Posted by Lieutenant Hannah Lori Asimina (Asst. Chief Medical Officer) in How I Met Your Mother

Posted by Civilian Jason Reilly (Assistant Director - Colonial Intelligence) in How I Met Your Mother

Posted by Lieutenant Hannah Lori Asimina (Asst. Chief Medical Officer) in How I Met Your Mother
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The Ginger Man had been suggested to Hannah by Oj’kiv, the old Klingon Midwife. Dr Fayth had met Hannah at the hospital and walked her through all the intricacies of working at a combined location that was Sacred Heart. Hannah was impressed and had several suggestions as they talked. Fayth was impressed with her. After a working lunch with the head Star Fleet staff, Hannah had spent several hours with the orthopedic and prosthetic depatment. If asked, Hannah would have resigned right then and there to work full time in that department. It was a dream, but lacking someone with her expertise.

With Hannah’s recent ‘diagnosis’ Fayth had taken her to the obstetrics ward under the guise of a tour. Fayth had not wanted to share her personal information, but it had notvtaken the old midwife more than a few.minutes to recognize the reason Hannah was sucking on ginger candies.

The Ginger Man got its name from the proprietor who was Irish and had the classic bright red hair. However, many years ago he discovered his pub sat right outside the main door ro the maternity ward of the hospital. So a marketing scheme was hatched to serve as many things with ginger as possible for those lovely lasses with queasy stomachs. This eventually led to anything from any culture that was a cure for soon to be mamas. And apparently he made the most Devine chicken soup too.

The inside was dark wood paneling with comfortable plush leather covered seats. The main room was filled with tables and booths. The lighting a bit brighter. The back room was lined with booths by the windows across from a traditional Irish themed bar. Complete with mirror and bottles from across the quadrant. There was a strick two drink limit and no smoking. There would be no antics to upset the budding families in the establishment. There was a small private smoking room in the back where new parents were celebrated with a drink and a celebratory cigar. Smoking coats were provided and a separate exit so the odor would not upset the ladies and new babies in the main dinning area. Top notch ventilation kept any unwelcome aromas in the kitchen. But one wouldn’t recognize it for anything more than a warm welcomingvtraditional pub. Tristan O’Dowd did a booming business.

It was here that Hannah asked Jason to meet her at 1830.

Hannah

Jason walked in the door exactly at 1830. His first inclination (habit) was to arrive an hour early, reconnoiter, and find a place that he could watch but not be watched.

That was a habit from another life.

Instead, he walked in the door exactly on time (after having paced outside for ten minutes. Fortunately the location was conducive to such activity, and he wasn’t the only one… although probably the only one there on a date). He walked in and looked around for Hannah. It took him a minute, but he eventually found her sitting in the back away from the majority of people. He walked up to the table and said “Hey… here you are. How was your first shift?” and he slowly took a seat opposite her, the nervousness plainly on his face.

Jason

Hannah had been staring out the window that looked out on a side square between buildings on the block. She had been lost in thought when he walked up. His appearance made her smile, so much so that people around them were certain they were together. His appearance also calmed the nervousness and then made her heart race. She had wondered if he would still come. His note had burned a hole in her pocket all day as she glanced at it whenever she wasn’t busy. “Busy. There are a lot people and pieces. I don’t think even Star Fleet Medical has this many staff on hand. There were lots of meetings and more tomorrow I am told.” The waiter came to take his drink order. Hannah already had tea.

“Cider, please. Non-alcoholic.” and the waiter nodded and left.

“How did your meetings go?” Hannah knew he couldn’t tell her the details, but she was genuinely curious about how his day had been and the question was benign and normal enough. What she really wanted to know, if he had thought about her at all, she was too nervous to ask just yet.

Hannah

He smiled. They were good. Productive. And I had some time to practice my signing. he said and then spoke. “And I like my new office. Its… different… being in a spot to do work. But the staff seems really competent and the environment is a good one, I think.” The waiter arrived and set the glass of golden liquid in front of him. Jason nodded his thanks and then looked at Hannah. “I thought about last night a lot.” and he smiled. “I really wanted to be there when you woke up, but one of my meetings got bumped up to the wee hours. I hope it was okay to come in your room while you slept. Didn’t want to be creepy, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone with no explanation.”

Jason

Oh? Someone on your staff signs? Hannah lifted the tea infuser out of the cup and set it on the plate. She usually liked sugar in her tea, but lately the sweetness was too much. Apparently she liked it strong too, as the liquid was almost as dark as the clay mug. She nodded and smiled. “Yes it’s fine. I said you could. It wasn’t creepy at all. It would have been okay to wake me up.” She looked down into the cup before drinking and setting the cup down. Would little things like that always bother her now? Or was it just because she was adjusting to some harsh truths? Thank you, for the note. I…It helped. I didn’t realize that until just now. She stared at him, searching his eyes a moment. “I thought a lot about it too.”

Hannah

He took a sip of his cider and then took a deep breath. He was prepping himself for the end. Her saying it was too much, too fast, she needed time. And the weird part for him was that would be okay. He would understand it completely. But that was the logical side of him. The emotional side was bracing like it was the captain of a storm-tossed sailing ship in a hurricane.

His body language was tense. That made Hannah nervous. She didn’t know of it was a good type of tense or bad. She didn’t know him well enough to tell the difference. Bit oh how she wanted to. What’s… She started to ask what was wrong but he started talking and she put her hands down.

“What did you think about it? I mean… how… what…” and he finally just smiled and shook his head and looked away as he turned several shades of red. “Please… go on. I am here to listen.”

Jason

“I wish you had been there when I woke up, or woken me before you left.” She blushed, bitting her lip, “It’s okay you didn’t. There will be lots of times we both will have to go in early or late. The nature of our jobs. Your note meant a lot. It helped before I could even worry.” She drank from her tea. “I had a message from Alexis this morning. I haven’t talked to her since I left the Saracen. She was worried. She asked me if I was okay.” Hannah was nervous, it showed in the way her hands flexed around her cup on the table several times. Then she signed blushing furiously. I told her I was, but I realized it was true…well…because of you.

Hannah

Jason smiled. He leaned forward and took her hand in his. He looked in her eyes and said “I want to help you be okay, Hannah. In whatever way I can. And I wan-…” and he took a breath and said “I don’t want to add to your pressures. New job, baby, new life here… I don’t want to make that harder.” He let go of her hand. I want to help make the pressure less. I want to help. He paused and took a sip of cider, his mouth suddenly having gone dry. He looked at her and then signed a single word, but it was a question that hung between them like a wall.

More? he asked.

Jason