“No! I don’t want to!” Lia cried as she stamped an angry foot in defiance. Ever since her illness, the little girl had developed a somewhat understandable fear of sickbays and hospitals, and the prospect of visiting a new one scared her. With a quivering lip, she ran to Taiya and clung on to her trouser leg as she pleaded. “Please mummy, don’t make me go…” she whimpered as Taiya knelt down and embraced the frightened child. She scooped her up for a cuddle and took her over to the sofa, softly stroking her hair. She let her calm down for a moment before looking into her eyes with the calm reassurance only a mother can bring.

“I know you’re frightened muffin but I promise you, nothing is going to happen to you, they just want to check you’re ok, like mummy used to do for people remember? Can you be brave for me?” she asked softly. Lia looked at her mother for a moment, pondering her options before finally giving a reluctant nod. Taiya smiled as she gave the little girl a playful kiss on the nose. “Good girl muffin, why don’t you go and choose a toy to take with you?” she suggested. Lia smiled and nodded a bit more enthusiastically before darting past Alex who was still unpacking cases. He smiled warmly as he heard Lia debating out loud which toy to bring. Letting out a sigh he came to join Taiya on the sofa and wrapped his arms around her. “She’s getting better, last time it took me a day to convince her…” he mused as he gently kissed Taiya’s neck. She smiled as she felt his warm breath on her skin.

Lia came bounding out of her room with a soft toy snuggled under each arm, a tattered and well-loved bunny under one and a fluffy tribble doll under the other. Alex raised an eyebrow as the little girl looked hopefully at them. “I thought mummy said one toy?” he questioned, in a playful tone. Lia blinked a couple of times as she stared her father down in defiance then looked at the bunny stuffed under her arm. “Flopsy said she’d be lonely on her own so Trixy is coming too…” she stated very matter-of-fact. Alex chuckled as he ruffled Lia’s hair. “Well, we certainly couldn’t have that could we?” he joked. Lia grinned as she shook her head and made her way for the door.

Taiya chuckled as she joined them and the trio made their way to sickbay.

Commander Keali (Incoming XO)