Sickbay was mostly empty. The lights overhead were dimmed, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft beeping of the tricorder as Christine ran it over Oriana, making sure she was in perfect health.
"Apart from some slight dehydration, you are in perfect physical health, kiddo," Christine said, offering Oriana a small smile. "What flavour do you like most? We have apple, blackcurrant, orange, and blue."
"What for?" Oriana questioned, not sure what it was for.
"Well, you see," Christine began, a grin on her face. "To fix dehydration, we have these ice pops and they're really yummy."
"What is blue?" Oriana asked, looking up at Christine curiously.
"Blue is the best flavour! It's my all-time favourite, and I think you'll really like it."
"Okay, I want blue," Oriana said, nodding her head.
"Coming right up!" Walking into the office, Christine went to the small freezing unit and pulled out the last blue one. Making a mental note to synthesise more, she cut the top off and wrapped a tissue around the base so it wouldn't burn Oriana's fingers.
"I've never seen any food that blue!" Oriana exclaimed as she took the ice pop and tried it.
"It's good, isn't it?" Christine smiled, knowing the ice pop would be better received than a hypospray.
"Is there anything I can call you apart from Nurse Chapel?" Oriana asked, taking a tentative bite of the ice treat.
"My name is Christine," Christine replied. "You can call me that if you want."
"Okay, Christine. Thank you."
"Any time, kiddo," Christine replied, scanning Oriana once more to check her hydration levels.
"What's going to happen to me now?" Oriana asked quietly.
"When we get back to the starbase tomorrow, we are going to help you find your family," Christine replied, giving Oriana's shoulder a soft squeeze.
"We are safe, right? From the Gorn?"
"Yes, sweetie, we are, I promise." Putting away the tricorder, Christine sat next to Oriana on the bed.
"Christine, do you have a boyfriend?" Oriana asked, looking up at Christine as she sucked on her ice pop.
Feeling her eyes go wide, Christine coughed and cleared her throat. "No, I do not have a boyfriend…" Christine began as La'an entered sickbay. "…or a girlfriend," she finished, her eyes on La'an.
Looking between Christine and La'an, Oriana stopped sucking on her ice pop and grinned.
"Is Oriana cleared to leave Sickbay?" La'an asked, looking directly at Christine. "I see she has an ice lolly."
"I'm right here," Oriana cut in, glaring at La'an.
Patting Oriana on the knee, Christine slid off the bed. "She's a little dehydrated but nothing an ice pop and a cup of water won't fix."
"Good." Turning to face Oriana, La'an straightened her posture. "I'm going to help you find your family. Once we get to the starbase, we will set off and follow the leads where they take us. I've been approved to have time off for however long it takes."
Feeling Oriana's eyes on her, Christine gave her a small nod and watched as she nodded uncertainly at La'an. Not liking La'an's plan, Christine took a deep breath in stepped closer to her.
"Can I talk to you in the office for a moment?" she asked, not giving La'an a moment to respond before holding onto her forearm and making her move.
"What is it?" La'an asked, crossing her arms as she waited for Christine to talk.
"I know your intentions are well, but you need to realise she is a traumatised child. You also have your own trauma, and two people with shared trauma, from the same situation, in a small vessel for who knows how long, is a disaster waiting to happen. I've read your medical file, I know you flat out refused therapy for a very long time and after seeing you in a situation with the Gorn, twice now, I know you have a lot more to process. I'm not calling you out or anything, I just think you need to know."
"I think I know how to handle a child. And, my trauma has nothing to do with this," La'an remarked, almost glaring at Christine.
"What will you do when she has a nightmare and wakes up screaming and crying?" Christine replied, throwing the ball back in La'an's court.
Feeling taken aback at the question, La'an felt the cogs in her head turning as she tried to find an answer.
"That's what I thought," Christine commented, taking La'an's silence as a heavy indicator.
"It's the only option, Chapel. It's not like anyone else is going to put in the effort like I will to help find her family," La'an admitted, uncrossing her arms and sighing.
"I want to help you find her family. I'm a civilian, I'm not enlisted in Starfleet, and I'm medically trained. I know I can be useful. I can also be a buffer for when either or both of you feel traumatised or unable to deal with the other one," Christine said, taking a step closer to La'an.
"Do you really want to do this?" La'an asked, making sure it was what Christine wanted to do.
"I do. She's an innocent child who has lost so much. I want to help her just like you do."
"We'll have to get it cleared with Captain Pike and Doctor M'Benga," La'an said, going over to the communications console.
After what felt like a very long chat with the captain and doctor, Christine sighed and leaned against the table. She was cleared to go, and she somehow felt both relieved and anxious.
"Are you two done, already?" Oriana asked, standing in the doorway.
"Sorry we took forever, we're done in here," Christine replied, going over to her and doing another quick scan.
"What took you so long?"
"We have a change of plans. Nurse Chapel will be coming with us when we try to find your family," La'an replied, looking at Oriana.
"Okay," Oriana replied, looking between the two women. She had half a plan formulating in her brain, and she may now have some time to put it into action.
The rest of her shift in Sickbay went by quickly and before she knew it, Christine was in her quarters with two suitcases open across her bed. They were due to arrive at the starbase in thirteen hours, and she still needed to pack, sleep, and make sure her notes were all up to date.
Pulling open all the drawers in her dresser, Christine began to pack methodically, making sure everything was folded neatly and there was no room empty in the suitcase.
Christine wanted to help Oriana find her family. She wanted to be there for her, help her when she needed it, and make sure she was going to be okay. She had seen what not receiving mental help looked like with La'an, she knew that file inside out, and she didn't want Oriana to have the same experience.
She didn't know how she'd get along with La'an either. They were on friendly terms, they said hi and bye, had dinner together a few times, and that was it. Christine hoped that getting to know each other a little more would bring them closer and help them on their journey.
Jamming socks down the side of her suitcase, Christine took a moment to sit down and take a breath. She didn't know what to expect on their journey, she didn't know what was going to happen, but she felt scared shitless and excited simultaneously.
Taking a walk around her quarters, Christine picked up a few of her work PADDs and laid them on top of her clothing. If there was still room, she was going to make something else fit. Her room felt empty now that most of her belongings were packed away, and it reminded her that she was really committing to helping Oriana find her family.
Zipping up her suitcases, Christine placed them by the door and pulled down the covers on her bed. Cuddling down under the covers, she let out a huff of air and closed her eyes. Willing her brain to turn off so she could at least get a few hours of sleep, she rolled onto her side and pulled her pillow closer to her.
The rest of the journey back to the starbase went by relatively quickly. Enterprise had been docked for a few hours, and Captain Pike had already come and wished them well on their voyage. Doctor M'Benga also stopped by before they disembarked, giving them all medical clearance to leave.
Standing outside of the airlock which led to their new ship, the Cannon, Christine now only realised how small it was. Her two suitcases were next to her, La'an was standing to her left with her own luggage, and Oriana was to her right, a duffel over one shoulder as she clutched a purple teddy bear to her chest, given to her from Ensign Zier.
"Come on, let's go," La'an said, opening the airlock and leading them onto the ship.
Hearing the hatch hiss closed behind her, Christine placed her luggage against the wall, next to La'an's, and gave Oriana's shoulder a soft squeeze. She could tell Oriana was nervous, and she wanted to help her feel safe and relaxed.
"I'm going to get us clearance to leave. I'll be on the bridge," La'an said, heading straight to the front of the vessel.
"I'm going to go help La'an. Do you want to come, or stay here in the living area until we've departed?" Christine asked, facing Oriana.
"I'll stay here," Oriana replied, dumping her duffel on the ground and flopping onto the couch.
Joining La'an on the bridge, Christine sat next to her and went over the controls in front of her. The ship reminded her of the one her colony had that she once borrowed and took for a joyride around the planet.
"We are just waiting for clearance to leave," La'an said, turning to her. "Do you know how to use the controls?"
"Surprisingly, yes," Christine replied. "This ship is about as old as the one on my colony when I was growing up."
"You grew up in a colony? I didn't know that," La'an replied, a little surprised.
"I did. The other children didn't like me that much so I spent most of my time studying the genome of every and any race I could. When my parents decided I had spent too much time studying they would send me outside and to avoid the other children, I hid inside of the ship and familiarised myself with the controls until one day I just decided to take it for a spin around the colony. I couldn't sit properly for a week afterward," Christine shared, giving La'an a small smile.
"So, there's more to Nurse Chapel than meets the eye," La'an replied, smiling in return.
"There is so much more to learn, and you're going to suffer through many stories," Christine half-joked, feeling a little more relaxed.
"I look forward to having my ear talked off," La'an replied, leaning back into the chair.
Getting clearance to leave the starbase, La'an skilfully manoeuvred them away and took one last look at the Enterprise before she engaged the warp drive, heading for the planet Vilaria.
Seeing the stars begin to fly by as they hit warp three, Christine let out the breath she was holding. Setting the scanners to keep watch for anything that was coming towards them, she made sure the computer would notify them the second anything popped up.
There was no turning back now, she was in this for the long haul and as she looked over at La'an, Christine realised that the three of them had only each other to depend on.
"Should we go check out the rest of the ship and make sure Oriana isn't getting into too much mischief?" Christine asked, spinning in the chair to face La'an.
"That sounds like a plan," La'an replied, setting the ship to auto-pilot before getting up.
Leading the way from the bridge and through the door, they entered the living area and looked around. There was a large U-shaped couch in the middle of the room. On the far wall was a bookshelf, sitting empty with nothing on it. There was a small cupboard next to the door leading to the bridge and it had a few random puzzles and a bunch of board games inside. Near the airlock was a small table with four chairs around it and a food synthesiser embedded in the wall. There was a small hallway behind the couch that had four doors on it, two on either side.
"Where are we heading?" Oriana asked, looking up at both women.
"We are on our way to Vilaria. We have a lead that one of your aunts may have lived there for a while," La'an replied, slightly tugging her uniform shirt down.
"How long will it take?" Oriana questioned, moving so she was sitting up.
"The maximum warp speed we have is warp five but that is pushing the engines. Safely, warp three. It will take us twenty-three days," La'an answered, her eyes quickly darting to Christine for a second.
"Ugh!" Oriana exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"How about we check out the ship," Christine said, trying to ease the tension she was already feeling between the two.
"I better get my own room," Oriana mumbled as she got up off the couch and walked to the hallway, Christine and La'an close behind.
The first door on the left was a small bathroom with a shower, vanity, sink, and toilet. The room was Starfleet-issue grey and had no personal touches to it. It also had a door leading into the room next to it.
The second door on the left led into a bedroom. There was a single bed pushed up against the far wall with a simple blue quilt on it and two pillows at the head. A small grey bedside table sat next to it with a lamp atop. There was a dresser on the far wall and a desk next to it with a small pile of new PADDs on it. There was one window on the back wall, the stars going past quickly outside.
"I'll take this room, you two can leave now," Oriana said, grabbing a PADD off the desk and flopping down onto the bed, her teddy bear still clutched to her tightly.
"I guess this is your room then," La'an said, looking at Christine and making a face.
"I'm going to check out the rest of the ship," Christine said, leaving Oriana alone in her room.
"Why are children so," La'an began, bringing both hands up and rubbing her face.
"Difficult?" Christine offered, realising that playing referee between the two might happen a lot more often than she hoped.
"Yes, difficult."
"Come on, let's check out the last two rooms," Christine said, opening the first door on the right-hand side.
"I didn't think we'd have a medical bay," La'an commented as they entered the room.
"Same, I thought the most we'd get is a medkit," Christine replied, looking around.
The room was a light grey with a singular biobed in the middle. There was a small area on the back wall which had a few small pieces of equipment that looked at least ten years old, and a containment area that had the basic hypospray vials sitting inside. There was a desk with a monitor against the left wall, and on the desk was a medkit with a post-it note attached to the top.
Going over to the desk, Christine smiled when she read the note. "We need to send Doctor M'Benga a thank you. We have a full medkit from the Enterprise. It's the only equipment in this room that isn't as old as we are."
"We can do that," La'an replied, inspecting a piece of equipment that was on wheels.
"That's an X-ray machine," Christine commented, joining her. "There was a similar one in my colony; I used to play around with it to see what inside my hands looked like. It came in use one day after one of the scientists broke my hand because I apparently kept on getting in the way."
Looking at Christine with her eyes wide, La'an felt a strange urge inside of her but pushed it away. "He broke your hand?"
"Yeah, but oh well. Let's go check out the last room," Christine said, changing the topic.
Opening the door to the last room, Christine stepped inside and looked around. There was a double bed, the same blue quilt resting on top of it with four pillows at the head. There was a larger dresser with six drawers a side, a desk with two piles of PADDs, two bedside tables with lamps on them, and an empty bookshelf. There was a window allowing them to see the stars which Christine was thankful for. There was also another door on the right-hand side.
Going over to the door, Christine stood back as La'an opened it to reveal a bathroom that looked exactly like the one attached to Oriana's room. The only difference was there was a small, thin cupboard in the corner of the room, near the vanity. Opening it, inside was a pile of towels, hand towels, and face washers with a packet of toilet paper sitting right at the bottom.
"This shower looks a little bigger than the other one. I also believe that the hatch on the floor right at the end of the hallway leads down into the engine room," La'an said, closing the door to the bathroom.
"It makes sense," Christine replied, looking around the room. "There are three of us and two rooms. I do think Oriana should get her own room; she needs her space to come to terms with what has happened to her."
"I completely agree," La'an replied, nodding her head once.
"We are adults, we can share a bed," Christine said, looking at La'an as her heart beat a little faster in her chest.