Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Sickbay (Physical check in)

Posted by Chief Petty Officer James Franklin (Engineering) in Sickbay (Physical check in)
(This takes place a few weeks ago, hard timeline tbd later.)

James Franklin tugged on the hem of his freshly pressed red shirt, wishing he’d opted for the far more comfortable duty jumpsuit. With a quiet sigh of exasperation, he moved down the corridor confidently, nodding to several crew members as they passed. The pleasant feeling of the deck plates humming beneath his feet kept him in good spirits. He’d grown disquieted with the silence of planetside ground beneath his feet these last years. The Sickbay doors slid open before him, as the electronic bosun’s whistle sounded, and he stepped into the bay looking around. Not seeing anyone at the moment, he busied himself examining the nearby panels. He wasn’t interested in the information they displayed, merely that they were in good working condition. The engineer part of himself was difficult to turn off, especially when he wasn’t quite comfortable. Which, he never was during physicals. James had grown used to the onboarding process, of course, but that didn’t mean he had to enjoy every part of it. He’d rather be down in engineering with a tool in hand…

-CPO Franklin, Engineering.

She watched him for a few moments ad then smirked. “Avoidance or curiosity?” Leah called out from the nearest biobed where she had just treated a sprained ankle.

Hart gestured to the panels and James himself. She was quite a bit shorter than him, and her white jumpsuit didn’t hide her unexpectedly muscular build. Her brown hair was up in a tidy ponytail ,and as she gazed him her brown eyes were warm and reassuring, despite the teasing.

~Leah Hart, NP

He turned to her, not quite startled. “Mostly avoidance, I think..” James managed a slight grin, just a bit sheepish in nature. “I’m here for my physical, if you have an opening.” He considered offering to come back later, but didn’t. The woman before him seemed genuinely warm, which wasn’t the case with most medical staff, in his experience. Remembering not to stare, he glanced around the sickbay, taking it in, since it was his first time here.

• CPO Franklin, Engineering