Lair of The White Worm (With Apologies To Stoker)

Posted on Tue Jul 3rd, 2012 @ 9:00pm by Cassidy Wilde & Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D.
Edited on on Wed Jul 4th, 2012 @ 7:16pm

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: CMO's Officer
Timeline: After 'Party In The Brig'

*** Deck 361 - Piper Medical Center - Outside Chief Medical Officer’s Office ***

Pausing outside the medical center, Cassidy took a deep breath. She wasn’t scared, but she also knew there was a lot more going on where Harding was concerned and no one was telling her anything. Except be careful and that she should be scared of him. Normally, she would have laughed the warnings off, like she almost had last night when she told Jackson she wasn’t afraid of Harding, but the way he had said she should be kept nagging at her. She trusted his judgement, even if she didn’t know the full reasons behind everything yet. Unfortunately, it also made her even more curious.

Clearing her mind of things that could distract her, she entered the outer offices and informed the crewman behind the desk of her purpose.

“Good mornin’. I’m here to see Dr. Harding,” she stated. “I’m Cassidy Wilde. He should be expectin’ me.”

“Right this way Miss WIlde.” The crewman stood and led her down a hall to an office at the end. She could see Harding inside through the open doors. Once the crewman announced her,and left, Harding looked up with a smile.

“Good morning Cassidy. I hope this isn’t too early, I forgot that you work later than most when I suggested it. Please come in.”

She smiled back as she crossed the threshold, but anyone that knew her would know it wasn’t her normal smile and was reserved. It was the polite smile. “Not at all, Dr. Harding. We didn’t have a set time for our meeting and I was already out and about.” She purposely used a more formal way of addressing him. There was no way she was going to call him by his first name as if they were friends. Frankly, she was annoyed he had addressed her by her first name without asking permission first...but then again, she didn’t really expect good manners from him. The worm didn’t even stand when she came in the room. Uncouth troll.

“May I get you some coffee? Or tea?” Harding was relaxed as he waved her to the chair before his desk. ‘I was just about to indulge myself actually.”

Cass shook her head and sat down. “No thank you. I’m not thirsty at the moment.”

She noticed his body language and how relaxed he appeared. Appeared was the keyword here. He was watching her just as much as she watched him.

“So, I take it you have some questions for me? And I suspect they involve Jackson Banning.”

Tilting her head, her smile widened a bit. Leading the witness, asshat. Crossing her leg, she laced her fingers together around her knee. “Perhaps, but I’m more curious about what I asked you last night.” She waited patiently to see if he would recall which question she was referring to or if he’d play dumb.

“Fair enough.” He nodded slightly. “You are a civilian, of course, but I am sure you are aware that there are a lot of things where the Fleet is concerned that are unknown to you. Especially here on a frontier, life in and around Starfleet can be dangerous.”

“If you’re going to bore me with a warning about it’s classified, don’t bother. Though I wonder if I should be entitled to the truth if the reason you gave me the warning is of that very nature.” Cassidy wondered if he noticed the difference in the way she spoke around him or not. Probably. He was a sneaky, but smart worm. Doctors, no matter what their field of practice, were not in general stupid people. That however didn’t mean that he didn’t do stupid things.

“Only so far as it affects you. And Jackson Banning may very well affect you. You know nothing about the man, do you?” Harding watched her closely at the question.

She could practically hear Jackson’s warning to be careful replaying in her head as she thought of how to answer. There was no way she was going to give Harding information he might not already have. Cassidy decided to be truthful and vague. “I know enough to know what his character is like...to know what kind of man he is. Why? Are you going to tell me he’s not what I think he is and he’s not good enough for me? For that matter, why would you be concerned as to how Jackson does or doesn’t affect me?”

“My concern is purely for you. I wouldn’t want you caught up in something that would leave you hurt, Cassidy. Jackson’s not the type to settle down you see.”

Cassidy laughed softly and shook her head. Wow. That was the angle he was going with? What a load of horseshit. She was truly amused and it showed.

“Dr. Harding, please excuse me for laughing, but that’s the biggest load of crap I’ve heard in a long time.” Uncrossing her leg, she sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap. Getting control of herself, she reined in her laughter. Men hated being laughed at. Especially self-important little shits like Harding.

“It would seem that you are grasping at straws, sir. Why should I believe you are concerned for my well-being when you know nothing about me? In that respect, you have no idea whatsoever what my and Jackson’s intentions are toward one another, nor is it any of your concern. So your excuse of saying he’s not the type to settle down carries no weight.”

Harding shrugged and sighed heavily. “Oh well, at least I tried. You are absolutely right. I don’t have any idea what your relationship is, and you are certainly free to choose your own companions. But the consequences you face will be your problem.”

Reaching out, Cassidy slipped into his thoughts, keeping her presence uninvasive, just skimming for now and was surprised to find there seemed to be some measure of genuine concern for her getting hurt, though whether by Jackson or others was a bit vague. First off, why would there be anyone else that wanted to hurt her? She didn’t know how to feel about that, but the fact he followed his concern for her with another warning, she wasn’t too happy.

“You surprise me, Dr. Harding. I feel I must apologize for laughing and brushing off your concern and advice. That was rude of me.” She inclined her head politely, playing the repentant, foolish girl to the hilt, though she wasn’t lying about being surprised. “I’ve been on my own for quite some time now and it’s been a while since anyone bothered themselves with my well-being. I reacted poorly.”

“No harm done. It’s a long way from Earth out here, and the usual rules don’t apply. It’s a frontier and an often-hostile one. If there’s anything I can do to assist you, just call.” He watched her a moment, suddenly suspicious of her about face. He made a mental note to acquire her arrival check-in, perhaps something interesting might turn up.

Shit. Harding was too on guard to take her apology at face value. She should have stuck to being flippant with him. As soon as he got a hold of her records, he would know she was El Aurian and Betazoid, and would suspect she could read him like a cheap comic book villain. Cassidy honestly couldn’t remember at the moment if it listed on her records anything about her telepathy, but it wouldn't matter once he saw her species.

“The usual rules might not apply, but right and wrong always will in my book.” She wasn’t a conceited woman in the least, but she was used to being able to charm just about anyone. The fact Dr. Worm was immune to her ability to put people at ease and believe anything she said (which with the exception of Harding, she was always honest anyway), vexed the hell out of her. Looking down, she fidgeted with the seam on her jeans, giving the impression she was reluctant to speak up.

“May I ask you a question, Dr. Harding?” When she glanced up at him, she didn’t have to fake her honest curiosity.

“Of course, ask away.”

“Well, forgive me if this is a bit personal, but you claim you’re an old friend of Jackson’s, yet I couldn’t help but notice there seems to be quite a bit of hostility between the two of you. I bring it up because it spilled over to me the morning after we first met. I was curious about it.” She wasn’t lying at least. Tucking a section of thick blonde hair behind her ear, she watched him.

“There is some, yes, but old friends do that at times. Much as one would with a sibling. You may care deeply for them but sometimes things come up. It doesn’t change the parameters of the relationship. Does that help?” Harding smiled once more as he looked back at her.

Cassidy held his gaze. He had said a lot of words that amounted to nothing basically. “Yes, I believe I have the answers I was looking for.” Rising, she inclined her head. “I’ve taken up enough of your time, Dr. Harding. I should let you get to the rest of your day and your patients.”

“Of course. Always a pleasure Cassidy, visit anytime. At least I can find you at the Nexus Club.”

She wrinkled her nose and scrunched up her face a little, the expression endearingly cute according to her brothers, and shook her head slightly. The move sent her long blonde hair floating around her shoulders and body like a shimmering golden cape.

“No offense, but I’m quite healthy, so I have no need to come to your place of work and pester you again.” Cass grinned and knocked on his desk. It was unlikely that it was real wood, but at least it ‘looked’ like it.

“Let’s hope you stay that way, it will make my job easier. Good morning, Cassidy.”

Pausing at the door, Cass turned back to give him a parting shot. “Oh, I fully intend to stay that way. No germy little bug is going to get me.” She smiled, but there was an edge to it. One that let him know she hadn’t missed the double meaning in his words. The slimy little shit was back to making threats.

As she left the medical center, she once again contemplated taking her Louisville Slugger to the back of Harding’s head and feeding him to Iggy.

***********

Cassidy Wilde
Hostess & Not To Be Underestimated
The Nexus Club

Dr. William Harding
CMO