Tears Run

Posted on Sun Dec 9th, 2018 @ 2:32pm by Commodore Jane Saulitis

Mission: Run Afoul
Location: Patrick's Quarters
Timeline: MD 7 1100 Hours
2250 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Jane stood outside Patrick's quarters and pressed the chime. She wished she had a gift basket or something in her hands that would make her visit seem more welcome but she was afraid of making anything from scratch as she wasn't sure it would be up to his standards, he was a chef after all.

"Come." Despite his promise to stay in bed, Patrick had moved himself over to the living area and curled himself up on the couch, huddling in a comfortable blanket.

She walked into the quarters and glanced around before seeing Patrick on the couch, stretched out, obviously in some pain and trying not to move. "How are you?" Jane asked sympathetically. "I heard you were injured in the explosion, I'm so terribly sorry."

"As long as I don't move too much, I'm alright," Patrick answered, smiling a little, "I should be in bed but it's very boring and I get restless." He gestured towards one of the seats, indicating she should sit. "Tox has been by but uhm...I think it's better if she doesn't run the kitchen ma'am...I fear she might give people food poisoning." He deliberately ignored the mention of the explosion.

"Well she's a botanist, you'd at least think she'd know which plants were edible. But I don't know why she'd be running the kitchen, we have other people for that. Besides, we don't strictly need a kitchen. Though the food is much better when someone cooks it, we have replicators that will allow us to survive."

"Stricktly speaking, I'm just your chef ma'am," Patrick acknowledged, "but I can hardly sit around and do nothing when you've no need of me and there no formal functions for me to cook for..." He grimaced at the mention of replicators. "replicated food is bland and tasteless."

"I don't think it's that bad, but I've certainly enjoyed having a chef. I was so surprised by your presence but it's exactly something Hak would do." Jane shook her head. It gave her warm fuzzies to know she was loved so much. "For a while at least, you're not needed. We'll need you when you are feeling better. You'll always have a place to cook but we want you to recover first."

"I'll be fine," he promised, "tell me about Hak? What is something he would do, exactly? Because I only had a few messages from him but I really don't know who he is and he honestly didn't send me. Starfleet sent me here."

"He's . . . someone special to me. We've known each other a long time. We met at the Academy. He's always kept an eye on me throughout my career." Jane didn't want to say too much, not that he needed protecting but she was protective of him.

"He means a lot to you," Patrick assumed, after all he wasn't blind was he? "I can tell that much. Especially with the recipes he sends me and the care he wants me to put in their preparations." He paused. "Why isn't he here? You obviously need him.."

"Yeah he does," Jane smiled. "He has his own career, a very important one but we talk regularly and I think sometime soon we might get to see each other again."

"I'd like to meet him," Patrick said, shifting slightly. "How badly was the ship damaged ma'am," he finally asked, still needing answers, "what caused it? Murph doesn't seem to want to talk about it ... But I think I do deserve some answers. I might not be a Starfleet officer, but I used to be married to one..." He looked away, visibly upset at even mentioning it. "Is it wrong to be relieved he wasn't in engineering when it happened?"

"We don't know yet for sure, we're still investigating, I'd hate to give a false impressions before we have all the facts. And of course it's not wrong. You care very much for him, that's obvious. I'm very glad he wasn't there as well." Jane paused, a lump in her throat. "I wish no one had been."

"Captain... this isn't your fault... I was there, I don't think anyone could've seen it coming. It was very sudden, it came out of nowhere." He sighed. "I'm lucky I wasn't in the shower and that the tremor threw me forward. If it hadn't..." He swallowed, faltering.

"I feel as if there was someway it could have been prevented." Jane couldn't say anymore without giving away what they believed happened and she didn't want to do that without the evidence in place. But what she said was true. There should have been a way to prevent this.

"I don't know ma'am... In... In my..." He swallowed, tears welling up in his eyes. "In my experience," he finally continued, "they can't be prevented... no matter how you try."

"Mr. O'Malley," Jane said concerned. "I . . . I should let you rest." She wasn't sure why he was so upset and hoped that her mood hadn't brought him down.

"I don't want to rest," Patrick countered sharply, "I've rested enough. And I.." He backed down, sighing softly as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I don't want to be alone..."

"Alright, I'll stay." Jane said softly. She couldn't remain here for a long time but could provide a little comfort to someone injured on her ship. "I'm sure Murphy will be right here as soon as he's off duty." She added, unsure of what else to speak about.

"I hope so... He's staying here since his quarters are inhabitable now. They were mostly destroyed in the explosion." Patrick shook his head. "Who would do such a thing ma'am... All those people..."

Jane glanced at him. He seemed to know as much as she did about it. "I don't know. But we'll figure it out. Somehow." She moved from the chair she was in and sat on the floor, crossing her legs. "I assure you everything is being done. We're not ruling out anyone or anything."

"Surely, some people can already be ruled out?" Patrick offered, wondering why she chose to sit on the floor instead of the chair.

She really didn't want to say it but the only person she'd ruled out was herself, because obviously she would never do such a thing, and Mr. Murphy because she seriously didn't think it likely he would hurt someone he loved, not after having lost his husband previously. Jane shrugged. "Tell me about yourself," she said changing subjects. "Where do you come from?"

"I was born and raised in Ireland," Patrick replied softly, not quite sure whether she was asking out of interest or whether she wanted to determine if he had something to do with it all. "I've always wanted to cook so I studied gastronomy. I met Andrew at a graduation party and after a few months we got married. Then he was assigned to the USS Nimitz so naturally I followed him there. When he was reassigned, I found work as a chef in a restaurant on the base." He frowned. "I think I already told you this?"

"Hmm, if so I apologize. I've met a lot of people since coming on board. Can I be nosy? What first attracted you to Andrew?" Jane was remembering how she and Hak met.

"I'm not exactly sure.." He gestured to one of the photo's in his small quarters. "He had gorgeous eyes and such curiosity about everything... especially those rocks of his.." Patrick smiled sadly. "He could carry on and on and on about one archaeological find or the other. I'm not quite sure at all whether it was me who found him or whether it was him who found me... I'm not a people person ma'am."

"Oh I find that very hard to believe. You've made friends already on this ship and people are very fond of you. You have such a warm and caring personality that other people pick up on. I would say you are very much a people person." Jane corrected him.

"But I don't like to be among crowds," Patrick clarified, "I've never liked crowds. There is a reason I don't really have any staff in my kitchen ma'am. I know I have friends..." He blushed at her compliment, feeling his face warm up. "And I'm grateful for them...but it's not the same."

Jane disagreed with him but there was no point in arguing with an injured person. She just shrugged and tried to come up with something else to ask him before the silence stretched on too long. "I'm not very much of a people person either. I let very few close to me."

"Why?" The question was simple but oh so important. "Why did you want to become a starship captain, if you don't want to deal with people?"

"Oh I generally don't mind people. I just don't think I'm very good at interacting with them. I tense up, it takes me a while to get to know anyone. Even Hak had to be very persistent to get me to let him in. I can put on this mask and smile at people and pretend to be warm but I don't always feel that way."

"And how do you feel now?" Patrick shifted into a more upright position, feeling utterly restless.

"Surprisingly relaxed." Jane responded now that she thought about it. "It's strange but you're not the only person on this ship that I've felt that way around lately. Perhaps I'm getting friendlier in my old age." She winked at him.

"Old huh?" Patrick managed a smile. "You don't seem that old to me. Who else do you feel relaxed with?"

"Oh just an ensign that I had a drink with the other night. He nearly ran into me in the corridor. We talked about where we'd grown up, it was a very surreal experience for both of us I think."

"I see..." Patrick mused over the statement for a few seconds. "Where did you grow up?" he finally asked, realizing he didn't know much about her at all. "What did you like to do, growing up?"

"Montana on Earth, on the shores of Flathead Lake. It was more like an ocean to me, large and a bit scary but I loved exploring it. I pretty much entertained myself. I was an only child and I was raised by my mother who had odd ideas of what children should be doing."

"You had no friends as a child?" Patrick asked, his curiosity sparked where at the same time his predicament was briefly forgotten.

"Very few. There were some children from the church camp near by that I played with in the summer but there weren't very many people who lived where I did year round. It was a summer destination. Montana winters don't often appeal to many people."

"Didn't you go to school then?" Surely, she had friends while going to school?

"I was homeschooled, actually I pretty much educated myself with anything I could get my hands on. But you mustn't think that my childhood wasn't happy, it was. It was only occasionally lonely. I made friends once I got the Academy. That's where I met Hak." Jane clarified, not remembering if she'd said that before or not.

Patrick nodded even if he didn't quite believe her. "Why isn't he here," he asked again, "he speaks so highly of you... I have the impression he wants to be here so why didn't he get reassigned here?"

Jane smiled. "Because his job is not a traditional Starfleet one. After our mission to Bairl we are talking about getting to see each other in person. I'm sure we can make it a reality."

"I should hope so. Everyone deserves someone to be happy with." He sighed. "I just wish Murphy wasn't so busy "

"It's only temporary," Jane assured him. "Once we figure this current situation out and get on our way to Bairl."

"He feels guilty." Patrick bit his lip. "He feels he's responsible for me getting hurt, when he really isn't. It's not his fault he had work to do and it was my choice to wait for him in his quarters. I could've gone home, but I didn't." He looked up. "Let him know it really isn't his fault? And that I really need him to come home? I don't need being taken care of, I can mostly take care of myself, but he does need to rest."

"No, it's not his fault, if anyone is to blame other than the perpetrator its me. This is my ship and I let them on it. I'll talk to him," Jane promised. "I do need to be going though Mr. O'Malley. I'll try to send Murphy to you as soon as he's available."

"Thank you ma'am," the young chef answered gratefully, "and I disagree. it's not your fault, I don't blame you at all. If anything, I blame myself, for not knowing how to protect myself." He worked himself up to his feet and smiled uncertainly. "Thank you for stopping by ma'am."

"I'll try to stop back by and check on you tomorrow." Jane said as she headed for the door. She turned around again. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Patrick snorted at her last statement, not feeling very hospitable at all. With effort, he walked her to the door, then decided to go back to bed.


Commander Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer
USS Majestic

Patrick O'Malley
Chef
pnpc Lhaes