Star Trek 2009 Fic: Feeling of Being in Motion Again - Outtake from Chapter Two

[seren_ccd]

Hello! This is a little outtake from Chapter Two of The Feeling of Being in Motion Again.

It was actually a response to the prompt 'Respect' at the
where_no_woman: Where No Woman has Drabbled Before Challenge. There are some gorgeous drabbles over there. Check them out! Check the comm out too!

Title: Respect - Outtake from Chapter Two
Series: Going to Georgia
Pairing: McCoy/Chapel UST
Rating: PG



It's close to the end of her shift in the student infirmary and she's extremely tired of autoclaving all the instruments left over from the appointments during the day. McCoy's already done with his tasks and is revising in the other room.

She won't grumble though, because that's McCoy's shtick and he does it much better than she ever could. She does, however, make faces at the instruments that didn't get cleaned off first before they were left to soak.

The comm chimes an incoming call and Chapel walks briskly into the main receiving area. She knocks McCoy's feet off the desk, ignoring the 'Dammit, woman!' that follows, and hooks the earpiece on and answers.

"Student Infirmary," she says.

"Umm, hi. I, umm, was playing some ball with the guys?" the kid on the other side says.

"Okay," Chapel replies as she leans against the desk. McCoy has gone back to reading whatever on his PADD and she debates throwing paperclips at him to see if any would actually land on his head.

"And, Richards totally fouled me with this move. I mean, the guy just stuck his foot out and I went down!"

"Mmm, hmm..." Chapel can already see where this is going.

"Yeah, anyway, I got back up and started playing again, but my ankle really hurts!"

"Mmm, hmm, I see. Have put any ice on it?" Chapel asked. "Because, it sounds like a sprain."

"Oh, really? That's it? You don't think it's broken?"

"Well, when did you injure it? Are you able to walk on it?" McCoy is looking at her by this point and one eyebrow is raised. The eyebrow clearly wants to know if the call is serious. She just stares back impassively, because watching him simmer is terribly fun.

"Oh, it happened, like, five hours ago. I can walk on it."

"Well, it certainly sounds like you've sprained it. You're more than welcome to come down for a scan or if you'd like to just put some ice on it and keep it elevated, it may improve," Chapel advises. "It's up to you. I definitely stay off of it for a few hours though. See how it feels in the morning."

It's obviously not life-threatening, so McCoy just rolls his eyes.

"Oh, I think I'll just chill out here. Get some ice," the kid decides.

"Sounds like a good plan," Chapel says. "Give us a call back if anything changes."

"Oh, will do. Thank you, ma'am!" he says cheerfully.

Chapel feels her nose wrinkle automatically in disgust.

"Well, you're very welcome. Bye now," she says in a flat tone.

She takes the earpiece off and drops it on the counter. Then she just stares at it.

"What?" McCoy asks sounding concerned. "What did they say?"

"Sprained ankle, they'll see how it feels in the morning," she says blankly.

"No, not that. Why the face?" he asks gesturing to her still wrinkled nose.

"Oh, that. They," she says, then sighs deeply. "They called me 'ma'am'."

He goes very still as if deciding how to respond.

Christine Chapel is suddenly aware of one very true thing: if he laughs, she will hit him.

"My condolences," he says in what he probably thinks is a tone that conveys both seriousness and understanding.

She just still hears the echo of 'ma'am' in her head. 'Ma'am' is her mother. 'Ma'am' is the sweet librarian back home. 'Ma'am' is not her.

So, she glares at him and heads back to the lab. Medical instruments are quiet and rarely talk back.

"Chapel! Come on," he calls after her. "Christine! It's a sign of respect!"

Respect, my ass, she thinks.

Comments

[lizbet0.livejournal.com]

It's such fun to see another bit between these two! I have to plead guilty, though, to doing the same thing: calling people of all ages "ma'am" and "sir." My parents ingrained it so well into my brothers and me that my twin brother even calls me "ma'am" sometimes. (In a serious way, even!)

So, my apologies to everyone I've made feel old...!

(And thank you, Seren-ccd, for a lovely new vignette!)

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

I'm actually the same way! Where I am in the UK though, they don't say it as much so I end up getting funny looks! I just remember the first time someone called me ma'am. It was the pizza boy delivering pizza to my house. It seriously threw me for a loop. I think I actually looked behind me to see who he was talking to!

And, always happy to provide more McCoy/Chapel!

[fresleyforever.livejournal.com]

This was great! A lovely little side piece!

The last line really got me though :D

McCoy is looking at her by this point and one eyebrow is raised. The eyebrow clearly wants to know if the call is serious.

McCoy's eyebrow is amazing and so expressive! I love how you personified it here!

Looking forward to the rest of the story!

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah! He has the most expressive eyebrows I've ever seen. *gazes at your icon*

I'm glad you liked it!

[kasuchi]

This is adorable! I love little moments between them. I particularly loved this detail:

McCoy has gone back to reading whatever on his PADD and she debates throwing paperclips at him to see if any would actually land on his head.

Because she would. And that is awesome.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

She so would, because they're like that! I've worked night shifts before and sometimes you have to throw paperclips at people. He's got such thick hair, they'd totally stick.

[kasuchi]

See, now I've got the mental image of him nodding off at his desk for some reason and she basically messes with his hair, sticking paper clips in it and mussing it up and pulling some of it into little mini-ponytails....

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Or painting his nails with White-Out! (if they still have White-out :P)

[kasuchi]

That's mean! White-out is really hard to get off in my experience! D:

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Well, he did leave her to clean all the instruments while he got to revise. I'm sure she'd figure out a way to make it up to him...

[kasuchi]

Yes but doing real serious damage to his very lovely fingernails is really not the way to go about getting revenge!

She could, however, do his colours. :D

[nikki74.livejournal.com]

I lovelovelove this series.
All of it: Jim (and his last lines in chapter 2, along with McCoy's reaction to them), the background Spock/Uhura (and I don't even ship them). Your Christine's characterisation and McCoy's voice just keep getting better and better and slow build up is killing me softly.
I can't wait for more.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad the voices are coming through. I'm having fun with the Spock/Uhura I have to say. They won't be the main focus, but the concept of them is pretty intriguing. Jim is just plain fun to write.

I'm a big fan of the slow build relationship, so that will probably continue for a little while!

I hope to get more up soon!

[shirleyann66.livejournal.com]

Ooooohhhh...I so relate to Chapel's reaction here - I've had that reaction (including a couple of tiny sobs). "Ma'am" is a woman who is at least 20 years older than my current age, no matter what that current age may be. :)

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

I know, right? It always makes me look around whenever someone calls me ma'am. I keep expecting to see my mom! Not fun this getting older thing, not fun at all.