[snip]

Hunter made his way to sickbay after asking Verity if she wanted to prepare what they found in the three scrolls that they had been able to read with the help of the UT and give them to Captain later on ,though he was willing to take on the task himself .

For now the doctor decided to make his rounds,he did look out for Cross but apparently she was nowhere to be seen.

Hunter on seeing the N.O he made his way towards her ‘’Kate do you have any idea where Cross is? ‘’. She glared at him before responding ‘’She was in charge of the bridge ..now you know ‘’ and with that Kate strode off .
The male doctor was taken aback by the N.O demeanor Strange he thought blindingly obvious as to why * Guess now I know why we where beamed up without any forewarning ...........just typical of Cross! *.

Just at that moment, on the very mention of Doctor Cross, Cara arrived in Sickbay. “Doctor Cross asked me to come back for a check-up on my tail bite,” she told Hunter. “The new CSO, Salek, thinks that an effective antibiotic might be made, but that bloods are needed from both the area that came into contact and then from another area. These samples need to be compared with the baseline on record. She said to tell you that he also said that if we know how it replicates itself that may help figure out an antibiotic. He also said he thought it was a genetic evolution that lead to a symbiosis.”

She swung her tail under her and sat down on a chair. “And the AI destroyed one fleet of ships and saw off a Klingon fleet… that’s why you were brought back quickly and not told!” Cara added.

‘’Oh so that’s why we were beamed back ‘’ the doctor rubbed at his chin ‘’Thanks for the information, was wondering if Cross had got herself in trouble with the Captain’’ he did give a sigh of relief.

“No, the Captain agrees with her decision, I think! I agree with it. I was there on the Bridge and the situation with the AI kind of escalated,” replied Cara.

Hunter looked at Cara’s tail as if it was about to throw him across sickbay ‘’Em very well, whatever the Head of the science dept wants ‘’ he then gestured her to lie on her side on one of the biobeds rather then on a chair ,Kate who usually would come to assist him was nowhere to be seen.

“Say! What is it between the Captain and CMO?” Clara had been meaning to ask someone for a long time. “Did they used to be an item once? They seem to dance around each other, and there’s an undercurrent. Trust me, I’m trained to feel those things in my work.”

Hunter pondered on Cara’s question ‘’To be honest I don’t know ,when transferred to the Merrimack I was told Cross had left and for nearly three years I acted as the ACMO ‘’ he paused for a moment before continuing ‘’Then Cross came back ,all I can say is she has known the Captain for many years and they went through some tough,maybe brutal challenging times during missions,I suppose you can call it a special unbreakable bond ,each one of them understand what the other went through.Must admit I have no clue what unfolded . Cross was in a relationship with Cmdr Milligan ,way back when he was still the DH of Security, it was heart breaking to hold her as she sobbed her heart out when he got sick and had to leave ‘’ the doctor finished off with a shrug having nothing more to add.

She followed his direction and moved to sit on the biobed instead.

The doctor took the first blood sample from the area next to the bacteria and did so again from her arm .He made sure to mark and pack them in place as any bio- hazard established code protocol .

Cara noticed the stickers he had applied to the sample bottles. “So, now my blood is a Biohazard!” she sighed.

The doctor chuckled and with his usual sense of humor replied ‘’I can give you a sticker and plaster it on your uniform,when you enter the bridge..... mark my words everyone will disappear!’’ .

‘’All done ,you can go back to the bridge might be needed there while I take the blood samples myself to the science dept and oh please do tell the Captain that I’ll soon hand back the scrolls once I insert the information Verity and I gathered on the computer ‘’.

“Okay! Yes, I think you might be getting a visit from the CSO about those scrolls,” Cara replied.

‘’Ah yes they are on the desk and will go through them ,Verity helped a lot and the IU was an asset ‘’ Hunter did not mention that Verity had brought them onboard by mistake.

“If we’re done I’d like to get back to the Bridge,” Cara said as she edged towards the exit. Once Hunter said okay, she’d be gone. Apart from anything else, her much finer olfactory senses hated being in Sickbay for any longer than necessary.

• Cara Meow