So Long, Fare Well (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 07 Dec 2012 @ 3:19pm by Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,104 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony - Scenic Overlook
Timeline: MD05 1228 hours

[ON]

Leaning against the railing, Dru raised one hand to block out the glare of the sun. She realised that she'd maybe pushed herself to hard coming out this far but she's wanted to meet Lirha on neutral ground. She knew what was going to come and the ship held too many memories...memories of both special and difficult moments. Glancing to the side, she saw the walking stick which marked part of the difficult moments. The woman she was expecting...she'd only been part of the special moments.

Smiling a little, Drusilla turned her focus back out on the lake laid out infront of her, watching the reflection of the sun as she waited.

Lirha approached the scenic view slowly from a distance. Shore leave had officially began, and the captain had donned her favourite black dress for the occasion, complete with the Starfleet commbadge which was pinned to the low cut chest fabric. Even from a distance, Dru wasn't hard to spot, and Lirha clasped her hands behind her back as she approached on the walkway. She stopped several meters away and smiled to herself. It was good to see her old friend recovering from her injuries and able to walk again. "Hello, Dru." she said quietly to short brown-haired woman as she walked closer.

Hearing the sound of Lirha's soft voice, Dru closed her eyes for a moment as it caused a wave of sadness and regret to flow through her. Giving herself a moment, she looked over to the woman herself smiling silently as she forced her body to stand back up, keeping her hand on the railing for balance. Watching as the Captain came closer, Dru stayed where she was. "Thanks for coming Lirha."

"Of course...it wasn't a problem." she answered, then stepped closer and wrapped her green arms around the counselor in a tight hug. It had been a long time since she had seen the woman. Well, only about a week...but it felt like much longer. "How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

Closing her eyes as she allowed the woman to her her, Dru breathed in a scent which seemed so familiar to her. As Lirha drew back, the woman raised a hand to run her fingernail across the Captain's cheek before smiling softly and shrugging a little. "I guess I got lucky with Andreus. He's been a good support with the rehabilitation. My speech wasn't so bad, the rest of me though...." Glancing down at where her hand still helped support her, she looked back up at Lirha with a smile. "You just learn to move on with it. How have you been? I...I heard what happened."

The captain blinked a bit in surprise, not sure of exactly how much the counselor had been told or who had informed her. She hadn't wanted the woman to get worried or add to the stress of recovery. In truth, she wasn't quite at the point where she wanted to discuss the incident in detail, but didn't want to ignore the question either. "I've been alright," she lied slightly, "Who...how much did you hear?" she asked curiously.

Reconsigning Lirha's attempts to give as little information as possible, Drusilla felt something break inside. This was one of the reasons this transfer would be so easy for her, a chance to escape, aslong as the Orion was a CO and that role came first, there was things she would hide from even Dru as both her lover and her counsellor. Carefully turning her body, the woman leaned both arms against the railing as she looked out over the lake. "Just the usual rumours and I was in sickbay about the time you were brought in. All I know is you were badly hurt, presumable by the Klingons."

"Well, I wasn't exactly given a warm reception by the Klingons." she replied with a grin, trying to inject a bit of levity into the situation despite the awful memories. With a sigh, the captain walked next to Dru and stood next to her, also looking out towards the water. "Seems like we were all in a little over our heads during our first mission." she added quietly.

Smiling slightly, Dru looked across at Lirha. "I wouldn't know too much. My head wasn't cooperating too well." Since the accident, Dru had developed a sarcastic nature about her. The words were meant as humour and her smile would show this but sometimes it seemed that her mind and body were still not cooperating so what she meant didn't get across.

Lirha moved a bit closer to Dru and affectionately draped an arm across her shoulders. "As strange as this might sound, I'm glad that you were in sickbay and out of harms way." she said, then paused for a moment as her gaze turned to the flowing water in front of them. "I don't think I could have lived with myself if something had happened to you, as well." she admitted with a sigh.

Unable to stop herself, Dru leaned into the embrace, savouring the experience as she realised how much that she had actually missed this, missed this woman. Smiling softly, she leaned her head into the woman, the CO's taller height to her advantage. "I guess there's some advantages to the situation I found myself in...I worried about you though Lirha, I'm still worried. Despite the image you may portray, I know deep inside you must be hurting."

"Perhaps..." Lirha answered with a shrug. She hadn't really given much thought to her own troubles over the past few days. Her duties as a commanding officer meant that she had been preoccupied with managing her ship and crew, and unfortunately had not had much time to herself to evaluate her own emotions. Nevertheless, the counselor was probably right. "I've been having some trouble sleeping at night...nightmares and such. I'm not sure if it's related to my abduction or the Sienna jump." she confessed.

Moving away, the time spent standing was starting to take it's toll as Drusilla felt her leg start to wobble. Laying her hand against Lirha's arm, she collected her walking stick as she started the painful walk towards a nearby bench. "Do you remember what your nightmares feature?"

The captain walked with Dru to the bench and helped her take a seat, then sat down next to her. "Sometimes I can't remember anything...other times they are as vivid as if I had just lived it." she answered. "In some of them I am still aboard the Klingon ship strapped to the interrogation table. Some of them I'm reliving memories of my past. They seem to be all over the place." she explained, "But none are pleasant."

Leaning back against the bench back, Dru frowned slightly at this. "Do you mind me asking...is it only when you're sleeping this occurs? Do you ever have any flashbacks occurring during the day, maybe out of the blue?" Dru looked across at Lirha's face as she studied her for a moment, allowing her counselling mode to click in for just a moment.

Thinking for a long moment, Lirha finally shook her head. "No, only when I sleep." she replied, then let out a sigh and pushed some of her dark hair back behind her ears. "What about you? Have you been feeling strange at all?" she asked curiously.

Smiling at this note, Dru leaned over to move a piece of hair Lirha had missed behind the Orion's ear. "Hum...what constitutes strange? Not being able to talk for a few days took some getting used to, and the walking stick and walking is still giving me some bother but sure...we always get there in the end don't we."

"Yes, we do." Lirha replied with a small smile. "And from what the doctors tell me, you're making very good progress with your recovery." she added in an optimistic tone. The captain remembered the night her XO had summoned her from her quarters and informed her of Dru's accident. Lirha had been so worried and upset at the time, that she barely slept for the next two days. Seeing her unconscious in sickbay was even more distressful, but it was such a relief now to know that the counselor was well on her way to recovery.

Her hand hesitating on Lirha's cheek, Drusilla moved one finger across it as she studied the woman for a moment, knowing some words needed to be said but uncertain how to say them. "We both know why we are here right now but we seemed to be trying to avoid the reason."

The captain gave her a weak smile. "Yes, you're right. I suppose it's difficult for me to part ways with people who I care about." she confessed with a sigh. "Has your transfer request been approved yet?" she asked.

Moving her eyes back out to the lake surface, Dru cautiously nodded her head. "A shuttle is picking me up this evening, for the relocation...it's for the best. You can't afford to have a cripple onboard, not on a ship so small." Dru's eyes flicked across to the walking stick, a semi hatred in her eyes.

Lirha gently rubbed Dru's leg and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You're not a cripple...don't talk about yourself like that..." she said with a sad voice. "The doctors at Starfleet Medical will have you walking fine in no time." she added, trying her best to reassure the young counselor.

Shaking off the mood which threatened to overcome her, Drusilla did something she'd probably later regret. Turning her head to the side, she met Lirha's lips which had just left her lips, kissing the CO gently as it trying to trap the feeling and taste for one last time.

The captain let out a deep sigh from her nose as she returned the kiss and gently cupped the side of Dru's face. A long moment passed as a flood of emotions ran through her mind, and when she pulled back, her eyes were wet with tears. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better. I feel like I failed you...along with the other of my crew who didn't survive our first mission." she whispered sadly as she pressed her forehead against Dru's.

Moving her free hand, Dru only moved away slightly to wipe away the Captain's tears, not realising that she had some running down her own. moving the hand the small of Lirha's back, she started gentle circles which she knew helped to sooth the Orion. "How could you have failed me? My injuries occured before any of the rest of it...You're a good woman and a good Captain Lirha. You choose the crew that are on the ship, the people who saved you and got us all home. You're responsible for that. The same crew who pulled together to save eachother."

Nodding to herself slowly, Lirha tried to make the best out of Dru's words. "Thanks, I suppose. But I lost twelve of them...twelve families who lost a son or daughter...this is the toughest part of being command. The responsibility." she said in a quiet voice. "And it's also the reason why we can't be together."

Dru had known that this was coming, that even if she hadn't been in the middle of a transfer that things wouldn't be continuing. Moving her hand from Lirha's back, she caught a single tear on her fingertip. "I think the universe has been against us in this since day one. My accident, your disappearance."

"It's...my fault." Lirha admitted with a sigh, "I knew that I was violating protocol when I first approached you. But I didn't listen to the commanding officer-voice in my head, and let my feelings take over." she explained, then paused for a moment. "I should have known better not to violate protocol and put you in such a bad position." she added.

Shaking her head, Drusilla moved to take Lirha's fingers in hers as she watched the Orion. "Don't beat yourself up Lirha...If you learned one thing in all of those you learned the kind of woman I am. I went into this knowing the risks and chances involved. Your a Captain and then your a woman...Sometimes you have to reverse the roles of you'll loose the woman who you are."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Drusilla McCarthy
Patient
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Pola Ni Dhuinn

RSS Feed