The Hakimono Mission
Interlude
Katana McCoy kept a rock calm face while inside she was as angry as Mr. Kim's Klingon lady in engineering, aptly titled by Kim, volcano. She exhaled loudly, and tried her best to keep her face straight. She stood up from the unfortunately near death child and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her slightly cramping fingers. DuTach looked at her.
"Are you alright?" he asked. She gave him a slightly startled look, and then sighed.
"Is it that obvious?" she asked tiredly. It was barely noticeable, but he smiled.
"I may be a Klingon, but I can still read people. I find it strange that you'd still be affected," he said. She raised an eyebrow, and moved on, checking the unconscious child in the next cot.
"What, by death?" she asked softly, making sure not to disturb the child.
"Yes. If it bothers you so much, why did you become a doctor?" he queried, also modulating his voice as not to disturb the children. Katana smiled lightly.
"At lot of different reasons," she gently swept a curl off the little boy's forehead, and he smiled in his sleep. "One of them being that I could and on quite a few occasions, have, stop them from dying. An adult passing on doesn't bother me as much either. But children... Also, you have to think what kind of monster would kill such innocents. They haven't even started to live yet. It just..." she broke off, and stopped talking, paying attention to the precise amount of some hay colored liquid that she was drawing into a syringe.
DuTach swore he saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes, but it was gone so rapidly, he couldn't be quite sure. She carefully inserted the syringe into the vent existing on the thin catheter already in place on his arm. She smiled with a thin degree of relief as some of the color returned to his pallid cheeks, and moved to the next bed, and checked on the child laying on it. Nearly as soon as the doctor had began her examination the child woke up.
"Who are you?" asked the little girl quietly, terrified. McCoy smiled gently, and kindly.
"I'm a doctor, honey. Shush. I'm just gonna look at this little cut on your leg, and you tell me if it hurts. What's your name?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet, and DuTach blinked as he saw a different woman in front of him, rather than the tough Amazon he normally saw chasing Kim down a hallway.
"Mari." the girl said, and nodded, as though assuring herself of McCoy's validity as a doctor.
"Mari? That's a pretty name. When's your birthday?" McCoy asked as she delicately pried the bandage off the gash on the girl's leg.
"Tomorrow..." she said. Katana smiled.
"Wow... How old will you be?" she asked, continuing her work on the stubborn bandage. The girl had a ghost of a proud smile on her face.
"8." she said, almost cheerfully. Katana made a small amazed and appreciative noise.
"Why, you're almost grown up! I'll definitely stop by again tomorrow and wish you a happy birthday." She glanced up and smiled at the little girl conspiratorially. "And I'll bring you a present too, I promise." The little girl smiled, and looked surprised.
"Really?" she said, and Katana detected the voice of her person to whom promises were conveniently forgotten often.
"I promise," she said, and looked the little girl in the eye. And she smiled, and very softly patted her leg. "There, all done. You were so brave! Didn't even cry," she said, and looked around the makeshift infirmary making sure there were no children she hadn't tended to, and stood up. "I've got to go now, Mari, but I PROMISE I'll come back tomorrow." Mari nodded happily, and Katana motioned softly to DuTach to follow. After they were out of the infirmary Katana leaned on a wall.
"Go get a nurse and tell her that the little boy in bed 13 will make it, but 12 won't. Everyone else in stable condition," Katana said, wearily closing her eyes. DuTach nodded. After he had delivered his message to the duty nurse, he went in search of the doctor, as she wasn't against the wall where he had left her. He found her in one of the soldiers' wards, joking with a young male. They had just finished laughing when he was still about 5 feet away.
"Marry her when you get out here," Katana said to him seriously, and he nodded.
"Yeah, I think I will Doc, when I get out of here. Thanks for the advice," he said, and she smiled and walked on to the next bed, sliding past DuTach to the bed's side. She smiled down at the soldier in the bed.
"Hey, soldier. How ya doin?" Katana asked cheerily. He smiled.
"I been better doc. When can I get out of here?" he asked. Katana smiled broadly.
"Two more days, I'd say. Don't go get yourself injured again, you hear?" she said jokingly. He grinned.
"Yes ma'am." he said, and after Katana left his bed-side, DuTach motioned that he wanted to speak with her. Katana nodded and they left the infirmary.
"Are you alright now?" he asked. She smiled grimly.
"Not exactly, but I'll be fine. Don't worry," she said. "Is that all?" she asked, impatience slightly coloring her voice. DuTach nodded, and let the doctor get back to her patients. After the door closed he shook his head slightly.
"One minute she's upset, the next, joking, then impatient… I don't understand Terrans," he said, shaking his head.