She’d been on Europa a few weeks now, and her shifts were going well, and really she wasn’t have trouble with the crew, but nights like tonight when the noise was just too much and she could’t get on top of it, it made her homesick. Sharah couldn’t sleep, again. No, if she was honest she refused to sleep. Quietly moving through her shared quarters with Ashlyn she took her PaDD and her potted Bonsai tree and moved quietly through the ship to the arboretum. She couldn’t stand it. The same ship design as the challenger, her quarters across the hall from where Joseph’s had been. It was too much. She knew he wasn’t in there, but she always expected to see him walk out of them. She had been spending a lot of time in the Arboretum. She had been given approval to grow medicinal plants, and she took care of them meticulously. The very first ship she had ever sailed on was a discovery class, the USS Galileo. The Arboretum had been laid out very similarly to this one. In addition to missing Joseph, Sharah had an overwhelming need to talk to Olly. She had learned he was stationed on the USS Atlantis, he had returned to duty after several years of teaching. No one was in the arboretum at this hour. She found a quiet corner and set the lights to low. She pulled up the connection on her PaDD. She waited.

Light years away across fleets, Oliver’s comm began to go off. The computer announced “INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM ENSIGN SHARAH FAYTH”

Turning over in his sleep Olly put his pillow across his head in an attempt to block out the noise but to no avail. ’Ensign who?’ he thought in a half dazed sleep whilst pulling back his covers finally relentling and wanting to answer the call as the fog of sleep slowly lifted. Padding across the floor barefoot and in a pair of shorts he sat at his desk rubbing his eyes. “Hello?” he asked, looking at the screen, the comm link flashed open.

Sharah’s face appeared on the screen. She’d been crying. She looked a lot like that small lost child from so many years ago. She appeared to be sitting in an arboretum that looked a lot like the one from the Galileo. “Hi, Olly,” her voice barely a whisper.

“Sharah” He breathed, the image of the small child he met all those surfacing he leaned back holding his hand to his chin. “You’ve been crying?” He said seeing how she looked and noting where she was, clearly somewhere with plants which meant she was upset. “I thought you just graduated? I was going to send you a present” Oliver explained the tiredness now gone from his face.

Sharah nodded, “With honors, majoring in emergency and diagnostic medicines with a minor in botany.” Her voice was hollow. She looked nor sounded anything like the poised young woman he had last seen at the academy. She held up the bonsai tree to show him. “I think I damaged Hope,” the nickname they had given her tree. “She’s been in stasis a lot because of the transfers.” The tree was obviously fine and nothing wrong with it. Sharah was projecting her own sadness on the little tree.

Olly examined the plant through the screen and he couldn’t see any visible distress in fact it looked rather well. “Something tells me it’s not the plant that is currently upset or damaged my dear. Hope looks fine but Sharah does not, want to tell me about it?” He asked knowing that whatever she was thinking or feeling she would tell him, as was their relationship ever since they first met.

“I didn’t know it would hurt so much, Olly. I didn’t even know it was possible. He…he calmed all the noise, and I don’t even know how he did it, and now he’s gone, and the pain in my head is horrible. I’m afraid I’ll go crazy from it before I’m able to control it again.” She puts the tree down and pushes her hands into the soil behind her. “It isn’t even reasonable for me to feel this way, but I can’t seem to stop it. I can’t even tell if it’s me or someone else that feels this sad.”

He let out a short sigh, “Remember your training Sharah, from before. You’re stronger than this and everyone goes through these emotions. I know it hurts right now but in time it will cease.” Oliver had heard about her friend, the one who she had talked his ear off about since she met him, from her words and her reaction they were given different assignments, as was Starfleet. The reason why Olly stayed away from relationships.

Sharah took a deep breath and nodded. This is why she called Oliver. He wouldn’t let her have a pity party. He didn’t mind if she was sad, or angry, or happy, or nervous, but he wouldn’t let her wallow in it. There was a pot nearby, just soil in it. She pulled it into her lap and dug her hands into it, concentrating on the feel of the soil in her hands and the smell of the rich loam. After a few minutes she began to talk. “I think if it was just that I missed him it wouldn’t…I wouldn’t be like this. There are so many different minds on this ship. Less than the Academy though…* she stops, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. A sure sign she’s hearing too much. “But there are some REALLY sad people here, and whatever I feel seems to act like…a beacon for similar feelings in others, and maybe they aren’t really that side, I’m just amplifying it in myself.” She focuses on Oliver, “Remember, they kept yelling at me on Vulcan for that?” she smiles ruefully, feeling the need to rant about how awful Vulcan minds were, but she breathed again and let that topic go focusing on her current problem. “I’m not sleeping.” Before Oliver can chastise her for that she continues, “Not by choice. I have a roommate. At the Academy and on the Challenger, Cmdr. Ballaris (her head doctor) made sure I had a room to myself. I don’t mind having a roommate, Ashlyn is a really good friend, but…she has her own…uniqueness. Her body sleeps but her mind gets louder. I haven’t figured out how to ignore it while I sleep. But Dr. Zarath has really helped me, it just isn’t working tonight.” By this point she has several seedlings set up in front of her. She still looks like she’s crying but she’s breathing slower and processing rather than reacting.

“You should try listening to Delta Waves, it helps block out noise and makes my dreams and sleep much more peaceful” Olly suggested, firstly replying to her comment about her roommate and couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. “Have you considered trying to speak to him, over LCARS I know some couples who do rather well with long distance relationships, not that I can advise you on much. You know I struggle myself.”He said trying to not look saddened by the omission.

Sharah thinks about it a moment, continuing to work on the seedlings. “I will have to try that. Thank you.” She looks up at Oliver, “I have, or we have. I just..” she starts breathing slowly again while she thinks, “I swore not to get involved, remember, that time you lectured at the Academy? I didn’t understand it then, and I think I understand it even less now.” Sharah shakes her head, “Olly I’m not there but I still know you’re sad, in a bittersweet kind of way. There is someone out there that is perfect for you, I believe it. Someone as brilliant, compassionate, and noble as you will not be alone.” Sharah used the back of her hand to push her hair out of her face. She looked around her, actually noticing her surroundings this time. “I woke you up didn’t I? I’m so sorry, Oliver.”

He chuckled with a shrug, “Don’t worry, I’ll be able to get to sleep easily and I always said I’d be here for you come wind rain or shine. Well in this case come…” He looked to his clock, “two-o’clock in the morning” He let out an exaggerated yawn trying to play of her words of him finding someone, he didn’t really believe it and it was the only time Sharah got to lecture him about something and she always took the opportunity to do so.

Sharah took the hint, “Okay, Olly, I’ll leave it be.” It hurt her heart that Olly felt like he wouldn’t find someone. He was so important to her and she really wanted him to be happy. Of course then he was happy, and she needed to let it go. “Thanks Olly. You never let me get away with giving up.”

“Because I know you’ve got potential, So this ship you’re on tell me all about it!” Since he was up, Oliver might as well hear all the ins and out and he knew despite her sadness she was begging to tell him about her experiences so bad the good and the bad.

Sharah grinned, “It’s a Discovery class, just like the Galileo. I guess it’s updated, but I don’t notice. I didn’t go anywhere but the Arboretum on the Galileo. I’m working the overnight shift in sickbay, which is SLOW, but I get to work on my….OH! I didn’t tell you. For my cadet project I created a database of mineral and chemical compositions of plants that can be used for common medicines. It was loaded onto scientific tricorders so the tricorder can be used to search for them. The database then tells you how to prepare and administer the medicines. The idea was to make them available for away teams that are caught without medical aid. I even created a training program for it. It was fully approved and I’m continuing the work now.” She was speed talking like she did as a child when she would get excited about something.

Oliver tried to take in as much information as he could, the young woman on full send his O-200 mind barely able to keep up. “Sounds like I’ll be reading about you in this month’s science newsletter then, I’ll be sure to be on the lookout for you! It’s some really amazing work you should be really proud of yourself Sharah I’m proud of you.” It was odd that he would feel such a sense of pride for someone who was not always a constant in his life but the way he looked at it Sharah was his non-family niece.

Sharah shook her head, “I’m not quite there yet, but I hope I will be soon. I’d really like to be able to eventually propose it to ST Command as part of mandatory first-aid training, but we’ll see.” She looked around, it was so late, she should let Olly go. “Maybe the Europa will pass near the Atlantis some time soon and we can get permission to visit? I’ve missed seeing you Olly, it’s been a long time.”

“Too long, perhaps but we’re on deep space assignment right now and I’m not sure if or when we have plans to return,” He said sadly also missing her company, “But if we are ever scheduled to cross paths, I know the Captain here very well so I’m sure a visit won’t be unwelcome.” This time Olly couldn’t hold back a yawn, he covered his mouth with has hand “Sorry”

“We’ll make plans. Go back to bed Olly. I promise not to wake you up again.” Sharah signed off.

“Yes Ma’am” He said giving a mock salute “Goodnight Sharah and don’t worry, you’ll fit in fine there im sure of it!” He waved her goodbye and ended the call before making his way back to his bed and using the remainder of the morning to catch some extra Z’s.

En Sharah Fayth, Doctor
USS Europa

En. Oliver Loughty, Science Officer Botany & Ecology
USS Atlantis