round 1 Dubeau and MacLaren: The Continuing Soap Opera

[Kali Nicholotti]

OOC Note: 'Hope' is the doctor's therapy dog...just to avoid confusion. =)

((USS Victory/ outside Sickbay))

::Joseph Dubeau had stood outside sickbay, working out what he would say if he saw her. How could he face her; after the altercation, the way he hurt her on the bridge.::

::After mustering up his courage and having the pain in his nose intensify, he put his chin up and marched into sickbay. Being prepared to see her with his chest out and his head held high in a way that showed no weakness. He found no one in sickbay, looking around to make sure before he let his body go back to normal.::

oO Huh, no one to be seen, even Johanna isn't here.Oo

:;He was about to leave when he heard the familiar jingling of a collar. He turned to see Hope running towards him. Being so happy to see any association to Johanna, he forgot his dislike for dogs and knelt down to pick her up.::

:: Hope wringled and wagged her tail so hard, she almost lost her balance and her feet skittered on the slick floor.::

Hope: Oo Mr. Scary Shoes! I missed you! You leave a big hole in the pack when you're not here now. Oh, oh, you're picking me up! I love to be held; you're getting to like me! Maybe it wasn't an accident that you dropped that great piece of meat at the picnic. Oh, you're back; my mom is going to be so happy. I just have to kiss you. Just a little lick on the side of your face.Oo ::Sniffing:: Oo You smell like you are hurting; there was blood on your face not long ago. You should be curled up in a ball sleeping.Oo

::After receiving a few kisses from Hope he looked to see Johanna starring at him from inside her office.::

::Johanna had heard the skitter of Hope's feet and the light jingle of her ID tag as she was obviously in a run somewhere. She did not normally run in the Sickbay, so stood up from her desk to see what had caused the well behaved dog to bolt from her office. She stopped abruptly when she saw Dubeau cuddling her little Maltese, who looked particularly small held in his arms. She quickly looked for another doctor who could help him before remembering that she had sent Dr. Baker and the others off duty for some well deserved rest. She'd given up trying to sleep herself since each time she closed her eyes, she would see Dubeau's eyes staring at her on the bridge. Now she found herself looking into the very eyes she'd been trying to avoid.::

::After a long stare between them, Joseph, starring into her beautiful black eyes, finally spoke.::

Dubeau: You mentioned that I should get my nose fixed.

MacLaren:: nodding and trying not to allow her emotions to show.:: Aye, it must be verra painful and the swelling must be affecting your ability to breathe. It should have been treated many hours ago. Oo He doesna want me to touch him, but there is no good doctor here now. Still, he's made it clear enough how he feels. Oo Eh'm sorry; Eh'm the only regular doctor here; Eh can call up an EMH. They are verra competent.Oo.

Dubeau: ::Looking at the sadness in her eyes, he could see she wanted to avoid him. However, he hated EMH's, if it came to that he would simply leave.:: Well, if you're busy, I could leave, I just don't like those holodoctors.

MacLaren: Of course, Eh can fix it. Eh was under the impression that ye didna want that. Eh might have done it hours ago.

::She pulled her eyes away from his and looked at Hope. The dog was looking up at Dubeau bright eyed with her tail hanging down waving like a fan. It was not like Hope to fail to sense that a person holding her was hostile to Johanna.::

Dubeau: Thank you Jo... ah, doctor.

:: Not having any idea why she had been so angry before and why she did not want to treat him now; he wasn't sure using her given name was appropriate.::

::Hope's eyes darted from her human to Mr. Scary Shoes. The pack was together but there were no happy smells coming from either one. Each smelled like a strange mixture of fear and pain. The dog looked around but could see no danger.::

Hope: Oo This is all confusing! What has happened to the pack? I don't understand. Mr. Scary Shoes is hurting; maybe that is it.Oo

MacLaren:Oo Doctor! He canna even say my name. Am Eh such a freak that he canna even put my name on his lips?Oo We can work over there. Eh'll need to get some equipment. Eh hope that my dog isna bothering you.

Dubeau: No, no she isn't. oO She's the only creature in this room who wants something to do with me.Oo

::Joseph sat down on the biobed and watched Johanna collect her supplies. He noticed that Hope was trying to cuddle into him more and more as the tension grew inside him.::

Hope: Oo You'll be alright; mom will fix you. What is wrong? I'd better give him a grin and a tail wag to make him feel better. Good therapy dogs do that. ::Her tail waves again.:: Oo He's not looking. His snout sure looks bad.Oo

Dubeau: I'm sorry to bother you in this way, I know I'm the person you least want to see; but, I figured that I shouldn't leave my nose until tomorrow.

oO Don't mention the pain, she doesn't care about that anyway. Be a marine Joseph.Oo

::MacLaren raised her eyes to his in shock that he'd say that when it was he who had rejected her. She lowered them to her instruments and spoke in a very low voice.::

MacLaren: You seem to be confusing your feelings with mine. Eh went to the bridge, and you preferred the pain of these wounds to the contamination of my touch.

::The shock of her answer jolted him out of his personae. He was shocked that she saw her behaviour in that light.::

::She moved towards him with a tray of instruments.::

Dubeau: Look, doctor we both know how you see me and what we had, so let's get this done, ok?
Hope:: giving a low whine:: Oo What is the matter? If they had normal hair like other dogs, it would be standing up on their necks!Oo

MacLaren: Are ye telling me how to practice medicine now, Lt. Dubeau? Ye seem to think that ye ken my mind, now ye think ye ken my profession? This canna be rushed. It is going to be harder than it would have been hours ago. Eh'm nae some butcher; Eh dinna want ye to be hurt any more than ye are, so this will take a certain amount of time. Eh promise not to contaminate you with some disgusting hybrid condition. The things ye find so repulsive about me are nae catching!

::Joseph's anger grew to full, the fact that she was downplaying her behaviour by downplaying his character was childish in his view.::

::Hope began to tremble in Joseph's arms::

Hope: Oo Biting!They'll be biting soon! Oh, do humans' bite?Oo

Dubeau: ::raising voice:; You're not going to shift blame by implying I'm some kind of small minded, uncaring, idiot. You're the one who lost your temper and stormed out. Are you sure I'm the one with the problem, you seem to be more sensitive about your heritage then I am. ::Joseph watched her squirm and start to talk.:: Oh no, I'm not done yet, if you're so sensitive that you can't stand being questioned then it's your problem. :: At this point the emotions and pain took over and a tear began running down his cheek.:: I love you, but you need to look at your own insecurities; if I can't ask questions about our future, then that implies a future I don't want.

::Joseph became aware of poor Hope shaking in his arms.::

::Hope began to pant and whine with fear::

Hope: Oo Shouting humans bad! Like growling! Bad smells! Fighting in the pack is so bad!Oo

MacLaren: Dinna shout! Ye are scaring her!

::Johanna took the trembling dog and holding her. She looked back shocked by both the tears in Joseph's eyes and his words.They were completely at odds with his actions.::

MacLaren: Eh didna call you an idiot. Eh said Eh didna want to hurt you by rushing, Eh tried to help you on the bridge and ye turned your back on me as if the verra thought of my being near you was worse than what ye were suffering! You tell me not to be sensitive about my heritage after how ye reacted when Eh tried to explain! Eh was so in love with you, feeling so safe and excited by your touch that Eh was afraid the shields Eh use not to hear thoughts would fail, Instead of taking a risk of violating your privacy...because it so important to you, Eh told you of my past. You said we couldna be together! Just that simply, and ye've treated me like a leper ever since!

::Tears rolled down her cheeks now as the little dog in her arms whined again, her ears trembling like feathers in a wind.::

MacLaren: Eh didna lose my temper! Eh felt the anger in you roll over me so hot that it burned. Ye canna begin to know what it is like to be a betazoid who canna use her telepathy, who even must guard against empathy. It is like being a blind person in a room full of rubble trying to feel your way around without your most basic senses. When ye first said how you needed privacy, Eh've shielded every thing when Eh'm with you, but at the verra first word that Eh might fail in that, ye told me we couldna be together and all the shields in the world couldna prevent me from feeling your anger. Eh left because it was so painful to have the man Eh loved so much look at me that way, direct all that anger for something Eh canna help!

::She reached out hesitantly and touched the tears on his cheeks.::

MacLaren: Eh canna understand you at all. Ye tell me we have no future and break my heart; ye turn your back on me on the bridge, tell me ye dinna want to be here even to have your nose fixed and then shout about our future? What future? You act as if ye hate me!

::Joseph's tried his best to decipher the rant he just heard. His emotions were running at double speed along with pain from his nose. He stood up and moved in closer to the two that he cared for.::

Dubeau: T'ecoute pas, ma belle. (OOC translation 'You don't listen my lovely')
I never said we couldn't be together, I asked if we could ever together. :: Joseph looked in to her eyes.:: What you mistook for anger was confusion and to be honest, sexual desires. The reason I didn't want treatment was because I wanted to see the mission to it's end, ::taking her by the shoulders:: to make sure those that I love made it home safely.

MacLaren:: stunned and searching his face for the clues that she was so poor at reading when shielded.:: Those you love? Ye still love me? Ye didna say we couldna be together? Eh thought ye were horrified that Eh could know your thoughts and feelings!

Dubeau: I don't have anything to hide from you, I love you; but, I need you to understand, I'm a marine, I have a strong sense of propriety; when I'm on duty that overrides my personal feelings.

MacLaren::Putting her hand ever so gently on his cheek:: Ye endured this to see us home! Oh, Joseph, Eh thought ye couldna bear for me to touch you. Eh'm so sorry!

Hope::Oo Smells are changing again! Humans are so confusing. Why can't they be simple like dogs?Oo

::Joseph took Johanna in his arms and moved in to kiss her. The anger and frustration now gone, all he felt was love for these two beings. When, he touched his nose to her however, he recoiled from the pain.::

Dubeau: Ummm... my nose is still broken. ::laughing::

MacLaren:: biting her lip to keep from laughing too.::Eh can fix that, ye poor thing.

::She gently touched her lips to his cheek tasting the salt of his tears. She had his permission now, and she lowered her shields closing her eyes as a warm river of engulfed her carrying her away with a powerful current of his emotions. She looked up at him with a smile.::

MacLaren: Eh've been told that Eh'm particularly good with a bone regenerator. With cartilage, the sensation of healing it can be verra, verra pleasant.

Hope: oO Oh wow, wanting to mate smells!Oo

1st Lt. Joseph Dubeau
Marine Pilot/SAR Team Lead
Starbase 118/USS Victory

&

Lt.JG Johanna MacLaren
CMO
Starbase 118/USS Victory.