Posted by Lieutenant Matthias Meadows (Helmsman) in Sickbay - (Pre-sim) Lessons in Plasma

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Elara Dain (Doctor) in Sickbay - (Pre-sim) Lessons in Plasma

Posted by Lieutenant Matthias Meadows (Helmsman) in Sickbay - (Pre-sim) Lessons in Plasma
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻

<snip>

She looked up at him for a moment, head tilted slightly, dark hair falling back to reveal the soft line of Trill spots that curved from her temple down her neck. “It is,” she said simply, the comment carrying a little weight of agreement—and perhaps shared understanding.

Her hazel-green eyes dropped to her work. The itching had started to ease as the dermal regeneration did its job. Elara ran her fingers lightly over the area that had been burned, not just along the edges, but directly across the newly mended tissue. Her touch was deliberate but gentle, pausing now and then to gauge his reaction. “A good workout’s always a good idea,” she murmured. Her eyes flicked up again, brief but bright.

The quick scan from her tricorder confirmed what her fingers already told her—tissue density, blood flow, nerve activity. All normal. But healing wasn’t just about numbers.

“Make a fist.” Her tone shifted slightly—more professional, but still warm. She guided him through a sequence of movements: flexion, extension, rotation. Never quite breaking contact, always gauging, adjusting.

Then she turned his hand palm-up and wove her fingers between his with quiet precision. The intimacy of it was subtle, medical, but undeniably present. She pressed both thumbs gently into the base of his palm, then smoothed them along tendons and muscles with steady, practiced pressure. A stretch. A release. She repeated it again, slow and firm.

Her fingers never lingered longer than necessary—but they also never rushed.

“Lemme have the other one real quick,” she said, looking up again. Her voice was light, maybe even teasing. Head tilted. The faintest smile at the corner of her mouth.

Lt., j.g. Dain, Doctor

Matthias let out a breath of something close to a laugh. “At this rate, you’ll have both arms working better than before.”

Ela smiled for a moment, eyes down, focused on her work as her hair fell just enough to hide her face. “Well, that’s the idea, right?” She stole a quick glance back up at him.

His fingers shifted slightly, not resisting when hers slipped between them. The stretch actually did feel good—he hadn’t realized how tense he’d been. His gaze flicked to hers briefly, catching the small smile.

“You’re obviously skilled with your hands.” He gave a slight pause to allow he words to conjure up alternative meanings besides how she obviously used them while working. He was also enjoying the light massage.

The comment sent a flush of heat through her, all the way through her face and the tips of her ears. “I… well… ” She swallowed. “Kind of have to be when taking care of other people.” Chewing her bottom lip, she continued working.

His grin broadened at her obvious physical state. Matthias was having an effect on her apparently. An effect he enjoyed perhaps a bit too much in the current situation.

He continued. “What do you do outside of here?” He curiously asked, eyes set on her face to read her reactions with no shame.

-Lt. Matthias Meadows, Helm

“You mean besides flirt with cute but slightly clumsy operations folks?” She shrugged one shoulder. “A lot of things.” Her face heated again. “I… It’s kind of silly, I guess.”

Lt., j.g. Dain, Doctor

So, she came right out with it. Cute, eh? It only served to encourage him to dig deeper. He shook his head at her. “Whatever it is, I’m confident it’s not silly to you. C’mon Ela, spill the beans.” he said, not clearly invested in knowing and watching her react to him.

-Lt. Matthias Meadows, Helm

She paused, fingers gently kneading the muscle at the base of his thumb. Her tone turned soft, almost reluctant. “I read old mystery novels. The kind with detectives in trench coats and too much whiskey.”

His grin grew broader.

She winced and shook head. A breath of a laugh followed. “This is really going to make me sound like an old lady but… I knit. Started on the station — supplies were cheap, and it kept my hands busy.”

Shrugging one shoulder, Elara pressed on. “I also box and kickbox. Dance, all kinds. Swing, Salsa, Samba. I do a bit of fencing, when I can find a partner who doesn’t treat me like I’ll break.” Then, with a slightly sheepish glance up at him: “…I still think it sounds silly.”

Lt., j.g. Dain, Doctor

Matthias gave a warm laugh, not directed at her, but at the idea of it all sounding silly. “You’re crazy. How is that silly? If you enjoy it, do it! I’d love to learn some fencing some day. Dance also sounds like a good time. But I think you really got me with the mystery novels. Have you ever played through them in the holodeck?” he asked curiously, completely relaxed with the way her hands massaged his own.

-Lt. Matthias Meadows, Helm

She bit her lip for a moment, looking up at him. “What, you mean like the Dixon Hill holonovels?” Her hands continued to work absently, steady and rhythmic, soft and warm.

Matthias had no idea when her ministrations would be complete. He wasn’t a doctor after all. And he certainly wasn’t complaining.

Ela shook her head. “Never. I’m… Not that good. I mean, do I look like a Security officer to you?” She flashed him a grin that made her eyes glitter.

Lt., j.g. Dain, Doctor

He chuckled at her comment as the smile in her eyes only drew him in more. “I’m sure you know just as well as I do that you don’t have to be a security officer to figure things out. You’re a doctor. I’d most certainly trust your knowledge when it comes to bodies. You’d probably be able to figure out a lot more than you think. After all, you’re doing quite a wonderful job with my own.” he said, the flirting ebbing through more.

“And if you’ve never done a holonovel, it sounds like we ought to try, right? That way you can know for certain whether you truly are capable of it.” he suggested, hoping she would take the hook. “What do you think?”

-Lt. Matthias Meadows, Helm

Ela paused when he mentioned working on his body. So mu much for professional boundaries. The silence of sickbay, save for the low thrum of the ship’s reactor rumbling through the decking, and the soft whisper of the air scrubbers rushed in.

Ela pursed her lips, rubbing them together in contemplation, extracting her hands from his. She cleared her throat, fishing her tricorder from her pocket to take another quick scan. Everything seemed in order, all functions were nominal.

As much as she tried to busy herself, she couldn’t avoid the question for long. The statement about taking care of his body floated back up to the front of her consciousness.

That was the job, wasn’t it? At the end of the day, doctors were just people mechanics. Sickbay was a bodyshop. A repair bay. The comment could be innocent enough. A little flirting never hurt the bedside manner. He did have a nice one, but at the same time… that could be very inappropriate. Her face burned a little again, as she stared a hole into the readout of her tricorder.

“You mean like… on a date or something?” She didn’t look up right away, but finally did, uncertainty floating in her emerald eyes.

Lt., j.g. Dain, Doctor

Matthias had enough experience with people to red between some of the lines. She seemed hesitant. Had he said something wrong? He didn’t think so, but her reaction caused him to have doubt.

He watched her seemingly multiple through his question. Or was she just actually that thorough? Maybe both? He didn’t inquire or push one way or another. He gave her the space to react.

Then her face had turned a bit more red as the moment went on. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at it.

Finally her reply came. He considered his reply as he watched her eyes dart up to his moments later. “Yeah,” he said simply. “Maybe something comes of it. Maybe it doesn’t. Only other way we could know is if I go out and hurt myself some more just so i can be seen by you.” He said with a light chuckle before adding, “Something tells me though you would look down on that prospect. The safer option feels better to me.”

He leaned back slightly as he kept his eyes on her, curious to her reaction.

-Lt. Matthias Meadows, Helm

Ela shook her head. “Please don’t. I don’t need, or want, you getting hurt just to… spend time with me.” Her face flushed again and she began packing up her equipment. Tricorder back in pocket, dermal regenerator in the other along with the hypospray. Tools of the trade.

Ela paused where she was, rooted to the deck. Decision time. It was one thing when it came to medicine, especially emergency medicine. Patient outcome was always the top priority. But this wasn’t … that. This was personal, and certainly bordering on unprofessional. He was … She already liked him. But that was kind of dangerous, wasn’t it? Not in any physical way. But, she might have to recuse herself from treating him. But at the same time, if he got seriously hurt, she couldn’t sit on her hands and do nothing, either, professionally speaking. And if… the worst were to happen, what then? Could she even handle that?

But so too, her life was already in his hands, probably in half a dozen ways she wasn’t even aware of. Was there really much of a difference?

As she weighed her options, she slowly looked up at him, chewing her bottom lip. Money-green eyes searched his face as though looking deeper. It was a minefield to navigate.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, thought better of it, then pressed on. “Okay. We can try it. Just for an hour or two to start. See how far we get. Maybe talk about it over dinner and drinks, if it goes well. Just to try it out.”

Lt., j.g. Dain, Doctor