Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: The Reckoning

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in side-sim: The Reckoning

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: The Reckoning
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Rand grinned and looked over at him over the top of a fuzzy white and orange head, but she was talking to the rabbit. “You are so small and cute you just twitch that nose and use those cute bunny eyes and I bet he doesn’t make you move for hours.” She obviously having fun teasing him. “He’s right though, not too many carrots. I’ll find something else for you.”

Roman smiled and shook his head. “I’m not entirely a push over, either! Cute eyes aren’t going to work every time.” He was clearly enjoying it as much as she was. “Something she likes that’s good for her.”

“I don’t know, she’s really cute and just a baby. How could you make her get down?” Rand still holding her close turned Pipkin slightly so he could see her face, and it also showed off how incredibly small she was. “How could you possibly make this poor thing get down?” Then she plopped Pipkin down right on his chest and then grabbed the tray and moved it out of the way.

Roman began giving Pipkin all kinds of attention. “I think you’re more the mischievous type anyway, aren’t you? You’d let me up,” he said to the bunny, grinning at Rand.

Rand grinned, “Don’t you give in to all that charm, Pipkin. I mean I can’t fault you for falling for it.” Rand sat down close to the side of the bed and leaned in close to the rabbit. “See it hides a really stubborn streak. So mischievous is good, but you have to be more stubborn than he is.” Rand glanced up at him, she was a lot closer than she realized, but she grinned. Being out of sickbay was good for both of them.

“Something as cute as you can’t possibly beat me in stubbornness. Best to just sit there and look adorable,” Roman replied to the bunny, giving Rand a playful look. Sitting so close to the bed, and leaned in towards Pipkin, Rand was closer than she’d been since Sickbay.

Less than an hour later Randy rang the chime. He started to ask if they were decent but figured they both might hurt him and he was there in a medical capacity so professionalism first. When the door opened he walked in and stopped short. “Fhuair thu coineanach dha gu dearbh. (You actually got him a rabbit.)” Randy shook his head at his sister before looking at Alden, “Time for the dermal regenerator and then meds. Do you think the rabbit will stay out of the way? It would be rather dangerous for it to accidently get in the way.”

He turned to Rand, “I have to stay while we do this, so you can run along and do your thing without worrying.”

Rand and Randy

Roman grinned. He knew the Gaelic word for rabbit and the rest he either knew from Rand’s lessons or could pick up by context. It wasn’t a complex sentence. “Of course she got me a rabbit, your sister can make anything happen,” he said. Then he gave an audible sigh. He had no issue with the regenerator but he still did not want the meds. Apparently, the removal of the neuro block had taught him nothing. “It’s already time for more meds?” He complained.

Then with one more moment of giving Pipkin scratch, he motioned for Rand to take the little bunny. “It’ll be best for her to stay in her enclosure until we’re done. She’s young and curious.” And then Randy seemed to be throwing Rand out again. Randy seemed fond of doing that lately.

~ Roman

Rand took her and the way she was loving all over it made Randy let out a long suffering sigh and then grin. “Yeah, my sister is pretty amazing. Not quite time. they last 6 hours, you’ve got about an hour and half left. Wanted to get this over with before the meds wore off.” Randy flipped open his tricorder and scanned Roman’s leg. “Anti-inflammatories are a must. After that walk everything is inflamed and the ice packs aren’t doing it. We have to reduce the swelling. You were on a 3/4th max dosage of the pain killers. We’ll try a half dosage, and see if that works.”

Rand sat down on the end of the bed opposite where Randy was standing. “I don’t start rounds for 45 minutes. I don’t have to leave yet. What are you up to?” Randy put a hand on his hip and then pointed at his sister, all attitude, “Fine but quit snogging in front me. Glad you’re happy, but just…don’t. I’d tell you two to get a room, but,” and he waved his finger around in a circle indicated they did.

Rand turned red as Randy explained his reasoning. She looked away from him in an attempt to ignore him that only made Randy grin.

Roman let out a somewhat embarrassed snort. “No one’s snogging anyone just yet,” he said, and then, grinning added, “but we absolutely could be.” Teasing Randy a little was helpful in distracting him from what Randy was here for.

Rand’s mouth dropped open and her whole body went hot and then cold. Roman and Randy were having good fun with each other, Rand was utterly embarrassed. She got up and busied herself with the dishes left over from their meal that she had already taken care of. Randy gave Alden an appraising look. “I know I look good in these boots Cmdr, but if we start kissing Rand might get upset.”

Roman seemed unphased by the comment and replied easily, “Sorry, not my cup of tea. I did know someone once who might’ve been interested, though. Went both ways, if you know what I mean.” He was talking about Jay, of course, one of the first times he’d mentioned his friend so offhandedly, and a look of sadness crossed his face briefly, but passed just as quickly.

The look was not missed by Randy, but was by Rand because she was too busy trying very hard to ignore the two of them. Randy grinned, it wasn’t his cup of tea either but he could play along. He had to be careful though because he wanted Roman to be able to continue to engage and not be weighted down by the grief, “I know exactly what you mean. I bet he looked faaabulous in one of these uniforms,” of course being the short skirt women’s uniform, “But no one rocks these boots like me. Not even Rand. I mean all that running, but I’ve got a few inches on her. Rand, com’ere and prove my point.” Rand looked up and over and just shook her head, wide eyed, “Umm…what? No. Knock it off.” Really what was he up to, first her brother says stop then he wants her showing off her legs? Some times she just didn’t get Randy.

Roman was a little glad when Randy shifted the topic to Rand, though he could tell Rand was uncomfortable. The truth was, Jay had worn the dress uniform, for a week, as part of a dare with another crewmate. But Roman couldn’t really compare the two. Even if it were his thing, Jay was too much like a brother for that. “A few inches doesn’t beat ‘all that running’, as you say,” said Roman, giving Rand a look. “You might outrank a few of the women aboard but no one looks better than she does in that uniform.”

Then he set up the device and got it started on Roman’s leg.

Randy and Rand

Sessions with dermal regenerators weren’t usually loads of fun though generally less painful than bone fusers. But the fact that this time, the regenerator was trying to grow new muscle rather than repair existing muscle, and that his leg was already painful and irritated made it worse than it would normally be. But Roman was acting tough about it. It would have been easier if it were a faster process. He focused on watching Pipkin explore her cage. Rand had really gone above and beyond with the little rabbit’s home, she looked tiny in the large, multilayered enclosure.

~ Roman

Randy kept an eye on the machine making sure everything was going as it should. The tricorder was showing a lot of inflammation which was normal but it would be better if there wasn’t so much swelling. He picked up the hypo, “Just the anti-inflammatory. This was given earlier than the other and your leg is showing signs of swelling already. So I’m giving this now. Nothing else.” Randy’s tone was one of those that meant he wasn’t going to argue. Though he knew Roman would benefit from the pain meds he was willing to move at his pace with those, but the anti-inflammatory would speed the healing.

Rand, despite her embarrassment came back over and sat on Roman’s other side and held his hand.

Rand and Randy

Roman gave no arguments, taking Rand’s hand when she came back over to him. His grip was tight, but not bone-crushing like it had been before. He was still watching Pipkin. The rabbit was exploring all over the large enclosure.

~ Roman

The enclosure was five floors connected by sturdy metal with non slip stair shaped ramps to each of the platforms. Each one had something different on it. The very bottom contained her litter box, then there was an igloo shaped dome for a nest on another. Her food and water containers on another. Random things to chew on were scattered around. And underneath it all was a removable tray to catch anything that fell if Pipkin started to dig or burrow. Right then she was on the very top level, sitting up on her hand legs stretching towards the top of the cage, her nose twitching furiously at the scents in the room. “I know it’s kind of big, but I wanted her to have room to move around if she had to be in the cage for a long time.” Rand didn’t say it because she didn’t want to remind Roman of the Ardent, but she had anchored the cage to the wall. That way if the ship got hit by anything, or there was a malfunction with the grav-plating, it would stay put and the little rabbit would be safe.

Rand and Randy

Roman nodded. Sometimes he worked late, or if he was on a landing patty and wouldn’t be back for a while, Pipkin might end up locked in there for a while. With the setup Rand chose, the little bunny would still have more than enough space to play. Each layer had something different and interesting for Pipkin to keep her occupied. He hadn’t noticed she’d anchored it to the wall, but when he did he would approve considering the safety of Pipkin. All his lab enclosures were secured. His experience with ships getting hit by things made him more cautious of that sort of thing.

~ Roman