Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Temp Quarters- Assessing the Situation

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Temp Quarters- Assessing the Situation

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Temp Quarters- Assessing the Situation
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Rand shook her head, “No, it shouldn’t take me long.” She took the blanket off the bed, folded it and set it on the table. She took Roman’s PaDD and inserted a data disk. She worked at the table where Hart could watch. She saved everything that wasn’t his books to the disk, then removed library access, and removed the disk and set it in the desk drawer.

Then she went to the closet and knelt down. Carefully she opened Roman’s violin case and removed everything that was not the violin, bow, and resin. She set everything she took out carefully into one of his storage bins. She brought the case out and set it, open on the table as well. The next part took the longest.

She found Pipkin’s travel crate, extra water bottle, food dish, litter box. She filled small containers with bedding, food, and hay. She pulled out a small brush and a few new toys. She set it all on the table. Everything, minus the food, was brand new and never been opened. “We’ve never had to take her anywhere. I can set it all up if you prefer, but I thought Roman might want to.”

Yeoman Rand

“I agree that he should do it himself,” Leah said with a nod. She wanted to give him as much agency as she could under the circumstances. He had more than he believed, and that might seem on the surface, but it was allowing him to flex that agency at opportune moments that would allow them to proceed with his path forward in a positive way.

“Just pass me whatever you need me to carry and we’ll get this cleared and sorted.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Rand took an empty duffel and put the rabbit stuff all together, then put the blanket and PaDD in a different one. Then closed the violin case. “Okay, all ready.” She kept the violin and one of the duffels and handed the other to Hart. She knew she wouldn’t be allowed to see Roman again, but she didn’t mind helping carry everything back down.

Yeoman Rand

Leah took the proffered item and together they made they way back to the temp quarters. She set the duffle down so security could screen everything and turned to Rand. “So, come on by for breakfast in the morning. You can make him tea. As mentioned, I won’t make promises about what tomorrow will or will not look like, but he and I are going to do some more work together so I can finish the eval and then we’ll go from there. But if anything changes in the interim, I’ll let you know.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Rand set down her own bag and the violin case and stepped back. “Thank you, Lt. I appreciate the consideration.” It was a slightly awkward moment for Rand. She wanted so badly to go in and stay with him. She knew she couldn’t, and it would be wrong to try and convince Hart to let her. Roman had to do the work himself; Rand knew that. “We usually eat early, 0545 or 0600. If that’s too early just let me know. I have to return to duty now.” She did a neat little about-face and went down and around the corridor for the lift.

Yeoman Rand

Leah smiled as Rand left and then took the cleared rabbit supplies in with her. She gave Roman a smile. “I return with rabbit stuff,” she said, setting it down. “Feel free to set it up while we get back to chatting.”

~Leah Hart, NP

Roman was sitting on the bed, cross legged, with Pipkin in his lap. The little rabbit was putting her nose to his shirt and then headbutting his hands for pet. When Leah entered with the rabbit supplies he, careful of the bunny, stood quickly, and went for the supplies, beginning to set everything up.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She watched him for a moment and sat on the end of the bed. “Tell me more about Pipkin. You two clearly have a strong bond.”

~Leah Hart, NP

“She was a birthday gift from Rand, a couple years ago. The year I was in sickbay for my leg.” Roman told her. He kept working with the rabbit supplies as he spoke. “She did it because I told her a story once. That I had always wanted a rabbit like Pipkin.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“And what is Pipkin like that matches that story?” she asked, her head tilted slightly as she watched his careful preparations.

~Leah Hart, NP

He put the small hutch together and then began preparing the bedding and toys and bowls. He seemed quite skilled with it, liked he’d done it many times before. “Well, the story wasn’t about a rabbit, exactly, but… She was my dream pet. Like, that golden retriever everybody used to want, but for me, it was an orange, female, Netherland dwarf rabbit. How Miranda managed to find one, within this part of space, is beyond me.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She nodded, listening attentively as always. “People who love us can often go to extraordinary lengths to make up happy. What a truly wonderful gift.”

“I’m one of those people who believe that we can form deep lasting bonds with animals as well as people, and those bonds, while different, are no less special. What is it that you think makes you and Pipkin bonded together as we can so clearly see,” she said, gesturing to Pipkin keeping close to Roman.

~Leah Hart, NP

Roman glanced down at the rabbit and shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I’ve always had bonds with animals. It’s why I’m in the field I’m in.” He finished setting it up and set it up in the room, leaving the door open so she could reach her bowls and litter pan. Then he picked up the rabbit and scratched her ears. “What does this have to do with the eval?” He asked, just wanting it over with.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Hart considered him for a moment, thinking over her answer and approach carefully. “It has to do with the likelihood you’ll take your life if you are released. Even though you have clear bonds with Pipkin, and Rand, sometimes those bonds aren’t enough. And you can lie to me and say you’re doing much better, but we both know different. So what I would like to know and am hoping you can say for yourself is what would help you to feel or think more positively, optimistically or hopefully about your future?”

~Leah Hart, NP

“Did you read my note? I figured you would have.” Roman continued to give Pipkin attention, it was relaxing and helped him be more comfortable. He wasn’t looking at Leah, instead the rabbit, as he spoke. “It has nothing to do with the future and everything to do with what I can live with. Obviously the future looks fantastic, I want to marry Rand, spend more time with Pipkin, do my job. But I can’t anymore.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“What can’t you live with precisely?” Leah asked softly. Sometimes it wasn’t about what she knew or didn’t, but about how the other person conveyed. The words they used, the process they took to get to that next important step.

~Leah Hart, NP

Roman hugged Pipkin gently and hid his face in her fur, refusing to elaborate. He took a deep breath against the rabbit before lifting his face enough to speak, but still hiding it with Pipkin’s fur. “You’ve read it. I won’t say it. I can’t.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO