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seren_ccdEpilogue
The kyan oryza sativa was well received throughout the quadrant. It immediately improved negotiations between outposts and filled a large gap in many rural areas. The Kalpharians were generously rewarded for their assistance and included in all trade negotiations.
It was, however, made quite clear that the planet was not going to be turned into a rice producing factory. The rest of the world was welcome to use the new prototype of planting, the Kalpharians would stick with their traditional ways.
No one saw any reason to argue the point.
Once back on the Enterprise, Christine did three things. One) She scheduled her first appointment with the resident psychologist, Dr. Noel, to discuss what had happened to her on the planet. Two) She pressed send on her message to Starfleet Medical stating her intention to return to finish her doctorate. And three) she made love to Leonard H. McCoy as often as they could both stand it.
Turned out, they could stand quite a bit of it.
Inevitably, she suffered from nightmares. Dreams in which water flowed all around her and covered her face while her hands were useless at her sides. On the nights when McCoy was there, he'd pull her close and murmur in her ear, slowly waking her from the terror. She'd go through the exercises that Dr. Noel had taught her, calming her heart rate and evening her breaths. Then she'd turn in his arms and press her face to his neck while his hands rubbed her back.
The nights he wasn't there, she often wished he was.
Six months after the visit to Kalpharia, Christine finished her sessions with Dr. Noel and three weeks after that she was on her way back to Earth.
Going back to San Francisco and Starfleet Medical was an exercise in surrealism. She recognized faces from her Academy days and the diner over on King Street still served the best Andorian clam chowder this side of the quadrant. But, it was the small things that got to her.
And of course, she was perfectly aware it was all in her head, but it took her forever to fall asleep without the steady hum of engines or to walk down a hallway and not see Janice or Uhura or Gaila grinning about something.
Sleeping alone was not at all pleasurable either.
By her fifth day back, after she’d seen her family that had flown over for a quick visit, she was determined to finish this thing once and for all and get the hell back into the sky.
Her thesis was good. She knew it was. The questioning and trials went well. She’d spent enough time listening in on negotiations on away missions to be able to spot a trick question in a heartbeat, so there were no surprises.
She’d been told it would take at least a year for her to finish and go through the final doctoral processes.
Christine did it in eight months.
Which brought her to her current position of exiting a shuttle that had just arrived on Station Omega IV. The Enterprise was due to dock at the station for repairs any minute, so Christine started walking towards the bar where she was going to meet McCoy. Her step quickened at the thought of actually being able to touch him. Vidscreens were wonderful inventions (and she really owed Uhura big for making sure all those private comm messages stayed private), but not exactly a suitable replacement for the real thing.
Christine really wanted the real thing.
In every way possible.
She fought the urge to skip.
After all, she was an actual MD now and they did not skip.
Her pace picked up anyway.
However, just as she saw the sign for the bar, an explosion rocked the north tower. The floor trembled beneath her feet and without hesitation she took off towards the cries for help.
She rounded a corner near the blast and could see injured people in the midst of dust and debris. She started to call for all available medi-kits and extra dermal regenerators when a wonderfully familiar voice yelled behind her, “God damn it, Chapel! It is so typical of you to be right in the middle of a crisis.”
“Well, it's god damn typical of you, McCoy, to bring chaos to a perfectly calm space station.” She turned her head and met his eyes. “You always have known how to show a girl a good time.”
His eyes sparkled as he rushed to assist a medic with a man with a broken arm. "Let's hope Jim figures out what the hell is going on and then I'll show you just how good a time, Doctor Chapel."
She turned away to assist a young woman with a bleeding forehead and thought that the sound of his voice calling her 'doctor' was probably the nicest thing she'd ever heard.
the world throws its light underneath your hair
forty miles from atlanta, this is no where
going to georgia
-the end-
The kyan oryza sativa was well received throughout the quadrant. It immediately improved negotiations between outposts and filled a large gap in many rural areas. The Kalpharians were generously rewarded for their assistance and included in all trade negotiations.
It was, however, made quite clear that the planet was not going to be turned into a rice producing factory. The rest of the world was welcome to use the new prototype of planting, the Kalpharians would stick with their traditional ways.
No one saw any reason to argue the point.
Once back on the Enterprise, Christine did three things. One) She scheduled her first appointment with the resident psychologist, Dr. Noel, to discuss what had happened to her on the planet. Two) She pressed send on her message to Starfleet Medical stating her intention to return to finish her doctorate. And three) she made love to Leonard H. McCoy as often as they could both stand it.
Turned out, they could stand quite a bit of it.
Inevitably, she suffered from nightmares. Dreams in which water flowed all around her and covered her face while her hands were useless at her sides. On the nights when McCoy was there, he'd pull her close and murmur in her ear, slowly waking her from the terror. She'd go through the exercises that Dr. Noel had taught her, calming her heart rate and evening her breaths. Then she'd turn in his arms and press her face to his neck while his hands rubbed her back.
The nights he wasn't there, she often wished he was.
Six months after the visit to Kalpharia, Christine finished her sessions with Dr. Noel and three weeks after that she was on her way back to Earth.
Going back to San Francisco and Starfleet Medical was an exercise in surrealism. She recognized faces from her Academy days and the diner over on King Street still served the best Andorian clam chowder this side of the quadrant. But, it was the small things that got to her.
And of course, she was perfectly aware it was all in her head, but it took her forever to fall asleep without the steady hum of engines or to walk down a hallway and not see Janice or Uhura or Gaila grinning about something.
Sleeping alone was not at all pleasurable either.
By her fifth day back, after she’d seen her family that had flown over for a quick visit, she was determined to finish this thing once and for all and get the hell back into the sky.
Her thesis was good. She knew it was. The questioning and trials went well. She’d spent enough time listening in on negotiations on away missions to be able to spot a trick question in a heartbeat, so there were no surprises.
She’d been told it would take at least a year for her to finish and go through the final doctoral processes.
Christine did it in eight months.
Which brought her to her current position of exiting a shuttle that had just arrived on Station Omega IV. The Enterprise was due to dock at the station for repairs any minute, so Christine started walking towards the bar where she was going to meet McCoy. Her step quickened at the thought of actually being able to touch him. Vidscreens were wonderful inventions (and she really owed Uhura big for making sure all those private comm messages stayed private), but not exactly a suitable replacement for the real thing.
Christine really wanted the real thing.
In every way possible.
She fought the urge to skip.
After all, she was an actual MD now and they did not skip.
Her pace picked up anyway.
However, just as she saw the sign for the bar, an explosion rocked the north tower. The floor trembled beneath her feet and without hesitation she took off towards the cries for help.
She rounded a corner near the blast and could see injured people in the midst of dust and debris. She started to call for all available medi-kits and extra dermal regenerators when a wonderfully familiar voice yelled behind her, “God damn it, Chapel! It is so typical of you to be right in the middle of a crisis.”
“Well, it's god damn typical of you, McCoy, to bring chaos to a perfectly calm space station.” She turned her head and met his eyes. “You always have known how to show a girl a good time.”
His eyes sparkled as he rushed to assist a medic with a man with a broken arm. "Let's hope Jim figures out what the hell is going on and then I'll show you just how good a time, Doctor Chapel."
She turned away to assist a young woman with a bleeding forehead and thought that the sound of his voice calling her 'doctor' was probably the nicest thing she'd ever heard.
the world throws its light underneath your hair
forty miles from atlanta, this is no where
going to georgia
-the end-
no subject
Date: 2010-10-24 01:28 pm (UTC)