An Invitation

Posted on Thu Jun 16th, 2022 @ 7:25am by Lieutenant Commander Michael Ki & Ensign Charlotte (Charlie) Washington
Edited on on Thu Jun 16th, 2022 @ 7:32am

Mission: Character Development
Location: Sickbay
985 words - 2 OF Standard Post Measure

"Oh my, I have to go," Charlie looked at the time and realized she was about to be late for her appointment which she had already rescheduled once. Not because she had an aversion to the new transfer physical, in fact, she knew it was important and always wanted to maintain the best health. Rather, it had just slipped her mind. The young ops officer handed the remainder of her task to her nearest crewmate and made a dash for sickbay.

Fortunately, running was one of her favorite hobbies and she found a quick pace. Only a few minutes passed before she stepped through the doors to the medical department, right on time without a second to spare. "Commander?" She inquired of the man sitting in the office labeled for Dr.Ki.

Michael smiled as the Ensign entered. He took a sip of a cup of warm sake before he spoke. "Commander may be the rank that Starfleet has given me, but I prefer Doctor. Welcome Ensign I believe you are here for your physical, am I correct?"

"That's right," Charlie piped back with her normally chipper demeanor. "I should apologize by the way. I was supposed to come in a week ago and completely forgot and had to reschedule last minute. I hope it didn't cause too much of an issue." She confessed as they walked towards one of the biobeds.

"Not a problem at all. Have a seat..." Michael picked up a medical tricorder from the supply tray and began to scan her. "Is there any medical issues that I should be aware of?" His eyes were on the tricorder as the readings began to come back.

"Nope. At least the last time I had one of these I had a clean bill of health. My husband and I try to keep a relatively healthy regimen, maybe him more than me. His favorite dessert is fruit for God's sake," CJ chuckled. A momentary silence passed afterward and Charlie hated not filling the time with conversation, so she continued. "Can I ask how long you've been on board the Athena?"

"Hmmm I believe it may be just about a year now. Still have not gotten around to meeting everyone on the crew..." Michael began and then smiled. "You tell your husband that I said a little indulgence is quite alright. I myself enjoy a nice glass of warm sake. Helps keep me relaxed and my mind sharp. As desserts go I prefer a nice bowl of green tea ice cream." He said with a broad smile as he replaced the tricorder. The scanners built into the bio bed had begun to collect the data that the tricorder did not. "Do you and your husband plan on having children? I do not mean to be personal, it is just that if you are I would like to make sure that I have appropriate medical equipment on hand."

"Maybe one day, but not in the near future I don't think," she replied. It was something they'd talked about but had decided to rediscuss at a later time and focus on their careers in the near term. They weren't even sure that they really wanted kids ever, at this juncture in their lives. "Since you've been here for a while, do you mind if I ask what you do for fun around here? We haven't done a lot of exploring around the ship yet. We've been pretty focused on unpacking."

"I prefer to relax while playing the violin or the fiddle. I also love to try to review old medical files and see if I can diagnose the patient before the doctor of record. I am a diagnostician by training and it is what I love to do. Other than that I like to read, in particular Sherlock Holmes." Michael replied with a smile as he finished up the scanning of the Ensign.

"You sound like my husband," she chuckled. "Actually, we have some holodeck time this afternoon that we were planning to use on an escape room program. Ever played one before? It seems like something that might pique your interests."

An escape room, Ki had heard of them but never experienced one. He was sure that he could be of use solving any type of case both real or imagined. After all what was solving a mystery if not diagnosing. "That sounds like it would be intriguing. Can't say that I have ever tried one before, and yet I imagine it a lot like solving a medical mystery."

"I suppose, maybe," Charlie shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Join us?" She asked.

"Yes I think I will. Thank you for the invitation Ensign." Michael replied. For the first time in a while something outside of medicine had actually intrigued him. Perhaps he could put his medical solving skills to use in a non medical scenario.

"Great!" Charlie hopped up from the biobed and headed for the door. "See you at eighteen hundred hours, holodeck 2!"

Michael watched as the Ensign left. He was never one who made friends too easily and yet here was someone who seemed genuinely interested in being his friend. Most of the time whenever someone wanted to be his friend he suspected that they had an ulterior motive. It was the same here, there was a part of him that waited for the other shoe to drop. But for now he thought he should at least try.

Who knows it may be nice to have a friend for a while… As those thoughts crossed his mind memories of the love that he left on the Merlin flooded his mind as well. He knew that Counselors would say she was the reason he did not allow anyone to get close. Michael sipped his sake and it dawned on him that it was time to change that, time to change everything.