For Want of a Doctor

Posted on Sun Sep 20th, 2015 @ 3:06pm by Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi & Seyla & Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D. & Niro

Mission: Further Challenges

* Seyla’s Quarters *

Niro and Falasin had finally left Sickbay. There was no further update and Falasin was exhausted. He’d taken her back to his ship, tucked her in and sat with her until she fell asleep. Falon was on board and promised to hang out in his living room in case she awakened and needed something. Now, he emerged from the turbolift and hurried down the hall to Seyla’s. Reaching her door, he rang the chime and waited.

Chirpy and happy, Bella answered the door, “Hello! Oh, Niro, come in. Seyla’s in her shower but she’ll be out in a sec.” She stepped aside and let him in then amended her comment, “Well, not literally a second, but soon. Once she’s done and has dried off. Have a seat!” She practically bounced towards the bar. “Do you want a drink?”

“Thanks, Bella, whiskey would be great.” He took a seat on the sofa and realized, suddenly that he was exhausted. The tension in sickbay had been palpable and Chance’s panic had grated on Niro’s senses, as had Falasin’s deep worry. A drink is exactly what he needed.

“Whiskey...,” Bella read the bottles, found the correct one and poured out two portions. She took one to Niro. “Here ya go. And since I’ve heard most people don’t like to drink alone, I’ll drink with you,” she said, toasting him with her glass.

“You’re sweet.” He smiled and took a sip of the whiskey, enjoying the warmth as it went down. “How have things been with you?”

She, too, had drunk the whiskey - but she’d taken more than a sip. She inhaled and choked, coughing. “Oh!” Bella tried to swallow again and rasped, “Oh, that burns!”

“Have some water.” Niro considered going and getting Seyla out of the shower, or joining her. “That will ease the burn.” He downed the whiskey and rose, leaving the glass on the bar. “I’m going to go get Seyla.”

“She’s in the shower!” Bella had recovered and called after him.

Seyla, however, wasn’t in the shower anymore. She’d finished and was drying off when Niro walked in. “Get out!” She shouted and threw a towel at him. “Dammit! Can’t I have privacy in my own quarters! I’m going to seal that damn door and lock everyone out!”

Niro caught the towel and tossed it aside. “Not tonight, Sey. We have a lot to discuss.” His gaze swept over her, then he focused on her thoughts. What he caught there made his eyes widen in surprise. “A lot,” he repeated. Now there was one more thing added to that list.

“Fuck you... better yet, I’ll call Jonah and you can twist his mind into fucking you for me,” she pushed past him and grabbed a dressing gown. “Go, get out.”

“I came with some news, Seyla. Eli’s in Piper. Dying as far as I can tell. They’ve put him in stasis while they try to figure it all out.” He sat on the foot of the bed, watching her as she slipped on the gown.

She spun and stared at him. “Eli? Dying? What happened? Where is Chance?”

“Piper,” Niro answered. “Falasin and I met the two of them at Kaleidoscope earlier tonight. We were sitting at a table and he suddenly collapsed and wasn’t breathing.” Niro watched Seyla more closely. “Dr. Harding said something was destroying a part of his brain and right now, it was moving too fast so they put him in stasis. Chance’s parents were there when we left.”

“I need to go see him,” she said.

“I’ll take you up later,” Niro said gently. “Once things settle down a little. That will give enough time for Doc Harding to clear out so you two don’t run into each other too.”

“I’m fine running into him,” Seyla lied. She had no idea where he’d been of late and wanted to see him. She hadn’t yet decided to go confront him in his quarters.

“You can’t lie to me.” Niro smiled. “It won’t kill you to admit you’re hurting either. I suppose I should apologize for coming between you but I am not sorry. You’re better off with me than him. He’s not part of this world, Sey.”

And that was why Seyla wanted Harding, not Niro. ‘This world’ was a hard place to live in. “Whatever. You’re not the kind who can provide stability and a future.”

“You have your own stability. You want excitement and you know it,” he answered her. “You want a wild ride and the fun that comes with it. Admit it.”

"No. I don't. And why the hell are you trying to convince me? I'm not the woman you want - I'm not your 'one'. I'm not even sure we like each other, Niro. We came together to turn a Fleet officer into one of my girls. That's over. You said it last time you were here: she has her own life. Thanks to you fucking around with Owain, she has a new hero: Riley. There's no way either of us can work around that."

“That ship has sailed, Sey, even for me as much as I hate to admit it.” He studied her a moment, then reached for her as she passed, slipping an arm around her. “It was a good effort but none of us could have foreseen Owain losing his mind.”

"Let go of me," she pushed him away, which resulted in him lying back on her bed, taking her with him. "Dammit, Niro!"

He laughed as she cursed him. “You do like me. Besides, your old man is...where is he by the way?”

"Piper. You just told me he was there, treating Eli. And what does that matter?"

“I meant when he’s not at work and not with you.” Niro rolled them over, pinning Seyla beneath him. “Don’t tell me you’re pining away in solitude?”

"I'm not pining and I'm not alone!" Both were technically true: Bella was seemingly always present lately. As for pining away, Seyla wasn't yet sure what was going to happen with Will.

“When I let you up, get dressed. We’re going out and enjoy ourselves.” He leaned in closer to kiss her neck. “We can stop by Piper on the way.”

"Fine, then let me up!" She pushed him off her and stood, immediately dashing to the bathroom and locking herself in. She took her time doing her hair and makeup, partly because she was hoping Niro would get bored and leave. She should have known he wouldn't. Coming back out, she dressed and they headed for Piper Medical.

* Piper Medical *

"...still don't know why you insist on coming with me," Seyla complained at Niro.

“Dinner when we leave here. Dancing too if you’d like?” he asked. “You really need to get out more.” They stopped at the main counter and Kiere gave them an update on Eli - no change there really and Niro hadn’t expected there to be.

"Is Chance still here?" Seyla asked Kiere, who directed her to a waiting room where Chance was. As Seyla entered the room, several pairs of eyes turned toward her, worry reflected in their depths. Each visibly relaxed. Except Chance's. If anything, his worry turned to mild panic.

"Seyla!" He stood and crossed the room to her. Quietly, he whispered, "I wasn't expecting you to come."

She hugged him. "Of course I've come. You two are dolls together."

“I knew she would want to know,” Niro added. “And when I told her, she insisted on coming to see you and get an update. Any word at all?”

"Chance?" Nadia had stood and come to stand by her son.

He winced. "Ah, Mom, this is Seyla and Niro. This is my mom, Nadia Conradi and that's my dad, Zeferon Zeferino. Seyla is... um, she's been a friend of Eli's for a while. Mine, too."

Smiling, Nadia nodded at the two. "I could wish for better circumstances in which to meet you."

"There've been no updates. The doctors are still looking for the cause, but they think it's something specific to Enarans. Niro, you're not feeling... anything?" Chance looked at him, hopeful that maybe he was; he felt instantly guilty that he wanted Niro to also be sick.

Niro shook his head. “Nothing yet. If it would help, I can have a doctor friend back home call Dr. Harding, but I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”

Chance shrunk a little. "I'm sure Doc Harding has that covered. But thanks. Seyla, thanks for coming by. There's nothing to do right now but wait."

She hugged him again and kissed his cheek, leaving a smudge of red lipstick. "I'll stop by again soon. He'll be okay - he has the best doctors working on him, like you did." She looked at his mom and dad and said, "If your stay is long enough and Eli is okay, then I hope to meet you again, as you said, under better circumstances."

Nadia and Zeferon nodded. Chance looked a bit nervous about that, but smiled as Seyla left.

In the corridor, Seyla stopped Niro and said, "Stay here. Or leave, that'd be fine, too. But don't come with me."

Niro read her intent instantly and nodded. “I’ll wait here.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Good luck.”

She didn't have to wander far before a passing nurse stopped her. "I need to see Will Harding, just for a moment. It's nothing medical," she said, forestalling any questions about why. After a bit of convincing, she got her way and was led to a room to wait for Will.

Several minutes later, the door to the small consultation room opened and Will stepped in. He stopped just inside, far enough for the door to slide closed behind him. He stood silent as he looked her over, noting she was dressed in what he thought of as casual evening wear. It was a description that had amused her when he’d first mentioned it. He nodded and shoved his hands into the pockets on his lab coat.

“Good evening Seyla. I was told you came to see Chance.”

Reading his body language, she frowned. Her first inclination was to yell at him, to try to draw him in a verbal tiff. Anger was cathartic and showed passion. But in this situation, she feared it might drive him away. "And you, Will. Quite a bit was left unsaid when you walked out."

“It was,” he agreed. He remained standing but rubbed his eyes. The exhaustion in him was clearly visible as he looked back at her. “Does it matter now? For what it’s worth, I’ve had to spend more time than I liked with your friend this evening. I’m not really up for discussing him now.”

Vehemently, she spat out, "Friend? Niro? He's not a friend!" Turning partly away from Will and covering her face with her hands, she exclaimed, "Ugh! You're... just so ...." She stopped and looked him, clearly angry. Losing her temper, she said, "Fine. You're willing to just walk away because of one fuck up. Go ahead. I should have known better than to have given up everything." She'd have stormed out, but he was standing in front of the door.

He took hold of her arms, holding her there before him. “Do not put words in my mouth,” he growled. “Did you expect me to be overjoyed to hear you’d been having sex with him? And wasn’t even sure why? Just because?” He closed his eyes, making a conscious effort to lower his voice. “Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

"No, I didn't expect you to be overjoyed! But I do expect you to at least talk to me about it. I could have just continued on not telling you. Would you rather that I had done that?"

“I would rather you hadn’t done it at all.” His voice had softened considerably. “But maybe….maybe it was for the best. It has me wondering if perhaps I expected too much and should have just accepted you as you are instead of forcing some great change upon you to suit my own desires.”

“I did make changes, Will. But I backslid,” her voice had softened, too.

“I’ve thought a great deal about this over the past few days, Sey,” he admitted. “In the interests of honesty, I backslid as well, after I left you. Maybe we need to consider just what is acceptable and what isn’t...for us, not some storybook ideal of how it should be.”

Plaintively and in one of the most honest moments she’d ever had, Seyla admitted, “Will, I’m in love with you. If you backslid, I don’t ...it’s not that I don’t care, but I understand. Having sex with Niro was a business thing. It wasn’t a reflection on anything I feel for you.”

“Maybe we need to note the difference, then,” he answered. “And learn to live with it.”

“And the woman you backslid with? Is she someone you love?” She watched his face, looking for a hint.

Will seriously considered how to answer that. His feelings for Solaana were..complicated and for him, separate for the love he had for Seyla. “Not as I do you,” he admitted.

She narrowed her eyes at him, not really liking that statement. “Do our new expectations include sharing you with her? Or do we have new expectations?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I love you Seyla, so much it sometimes overwhelms me. This other….is...to use your term, more of a business arrangement. Unexpected to be sure, as I suppose yours was too.”

“It was. Our business arrangement is over, though he’s been spending his time today trying to convince me that he’s what I want. He isn’t. You are.” This was the most ‘out on a limb’ she’d ever been for a man and she wasn’t sure Will was there for her.

“Then come home with me tonight. Right now. I’m leaving here before I drop. Unless you and he have plans?” Will asked. “If you do, put him off till tomorrow.”

“Gladly, Will. He has plans, I don’t. Let me take you home, remind you why we’re together,” she purred.

“One request if this is going to work?” He pulled her close against him, hugging her tight. “If you have...other plans...tell me, just not who, alright?”

“I don’t want other plans. But if something comes up, I’ll let you know,” she kissed him. “Is there a back way out?”

“Why is he waiting?” Will smiled finally. “If he is, go send him home. As much as the idea of leaving him sitting amuses me, give him a break.”

“Fine, I’ll go tell him to find someone else to pester,” she said, lingering in his arms for a moment before stepping around him. “Meet you at your quarters or...?”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting.” He watched her go, then decided to stop by his office briefly. He had a message to send.

Seyla left the room and quickly found Niro waiting for her by a nurse’s station, where he’d undoubtedly been flirting with (or trolling through the mind of) one of Will’s nurses. “Outside, we need to chat,” she said.

He waved to the nurse and followed Seyla until they were outside Piper’s main entrance. “How’d it go?”

“Better than I expected. So good that you’re on your own tonight. And tomorrow night and every night after that,” she told him bluntly.

Niro smiled. “Is that so? He’s giving in? Despite your outside activities?”

“He’s had his own,” she shrugged, not feeling the need to explain her and Will to Niro. “So that’s that.”

Niro smiled wider. “Interesting, and apparently is relaxing the reins on you. That’s good news indeed, Seyla.” He took her face in his hands and brushed a kiss over her lips, even as he sent a jolt of pleasure through her. “Run along to your doctor and enjoy.”

“Oh, I will,” she said, grinding her teeth. She hated that he could read her mind and play with her reactions. “Good night, Niro.” She walked away from him.

“Later.” He turned and began to stroll along to a turbolift. It had turned out to be a very good night indeed.

*****************
Niro
Bella
Seyla
Cadet JG Chance Conradi
Nadia Conradi
Zeferon Zeferino
Lt. Commander William Harding