Thanks everyone who's still reading. Please review – I love to know what you think. Here's a brief interlude in the calm before the storm where we get to know some of the other crew a bit better. Hope you all enjoy.
4. The Dinner – Christine
Six days of peace followed the sickbay incident, and order was restored. The peace had largely been created by the fact that for the three days Doctor McCoy had been on an away mission to return the diplomats, and subsequently had been busy either on the bridge, or with examinations of his own which she ensured ran smoothly by assisting herself when necessary. Despite his brisk bedside manner, she couldn't deny he was one of the best doctors she had ever seen – his knowledge was extensive and flawless, his procedures effortless and he held a rare perception that she found fascinating. It was only this respect of his abilities that was able to keep her biting her tongue when he began one of his tirades against her. She had discovered that if she replied 'Yes Doctor' meekly, it tended to diffuse his anger in some unfathomable way – but actually allowing herself to do so was much more difficult. She had never considered herself a particularly argumentative person, and certainly not a violent one, but he brought out these attributes in her like no one she had ever met before. Then again, she had never met anyone quite so sarcastic, challenging, belittling and downright rude as the Doctor. She didn't know how she was going to manage five years of him – but assured herself that at least he could only improve, and she had always thrived in difficult circumstances.
In between the time training her staff and assisting the doctor, she had also been busy with her own work, performing the mandatory physical exams of the crewmembers. Starting with the senior staff, she had examined the captain (who had been very quick to remove his clothing), Commander Spock (which had occurred in near complete silence), Lieutenant Commander Scott (who she had to coax to let go of his collection of metal implements through pure bribery) and Lieutenant Sulu, who seemed so blissfully normal that she could have hugged him.
"You certainly cleaned up this place quickly." He said, smiling at her as he began to dress. "You wouldn't have known that just a few days ago we were fighting for our lives against a large pink gaseous consciousness."
She laughed, something that she couldn't remember doing in some time. "What makes me think that such an event wasn't entirely surprising on this ship?"
"It's my belief that the Captain has some strange mystical power that draws new undiscovered lifeforms to him." She laughed again. "Would you believe me if I told you that it's not even the strangest lifeform we've met?"
"Absolutely. I'm sure there many more even stranger ones to come."
Sulu made a face. "I'd better brush up on my fencing."
"You fence?"
"Technically it's Kendo. Are you familiar with it?"
She was extremely familiar with it – she had been overflowing with emotion ten years ago, and fighting someone with a large sword was, she found, a particularly useful form of therapy. "Yes, I took some classes while in the academy, although I never got particularly good. I used Taekwondo to get through the advanced combat course."
"You took the advanced combat course?"
"You sound surprised." She said dryly.
"You're just so… nice. And proper. I can't imagine you fighting anyone." She guessed he was imagining some of the other cadets on the course. Some of them had certainly been interesting…
"I haven't had to fight for a long time." At least not physically. "And I'm most definitely out of practise, but in my time I was pretty good."
The man looked at her in wonder. "A ninja nurse. No wonder you fit in so well on this ship. Should we ever be boarded, I'll feel better knowing the people in sickbay at least are safe."
She smiled. "Like I said, I'm out of practise. But I would like to get into it again. Tell me, do you run remedial classes?"
"Remedial…? No, but how about we do a swap – Taekwondo for Kendo. My hand-to-hand combat needs work, and I can remind you how to use a sword."
"Sounds like a plan." She replied with genuine enthusiasm. "How about you message me with a place and time, once your hands are completely healed, and we can go from there?"
"Good idea." He grinned. "My wife will be happy – she's been saying I've been putting on weight. And there was me thinking that the adrenaline of this ship alone would keep it off." She smiled at that. "Well I'd best be getting back to my station. Thank you again, Nurse Chapel."
"It's Christine, and you are welcome."
Midway through her shift on the sixth day following the sickbay incident, Christine determined to do something radical. She decided to take a break and go and eat dinner in the mess, a place that she had yet to visit. The sickbay was quiet – McCoy was on the bridge and their last patient had been discharged some hours ago – and she was sure the other nurses could cope with anything minor. She had realised that she didn't want her only knowledge of this ship to be through sickbay. Her mother had often reminded her that people were rarely at their best when they were ill.
She had forgotten how many people lived on this ship when she entered the mess. It was teeming, and what was worse was she didn't recognise one person.
She poured herself some soup, then holding her tray looked around. This felt vividly like her first day at school. She had been several years younger than the other students, and she remembered holding her lunch tray and wondering who on earth would consider eating with her. However, she had been saved then by a young boy with a sweet smile; she was saved now when a beautiful long-haired Terran, and a green-skinned Orion waved her over.
Attempting not to sigh with relief, and wondering what two such people would want with her, she joined them.
"You looked at little lost." The Terran told her as she drew closer. "You're Nurse Chapel, are you not?"
She smiled. "That's me. May I?" She joined them at the table.
"I'm Uhura, and this is Gaila." She smiled serenely and Christine felt a flash of recognition.
"You're the voice on the comm. aren't you?"
The woman looked surprised. "Yes – I'm chief communications officer. You have a good ear for voices."
"Not particularly, I've just heard every time the captain wants Doctor McCoy on the bridge."
"Which is usually several times a day." Gaila laughed. "Commander Scott says that he spends more time on the bridge trying to stop the captain doing something crazy than he does in sickbay treating patients."
"Commander Scott?" Her thoughts flashed back to the quirky, brilliant man she had examined. "You work in engineering?"
"Yep."
"She's a whizz as taking things apart. She's just not as good at putting them back together how she found them." Uhura commented, eyes shining with amusement.
"It was an improvement, Uhura." The woman defended herself. "What's the point of something that just dries your hair, when you could have something that dries your body too, and in under three seconds."
"It would have been lovely, if it hadn't been that by drying you mean incinerate. I'm just glad I was fully dressed at the time."
The Orion sighed. "I'm working on that. And besides you gave Cadet Signos a nice surprise when you had kicked him out of your wardrobe."
"Gaila!" She frowned at her friend, but there was a smiled behind it, and Christine had the impression that they'd been good friends at the academy.
Gaila turned her eye on Christine, examining her closely. "So what's it like working for Doctor McCoy?"
Christine tried not to make a face. "Interesting..."
Uhura exchanged a glance with her friend. "I bet it is."
Gaila looked thoughtful. "You know, anger means passion, and passion means…"
"It's more grumpiness than anger." Christine interrupted, trying to force away a blush. That was most definitely not a thought she wanted to be having.
"McCoy's not that bad, when you get used to him." Uhura reassured her. "He has a heart of gold deep down." Very deep down, Christine thought to herself. "Maria – Nurse Simkins – told me that he was really kind when she told him about her… problem."
"I heard that he told her that she was an idiot and that Jim Kirk wasn't worth losing her marriage over." Gaila commented.
"Well yes, but he did help her get decommissioned. And then gave the captain a tongue-lashing for it, according to Spock – that is Commander Spock."
Gaila grinned at her. "Well you can hardly blame the captain. The nurse pretty much threw herself at him after the Klingons had been doing their best to get him drunk. A man can only resist so much."
"A better man would have managed."
"Well they can't all be like Commander Spock."
Uhura frowned at her, then turned back to Christine. "McCoy has a hard time. It isn't easy to be the captain's friend."
Christine thought this through. "It seems like they have an odd friendship – they're not very alike."
"I think that is part of the beauty. The captain can always rely on him to speak his mind, and he relies on the captain to do the right thing. They've been friends for years – since the academy – and the doctor's one of the most loyal friends I have ever seen."
That surprised her. "How so?"
"Well I can't count the number of times the doctor has taken the flack for one of Kirk's schemes."
"Like when he smuggled the captain onto the ship during the Narada incident." Gaila smiled. "I always liked that story."
Christine tried to add this up with the man that she had seen, and came up short. Perhaps he did have a personality disorder after all. They paused as she began to eat her soup which had since gone cold.
"You should come around for one of our girlie nights." Gaila suggested. "They're always fun." Christine looked up in surprise. She had never been one to make friends quickly – most people found her rather cold and reserved at first. It was usually only with time that she was comfortable enough to let her sense of humour show and say what she was really thinking.
"They are normally amusing." Uhura agreed. "And it will be nice to have someone other than the two of us."
"The other women on this ship are just prejudiced against me." Frowned Gaila.
"They're worried you'll steal their partners, Gaila. Which isn't entirely unfounded."
"I never steal anything."
"That's not the point. A word of warning." Uhura told Christine. "If you have your eye on anyone on this ship, let Gaila know first. Isn't that right Gaila. Gaila?"
Gaila had become distracted, and following her gaze she was surprised to see her staring at the Chief Engineer.
Uhura sighed. "Scotty? Not still?"
The man was muttering to the short being besides him, who was passing him various screws, then suddenly exclaimed "Jelly, oh I love jelly!"; before rebuking his aide for handing him something wrong whilst with a mouthful of the stuff.
Gaila turned back to her friend, smiling slightly. "He's interesting. And clever. And you know, geniuses in the engine room are also geniuses in-."
"Stop it Gaila. That is truly disgusting." Uhura rebuked while Christine hid a smile behind a hand. "Besides, didn't you tell me that he has never shown the slightest bit of interest in you?"
"Yes. I can't figure that out. However, I'm always up for a challenge." The woman grinned, and pulled out a small device from a pocket. "I do believe I'm going to need some help rebuilding the kolium matrix in here, excuse me."
Christine and Uhura exchanged amused looks as Gaila approached the engineer, looking serious, perplexed, and batting her eyelashes.
"I think she might have her work cut out there." Christine commented.
"Really? I wondered if he were somehow resistant to her pheromones…"
Christine smiled to herself. She knew for a fact that, in the course of experimentation, the man had lost most of his olfactory epithelium, and was unsusceptible to pheromones, just as he couldn't smell.
"He may well be." She said, unwilling to break the code of confidentiality that held her practise. She wondered how long it would be before the Orion found out. She wondered if the knowledge would stop her. She made a note to herself to read up on Orion psychology.
Uhura smiled. "She's slightly insane, but she is certainly entertaining."
They continued to speak for a few minutes more about the ship and their time at the academy. Then she noticed that Commander Spock was watching them a little way off with the blank expression and stillness she associated with his race.
"Uhura, I believe that Commander Spock is trying to get your attention."
Uhura looked up, met the Vulcan's eyes and gave him the slightest of nods. The sensor in Christine's mind – or what her mother liked to call her feminine intuition – flared into life. Were they in some sort of relationship? Could it be possible – a human and a Vulcan in a relationship? Well, stranger things had happened. But then, if it were real it broke several regulations, and Christine could no more imagine a Vulcan breaking a rule than dancing the hula.
"I need to go." Uhura informed her. "Are you coming to the dinner tonight?"
Christine had totally forgotten about that. "Yes, I plan to."
"Thank goodness. I was getting sick of being the only woman on the senior staff. There's only so many of Jim's stories I can listen to."
Christine smiled at her. "Well, I don't know whether my presence will change the captain's storytelling, but I'll see you tonight."
They exchanged final smiles and Uhura left with Spock, their arms identically clasped behind their backs.
The other nurses had been sweet at the end of her shift and had helped her to leave on time by taking on several of the tasks she would have usually done herself. She felt a stab of almost maternal affection for them. It was nice to know that they returned her feelings – Nurse Ogori had taken to calling her Mum after she had gone to comfort her on the news her relationship with another crewman had fallen apart, and the other nurses treated her with warmth since she had defended them from McCoy. It had become a pleasant environment to work in, and in just days. Now if only she could solve the problem of Doctor McCoy. She hadn't seen him much, and hoped that the dinner tonight would perhaps give her an idea on a plan of action. She was sick of writing his name at the top of her daily things to do list and not being able to add any action points.
She pulled her blonde hair into a complex knot and selected a green dress – the only thing she owned fit for a dinner - from her wardrobe. She considered herself in the mirror and decided that, apart from looking tired, she didn't look too bad. She was no great beauty – her mother had often told her that her features were too soft to be striking – but she looked well enough.
She rang the buzzer for the captain's quarters exactly five minutes early. The captain answered it himself, grinning at her. He was dressed in a blue formal shirt that matched his eyes – a fact she was sure he was well aware – and was holding a glass of something clear and bubbling.
"Christine – you look lovely." He was staring at her legs again. She fought an urge to say something scathing.
"Thank you sir."
"Now come on in and get something to drink."
She entered the quarters feeling suddenly apprehensive. The room was lit softly, and a large round table stood in the centre laid for dinner. She saw faces that she recognised, and one or two that she didn't, and realised that she was probably one of the last people here. Uhura and Spock stood talking on the far side of the room with Scott, who was telling an animated story that was making Uhura laugh. Sulu was talking to – or rather being talked at - Cherkov, the young man who had shown her to her quarters on her first day. She was surprised to see him here, but she supposed that the captain could pick and choose who to invite. Her eyes came to rest on McCoy, and she felt startled that he looked so different. Perhaps it was that he wasn't wearing uniform, but a plain black shirt that, she had to admit to herself, looked good on him. Or perhaps it was the fact he looked uncomfortable and unsure, contemplating his glass with a frown. She had grown used to the confident and forceful doctor in the sickbay, and seeing him otherwise – and that he was capable of being otherwise – was strange.
It was probably curiosity that made her approach him.
"It might not happen, you know."
He turned at her voice, eyebrows lifting in surprise when he saw she was addressing him. "What might not?"
"Whatever it is that is making you scowl at your glass with such intensity."
"I wasn't scowling."
"Oh – can you see your reflection in the glass too?"
He opened his mouth, shut it again, and then glared at her. She smiled at him, if only to prove that his glare didn't faze her.
"Bones, get that woman a drink." The captain broke the moment with a hand on his shoulder and a smile for Christine.
"I'm a doctor, not a bartender." McCoy muttered ominously, but obediently went to the cabinet.
"I see he's his ever charming self."
"Did you upset him again?" She wondered aloud.
"Upset Bones? I would never do such a thing!" She raised her eyebrows at him in amusement. "Well almost never. It definitely wasn't me tonight though. He was in this mood when he got here."
She glanced at the man's back. "Perhaps he is simply tired. You have been working him hard of late."
"We all work hard. At least his is nothing that a few drinks and a decent woman can't solve."
"And when you say decent you really mean…?"
Jim grinned at her. "Hospitable."
"Who's hospitable?" The doctor returned and thrust a drink at her. She murmured her thanks, and he frowned at her.
"I am. Let's eat shall we?" He winked at Christine, then announced dinner to the room.
They took their seats, and she was relieved to find that Uhura had been placed one side of her, and Cherkov on the other. The doctor sat besides the captain, almost opposite her, but thankfully far enough away that she would not have to listen to his barbed comments all night.
"I'm glad to see you again, Nurse Chapel." The Russian man said.
"And I you." She replied. "How have you been?"
"Wery good. I am working on transporter improvements with Mr Scott. It is wery interesting." He began to explain the intricacies to her and she had to work to look interested, as the starter was placed before her. Thankfully, after ten minutes she was saved by Commander Scott, who butted in with "That's not right, lad;" and dominated his attention so she could turn to Uhura.
"Transporter mechanics." Uhuru whispered. "Certainly not my favourite topic of conversation."
"I'm glad." Christine replied, with a smile and a low voice. "Because I'm not sure I could prevent the glazed look for much longer."
Uhura laughed. "I've been trying to avoid talking shop with the pair of them at social occasions for months. I honestly don't think it's possible. Just try not to mention anything about the turbolifts – I once commented to Scotty that they seemed to have been running a little slow, and he gave me a hour lecture on diagnostic systems."
"That sounds horrific."
"It was – though not as bad as his singing of the Scottish ballads. I imagine we'll be graced by one tonight – the captain thinks their funny."
"The captain has a strange sense of humour."
"Nurse Chapel." Kirk interrupted them across the table. "Tell us how you've been getting on since you got here."
Christine blushed as all eyes suddenly turned to her. "Fine. The nurses are all doing well."
"So I've heard. They all seem to like you." Christine didn't bother to ask how he would know that – but hoped it wasn't because he was harassing them again. "I'm glad to see you haven't let Bones bully you. How do you find him as your CMO? Not too ill-tempered?"
She certainly found him ill-tempered. And frustrating and illogical and down-right aggressive. However she knew that tone of voice well – it was the same as when he had been a child and was up to something. She glanced at the doctor, but he was staring at the table.
"He is a perfectionist." She said slowly. "But a very good doctor." She felt proud of her diplomatic response.
"Hear hear." Said Scotty loudly. "Got us out of a few tight spots he has. That one where half the crew was infected with that nasty virus was a corker – Spock's ears turned blue, do you remember? Blue ears!"
"I am familiar with the events." Her eyes flickered to the Vulcan and she tried hard not to smile. She lost. "As I recall the doctor formulated an anti-virus from my blood."
"The blueness remained for a few weeks though." The captain commented with a smile. "I tried to convince the Spock to keep it, but the doctor wouldn't allow it."
"Irrelevant of that Sir, I would not have kept the discolouration in any case. You kept laughing every time you saw me, and I feared that I would become too distracting." Christine noticed Uhura touch the man's hand under the table. So she hadn't been reading into things. Intriguing.
Kirk glanced at Uhura too, and smirked. "Yes, I'm sure that was the major reason."
The conversation drifted and Christine continued to talk to Uhura as the main course was served and followed by dessert. Christine wasn't sure what she was eating most of the time – and she didn't ask because she wasn't sure she wanted to know – but it all tasted good.
It was as they were drinking coffee that the captain tapped his glass to make another announcement. "Here is the moment when the captain becomes sentimental." Uhura whispered to her.
"As some of you know, in a few hours we will be entering Klingon space in an attempt to find an essential probe which StarFleet believes has drifted into their territory. We of course aim for this to be a peaceful and straightforward retrieval mission;" She watched as the Doctor threw him a look of profound scepticism; "However, the Klingon people are not particularly enthralled with the Federation at the moment, and we will be standing at Amber alert as soon as we enter their space. May I therefore take this opportunity to say that I am grateful to have a crew as talented as dedicated as you. I have no doubt that through your abilities and commitment we will be able to complete this mission as we complete all our others. Therefore may I raise my glass to the crew of the Enterprise."
"The Enterprise." They raised their glasses, and Christine's eyes met those of the doctor's across the table. For a second she couldn't move or breathe. He was smiling slightly – good grief a woman could fall in love with those eyes - and then everyone was moving away from the table and the spell was broken. Her heart was beating fast, like she'd just been running, and the butterflies were dancing in synchronisation for once. What, in the galaxy, was that? Uhura was talking to her again, and she gave herself a mental kick and tried to focus on the words. Her eyes slid back to the doctor, but his back was to her, talking to Jim in a low voice.
"Are you all right Christine?" Uhura was looking at her with concern.
She tried to smile. "I'm fine." She lied. "Just tired. When do you think I could leave here without seeming inpolite? I hate to eat and run."
"I'd give it another fifteen minutes. I'll have to leave then too – I'm on the early shift tomorrow."
"You're not talking about leaving?" Kirk had come up behind them, and Christine felt a surge of guilt. However, Uhura seemed less easy to manipulate.
"We can't function on so little sleep like you, Jim. Do you have any idea how much concentration it takes to interpret several dialects of Klingon simultaneously? And the last thing you'll be wanting is Nurse Chapel making mistakes."
"I don't believe Nurse Chapel ever makes mistakes."
Christine blushed. "I definitely do." Far too many of them, and the largest ones were usually personal.
"I hope you don't feel that taking this post was one of them." Kirk said perceptively.
"No." Only sometimes. "I enjoy being a member of this crew." Usually.
"Good." Uhura had begun talking to Scott and the captain leaned closer. "And of course working for the good doctor. No regrets there?"
She frowned at him, and the suspicion she had earlier relit. "Why all the questions about Doctor McCoy, captain? Has he been complaining about me?"
"Complaining?" Jim grinned. "He complains about everyone. However, he seems to complain significantly less about you compared to me, which is a good sign."
"Well I'm not sure I blame him for complaining about you. You always were trouble as a boy."
"Well I'm half as much trouble now. But twice the fun." She rolled her eyes at him.
"I imagine that you have got it the wrong way round. Tell me captain, is there a reason why your two most senior officers are both able to sedate you so easily?"
He laughed. "Jeez, I bet you give Bones a run for his money. You always were a particularly sarcastic teenager. You and he would have got along."
"And you always were a particularly naughty child. I wonder why I liked you so much, really."
"I'm sure it was his big blue eyes and boyish smile." McCoy said behind her, voice sardonic.
"No, it was my undying love and devotion that did it." Jim grinned at her with those big blue eyes and boyish smile. "Do you remember when I ran away to your house to proclaim my love?"
Christine smiled, despite the confusing presence of the nearby doctor. "You were nine and tried to start a fight with my boyfriend. You never did tell me how you managed to travel three hundred miles with no money."
"You probably don't want to know."
"No I probably don't. You were very sweet though."
"And your boyfriend was an idiot – even an eleven year old could see that. Whatever happened to him?"
"He joined Starfleet. He was killed on the Gallant eight years ago."
She felt the doctor's eyes on her. His silence was making her nervous.
"Well I'm sorry to hear that." Kirk said sincerely. He paused. "I was about your mother too."
"I got your message." She tried not to think too deeply. "I didn't think you would remember us."
"It would have been hard to forget you." He touched her arm. "Your mum always looked out for me. And you did stop me being sent to Mars."
"So she's the one we should blame?" McCoy said quietly, voice humourless.
"Or thank, Bones. You know, some people think it makes me a good captain." The doctor frowned but made no response. "Now please excuse me. Cherkov's been looking at me for the last few minutes and I'd hate for him to spontaneously combust." He squeezed her arm one final time, then left her with the doctor.
She tried not to look at him, feeling suddenly nervous. What the hell was wrong with her? One look and she was turned into a teenager again? Well she was well beyond those years.
"How often does the Captain usually have these get-togethers?" She asked him. She could be polite if he could.
The doctor frowned at her. "About once a month. He likes playing host - thinks it improves staff dynamic."
"And you don't?"
"I think the best way to get to know someone isn't through small talk."
She eyed him unsurprised. "Then how?"
"You work together." She frowned at him. "You disagree? I suppose you think that having deep and meaningful conversations is more important. You like to see people's souls."
"I don't ask to see anyone's soul. But you're right – I do like to talk to people. There's only so much you can find out about someone by working with them."
"I suppose it's the nurse in you." He said under his breath.
She glanced up at him, feeling irritated. "I'm sure that as a doctor you understand the importance of speaking to people, Doctor McCoy. Many illnesses don't present as physical symptoms – and it is only through deep conversation that you can elicit the problem."
"That is different."
"Really? You think that people will talk to you just because you're a doctor and demand it?" Her temper was flaring. She attempted to reign it in. "What I'm trying to say is that since you are in charge of both the physical and mental health of this crew, you of all people should know how important it is to build a relationship with people – and that requires talking to them, not just in consultation."
He was searching her face, and she met his eyes. Her stomach lurched again – those eyes. She felt angry at him again. Who was he, to slight her and then to make her feel like this? She had had enough.
"Excuse me doctor, but I'm tired and am in early tomorrow. Good night."
He nodded curtly. "Goodnight Nurse Chapel."
She felt his eyes on her back as she left.
