Brrring, brrring, brrring, brrring.
Looking over at the screen on her phone Lorna stared at the name being displayed. She knew nothing good would come of her answering it so she returned her attention back to the pile of PADDs in front of her.
Brrring, brrring, brrring, brrring.
"Get the message Chris," she mumbled as she picked up her coffee and took a sip. Missing her mouth altogether and pouring it down her front Lorna swore and wiped her stained blouse messily with her hands.
Brrring, brrring, brrring, brrring.
Glaring at the phone again Lorna willed it to stop, eventually turning it over and covering it with her discarded cardigan which just resulted in a dull vibrating sound more annoying than the shrill ring of before. When it did stop she let out a huff and tried to refocus knowing it would be no good. The fact that he had rung wasn't going to go away, she wondered how long it would be before he turned up on her doorstep.
"Well that didn't take long at all," Lorna greeted Chris Pike a week later.
"Hey Lor, how you doing?" Chris gave her a smile, a quick peck on the cheek and walked passed her, surveying the large office and the chaos of her desk in the centre. "I see you're still as organised as ever." He said, turning back to her to see that her hands were on her hips and she was eyeing him suspiciously.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure Chris?" Lorna asked, letting her door close and walking back round her desk to sit down.
"Aren't you going to offer me a drink?" Chris asked bemused. "Or a chair?"
"I don't think you'll be here that long do you?" Lorna answered as she sat back in her own chair, too far seemingly because the next thing she knew her arms and legs were flailing and she was grabbing hold of the edge of her desk to stay upright. Chris said nothing, knowing already Lorna's propensity for mishaps. Regaining her composure Lorna quickly stood and went to the replicator, "Your usual?" she asked and Chris nodded. Ordering a grass juice she handed it to Chris.
"You remembered," he smiled.
"How could I forget," scrunching up her nose at the smell Lorna crossed her arms in front of her and gave Chris a look telling him that he needed to start talking.
"You being keeping out of trouble?" he asked and they both knew what he meant.
"I have, locked myself in my own closet the other day but apart from that it's been pretty quiet."
"I want you on my ship Lorna," he started and Lorna scoffed loudly.
"I'm retired Chris, you know that."
"A technicality," he replied and Lorna rolled her eyes. Indicating to him that he should follow her they made their way over to a low set sofa and the pair sat down.
"A fact, retired, pensioned off, no longer an Officer of Starfleet." He hadn't changed much as far as she could see, a few extra wrinkles round the eyes but apart from that he was the same old Christopher as far as she was concerned. The same old Christopher she had ran into (literally but that's another story) all those years ago on the USS Chatelet.
"And whose fault is that?" Chris countered, pulling Lorna from her recollections.
"Yours?" Lorna told him nonchalantly.
"I still can't believe you think it was my fault!" Chris laughed. "You treated those people against orders," shaking his head he took a sip of the grass juice and set his glass down.
"A technicality," Lorna countered, repeating his earlier statement to her.
"You did the right thing," Chris leant towards her, taking her hand in his he squeezed it lovingly. Since the moment they'd met he had always been very fond of Lorna Heiland.
"I know I did the right thing," Lorna replied, realising that she'd missed her friendship with Christopher Pike more than she realised. "Starfleet didn't see it that way though…"
"You did go against the prime directive Lorna," Chris pointed out. "We all did." Lorna waved a dismissive hand between them.
"Prime directive, shmime directive." Chris laughed out loud at Lorna's sullen look. "We were supposed to just sit there and let an entire planet die out because 'they would see a spaceship and get all freaked out'?!" Lorna air quoted the last part which made Chris laugh even more.
"Real mature!"
"You didn't do too bad out of it, got a promotion from what I remember. The others as well? Hatton is a Chief Engineer now isn't he?" Raising her eyebrows at him Lorna watched as Chris winced. "Yeah, you better feel bad." She was joking of course, they both knew that.
"The promotion wasn't directly associated Lor and you should never have taken all the blame," Chris took her hand. "You should never have retired…" Lorna stood up and began pacing up and down.
"We've been over this Chris, is that what you came here for? To go over old ground? Tell me about you, what are you up to?" Lorna gave him a bright smile and the clear signal to drop the current topic of conversation.
"You shouldn't have taken the fall for all of us damnit, we all decided it was the right thing to do." Chris mumbled to himself, old guilt resurfacing as he looked at her. Lorna didn't reply, not having anything further to say on the matter. It had all been said years ago.
"We've been through this already Chris." She said, shaking her head. "I wasn't going to be part of something that could just sit idly by and not help an entire planet! I'm a Doctor not a monster!" Chris grinned at her and then took another look around the large office they were sat in.
"And look at you now, head of Earth's Xenoitarian Foundation." Lorna took a theatrical bow and then sat herself back next to Chris, letting her head loll back on the couch. "I still think it was a mistake," he added. "Don't tell me you don't miss practicing medicine…"
"They would have discharged me…" she interrupted him. "They needed to make an example of somebody and like I said Chris, I'm a Doctor, I could get a job anywhere. Whereas you, well? What else could you have put your hand to?" Shaking her head in mock seriousness Chris narrowed his eyes at her.
"You don't know that," Chris told her. "Lorna, you don't know that for sure, yeah we probably would have gone down a few ranks… perhaps gone back to the Academy…?" Lorna turned her head and looked at him through her lashes. "Fine fine," he said. "Cut to the chase?" he guessed and Lorna nodded. "Alright fine," taking a deep breath Chris turned towards her. "I want you on my ship Lorna," he said once more.
"You've already said that," Lorna reminded him.
"I've got the Enterprise," watching the small smile creep onto his face Lorna grinned at him and then punched his arm hard. "Oww! What was that for?!" Chris asked rubbing his bicep whilst giving Lorna a shocked look.
"Because,"
"Because what?"
"Just because," Lorna shrugged her shoulders feeling an immense amount of pride for her friend. "Well, congratulations Chris, I'm happy for you. You can finally stop recruiting all those poor sods."
"Speaking of which," Chris sat up straight. "Guess who's currently driving Commander Spock mad?"
"At the Academy?" she clarified and Chris nodded. "Who?" Lorna asked sarcastically, resting her chin on her hands and blinking rapidly at him as if she was listening to the most interesting thing she'd ever heard in her entire life.
"George Kirk's son." Chris answered and Lorna screwed up her face in response.
"Ahab finally got his white whale huh?" tucking a leg under the other Lorna rested her head against her hand.
"He's good Lor, he's really good. He's what Starfleet needs." His eyes were twinkling with excitement as he spoke.
"A liability?" Lorna joked.
"He reminds me of you…" Chris whispered.
"I'm not coming back Chris," Lorna started, knowing what he was up to and not falling for it.
"Be my CMO Lorna…"
"Chris!" Lorna exclaimed looking at him as if he had grown another head.
"You're the best Doctor I've ever known, I want the best Doctor on my ship." Lorna sank further down on the sofa and slowly started falling into Chris comically. Chris tried not to laugh, knowing she was trying to distract him. Pushing her back he watched as she fell all the way over onto the other side of the sofa, her face making a slapping sound against the cool material.
"I can't do it Chris, I'm sorry." Shaking her head Lorna looked down at her hands and then back up to him.
"Why not?" sitting back up Lorna shrugged her shoulders.
"It just doesn't hold the same… It's not for me. Plus who's to say they'd let me back?!" Smiling at Chris Lorna hoped he would listen which Chris Pike was known to be terrible at.
"I know a few people, I could pull a few strings. So what's stopping you Lorna? You're wasted here…"
"We do good work Chris…!" Lorna interrupted and Chris held up his hands.
"I'm not saying you don't but you could be doing so much more. Look what you did before this Lorna, you saved an entire planet for crying out loud! You were this close to being CMO on the Chatelet," Chris held his fingers close together in front of her face. "You could have had your pick of any ship, even gone back to the Academy and taught, been head of department. HQ…?"
"Don't give me your recruitment spiel Chris! And we saved that planet by not following orders?!" Lorna side-eyed him and shook her head. "I was young and idealistic," Lorna laughed.
"You were brave, one of the bravest people I've ever met." Chris countered but he knew he wasn't going to win this time, having to hand in her resignation had hurt Lorna, more than she had ever admitted to anybody he knew that for sure. She was a proud person but after all the dust had settled Chris knew she would have missed being a part of something special. That's precisely why he wanted her back.
"At least think about it," Chris whispered.
"Okay," Lorna replied and then a second later said, "Thought about it, it's a nope." It was Chris' turn to roll his eyes as the pair stood up.
"Are you happy?" he asked her and seeing the flicker of doubt pass over her eyes told him everything he needed to know.
"Gloriously," Lorna replied grinning.
"I don't believe you," giving her a tight hug Chris made his way out. "Aren't you going to wish me luck?"
"You don't need luck Chris, we both know that." Lorna smiled at him warmly. "Who's your FO?" she asked him.
"Spock," Chris answered and Lorna nodded her head.
"CMO?" she asked.
"They're giving me Puri?" Chris answered, not being entirely sure of who that was.
"He's good," Lorna confirmed.
"I take it you approve then?" Chris laughed, in the short time they'd been talking he'd seen that side of her that had made her such a good officer all that time ago. Dedication and selflessness. "How about that good luck?" he prompted her with a jab to the ribs with his elbow.
"Really?" she said rolling her eyes at his old superstitions.
"I'd like it all the same," he replied.
"Good luck Chris," Lorna kissed his cheek tenderly before watching him leave and then turned back to her desk, bumping into the large plant pot and finding herself sprawled out on the floor covered in foliage and soil.
Lorna dropped her coffee mug on the kitchen floor, the porcelain shattering and the brown liquid splashing all over the cabinets. She didn't look though, her focus was on the news that she had been watching for weeks on end. The destruction of an entire fleet. Could it even be possible? Lorna thought about all the people, not just the ones she knew but those she didn't. It was unthinkable and she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.
When she'd cleared up her mug and kitchen she sat down on the sofa and picked up her phone, they'd be needing help, wouldn't they?
"There's nobody left to save," she whispered to herself as she threw her phone back down on the coffee table. Chris' face came to mind and it broke her heart, she couldn't help but think that she may have been dead as well had she accepted his offer. A strange mix of sorrow and relief flowed over her as she picked her phone back up. Opening it her fingers hovered over the number she had ready but a notification pinging and appearing on screen stopped her from continuing on.
The message read; 'Commander Lorna Heiland – Commission Reactivated. Report to Starfleet HQ immediately.'
Lorna stared at the message for a full ten minutes, went and threw up, had a shot of tequila and then stared at the message some more.
"Sonofabitch!"
It hadn't changed a bit and as Lorna walked up to the main entrance of Starfleet HQ with all its metal and glass she found she had the same butterflies in her stomach as when she'd been there all those years ago. Smashing right into a glass window rather than the glass automatic door Lorna cried out in pain and held onto her nose. Walking through the foyer with her head back to stem the bleeding she asked the person on the front desk where her meeting was being held.
"Ugh, go right down the hall. Are you sure I can't get you anything?" the man asked Lorna.
"Nah, I'll be okay thanks." With a small wave in the general direction of the front desk Lorna made her way down the hall finally getting to where she needed to be and knocking on the door.
"Come in!" she heard him shout so made her way in.
"What the hell Lorna!" Chris shouted when he saw the state of her.
"I'm fine, you know you really should put some stickers on those windows." Letting go of her nose and setting her head straight Lorna sniffed and checked there was no blood on the back of her hand. "So, what's new?" Lorna asked nonchalantly and Chris couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh you know, nothing much. Can't walk…" Chris shrugged his shoulders.
"It's not permanent, you'll be up in no time." Lorna sat opposite him and smiled. She'd found out about Pike and what had happened to him through an old Academy classmate, the pure relief she had felt had been overwhelming and she'd cried for a good twenty minutes before getting a grip of herself.
"How do you know?" he asked, semi-serious.
"I'm a Doctor Chris," Lorna laughed and then cleared her throat. "I read your notes," she told him honestly shortly after.
"How did you get hold of my notes?! Whatever happened to Doctor, patient confidentiality?" Lorna waved a dismissive hand between them.
"That's more of a suggestion." She trailed off.
"I don't think it is Lorna?" Chris replied looking sceptical.
"You're a Vice Admiral now?" she said rhetorically as she raised her eyebrows at him and pretended to shine her nails on her arm.
"I am," Chris laughed.
"Fancy. Anyway, you reactivated me." She said pointedly.
"Not me personally," Chris defended himself. "I mean, I got my PA to do it but…" Chris waited for Lorna's retort.
"Why did you reactivate me Chris?" Lorna asked seriously.
"Because they need you out there," he answered.
"You drafted me Chris," she spoke plainly and took the seat opposite him. "I thought I'd made my feelings on the subject clear?" Chris nodded slowly. "Which by the way, I mean… If you had had your way I would have been up there with you and well… let's just say I would have been haunting the hell out of you for the rest of your days!"
"You did tell me but I've always had trouble listening," Chris grinned but could see that Lorna was genuinely angry. Angry for what happened, not just to him but everybody else. Angry that she wasn't there to help, just… angry. "I need you Lorna," he added. "The Enterprise needs you. And you won't admit it but you need it too, let somebody else sit behind your desk. Go practice medicine again. Go and put some crazy back into Starfleet." Lorna stared at her friend, she knew how close he'd been to death and what the lasting effects of his injuries meant to the quality of his life.
"I'm glad you're alive Chris," Lorna told him and Chris scoffed.
"Thanks," he answered perplexed.
"It means I can do it myself," rolling his eyes he watched as Lorna rubbed her hands over her face and then looked up to the ceiling.
"Starfleet sent an armada Lorna, crewed largely by available cadets." His words caught in his throat and it took him a moment to continue on. "They're young and dumb, they need someone on board like you. Someone with experience, someone with maturity…" Chris laughed when Lorna silently indicated to carry on showering her with praise. "On second thoughts…"
"Hey!" Lorna exclaimed.
"I'm going to give the ship to Kirk, Spock will be FO." He told her.
"Who's the CMO?" Lorna interrupted and Chris picked up one of his PADDs sat in front of him.
"Currently a Leonard McCoy, he replaced Doctor Puri when he was killed in action." Handing the PADD to Lorna he watched as she looked over it. "He saved my life," Chris added thinking back to his rescue.
"So we have him to blame do we?" Lorna commented as she continued to look over Leonard McCoy's file.
"I guess we do but I wanted you as CMO," he told her. Lorna looked up from the PADD and stared at Chris before standing and going to the replicator placed near the small kitchen in his office.
"Let me get this straight, you've reactivated my commission against my express wishes and want me to be CMO on the flagship of what remains of Starfleet?" Lorna turned her attention to the replicator. "Computer, one grass juice, one bowl of hummus." Picking up a spoon she made her way back, placing the juice in front of Chris. Spooning an impressive amount of hummus into her mouth she pointed the spoon at Chris. "That's the situation here?" she mumbled.
"In a nutshell," Chris replied, grimacing at the amount of hummus in Lorna's mouth. Lorna nodded her head slowly as if she was mulling over everything they had discussed when in fact she'd walked into his office already knowing what she wanted to say and what she was willing to do.
Lorna had never in her life (other than perhaps stealing a shuttlecraft to save an entire planet) not planned out every second of her vocation. From the moment she was five when she'd lined up all her stuffed animals and dolls in a row, wrapped their arms and legs in bandages and cared for them in their little beds she'd made she knew what she wanted to be and who she wanted to be. She was chaos incarnate, at school she split her cheek open falling off the bus. At University she constantly fell asleep in lectures or was kicked out of them for making her friends laugh but at the centre of it all was a calmness. Chris Pike had always known that and that's why he was glad she was stood in front of him now. Not practicing medicine had never been the plan and up until recent events Lorna hadn't realised how unfulfilled it had made her feel.
"So?" Chris asked tentatively and Lorna looked back down at the PADD.
"This McCoy seems to know what he's doing, leave him as CMO…" she started.
"Lorna I want you to be CMO…" Chris interrupted.
"Well tough Chris because you're not Captain of the Enterprise Kirk is and I'll speak to him directly if I have to. You seem to forget, I'm reinstated and as a Commander and Doctor I can request special discommendation…"
"Lorna I don't think that's the word you're looking for?" Chris tried not to smirk.
"Yeah it is, discommendation. It means I can decide what happens!" Lorna argued back.
"No, I don't think it does? Discommendation is a legal penalty in the Klingon Empire in which an individual is ceremonially shunned, stripped of honour and severely reduced in social status with few rights in Klingon society." Chris replied smoothly. "From what I remember," he added. Lorna looked at him sceptically.
"We'll agree to disagree," she told him. "That's all beside the point! I don't want to be CMO! There would be too many questions from the other Officers, I'd prefer to keep a low profile. Let McCallie carry on!"
"McCoy," again Chris corrected.
"Who's that?" Lorna asked perplexed and Chris found himself very quickly remembering how frustrating Lorna Heiland could be.
"Lorna!" he shouted and when he saw the smirk on her face pointed his finger at her knowingly. "Stop playing games with me!" he warned her before saying. "As long as you're on that ship I don't care. The Federation needs people like you out there, deep space, five year mission! It's going to be great I promise!" Chris beamed.
"I have a life here!" she said dramatically.
"No you do not!" Chris replied instantly. "You'll be practicing actual medicine again Lorna come on, you can't tell me that's not exciting!"
"It's not exciting," Lorna deadpanned. "Fine! Have it your way just don't come crying when Starfleet kick me out again, or I steal a shuttlecraft, or cause munity! Woe betide Chris! Woe betide!" Lorna raised her eyebrows at him forebodingly. Chris laughed and held up his hands in surrender.
"I won't I promise," he told her sincerely.
"And make sure you're walking by the time I get back." She told him seriously.
"Why?" he asked as she walked round his desk and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"So I can kick your arse."
Lorna felt so giddy she could feel her fingers fizzing, walking down one of the many corridors of the Enterprise she had to stop herself from actually squealing. Nothing had felt more right than how she felt right then and there heading towards the medical bay, she kept having to remind herself to stop grinning wildly at the other Officers and Crewman walking by.
Striding into the medical bay actually made her cry and she only just had enough time to get her emotions back in line before the rest of the medical crew walked in, she only recognised the CMO and strangely felt like she already knew him given she'd read his file in Pike's office. Giving him an overly enthusiastic wave she only got a very perplexed and solemn stare back, which of course then made sense to her given the fact that he knew nothing of her conversation with Pike.
No, now she just looked like a weirdo waving at her new CMO.
"Stay cool," she whispered to herself.
Lorna was getting pins and needles in her legs, McCoy had been talking for the past half hour about safety protocols and she couldn't take much more! Seeing there was a small table beside her Lorna slowly leant her weight onto it not expecting the thing to flip over, sending equipment flying and clanging across the floor. A deathly silence fell upon the medical bay and all eyes turned to her instantly, Lorna could do nothing but stand still and grimace.
"Sorry," she muttered, gaining sympathetic looks and a few giggles from the other members of staff.
"And you are?" McCoy asked her, his face thunder.
"Doctor McCoy Sir," Lorna answered nervously.
"That's my name?" McCoy replied.
"Of course yes! Sorry! My name is Lorna." McCoy looked at her gobsmacked.
"Lorna…?" He prompted.
"Oh! Lorna Heiland, nice to meet you. Sorry about that, struggle to stand up in one place for long periods of time. Didn't mean to tip the table over, they really should screw them down don't you think?! I mean won't the thing be sliding back and forth all day…?" Looking to her fellow medical staff for back-up she faltered when she saw a sea of blank faces. "Perhaps not?"
"Heiland!" McCoy interrupted and Lorna stopped talking, giving him a sweet smile.
"Yes Doctor," she answered and McCoy had no idea what to say. He was completely besotted.
"Nothing, alright people. Dismissed." McCoy gave her one last look and then went off to his office leaving the rest of the staff to get to work, not before hearing Lorna Heiland shout 'LET'S DO THIS PEOPLE!' at the top of her voice.
McCoy sat down behind his desk and looked around at what would be his life for the next five years, Lorna Heiland's face came to mind and he found himself smiling the smallest of smiles.