Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, read my lips...k?
Timeline: this is set a couple weeks after my story Time and Place and right after the ep. Shuttle pod one.
A/N: I have a beta reader now, but I wanted to get this down and out there so fast I forgot to use her...sorry
Maggie entered sickbay with a little more than slight trepidation. She had been on board Enterprise for going on three weeks now. It wasn't the frightening place she remembered waking up to. Now she had friends here. She wasn't an officer of course, but the Captain had given her a sort of honorary title. She was now Civilian Advisor to Engineering, she even had her own uniform, it was the same design only hers was gray. She felt like she belonged, and that was something she hadn't felt in awhile.
That is why news of the incident on shuttle pod one had hit her so hard. These were people she had grown close to in the short period of time she had been onboard. Malcolm had been teaching her basic self-defense, she could even touch her toes now, and Trip had been nothing if not enthusiastic about her joining the engineering team. He spent hours filling her in on what the new drive matrix did, and why this coil was now connected to this inverter. It was the first time she had met someone as enthused about his job as she was.
Then there was the possibility that they were dead, that had really hit home for her that they were in space. It was unforgiving and even more unpredictable.
But they had survived. So now she could breath again and get back to learning the basics so she could advise with insight.
The only problem was that Captain Archer couldn't get Trip to leave the sickbay. As far as Trip was concerned it was a well-disserved vacation. She suspected it had more to do with fear, just a little. She couldn't say as she blamed him, but she was also anxious to work on something other then the damaged ship components the other engineers had been throwing her way since the accident.
So here she was in sickbay, her favorite place. Malcolm's bed was long empty; he was the definition of a work-a-holic. She approached Trip, who was lying with his hands behind his head, with a smile. Then she remembered her reason for being here and let her smile slip as if she just naturally lost hold of it under the strain.
"Hey Maggie." Trip called as she approached. She waved half-heartedly.
"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up.
`Well that's a start.' She thought. Out loud she said, "Oh I don't want to bother you with it. So how is the vacation going?" She once again plastered on a purposely-fake smile.
"Oh no you don't. What's going on? Is it bad?" When she didn't answer immediately he continued on his own. "Its bad."
"Well, certainly not unrepairable, just, well, yeah its bad."
"So spill. What is it? I can handle it." He said this though with his head hung.
"Well when that chunk was ripped from the hull," She saw him wince and smiled to herself, only an engineer would have that reaction. "See, it took quite a few components with it. I'm not familiar with that section yet, and they have just been give me menial jobs, but I'm fairly certain it had a drastic affect on the warp engines." He looked up at her startled.
She nodded. "It's a miracle we got to you two in time. Haven't you noticed we've been at impulse since then." She wasn't even talking anywhere near the truth, but if there was one thing that would drag him out of sickbay, it was the engines of the Enterprise, or maybe pecan pie. They had been traveling at impulse though; of course she left out the part where they were investigating another asteroid field. You can't do that at warp.
"How are they handling it?" he asked, hope in his voice.
She dropped her gaze to the ground. "Not very well." It was all she could do to keep herself from laughing when he muttered `crap' under his breath and got off the biobed.
He grabbed her by the arm as he made his way to the door. "Come on, let's show `em how its done."
When they exited sickbay Archer was standing there with his arms crossed and a huge smile on his face. Trip let her go.
"Well, well, look who decided to join us."
"He's all yours." Maggie said, patting Trip on the back before she turned tail and fled.
He grabbed for her with a "why you little", but missed and was left to deal with Archer alone.
Maggie giggled as she turned in the lift to wave at them before the doors closed.
Yep this was definitely feeling more and more like home.
*With proper feedback, I may even write more.
Timeline: this is set a couple weeks after my story Time and Place and right after the ep. Shuttle pod one.
A/N: I have a beta reader now, but I wanted to get this down and out there so fast I forgot to use her...sorry
Maggie entered sickbay with a little more than slight trepidation. She had been on board Enterprise for going on three weeks now. It wasn't the frightening place she remembered waking up to. Now she had friends here. She wasn't an officer of course, but the Captain had given her a sort of honorary title. She was now Civilian Advisor to Engineering, she even had her own uniform, it was the same design only hers was gray. She felt like she belonged, and that was something she hadn't felt in awhile.
That is why news of the incident on shuttle pod one had hit her so hard. These were people she had grown close to in the short period of time she had been onboard. Malcolm had been teaching her basic self-defense, she could even touch her toes now, and Trip had been nothing if not enthusiastic about her joining the engineering team. He spent hours filling her in on what the new drive matrix did, and why this coil was now connected to this inverter. It was the first time she had met someone as enthused about his job as she was.
Then there was the possibility that they were dead, that had really hit home for her that they were in space. It was unforgiving and even more unpredictable.
But they had survived. So now she could breath again and get back to learning the basics so she could advise with insight.
The only problem was that Captain Archer couldn't get Trip to leave the sickbay. As far as Trip was concerned it was a well-disserved vacation. She suspected it had more to do with fear, just a little. She couldn't say as she blamed him, but she was also anxious to work on something other then the damaged ship components the other engineers had been throwing her way since the accident.
So here she was in sickbay, her favorite place. Malcolm's bed was long empty; he was the definition of a work-a-holic. She approached Trip, who was lying with his hands behind his head, with a smile. Then she remembered her reason for being here and let her smile slip as if she just naturally lost hold of it under the strain.
"Hey Maggie." Trip called as she approached. She waved half-heartedly.
"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up.
`Well that's a start.' She thought. Out loud she said, "Oh I don't want to bother you with it. So how is the vacation going?" She once again plastered on a purposely-fake smile.
"Oh no you don't. What's going on? Is it bad?" When she didn't answer immediately he continued on his own. "Its bad."
"Well, certainly not unrepairable, just, well, yeah its bad."
"So spill. What is it? I can handle it." He said this though with his head hung.
"Well when that chunk was ripped from the hull," She saw him wince and smiled to herself, only an engineer would have that reaction. "See, it took quite a few components with it. I'm not familiar with that section yet, and they have just been give me menial jobs, but I'm fairly certain it had a drastic affect on the warp engines." He looked up at her startled.
She nodded. "It's a miracle we got to you two in time. Haven't you noticed we've been at impulse since then." She wasn't even talking anywhere near the truth, but if there was one thing that would drag him out of sickbay, it was the engines of the Enterprise, or maybe pecan pie. They had been traveling at impulse though; of course she left out the part where they were investigating another asteroid field. You can't do that at warp.
"How are they handling it?" he asked, hope in his voice.
She dropped her gaze to the ground. "Not very well." It was all she could do to keep herself from laughing when he muttered `crap' under his breath and got off the biobed.
He grabbed her by the arm as he made his way to the door. "Come on, let's show `em how its done."
When they exited sickbay Archer was standing there with his arms crossed and a huge smile on his face. Trip let her go.
"Well, well, look who decided to join us."
"He's all yours." Maggie said, patting Trip on the back before she turned tail and fled.
He grabbed for her with a "why you little", but missed and was left to deal with Archer alone.
Maggie giggled as she turned in the lift to wave at them before the doors closed.
Yep this was definitely feeling more and more like home.
*With proper feedback, I may even write more.