Bad News

Posted on 26 Aug 2016 @ 8:23am by Ensign Elisha Cherno
Edited on on 31 Aug 2016 @ 7:42am

943 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Click Three Times
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: MD 7 : 1832

Abbey had come to a decision.

Cadet Cherno had woken up about an hour ago. While Abbey had spoken with her, it became clear that she had lost quite a lot of memory- nearly four months. At first, Abbey had thought it would be kinder to not tell her about Xavier, but then she had argued with herself internally. It had been clear that Elisha had adored Xavi. Whether she remembered him or not, she had a right to know what had happened.

So, now that the Cadet had eaten and was showing definite signs of improvement, Abbey headed over to her again. “How're you feeling?” she asked with a gentle smile.

“I'm all right,” answered Elisha, smiling back at the kind doctor. “Still trying to wrap my head around how much I've forgotten. And... am I talking slower?”

Abbey nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “There seems to be a bit of loss of fine motor functions. Remember when I asked you to touch my hand? Don't worry, you'll get it back. We'll work with you. In a bit, we'll get you up and see how you're walking, but as you have no trouble moving your legs, I think you'll be fine there.”

Elisha blinked, looking terrified. “I might not be able to walk?” she squeaked.

“It's a possibility,” Abbey admitted. “But, as I said, you don't have trouble moving your legs or toes or anything and I've never seen someone move their legs and not be able to walk. I'm sure you'll be fine. And the speech should come back to normal in no time. You see,” she continued, pulling a stool over to Elisha's bedside. “The swelling in your brain destroyed some neural pathways. Now, it's just a matter of creating new ones.”

“You can't fix it?” Elisha asked.

“No,” replied Abbey. “They're destroyed. We've done all we can and now it's up to you. We'll put you on a physical therapy schedule and if you work hard, you should regain everything in a matter of months. There are medications that can supplement the therapy. You'll be just fine, I promise.”

Elisha could tell that this was not a matter of a doctor just telling her what she needed to hear to keep her calm. Doctor Road wasn't like that. Elisha had dealt with her enough in the few months she could remember being on the ship to know that Road didn't lie just to keep patients calm. “Okay,” she said, finally.

“There is one more thing,” Abbey said, finally working up the nerve to tell the girl. “About something that's happened over the past couple months.”

“Something that's happened here?” asked Elisha. “Or to me specifically?”

“You specifically,” said Abbey. “You see, apparently, you were in Talons- that's the ship's lounge- with the other cadets and they somehow talked you into singing.”

Elisha let out a strangled cry. “Me?” she squeaked.

Abbey grinned. “Yes, you,” she said. “Anyway, a young man by the name of Xavier Hernandez heard you. You know the name,” she added, seeing something change in Elisha's eyes.

“It's familiar,” Elisha replied, thought she couldn't figure out why it was. “I can't put a face to it, though.”

“Yeah,” said Abbey vaguely. “Anyway, he was so impressed, he followed you and introduced himself. The two of you had been dating for a couple of months.”

“Oh, no,” groaned Elisha. “And I don't remember him. Wait! A boyfriend?” she squeaked, sounding absolutely terrified. “I don't know what to do with one!”

“You figure it out,” Abbey assured her. “But, listen. We were boarded recently and Xavi... he went out to fight the boarders. He... he was shot.”

Elisha blinked, running it over and over in her mind. “Are you saying that the boyfriend I don't even remember is... dead?” she finally asked.

“Yeah,” said Abbey sadly. “I'm so, so sorry.”

Elisha nodded. “Why even tell me, though?” she asked.

“Because you deserve to know,” said Abbey. “I saw the two of you together. He was crazy about you and you about him. And I'm sure you've got pictures of the two of you. Know you'll know who he is when you find them. And also- some memories may come back. I thought it would be better if you had a heads up rather than just being shocked by something.”

Elisha nodded again. She supposed Doctor Road had a point. Would she want to just suddenly remember some guy kissing her? Or with his arms around her? Or anything else that girls did with boyfriends? No. No, that would be incredibly awkward. “Is... is there a picture of him?” she asked. “Somewhere?”

“I can pull up his personnel file,” Abbey offered. She did so quickly on the PaDD she'd been holding, having anticipated such a request. She handed it over to Elisha.

Elisha's eyes bugged out when she saw the image. “You've got to be kidding me!” she breathed. “Are you sure this is the right guy?”

“That's Xavi,” said Abbey with a sad smile. “And he thought the universe of you. Told me he couldn't imagine why you liked him so much.”

Elisha looked at the picture for a few more moments, then looked back to Doctor Road. “What was he like?” she asked.

Abbey smiled. “The universe's last true gentleman,” she replied. “He was always pulling out chairs and holding doors and everything. You know the sort...”

They chatted for a few more minutes before Abbey decided that Elisha needed to get some rest and left her to do it. She also left the PaDD with Xavi's picture, but pretended that she had just forgotten it.

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