Intermission – A Bittersweet Reunion
by Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman
Post Details
ON:
==SD 78, Sickbay==
Deep Space 5's primary medical facility was a beehive of activity, as doctors and nurses ran from one wounded individual to another. Some of those wounded would not survive the night.
Some, like Steve, were barely acknowledged - their wounds non life threatening. But while his skin would slowly be healed by the dermal regenerator he was currently seated under, the status of his mental state was very much in question.
"DADDY!" The scream would have caused most to jump in surprise at its suddenness and volume. But it could barely be heard over the cacophony. Gwen threw herself into her fathers arms, tears streaming down her face. "Daddy, I'm scared."
Wyman held the ginger haired child close, trying to keep his voice calm. "I know baby. I'm scared, too."
Before Gwen could question the statement, a nurse clucked at the father and daughter like a hen. "Lieutenant, you need to hold still and let the dermal regenerator do its job."
"My little girl was in the middle of that nightmare. If you think I give a damn about my own well being, then you need to have your head examined. Now get the Hell out of my face." Steve hissed, a threatening look in his face that would never appear under normal circumstances.
"The doctor said she's going to be sore for a couple days from you throwing her out of the way of the blast. Great Bird of the Galaxy, I feel like I got hit by a bus from you throwing me out of the way and then both of you landing on me." Ceridwen explained as she limped over to them. The osteo-regenerator had repaired her broken leg, but she'd still be feeling the damage for a while. "Steve... how did you know about the bomb?"
Gesturing for her to take Gwen so that the dermal regenerator could do its business and that nurse would stay out of his, Wyman's head dropped. "My tricorder detected it. It sounded an explosive alarm. I couldn't explain it if I had a hundred lifetimes. It was like a mother lifting a car off a baby - adrenaline and instinct took over. One minute we were talking to Sharas and the next we were on the deck in the middle of Hell."
"Ceridwen... I couldn't save him. If I'd just been faster... I could have gotten Sharas away from the blast, too. He's gone because I wasn't strong enough or fast enough or good enough..." The enormity of it all finally hit him, and tears poured forth.
Dropping to her knees to look her husband in the eyes, Welshy put her hands on his cheeks, "Steve! It's not your fault! You're only human - there's nothing more you could have done. Hell, YOU barely survived! Nobody can blame you for choosing your Gwen and I over Sharas!" The massive onslaught of emotion was even enough to set off her extremely minor empathic abilities, forcing her to muster every ounce of willpower to keep her mental state in check.
Opening his bloodshot eyes and regarding the woman he had pledged his life to, Wyman could only force out the words, "How am I going to tell Drakt?"
==Present Day==
==Docking Bay 19==
The transport ship completed the docking procedures, and hard seal was achieved with the station airlock. With a hiss, the doors parted to reveal a quartet of station security officers headed by an engineer.
"Honor guard - dismissed." Steve sounded like a drill instructor, and in some ways he had been for the last few weeks. It had taken a bit of work to get the Captain to agree to release her chief engineer to head up an honor guard while the station was in pieces, but given Steve's fragile mental state in the aftermath of the bombing - he wasn't much good around Deep Space 5.
So instead, he and four members of the starbase security detachment accompanied the remains of Lieutenant Commander Sharas P'Trell to his homeworld of Andoria to be laid to rest - in accordance with P'Trell's last will and testament.
Seeing his family waiting for him, Wyman picked up his bag and slowly walked toward them. "Welcome back." Welshy pensively muttered, forcing out a tense smile.
"Welcome home, Daddy!" Gwen positively yelled, rushing forward to greet him.
Steve had barely taken ten paces past the airlock when he dropped to one knee to embrace his little girl. "It's good to be back, baby." A very characteristic smirk spread across his face, "I have something for you from a certain group of lizards we all know and love."
As Gwen squealed in delight at the prospect of what her godfather and his subordinates had sent for her, Steve dug into his bag and produced an oddly shaped package wrapped in iridescent paper. "Now you make sure you send Drakt, An'ta and Rhe'la a thank you message."
Grabbing the gift and tearing into the paper, Gwen shrieked when she got to the contents - a plush toy in the likeness of what appeared to be a raptor in a Starfleet uniform. The three Wymans knew better, though - to them, it was clearly a Zarnac.
"Mommy look! It's a little Drakty! Mommy! Will you help me use the subspace radio to call them later?" Gwen was even more hyper than usual as she squeezed the stuffed Zarnac so tightly that an observer might think someone was about to take it away from her.
A real smile spreading across her face, Ceridwen nodded, "Of course I will." As father and daughter moved toward her she whispered to Steve, "You know she's going to sleep with that until she's 30? And where did those three get something that - obscure?"
"Apparently Rhe'la took up sewing in her spare time. And this was her big project. Given all we've been through the last few weeks, she rushed through it so I could bring it back with me."
"That female is a saint. Gwen's still scared to sleep after what happened. Maybe having a little Drakt around to protect her will do some good."
Steve smiled as he looked at Gwen, spinning in place and holding the stuffed lizard out in front of her - seemingly without a care in the world. "I think we could all use some good."
OFF
Over the course of my next few posts I'll fill in the back story of what happened between the bombing and when Steve leaves for the funeral. There's a few humdingers I've had stewing for a bit. ;)
Lt. Steve Wyman
Chief Engineering Officer
Deep Space 5
SCPO Ceridwen Wyman (NPC)
Engineer's Mate
Deep Space 5
Gwendolyn Wyman (NPC)
Little girl with a new best friend
by Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman
Post Details
| Title | A Bittersweet Reunion | |
| Mission | Intermission | |
| Author(s) | Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman | |
| Posted | Mon Feb 17, 2014 @ 2:01am | |
| Location | Docking Bay 19 | |
| Timeline | SD 101 |
==SD 78, Sickbay==
Deep Space 5's primary medical facility was a beehive of activity, as doctors and nurses ran from one wounded individual to another. Some of those wounded would not survive the night.
Some, like Steve, were barely acknowledged - their wounds non life threatening. But while his skin would slowly be healed by the dermal regenerator he was currently seated under, the status of his mental state was very much in question.
"DADDY!" The scream would have caused most to jump in surprise at its suddenness and volume. But it could barely be heard over the cacophony. Gwen threw herself into her fathers arms, tears streaming down her face. "Daddy, I'm scared."
Wyman held the ginger haired child close, trying to keep his voice calm. "I know baby. I'm scared, too."
Before Gwen could question the statement, a nurse clucked at the father and daughter like a hen. "Lieutenant, you need to hold still and let the dermal regenerator do its job."
"My little girl was in the middle of that nightmare. If you think I give a damn about my own well being, then you need to have your head examined. Now get the Hell out of my face." Steve hissed, a threatening look in his face that would never appear under normal circumstances.
"The doctor said she's going to be sore for a couple days from you throwing her out of the way of the blast. Great Bird of the Galaxy, I feel like I got hit by a bus from you throwing me out of the way and then both of you landing on me." Ceridwen explained as she limped over to them. The osteo-regenerator had repaired her broken leg, but she'd still be feeling the damage for a while. "Steve... how did you know about the bomb?"
Gesturing for her to take Gwen so that the dermal regenerator could do its business and that nurse would stay out of his, Wyman's head dropped. "My tricorder detected it. It sounded an explosive alarm. I couldn't explain it if I had a hundred lifetimes. It was like a mother lifting a car off a baby - adrenaline and instinct took over. One minute we were talking to Sharas and the next we were on the deck in the middle of Hell."
"Ceridwen... I couldn't save him. If I'd just been faster... I could have gotten Sharas away from the blast, too. He's gone because I wasn't strong enough or fast enough or good enough..." The enormity of it all finally hit him, and tears poured forth.
Dropping to her knees to look her husband in the eyes, Welshy put her hands on his cheeks, "Steve! It's not your fault! You're only human - there's nothing more you could have done. Hell, YOU barely survived! Nobody can blame you for choosing your Gwen and I over Sharas!" The massive onslaught of emotion was even enough to set off her extremely minor empathic abilities, forcing her to muster every ounce of willpower to keep her mental state in check.
Opening his bloodshot eyes and regarding the woman he had pledged his life to, Wyman could only force out the words, "How am I going to tell Drakt?"
==Present Day==
==Docking Bay 19==
The transport ship completed the docking procedures, and hard seal was achieved with the station airlock. With a hiss, the doors parted to reveal a quartet of station security officers headed by an engineer.
"Honor guard - dismissed." Steve sounded like a drill instructor, and in some ways he had been for the last few weeks. It had taken a bit of work to get the Captain to agree to release her chief engineer to head up an honor guard while the station was in pieces, but given Steve's fragile mental state in the aftermath of the bombing - he wasn't much good around Deep Space 5.
So instead, he and four members of the starbase security detachment accompanied the remains of Lieutenant Commander Sharas P'Trell to his homeworld of Andoria to be laid to rest - in accordance with P'Trell's last will and testament.
Seeing his family waiting for him, Wyman picked up his bag and slowly walked toward them. "Welcome back." Welshy pensively muttered, forcing out a tense smile.
"Welcome home, Daddy!" Gwen positively yelled, rushing forward to greet him.
Steve had barely taken ten paces past the airlock when he dropped to one knee to embrace his little girl. "It's good to be back, baby." A very characteristic smirk spread across his face, "I have something for you from a certain group of lizards we all know and love."
As Gwen squealed in delight at the prospect of what her godfather and his subordinates had sent for her, Steve dug into his bag and produced an oddly shaped package wrapped in iridescent paper. "Now you make sure you send Drakt, An'ta and Rhe'la a thank you message."
Grabbing the gift and tearing into the paper, Gwen shrieked when she got to the contents - a plush toy in the likeness of what appeared to be a raptor in a Starfleet uniform. The three Wymans knew better, though - to them, it was clearly a Zarnac.
"Mommy look! It's a little Drakty! Mommy! Will you help me use the subspace radio to call them later?" Gwen was even more hyper than usual as she squeezed the stuffed Zarnac so tightly that an observer might think someone was about to take it away from her.
A real smile spreading across her face, Ceridwen nodded, "Of course I will." As father and daughter moved toward her she whispered to Steve, "You know she's going to sleep with that until she's 30? And where did those three get something that - obscure?"
"Apparently Rhe'la took up sewing in her spare time. And this was her big project. Given all we've been through the last few weeks, she rushed through it so I could bring it back with me."
"That female is a saint. Gwen's still scared to sleep after what happened. Maybe having a little Drakt around to protect her will do some good."
Steve smiled as he looked at Gwen, spinning in place and holding the stuffed lizard out in front of her - seemingly without a care in the world. "I think we could all use some good."
OFF
Over the course of my next few posts I'll fill in the back story of what happened between the bombing and when Steve leaves for the funeral. There's a few humdingers I've had stewing for a bit. ;)
Lt. Steve Wyman
Chief Engineering Officer
Deep Space 5
SCPO Ceridwen Wyman (NPC)
Engineer's Mate
Deep Space 5
Gwendolyn Wyman (NPC)
Little girl with a new best friend