Meeting Of The Nurse
Posted on Sun Apr 13th, 2025 @ 7:58pm by Lieutenant Addison Talbert & Staff Warrant Officer Coen Hughes
Edited on on Mon Apr 14th, 2025 @ 2:10am
2,529 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Like Sands Through The Hourglass
Location: Sickbay - Deck 4 - USS Herodotus
Timeline: MD002 1300 hrs
Addison was placing a couple of personal items upon her desk, one was an image of her deceased husband and herself smiling in front of a waterfall. His arms wrapped around her. She smiled slightly reaching out and running a finger along the small curve of his face in the photo. With how often she did that, Addison was glad it was enclosed and protected by the glass. The other item was, a small velvet black pouch which contained five stones, which sat next to the picture of her husband. A kiss of her finger, then placed upon the image. Addison straightened it out, to the angle she liked then gave a nod. She was satisfied with the arrangement.
"Now a little bit of touch up to start the day right." Addison remarked as she pulled out some cleaning supplies.
Coen thought he heard noise coming from the Chief Medical Officer's office so he went to investigate. He had heard that she would be arriving soon. When he got to her door he was surprised to see her with her own cleaning supplies. He furrowed his brow in confusion.
"You know the ship has drones that take care of the cleaning and such, don't you?" Coen's English accent matching the cheeky grin he was wearing as he stood in the doorway.
"That maybe so, however I do like to do my own cleaning as well. Something that has been instilled in me, ever since I was able to carry my own little dust cloth, toddling after my mother wanting to help her out. And cleaning something tends to be a stress reliever, well at least for me." Addison moved from behind her desk having placed her drying cloth upon the desk. Wiping her hands with another cloth she walked over towards where Coen stood. "I'm Addison Talbert." holding out her hand towards Coen to shake his with a friendly smile.
Coen stepped forward and graciously shook the doctor's hand. "Well, having a good something to relieve stress is a good thing, especially in this business. I do like the finished product, though I can't say I ever cared much for the process. Unless it was helping something else along. A menial task can always be a bit brighter with the right company, wouldn't you agree?"
"I do indeed, many hands make light work." Addison raised an eyebrow towards Coen, "Does this mean you are volunteering to help out?" a broad smile appearing as she asked. Then she walked back to her desk to pick up her cleaning solution as well as some other cloths, turning towards him. "Now the cleaning solution I use isn't toxic, but it does get the job done."
Coen dipped his head in a single nod. "Of course, Doctor. I'd be happy to assist with whatever you need. Even if it's just giving your office a good scrubbing."
Handing Coen his own bottle and cloths, Addison gave a chuckle. "It's a little bit of a tactile claiming this office as mine. Well, ours since we will be working together. " Addison resuming her cleaning. "How long have you been on the Herodotus?" there was a light accent to her voice as she wiped down the surface, a light Texan accent.
"Only a couple of days," Coen replied as he looked around and finally settled on a corner of the room to start cleaning with the doctor's supplies. "I have been trying to introduce myself to fellow crewmembers as I run into them, but I have only met a few so far."
"I've been making myself known and going out to meet the crew. I do need to get scans of everyone to compare if they have something happening to them during the missions we'll be having. Best to be prepared, and have a physical and knowing what sort of health a person is in. Speaking of which, you will get to be the one to make a scan of me." Addison turning towards Coen.
"I suppose I can manage that well enough," Coen replied. "That does raise an interesting question though doesn't it? Effects of time travel and universe jumping on the body, I mean. It seems as though the Federation might know more about that than they've been letting on. Though, I wouldn't be too surprised if they hadn't been monitoring that closely it while they've been sending agents out on their top secret missions," he said with some cynicism. But for a quick glance back at the doctor, he kept his focus on the cleaning project he'd undertaken so she couldn't read his expression.
"I'm glad you are making a point to track it. I'll be interested in the results," he added.
"You and I will be the team that will keep everyone in a healthy state." Addison finished drying the surface that she had been cleaning. "Let's take a break, I feel that I need to learn a bit more about you, well both of us can exchange a little bit of our own history. How you came to be on this ship? I know I could take a look at the personnel files and I have done some studying but that truly doesn't give me an idea as to where you are from and who you are."
Coen was a bit taken aback by the doctor's question - how he came to be on the ship. Before he turned around to face her, he took a measured breath and did his best at composing a cheerful look for the well-meaning medical officer. "You could say I've always been a man of service. I had thoughts to go to the Academy, but the war with the Dominion was on the horizon when I finished secondary school, so I enlisted instead. The rest of my career followed from there. I picked up my nursing certifications after ten years working as a med tech in search and rescue forces. When my wife died a few years ago, it just seemed time to look for something more again."
"What about you?" Coen asked. "What brought you here?"
Addison saw the slight reaction to her question, she answered softly, "I am sorry for your loss, I lost my husband a couple of years back as well. As for your service, I feel that you and I have had some similar experiences in the medical field. And how I came here, I was made an offer I couldn't refuse, a choice of being alive in some form or being dead permanently." She wasn't going to bundle it softly. "I made the choice to join DTI due to that fact."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Coen replied with tenderness. "I know a bit of what you mean. It is important to keep moving."
Addison gave a nod in response and "Thank you. Aye that it is." Moving towards the bio leaning one hip against it, as she looked towards Coen. " What happened to your wife?" her eyes filled with compassion. It could be classified as to that being a very personal question but she did want to know.
"Not entirely sure," Coen responded with a hint of sadness in his voice. "She was on a classified mission with Starfleet." Coen knew a little more than he was sharing, but he wasn't supposed to know much of anything at all so he kept the knowledge that he did have close to his chest.
"What about your husband?" Coen asked.
'While I was taking care of the patients at our traveling clinic, Thomas was taking care of a colonist's prize bull. When he had finished, he was heading back to the ship, something spooked a herd of cattle that were heading down the town's street. It is terrifying when a herd of cattle stampede." Addison had a catch in her voice, as she continued. "From what I was told, a little girl got away from her parents and went running into the street where the cattle were, my husband ran out swept her into his arms and ran to get her to safety to a wall. He tried to get up but wasn't able to, and he was caught in the stampede." her hand gripped the edge of the biobed, blinking rapidly to fend off the tears that threatened to fall. it still was difficult to talk of it at times, even now.
"You must have loved him very much." There really weren't words to say when someone still in the painful throws of grief. Coen found that words, although well-meaning, often seemed like a little dance on the surface of what was really being felt in the depths of one's soul when they lost someone close to them.
"Yes I did, and still do. I know that he is dead but he had a profound affect in my life. Just because he is no longer alive, doesn't mean I can't have feelings of love for him. Its a piece of me, my history all interwoven." Addison got up onto the bio bed. "Now for me to be given a scan then you will be next." giving a smile. She felt that Coen had just the perfect way of making a person feel comfortable in his presence.
"Of course. You're absolutely right," Coen acquiesced almost apologetically. "Wasting no time. Alright then." Coen reached into the storage drawer and pulled out a medical tricorder. "Standard physical?"
"Standard but also make a record of chronal markers as well. Honestly I don't like physicals myself, even though they are necessary. I've had physicals the old fashioned way, without the hand scanners. Hand scanners don't always work, so there was the poking, prodding, open your mouth and say AAAAH, the cold metal of a stethoscope being pressed against the chest. Brrr those were not fun when in the winter."
"I grew up on Deneva Prime where there was an appreciation for learning how to do things without computer assistance," Coen mentioned. "It was useful life experience when I enlisted. A rescue would almost always begin with field medicine, very little equipment until we could get them somewhere safe."
Coen scanned the doctor without making any sort of production out of it, and the scans themselves were finished rather quickly. "Did you want to put the data in yourself, or have me take a look at them for you?" Coen knew doctors tended to not make their own best patients, but she was more qualified than he was, and he wanted to respect the doctor's privacy.
Addison gazed at Coen, as if weighing something on her mind, she smiled warmly giving a nod. "Coen, you have my permission to look at the data. I feel that another set of eyes would out rather well. I also want to compliment you on your bedside manners, you've made me feel comfortable, and I like that. " moving from the biobed. "Now it is your turn, for the scan."
"Oh right, I have to take a turn then." Coen didn't sound excited, but the grief he was dolling out was good-natured. "Nothing like letting someone run a scanner over you that can tell them just about every mistake you've ever made in your life, right." Coen winked at the doctor and gave her a mischievous grin. "No secrets among starship mates, right?"
"Especially with a ship this size and the size of crew we have. I do have access to your previous records, but I am going to ask permission from you to look at them. Yes I am the CMO but, hey figured it was courtesy, and my Grandpa also had taught me, ask permission." Having the hand scanner ready to begin.
"Of course, Doctor. I have nothing to hide, other than a few youthful transgressions," Coen said playfully.
Addison burst out laughing, she was finding Coen delightful. " You have a charming way about you." and started her scanning. "I will have you know I am- a perfect angel, doing nothing wrong, ever" she was able to deliver that statement without a trace of a smile.
"A prankster then, were you - are you?" Coen's eyes brightened as he looked like he might be reading her expressions. "It's always the ones who protest the loudest that you have to watch out for."
Another laugh it making Addison's hand jiggle during the scan. "Oh it was more of my two older brothers. They would come up with some mad cap scheme, my two younger siblings wanted to be a part of it, and they coerced me into participating. I was a rather reluctant participant, at first. Confounded cute and charming siblings. They had the most endearing pleading expressions that I just couldn't say no too." grinning from ear to ear.
"And I am sure you had such a miserable time of it as well, while you were at it," Coen said simply, finding it charming how easily the doctor laughed.
"Yes, I suffered so much." Giving a wink to Coen. "Barely surviving their shenanigans." she looked at the readings " You are looking to be in great physical shape, that is good and I now have the readings that are needed for comparison" Addison's mouth moved to one side with pursed lips. "You know I never asked you where you were from."
"Deveva Prime, born and raised," Coen said. "My parents settled there before I was born. They both have some Dutch ancestry, if you're meaning to trace it back to Earth," he added. "I didn't leave there, but for a holiday or something until I left for Starfleet."
Addison's hand paused, giving a light palm strike to her forehead. "Good heavens you mentioned that earlier. I got a little bit distracted and it didn't register. Forgive?" giving a wry smile. "Both of us from colonies. I traced my heritage to Texas. "
"There's nothing to forgive. The test isn't until next Thursday. You'll have plenty of time to study up before then." Coen studied her for a moment with a pleasant intensity as he stood up from the biobed. "It's always a bit of flurry, getting a new ship and her crew ready for a new voyage. This one especially with its unique challenges, no less."
She gave a nod. "This is true. And next Thursday I will make certain to pass that test with flying colors." Addison widely smiling she looked about medical it now having more of a warmth to it. She rubbed her hands together, "Well we accomplished a great deal today, sickbay looks great, thank you, and both of us got our scans done. Now run, before I find us something more to do?" giving an impish wink to Coen, and a light laugh.
"Yes, ma'am. It was a pleasure." Coen gave Addison a pleasant nod before taking his leave.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Addison Talbert
Chief Medical Officer
USS Herodotus DTI-30656
Staff Warrant Officer Coen Hughes
Nurse
USS Herodotus DTI-30656
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