Not His Cuppa

Posted on 14 Feb 2019 @ 5:06am by Lieutenant Commander Landon Milo MD & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

3,018 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: The Kalisa Conundrum
Timeline: 05:45

When Doctor Landon T. Milo stepped foot aboard the USS Black Hawk-A approximately one month and some change ago, it was like crossing a threshold to the past yet simultaneously to the future as well. For he had served aboard the USS Black Hawk previously for a handful of months in 2387 under the command of Captain Harvey Geisler and his right hand XO, Commander Kos. In some ways this Black Hawk felt very much like her predecessor did. The Captain was the same in body, but not in mind and soul. No, something had changed significantly within old Harvey just as many of things had changed within the once glowing youthful Doctor Landon Milo; Life had a way of heating you up to a malleable point of clay-like substance and sculpting you differently until you hardened as such...still you and yet a new version of you.

Several days into this new adventure and Landon had found the answer to what had happened. Lieutenant Joey Geisler (nee Corwin), the Captain's wife. As the weeks went on Landon had observed the Captain's behavioral patterns just as he always had when he was Chief Medical Officer of the USS Black Hawk. Though he was a few years older now and another pip added weight to his collar, the events that had unfolded in his life recently left him the shell of a man that he once was. He had 'returned' to the USS Black Hawk albeit not the same exact one he had known in order to basks in it's regenerative properties.

His interaction with 'the new guard' as a member of the practically non-existent 'old guard' had made him rather aloof the past month aboard the starship. He had been nothing but professional to the current Chief Medical Officer, respectfully falling into the fold of things and serving underneath her structure and style. The Sickbay was not organized in the same way that Landon had kept his Sickbay, but she was a lot more like him than the Chief Medical Officer that Landon succeeded when he first came aboard the USS Black Hawk. He could fully get behind Doctor Kij's way of doing things and did so effectively.

Landon had spoken more words to her than he had to anyone else aboard, the Captain included. However, that no surprise. The USS Black Hawk-A was much larger than the Akira class Black Hawk of Landon and Harvey's shared past. He also was not Harvey's go to physician. Landon's duty schedule did not exactly line up with the Captain's and to put it frankly, the Commanding Officer of a Federation starship did not really naturally cross paths with the Assistant Chief Medical Officer unless something happened to the Chief Medical Officer.

Today Landon opted a different approach. He needed to turn a new leaf and try to return to his old jovial ways even if it was rather forcing himself to do so. He needed to make this journey with the USS Black Hawk-A's crew work if he was going to truly find soulful regeneration aboard this starship. He walked into the officer's mess in the early hours while Delta shift was inching closer to relief and Alpha shift was just waking up or getting 'breakfast' in some cases.

The latter appeared to be true for Lieutenant Joey Geisler who was at a table for two, set for one, and the subtle flushing of her face and a good read of medical records said she was eating for two. baby on board thought Landon as he should have been getting some sleep himself albeit he was not due to report to Sickbay until Gamma shift. Landon had ordered himself a light meal and carried the tray over towards Joey's table and sat it down in the vacant spot across from her.

Landon flashed a small smile as he excused his interruption. “Pardon me” he said softly. “I just don't like eating alone...it's Joey, right?” he said asking her. Though given her duty nature of intelligence, she probably could see right through his 'casual innocence' and stab right into his 'planned gesture' of taking the empty seat which he soon planted himself into. I

Joey, who had been pretty deep in thought, snapped out of her reverie and looked toward the voice with a smile. She hadn't had the honor of meeting this gentleman yet, but it seemed that was all about to change. Being a people person, as she was, meant meeting new individuals every day. "Joelle, but I do prefer to be called Joey," she said, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. "Please, sit."

Landon had of course taken the seat, but the woman's words were reassurance that he was not about to be evicted from it. She was showing no protest. "Joelle, that's a pretty sounding name. Is it Terran?" he asked. His own name was found in Earth's origin, but he himself was not from Earth. "I'm Doctor Milo, but please feel free to call me Landon, Joelle" he added politely.

"It is," she confirmed as her hand reached out to grab her tea cup. Joey brought it to her lips and took a sip before returning it to its original spot. "It's nice to meet you, Landon," she said with a smile. "How long have you been with the Black Hawk?"

The man smiled as he met her tea drinking with his own, grabbing his mug from the tray and bringing it to his lips for a quick swig or three. "This ship, a month or so. I came aboard in a limited capacity as a medical attaché of sorts, but I have overstayed my original intentions and have taken the vacancy in the Medical Department as Assistant Chief Medical Officer as of late" he replied answering her question. "However, I've been with the Black Hawk previously. I was Chief Medical Officer in 2387 aboard the ship's Akira class predecessor" he added.

Joey nodded her head. "I served on the Akira class ship for a while before she met her final resting pace in the Valley of Abornath last year," she said unable to keep a frown from forming. That day would forever be etched into her memory. "I wasn't on board when she crash landed. As a matter of fact, I don't think anyone was, but I could be wrong. It's not exactly something that gets talked about much."

Landon nodded "Right, I imagine it is not something that is talked about much. A Captain is usually very fond of their starship. To lose one hurts and if any crew were lost in the process, that weighs especially heavily" replied the medical officer. "Yet Harvey seems very content...happy even. I imagine that has your doing written all over it" commented Landon.

"You knew Harvey before? When he was grumpy and generally unpleasant to be around?" she found herself asking. Joey didn't know Harvey back then, but there were a couple occasions where she'd gotten a glimpse into the past where his moods were concerned.

I need something harder he thought as he took a drink and nearly choked on his tea, but saved himself by swallowing. "I was Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Black Hawk for a handful of months. Harvey and I did not always see eye to eye at first, but he came around to accepting me as a necessary thorn in his side. I did know him them. He was not as bad as his record at the time indicated, but he was still a very grieving widowed man" explained Landon.

"It hurt me to see that pain he carried with him, but he took that pain and used it to better himself and propel himself into and through command valiantly" added Doctor Milo. "I have a great deal of respect for your husband" commented the Doctor who was evidently blushing a bit.

"Harvey had a very rough life before I had the honor of meeting him," she said softly, still unable to fathom how he was able to get by day after day, but he was incredibly strong, and that was one of the things Joey admired most about him. "He has come a long way since then, and I am so proud of him. Have you had the chance to talk to him yet?"

"Uh..." Landon paused for a moment and looked at the woman tenderly. He spoke softly and with polite gracefulness. "Yes and no. I am pretty certain I have said hello when I first came aboard and in doing so I ended up accepting the position of Assistant Chief Medical Officer as of late. We definitely said 'hey' and 'nice seeing you,' but to be honest I've rather been avoiding a heart to heart with him."

That caught her off guard a bit. "If you don't mind me asking... why?"

The Doctor was red in the cheeks and felt himself nervously sweating. If this is her good cop, I don't want to see her bad cop he thought to himself. "Harvey and I did become friends, but Harvey was also a very strong force behind why I left the Black Hawk when I did. It wasn't like we had a bad fight or falling out or anything like that...I just you're a very lucky woman and I'm glad he has someone who has made him happy."

"If there was no falling out, and Harvey was a strong force behind your leaving, what happened exactly?" Joey found herself asking. She wanted to make sense of the situation, but it seemed like a few pieces of the puzzle were missing, until... "Wait... did you have feelings for him?"

Landon made a somewhat uncomfortable gesture as he wiggled and squirmed about in his seat. "He's a really good man" was all Landon could really say in response.

That was all the confirmation Joey needed, but she wasn't going to make the doctor anymore uncomfortable than he already seemed to be. "He is a good man," she said with a genuine smile as she reached for one of her fries. "I still think you should try to talk to him, though. He's in a much better place now."

The Doctor nodded agreeing. "Yes, I can see that he very much is in a much better place. I also know that he is still a very good man, and someone I looked up to and respected" said Landon. "However, I am not in as good of a place as I once was when I first served on the Black Hawk."

All her life, she'd been a people person, and nothing about that had changed over the years. Joey genuinely cared about people. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly. "I don't want you to feel you absolutely have to because I asked, but I've been told I'm a good listener and might even be able to help you if you feel you'd like it."

"I'm half Betazoid, Lieutenant. Half Risan, and genetically that ended up making me an exceptionally strong empath and telepath, a concoction that few would want to deal with" said Landon rather proudly, but alas that was deflated quickly. "I used to be at least. Now, I cannot read a thing without strenuous exhaustion. I was attacked by a Lethean who had nearly killed me...left me comatose for a while. When I did pull through, I was paralyzed and could not feel anything from my waist down."

It seemed like she and Landon had something in common, but this wasn't about her, nor would she make it that way. "And that had a hand in the changes?" she queried. "Have you tried any kind of mental conditioning or anything like that? Spoken to someone to see if there's any kind of help available?"

Landon nodded reassuringly. "My cousin, Laurel. She would not rest until I saw someone and I did. The counselling did help a great deal in that it and physical therapy has allowed me to return to duty. My First Officer also nudged me when I needed it, but not being able to read people as quickly or as easily as I was once able to weighs heavily on me. I have seen a lot of specialist, and I would not be walking today if it were not for Dr. Toby Russel, but I still do not feel like myself. The days go by and I feel lost."

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, come find me," Joey told him. "We can't have you feeling lost, or less than your true self."

"Thank you" he said kindly in reply. "And if you ever need to see someone and Doctor Kij is unavailable, my background is in pediatrics as well. How is everything going by the way? I'm interested to see how Harvey takes to being a father, and I truly am happy that he found someone to make him happy. My feelings for Harvey are old and withered by now. I just wasn't his cup of tea."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind. Maybe you can assist Doctor Kij when the time comes since I'm having twins," she stated, taking another sip of her tea. "I think he's going to be a pretty amazing father. Far better than I will be at being a mother. I'm clueless. And, I do know that he appreciates friends. Just as I do."

Landon's eyes enlarged "Twins?" he said shaking his head. "I had glanced over your records, but I did not see you were carrying two. Most parents are clueless their first time around. I wouldn't think poorly of yourself prematurely. Your maternal instincts will naturally kick in I'm sure" he said reassuringly.

"A boy and a girl," she said with a smile. The thought of having one of each both thrilled and terrified her at the same time. "I know they will, but it's still pretty scary. The only time I've ever held a baby was my little brother, and that was about five months ago. My experience with tiny little people is very limited."

"I can understand you fear then" he said calmly. "When my little sister was born I was so afraid I was going to mess up, that I was going to drop her or something. I wanted to be the best big brother I could be" he said with a small smile.

Joey smiled. Being a big sister after so many years of being an only child was a blessing, and she found she loved the role. In fact, that was another reason she couldn't wait to be back in their own part of space so she could see Noah again. "Well, I may not have known you long at all, but I can tell you've got an excellent bedside manner, and you seem to be a genuinely good person. Your little sister is definitely lucky."

It was another difficulty that Landon struggled with for many years, but one that he had more or less overcome in the past. However, It was still awfully difficult to face. The woman was pregnant with twins. The last thing he wanted to do was give her a sad story about how his sister was a child when she died from an illness that had no cure then, an illness that lead Landon into medicine.

"Thank you" was his response. He would spare her the sad detail of that story. "If you think talking to Harvey would be a good idea, then I will try to muster the strength and courage to see him soon. I just did not want to place wither of us in a awkward setting albeit I do not believe he ever saw my flirtations as genuine feelings, just my being polite and flattering."

"I think you should talk to him. It definitely couldn't hurt anything, and you might just find it's something you needed," she said, reaching for another one of her fries. "Harvey is in a better place now, too."

Landon pushed his chair back a bit to allow himself freedom to escape. He had barely touched his snack, but he did consume a decent amount of tea. "I will send him a request for a meeting at his earliest convenience. Though, that may be easier said than done. I had a really 'pleasant' time with his Yeoman. Long story short, I think we're blood enemies."

Years in Security as a Close Protection Officer and Investigations Officer afforded Joey the ability to read one's body language, and right now, she knew Landon was preparing for flight. What she didn't know was why. "Are you okay?" she asked. "If you're worried his Yeoman will make it hard for you to speak with him, don't. I can arrange something."

He nodded in reply to Joey. "If you wouldn't mind doing that for me, I would certainly appreciate it. The Yeoman and I had a shouting match in Sickbay our first actual encounter with one another. I do not want to have another repeat of that."

"I will speak to him and have him contact you directly. Perhaps, something around lunchtime," she suggested.

The Doctor smiled at the woman. "Joelle, that's rather ambiguous...if you don't mind my saying" he countered playfully. "Lunch time for you could very well be dinner or me or breakfast. These four shift rotations and working entirely opposite schedules makes 'lunchtime' a little vague. 12:00 hours, now that is something firm and I can stick to whether it's my bedtime or breakfast" he added teasingly.

"I'll meet up with him for lunch today and talk to him. How's tomorrow sound?" Joey asked. "For around twelve hundred hours. I can get a location and let you know."

Landon nodded and lifted his tray up. "It's a date" he said with a smile. "If you'll excuse me, I am due for some sleep before I get back into the thick of things in Sickbay."

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