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Competent Operator

St. Augustine - Deleted scene, Chapter 19 'Of Sugarglass, Cocktails, and Checkmates'

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Upon entering medical Tom stopped short. Visible beyond the privacy curtain of Sasha's bed was Michener, who stood at the foot of it, watching her intently. Rios was in the adjacent cabin, and though the connecting port doors were open, he was at his desk and absorbed in paperwork. Tom blinked, forcing himself to remain cool despite his blood pressure steadily making itself known.

"Ah-Captain." Michener half turned; his features unreadable though something subtle appeared at play in his eyes. "I came to see how she was doing—"

Tom finished entering the room, aware that he'd hollowed his cheeks and that was one of his tells.

"—I was sorry to hear that she'd been hurt. I'd assumed you'd worked together based upon her knowledge of your qualifications, but I didn't quite appreciate how—" the President paused when selecting his words "—long, of a history, you both share." Michener's lip curled into a cunning grin. "I suppose it stands to reason that you have equal faith in her abilities as you do your crewmembers."

Maintaining a passive stoic, Tom failed to react. "She's a competent operator."

Michener hummed, his focus moving from the Captain to Sasha, a contemplative look morphed his expression, and he stepped around the bed, hovering now beside her right hand where the IV was ported. "And perhaps explains why you weren't that shocked to learn that she was pregnant, given it's not in her file."

He should respond, but all Tom could do was coil tighter; an insidious, and vicious kind of anger that he, at times, worked hard to suppress becoming supercharged.

Brow now furrowed, Michener returned his gaze, the eye contact its own subliminal challenge. "Did you ever meet him? Her husband?"

Tom suppressed the desire to grind his jaw and instead moved closer, occupying the spot Michener had vacated at the foot of the bed. "No."

The way Michener's head moved left gave Tom the impression the President had garnered something more from that nondescript response.

"Well—" Michener removed a hand from his pocket, resting his fingers upon the bedcover beside Sasha's thigh in a gesture Tom recognized as one of his own "—let's hope she makes a full recovery. It would be a shame to lose such a—competent operator." Michener had returned his gaze to Sasha, and Tom's entire being clenched. After dragging his focus from her face to her torso, Michener finally met the Captain's unyielding eye contact again. "I'll leave you in peace. For your visit."

Tom bristled, uttering a quiet, "Mr. President," in response, intensely aware of the way Michener leisurely traversed the room, lingering behind him for several moments before stepping into the p-way. Tom only let his breathing reflect the way his pulse flew once the President was gone. Nearing the bed, he swept Sasha's form as though he possessed an ability to accurately diagnose her state of being before being spurred into action. Crossing the small space into the adjacent room, Tom approached Rios with an urgency that drew the Doctor's attention immediately.

"Sir—"

"How long was he in here?" Rios had not yet finished before the demand barreled from Tom's lips.

Luis seemed confused by the line of questioning. "I'm unsure, sir—ten, maybe fifteen minutes or so?"

"What was he doing?"

"Standing, sir. By Cooper's bedside." The Doc had risen slowly from his seat, displaying a sense of foreboding that did nothing to ease the fraught panic devouring Tom's sense of reason.

"And did he say anything?"

Luis shook his head. "No, not until you arrived."

For several seconds, Tom did nothing and tried to sit with his discomfort; outright questioned the viability of his assumptions, but succumbed at once to the visuals burning beneath his retinas—a scalpel. Dr. Scott, covered in Sasha's blood… "Check her. Make sure she's alright."

Rios did not hesitate to enact the order, striding toward Sasha's bed while Tom followed hot behind him. With both arms folded, he observed while Rios double checked vitals, fluids, the equipment and Sasha's pupillary response.

"There's no change, sir. She's still sedated but stable," Rios said, returning his stethoscope to hang from his neck.

Aware that his behavior was drawing unwanted scrutiny, Tom glanced in the direction of Ravit, assuming Burk was also residing behind the curtain. Doc Rios' confusion was evident, as was his choice to respect that the Chain-of-Command didn't allow for undue questions. Either way, the overruling distaste run rampant through Tom's veins left optics the least of his priorities.

"Keep an eye on her. Every fifteen minutes until I say otherwise."

Rios responded, "Aye, sir."

Unclenching his fist, Tom forcibly lowered the variable of his breathing and once again perused over Sasha's unconscious form. Soothed by the steady sound of her heart rate monitor, he replayed his interaction with Michener', and after several moments, and without further acknowledgement of Rios, unfolded his arms and stalked out of medical.