The New Doctor
By Lieuten Keen
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just take them out for a spin now and again.
Set in Season 4 just after Kir'Shara. There's six months between the Vulcan Civil War and the Conference at Babel One. I'm making the most of that time.
A/N: Drinking, smoking, cursing, kissing and kicking butt are a few of my favorite things. Please read responsibly.
After she spent the afternoon unpacking and putting her cabin to rights, Andie took a quick nap and a shower. Commander Tucker had informed her there would be simple reception in the Mess Hall to welcome her while he helped her access her computer and security logs. She already had messages waiting. She waited until Tucker had gone to his own room before listening to the three missives.
The first was from Admiral Gardiner, offering congratulations on her appointment, however temporary, on Enterprise. He chided her gently to be good and signed off.
The second was a long letter from a group of scientists back on Earth. While on a deep space ship, Andie had promised to further their research by conducting tests for their most recent scientific hypothesis. She was scheduled to set up an old-fashioned greenhouse on board and perform a series of actions while watching things grow under stressful conditions. The scientists were young and eager to learn, and their communication was full of information, both pertinent and random. Andie signed off, amused at their letter.
The third was also from Gardiner, who admonished her with his overly large eyebrows that her good conduct was important to this mission and she couldn't spend all her free time soused. He also expressed relief at her continued good health in light of the circumstances that had brought this lecture to bear. His concern brought a small smile to her face.
At the appointed hour, the chime rang and without leaving her bathroom, Andie hollered a welcome. She heard the door open as she spit toothpaste into the basin. "I hope Archer isn't a stickler for decorum," she called as she put on her shoes. "My uniforms didn't escape the eddy unscathed, and they won't be returned from the laundry until tomorrow morning. My civvies will have to do. You didn't tell me that Archer was such a..." She entered her quarters to find someone other than the tall blond engineer.
"Oh," she started. "Lieutenant Reed, is there something wrong?"
The blue-gray eyes studied her figure in silence. She wore a long red dress with a slit that exposed most of one leg. Tall heeled sandals peeked out from under the hem. He raised his eyes to her face and realized she'd been staring at him with an amused glint in her eye.
"Is there something wrong, Lieutenant?" she queried again. Her knowing smile jerked him out of his study.
Clearing his throat, Malcolm pulled himself to attention. "Commander Tucker was detained in Engineering. He asked that I escort you to dinner so you wouldn't be late for your meal with the captain. He'll join you shortly." His tone was painfully curt.
"How very thoughtful," she murmured dryly. "Doesn't anyone realize he hasn't been cleared for duty until tomorrow?" Picking up a colorful wrap from her bunk, she waved Reed out the door ahead of her. In turn, he paused and waved her through first.
"Nobody has ever been successful at keeping Trip out of Engineering, no matter the circumstances," Malcolm assured her. "That's a lovely blanket on your bunk." Mentally he kicked himself for letting slip that he'd been inspecting the intricate pattern of the knitted afghan. He didn't like her, he reminded himself. He wasn't going to be nice.
"Thank you. My grandmother made it for me before she passed."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." They stopped before the turbo-lift. Now he had to be nice if her grandmother died.
"She's been dead awhile," Andie assured him with a smile. "She'd be pleased that you noticed her work." The doors opened and they stepped inside.
A crewman passing through the corridor took one look at the pretty blond and walked straight into the nearest bulkhead with a crash. The doors slid shut and Andie and Malcolm exchanged glances.
"I guess I stand out, huh?" Andie sighed. She looked down at her red dress. "I should go change into something else." Self-consciously she wrapped her red and purple shawl tighter around her shoulders.
"You look fine," Malcolm told her without looking at her at all. "Red is really your color." His cheeks warmed. He didn't like her, he reminded himself.
"That's what they tell me," she murmured enigmatically. She risked a curious glance at him when he wasn't looking. He didn't seem to remember their mutual burst of temper earlier that afternoon. She decided to go with the flow and chalk his previous outburst to his early morning. The Great Powers of the Universe knew that she wasn't her most hospitable after only a few hours sleep!
Entering the Mess Hall, most of the crew turned to look at the newcomers and Malcolm ushered Andie to the right, to the doorway of the Captain's Mess. He stopped her just before he hit the button to request entrance.
"Captain Archer is a what?"
"Excuse me?" Her brows drew together.
"As you left your bathroom you said 'Captain Archer is a...' What is he?"
Color flooded her cheeks. She smiled brightly at Reed. "I was going to say that Captain Archer is very tall," she answered lightly.
"Ah, yes, of course." He didn't believe that, but he had to admire her ability to think on her feet. He opened the door and waved her through, while backing toward the regular line in the Mess Hall.
Inside Andie found Archer seated with a tall slender woman. They both rose at her appearance. Andie explained Trip's absence before nervously explaining again about her laundry. Archer waved away her protests before introducing her to his first officer.
At the sight of the Vulcan, Andie offered a few words in a foreign tongue, complete with a hand signal of three digits.
T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "You speak Vulcan?" she inquired.
"A little. I like to make a respectful gesture whenever possible," Andie shrugged. She offered a hand for shaking.
"It is very diplomatic of you," T'Pol answered. "Peace and long life." She accepted the handshake briefly.
Archer seemed surprised. "I didn't realize you spoke any Vulcan at all," he admitted.
"Are you sure you're looking at the correct service record?" Andie inquired easily. "If you were expecting my father, then you may be assessing the wrong report."
His jaw clenched, but he said nothing in response. He was determined to be polite. He offered Andie a glass of red wine. She eyed it merrily. "Is this entrapment?" she inquired cheerfully.
"We're not on duty at the moment," he confirmed.
Grinning, she accepted the glass. The three had just sat down when the door swished open and Trip bounded in. "There's a bit of a pickle in Engineering, but I think we got it settled out now, Cap'n." He grinned at Andie. "I hope you made it down here all right?"
"Lieutenant Reed was happy to help." Her mouth smiled, but there were daggers in her eyes.
"Malcolm likes to be helpful," Trip smirked with unrepentant humor, accepting his own glass.
"How's your head wound?" she countered with an unapologetic dig at his mental health. Archer ignored them both and signaled to the kitchen that they were ready.
A steward brought in plates of food from the door connecting the room to the galley. Archer proudly pointed out that a source had indicated that rack of lamb was her favorite food.
Andie nodded and made appreciative noises. Actually lamb was her father's favorite dish. These misunderstandings happened often enough in her life, and she tended to ignore them. She preferred spicy foods, but she ate politely as they made chitchat to get to know one another.
"How is it that your presence came to be requested on a planet humanity has never seen?" T'Pol inquired as she ate her plomeek broth.
"The Azorians were looking for my father," Andie admitted with a rueful smile. "He'd treated them before. They only knew to contact him through Earth and Starfleet is the biggest organization there. Starfleet couldn't find my father and figured I was an acceptable substitute. The Azorians were also taken aback when I stepped out of the transport," she added with an eye roll.
"What did they need help with?" Trip asked, with his mouth full of food.
"The Azorians spend most of their time underground in the extreme heat of the planet's core. They only come above ground to the cooler temperatures to procreate. The General's daughter was experiencing her first mating cycle. He was nervous and wanted an expert on hand." She toyed with her steamed vegetables. "The first time can be tricky," she added calmly.
"Don't they have doctors on hand to take of these things?" Archer asked dubiously, ignoring Trip choking on his meal from laughing. He couldn't imagine a species calling a foreign doctor just for having a few babies.
"My father had helped the General out of a rough spot some years ago. The General felt he would be the best man for the job." She did a fantastic job of looking as though she didn't feel the insult at being found wanting at both of her most recent posts, simply by not being the one they expected her to be.
"You must have performed efficiently," T'Pol spoke quietly. "The Azorians hailed us to say that your assistance was invaluable."
"Sappha's birth went off without a hitch," Andie agreed.
Archer was finding out that, although she was perfectly polite, her answers were short and to the point. He supposed it was to be expected when everyone had expected someone else. It seemed that this young woman would spend her whole life living in the shadow of her much respected father. He could appreciate that, as he was himself the son of a famous warp engineer.
"It's a pity the General's son didn't take off without a hitch," Trip joked.
Andie grinned. "We had our disagreements," she mused.
"Trip tells me that you risked your life to save his when his shuttle crashed on Azoria," Archer fished for confirmation.
"Actually I risked my life to assist the two females he took with him on his reckless abuse of power-trip," she corrected sassily. "It was most unfortunate that he, Midden, took so unkindly to my service."
"There was a fistfight?" Archer probed.
"Precarious footing and adverse weather," Andie clarified. "He pushed, I fell."
"How lucky that you were an accomplished mountain climber," Archer added sardonically.
"It was lucky that I fell on the left Tower," she amended. "There are many reachable handholds. It's practically like climbing a ladder. The right side would have been regrettable. It's nothing but sharp edges and water slicked stone. I would have been stuck there overnight."
"Well, then I guess it's good you can keep your head in a crisis," Trip reassured her, stealing a glance at the captain for his heavy handed inquisition.
"Panic tends to lead to misfortune," she added calmly. "I've learned that the hard way." Another white coated steward entered from the kitchen to clear the plates. "I see that our interrogation has reached an end. Perhaps we can finish this another time?" Her attitude was poised when she made the remark. Her smile remained in place. "It's been a long day."
Captain Archer wasn't used to being dismissed on his own ship. He looked uneasily at Trip, ignoring the gash that still marred his friend's forehead. "Dessert is scheduled in the Mess Hall," Jon announced. "I thought you might like to meet some of the crew before starting work tomorrow."
Pushing aside her weariness, Andie smiled graciously. She had forgotten about the small reception. "That would be lovely, Captain." She rose and the others followed her lead. Archer frowned as he stood.
He escorted her through the doors where a great many crewmen waited to meet the new doctor. Archer spoke a few words of introduction, making sure to mention that the Doctor Brainerd that would be with them for six months was actually a woman, not the legendary man that spurned the request of the greatest minds to lead the fledgling Starfleet Medical through its infancy stage.
In turn, Andie Brainerd reminded the crowd to refer to her as 'Andie' and promised to make a really long boring speech at some other time when there wasn't an enormous and delicious looking chocolate cake waiting for consumption. Her speech brought forth a few chuckles and most people were happy to turn and help themselves to a slice of pastry before accosting the semi-famous medic.
The faces blurred into one another as Andie graciously shook hands and smiled until her cheeks hurt. A young man dressed in a tall white hat and crisp white coat strode out of the galley through the main entrance to shake Andie's hand and ask her how she liked her meal. He spoke in a rough French accent, and Andie obliged him by responding in his native tongue. He was the number two man in the galley and he wanted to hear her thoughts on his meal. She smiled and told him it was perfection.
Hoshi Sato pushed forward. "I'm the communications officer. How many languages do you speak?" she asked eagerly. She overheard the foreign tongues even in the crowded room and hurried over.
"I only know a few greetings in a few languages," Andie assured her as they shook hands. "And, of course, all the dirty words!" Hoshi said something in Italian caused a quick grin to flash across the doctor's face before noticing all the people watching. "We should talk later," she winked at Hoshi.
"Count on it!" Hoshi chuckled.
Trip returned from the punch bowl, pressing a cup in her hand and bringing along a couple of people. The petite female with blue eyes was Crewman Cutler and the tall dark-haired, hawk-nosed male was Ensign Ian Black. They were both listed as medical technicians and would be spending a great deal of time with Andie.
"I've been such a fan of your father's work!" Ensign Black gushed. "He's the reason I became a nurse! Of course, that was before Starfleet lured me in with their promise of exciting research and exploration!"
Andie's smile never faltered as she received the compliments in her father's name. She'd been accepting his adulations for years. "I'm sure he'd be proud to be influencing the medical field in spite of his extended absence from Earth," she assured the young man. "I'll be happy to work alongside someone so dedicated to the health and safety of his patients." Her feet were beginning to hurt. She made a mental note to wear comfortable shoes from now on even as she shifted slightly.
"I'm sure you'll find most of the crew to be dedicated to the same high level of excellence." That smooth British lilt turned her head. Lieutenant Reed stood nearby, just as crisply starched in his Starfleet uniform this evening as he had been early this morning when she arrived.
Andie smiled to acknowledge his presence. "I'm sure that's true," she murmured.
Fading into the background was a specialty of his. Hanging on the outer edges of the conversation, he took in her appearance. Her hair was blond with red highlights, hiding the dark cinnamon underneath. Her eyes were dark gray rimmed in deep blue with green flecks. It was as though her whole appearance couldn't decide what it was supposed to look like and was trying to be several things at once. She was taller than Hoshi, but shorter than T'Pol. At the moment, she was gracious and polite. He hadn't known her long, but he knew that she could curse like a sailor and that she could handle herself in extreme circumstances. There was so much he didn't know about her. He wasn't sure how to protect her if she didn't trust him.
He looked up to find Trip smirking at him and went to fetch another cup of punch, making sure to talk to another crewmember about duties in the Armory when he was finished. When nobody was looking, he snuck glances at the young woman, whose fatigue was growing more evident to him with every moment.
Phlox crowed his enthusiasm for the party going on, and he broke through the crowd around the new doc and offered a plate of cookies for her consumption. She grinned automatically and lifted her own saucer which was so overloaded with treats, that it nearly upset the mug of coffee that rested on it.
Stuck in the heart of the crowd, Andie wished she could go back to her room and curl up with a big book. The noise swirled around her. As the hour grew even later, the changing shifts brought several new people into the room, even as others left. There were still more rounds of introductions. She finally couldn't take it anymore and pleaded space lag as she made her way to the double doors and the quiet corridor.
"Excuse me," Lieutenant Reed appeared at her side before she exited through the doors. "May I escort you back to your cabin?"
Gratefully she allowed him to steer her out the portal and down the hall to the turbo-lift. "If I was paranoid, I'd think the captain sent you on purpose," she muttered as she shifted her feet restlessly.
"Commander Tucker asked that I rescue you before he retired for the evening. It seems you were able to take care of yourself." His inability to quiet his nerves had left him babbling this afternoon. Determined that it wouldn't happen again, he clenched his jaw together to keep his lips shut.
Andie nodded quietly, only murmuring her thanks for his assistance, her smile slipping quietly away. It was clear that he didn't care for this duty, since he was grinding his teeth. They stepped out of the lift, and Andie leaned against a bulkhead briefly while slipping the sandals off her aching feet.
"That's the last time I choose fashion over function," she grimaced before following Malcolm in her bare feet. He frowned but said nothing about her feet.
"I was hoping to hear more about your time with the Azorians," he commented as they turned a corner. "The conversation in the mess hall never seemed to come round that way."
Pausing, she asked, "What do you want to know?" Apparently people made a habit of passing information around to each other. She made a mental note to remember how fast gossip spread.
"I understand they have a military presence on the planet?" he indicated. "The group is led by a General?"
Andie giggled and resumed her walk and Malcolm kept up. "They are a polite and passive people. One might even say plodding. However, General Genarre received his rank by bold and dangerous service to his people!" Her voice was full of good humor when she told him, "He was the first to lead them up through the cave in the spring and the last to lock up when they descend again in the fall!" Malcolm's disappointment was almost palpable, causing more chuckles from the female. "They despise the cold, and he met it fearlessly on more than one occasion, so they elected him general."
"And the son?" Malcolm inquired, hoping to quell his disappointment. He'd just come back from a dangerous mission involving Andorians, Tellerites and a Vulcan civil war. Surely he didn't need to assume everyone was a threat in this life. Of course, life in the Expanse taught him to be cautious. If he didn't take care, people died.
"Midden hopes to lead his people to revolution," she answered, still amused. "Unfortunately, there's nothing to rebel against." She leaned against her door.
"Perhaps that's the reason the proximity sensors were disconnected in your shuttle pod," he remarked casually.
"Excuse me?" she inquired, suddenly less tired and much more alert. Her blue eyes searched his face for a falsehood.
"The sensors were disabled," he repeated. "Perhaps Midden is more dangerous than you believe him to be."
She didn't seem nearly as disturbed as he thought she'd be. Considering how explosive her reaction to Archer's assumption of her gender early today, she seemed relaxed and uninterested that somebody may have just tried to kill her. He had reason to wonder if it wasn't the first time someone had.
"Midden didn't have the chance to sabotage anything," she told him. "He was stuck in a shuttle pod. It may have been some of his cronies. They loaded my luggage as payment of a debt. Azorians don't have space travel. It's likely that they were unaware of how dangerous it would be to disengage the sensors." She shrugged. "No harm, no foul," she finished.
"No harm?" he questioned. "Except to Commander Tucker's head?"
"He's got a hard head," she pointed out with a grin. "I doubt we'll see much of them anymore, so it doesn't seem to warrant further investigation."
He managed to meet her eyes and the world slowed down for a second. Clearing her throat, she broke through the pregnant pause.
"Thank you for the escort, Lieutenant. I'm sure I'll find my way just fine tomorrow." She found he made her nervous and was hoping to forestall any further inquiries he might make. Curiosity could be dangerous.
Nodding, he stepped back. "Welcome aboard, Doctor."
She smiled politely and went inside.