Chapter Nine
That evening, McCoy gave her one last check up before retreating to his office for the night. Over the last week or so, it had sort of become, well, a tradition for McCoy to give Gael her last check up and to...help her settle for the night...before the night shift came in. He refused to consider it "tucking her in" like some of the giggly nurses did. Doctors don't tuck their patients in; nurses might, but not doctors like McCoy. Now, he, of course, would help a patient settle down for the night, if that is what the patient needed, but that was totally different.
"How are you holding up, Gael?" he asked as he entered his tricorder readings on his PADD chart. "I know this all is a a lot to take in."
"'Tis a bit o'erwhelmin'," she answered. "I keep thinkin' I will wake up tomorrow and find it all tae be a dream. If this is dream, I hope I ne'er wake up."
"Why is that?" McCoy asked as he tugged her sheets up around her shoulders.
She looked up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears. "'Cause ye have all been so good...and k-kind...tae me. I cannae remember the last time I felt e'en a little bit safe."
McCoy felt his heart ache at her words. "We are not gonna let anything happen to you, Gael. I think you are basically one of us now, and we take care of our own. That's the kind of people we are."
She nodded and, tentatively, raised her arms. He immediately answered her silent request and pulled her into a tight hug. "I gotcha; we all do, okay?" She nodded into his chest, her affirmative muffled by his shirt. "Now, get some sleep, Darlin'," he said, releasing her. "I'm headin' to my office for a few hours. The night shift should be here soon if you need anything."
"G'night, Doctor," she mumbled sleepily and snuggled down on her side. He tucked a stray curl behind her ear and, without thinking, kissed her temple.
The next morning, about an hour after breakfast, Gael received her first visitor of the day: Uhura. The young woman strode in a good size sack with her and a determined expression.
"What are you doing here, Lieutenant?" McCoy asked, meeting her near the door. "I thought you were on the bridge in the mornings. Don't tell me Kirk already found a way to get you all in trouble."
"Nope, switched shifts with a friend this morning," she answered.
"Then why are you here?"
"For one, I haven't meet Gael yet. Two, it has come to my attention that she is supposed to be released in a couple of days, and all she has to wear is that awful outfit she arrived in. That, McCoy, is unacceptable."
Gael smiled to herself as she listened. This lieutenant sounded a lot her Aunt Claire. Definitely a "go get 'em" kind of girl. She had asked for the curtain to remain open that morning, so Gael watched as the dark-skinned woman faced off with the gruff doctor.
"What's wrong with the scrubs we gave her?"
"Everything! Anybody who sees her will think she escaped Sickbay and try to bring her back. And the black get-up is definitely not the color for a fair, red-head like her."
"Who cares what color she wears?"
"She might! She is a girl, after all, McCoy." Uhura answered in exasperation.
"Yes, Lieutenant, as her doctor, I am well aware that she is a girl!"
"Then, let me in, and let us girls get to know each other."
With a huff, McCoy threw up his hands in surrender, and Uhura smiled. Turning to Gael, she walked up to bed with her hand outstretched. "Nyota Uhura," she grinned widely.
"Gael," the teen smiled back.
"Well, I've brought some clothes from the supply chain closet for you to try on. Let's see if we can wow the guys when you get released," Uhura winked.
"Sounds fun. I have nae had a choice in clothes in forever."
McCoy watched the exchange with a grin and shook his head. How girls could bond so quickly over something like clothes boggled his mind, but who was he to question it?
Uhura closed the curtain around Gael's bed and began dumping her sack at the foot. "I didn't know your size. I'm afraid all that I had to go on was Kirk, Sulu, and Chekov's vague descriptions," she said, sorting dresses from bottoms and tops. "Kirk suggested a basic Starfleet uniform in case you ever end up coming off world with us." She held up a red dress just like hers.
"Um...I don't suppose they come in blue? Or longer?"
Uhura grinned knowingly. "As a matter of fact they do come in blue, but I'm afraid they only come in one length." No idea why she would want a blue one, she thought.
"Oh," Gael nodded. "It's just, th' las' time I wore somethin' tha' short, th' lads kept whistlin' and sayin' things tha' made me feel dirty."
"Well, if they do that here, you tell me, and I'll sort them out for you," Uhura said firmly. "Try it on." Gael stripped off the scrubs she was wearing and pulled the dress over her head. Uhura smiled and nodded her approval, making mental to find one in a different color. The dress fit Gael perfectly. "Awesome," Uhura said. "Let's try some of these tops."
An hour later, Gael had a small pile of Uhura-approved clothes, and put a pair of khaki pants and a lavender button down shirt, very similar to the ones she remembered her mother wearing. Uhura helped her pull half of her hair up into a gold barrette that had the Starfleet emblem on it.
"I fellel much better now," Gael sighed happily. "I actually feel properly dressed. I always feel awkward when Pavel and Hikaru come in, like they are seein' me in me pajamas."
"Well, they basically were. Lucky for you, those two are perfect gentlemen."
"Ladies, you done yet in there?" McCoy's voice sounded from the other side of the curtain. "So sorry to interrupt girl bonding time, but it's time for Miss Gael's check up." His voice held a hint of sarcasm when he said "sorry".
"I don't know, girl, he doesn't sound very sorry, does he?" Uhura said loudly, winking at Gael.
"Nay, nae at all," she giggle back.
With an impatient huff, McCoy ripped back the curtain. "She was just trying a few clothes on. Why in heaven's name does that take an hour?" he groused at the communication officer.
"Because we were actually enjoying ourselves, McCoy," Uhura rolled her eyes. "I'll see you around, Gael," she hugged the teen. "You, me, and Carol Marcus will have to get together for a girls night once this grouch lets you go."
"I'd like tha'," Gael smiled shyly.
McCoy rolled his eyes. "It's just a couple of more days. I'm monitoring her reaction to the vaccines."
Uhura nodded in understanding. "Well, I've got to get back to the bridge. Later, Gael." She waved to the Irish girl as she left with the sack containing the clothes they rejected.
McCoy pulled out his tricorder and began to scan Gael, sneaking glances at her new clothes. He really could not deny that she looked a lot more comfortable in the simple outfit. And the light purple contrasted nicely with her coppery hair. Not that he would tell Uhura that.
He finished up his check up and entered the readings into her charts. "Well, you seem to be doing quite well. No adverse reactions yet," he said. "You do look nice, by the way," he added softly. "That, um, color...it suits you." McCoy had no idea why he felt the need to say it, but it was out before he could stop it.
"Thank ye, Doctor," she murmured, blushing. Gael did not know why she was so glad to get McCoy's approval, but the same warm feeling that would blossom in her chest when her father gave her compliments sprung up inside her at his words.
At lunch, Pavel and Sulu entered Sickbay to find Gael's curtain open. She sat in the middle of her bed, Indian style, rolling up the sleeves of a new lavender blouse to her elbows. "Gael?" Sulu asked, in amazement.
"Hello, lads," she greeted them with a smile.
"Where did you get the outfit?" Sulu replied.
"Nyota-I mean Lt. Uhura- came and gave me some clothes from the store room."
"Eet looks wery nice," Pavel smiled as he sat beside her on the bed.
"Thanks," she smiled back. "How was yer mornin', lads?"
"Pretty quiet, actually," Sulu answered, pulling up a chair for himself.
"Until ze Keptin started singing 'Ze Song Zat Ne-wer Ends' ven he got bored."
"Ye mean tae tell me tha' song is still around?" Gael face-palmed. "O' all th' songs tae ne'er be forgotten, why was tha' one o' them? Aiden used tae drive us all nigh crazy with tha' song."
"It was around in your day too?"
"Aye, Hikaru, aye. 'Twas old back then."
The rest of the lunch was spent in a deep conversation on what pop culture things had survived into modern age. Halfway through the meal, Kirk showed up, adding his loud voice to mix. McCoy grinned wryly as he watched their avid conversation. Gael looked so relaxed. Maybe the "crazy kids", as he dubbed them, were good for her.
So just a little fluffy one...yeah... Thanks once more to my reviewers, favoriters, and followers! You guys are awesome!