chance for allergies..." The Betazoid boy tentatively stuffed the piece into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "I think, I'll stick to salmon," he choked, after trying to swallow it down.

"Fair enough," replied Tuula, glad that he at least tried it. "I guess that means more for me."

They spent some time tending to dinner, after which Laura yawned openly and rubbed her eyes while sliding out of her chair. "Laura needs a bath and then go to bed," Delon supplied as he watched his sister. "Dad usually does this on his own...as in, we don't get to help with her." The Romulan shrugged. "I think because she's a girl?"

"All right, I think I can take her for a bath," replied Tuula, pushing herself away from the table and rolling towards Laura. There were but a few pieces left, perhaps enough for a little late night snack after the children had all gone to bed. The rolls were a hit, but the children didn't seem to be prepared for the strong flavour of raw fish on the nigiri pieces.

"Come here, Laura, and I'll take you for a ride to the sonic shower," said Tuula as she grabbed Laura and placed the child in her lap. "Delon, could you get her pajamas for me? And a towel?"

The girl squealed in deligth, while Delon trotted after them, a sullen look on his face. He got her pj's and a towel though he wondered why the latter was necessary. "Why do you need a towel?"

"Just to keep her warm while we're changing," replied Tuula, lifting Laura up and getting her in position to get undressed. As Delon left, closing the door behind him, she began getting the little girl ready for her bath.

A little while later, the little girl was put to bed, though the boys were still out in the living area. Delon was lying on the floor, flipping though the pages on a PADD, while Revan sat curled up on the couch, nursing a mug of hot cocoa. "I got one for you too," he said as Tuula came rolling back into the room. Revan gestured towards the low coffee table.

"Awww, thanks," replied Tuula as she made her way to the table to take a sip. "Mmmmm, that's good cocoa," she said. "How did the studying go?"

"Well enough.." The Betazoid boy yawned openly and rubbed his eyes, but refused to give in to the pull of sleep. "Can I sit on your lap?" he asked suddenly, very much like a boy his age instead of the boy he wanted to be: an older, responsible brother.

"Sure," replied Tuula, placing her cocoa on the side table. "Just be careful, okay?"

Revan nodded and curled up on her lap, resting his head against her chest while wrapping his arms around her. 'Mom always held me," he murmured, feeling suddenly very sleepy.

"Awww, it sounds like she loved you very much," replied Tuula in a soft and gentle voice. She heard a quiet murmur emanate from Revan and then nothing but quiet breathing. Looking down, Tuula could see Revan's eyes closed, the boy sound asleep on her lap. She smiled down at him, gently placing a hand on his side to hold him as he slept.

"He misses mom," Delon told her, looking up from his PADD. "Want me to help you put him in bed?"

"Sure," replied Tuula as she began to slowly roll herself towards the bedroom, careful so as not to disturb the boy on her nap.

Delon pulled back the bedding and pulled off his brother's socks, tossing them casually aside. "Can you transfer him?" he asked, not quite sure if the doctor could bridge the distance.

"I could use a little help," admitted Tuula as she lifted up the blanket and tossed it aside. Then, with Delon taking his brother by the feet, she placed him gently on the bed and pulled the blanked over him again. "Good night, Revan," she said, gently brushing his hair, before turning back to Delon. "Now," she whispered to him as she glanced at her chronometer, "what time does your dad usually put you to bed?"

"About eight," the boy answered, "I don't know what time it is now though and I'm not tired."

"Okay," said Tuula, heading back out into the living room. It was quarter to eight, according to her watch. "We'll do some more reading, and then I'll put you to bed when you start getting tired, okay?

Delon nodded. "Are you going to read me a story?" he asked, pulling out a book from the brothers Grimm from under Revan's bed.

"Sure," said Tuula, as she transferred herself onto the living room couch. "Come over here and sit beside me," she added. "And bring my cocoa."

Tuula watched as the boy diligently obeyed. After taking a sip of her cocoa, she took the book in her hand and selected a story.

There was once a fisherman and his wife who lived together in a hovel by the sea-shore...

OFF:

Revan, Delon & Laura Mercy
Naois' children
USS Galileo
[PNPC's T'Vanna]

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer & Babysitter
USS Galileo

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