SIM:Shelley: Earthbound & Lost

Earthbound & Lost

Relevant wiki entries: Fiona Shelley, David Whale, USS Constitution-B, USS Ackerman.

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(( Earth - White Rock, British Columbia ))

:: The sleepy coastal town of White Rock was swathed in a cold grey mist that was rolling in from the ocean. The mighty Pacific had been angrier than usual this winter, so it was no surprise to Doctor Fiona Shelley that the beach, especially crowded during the summer tourist season, was entirely deserted. ::

:: Leaning forward, resting her forearms on the balcony railing, Shelley looked out over the quiet street and beyond that the empty beach and beyond that, the grey wintry waters of the Pacific Ocean, its small whitecaps crashing onto the sands. Everything looked grey in the early-morning mist, the cloud cover too heavy to allow the sun to break through and burn off the fog. It had been a relatively temperate winter in White Rock and Shelley was happy to have been able to spend time here with family. Her father Norman, himself a retired physician, had bought the three-level house with its oceanfront view here in B.C. just prior the death of his wife in 2378. She’d grown up in the small town of White Rock and Norman had wanted the last months of her disease-ravaged life to spent in a place she loved, away from the hospitals and doctors who really couldn’t do anything for her but keep the pain manageable. And he could do that on his own, in the comfort of their home. ::

:: Shelley tucked a stray lock of strawberry blond hair behind her ear as a slight smile tugged at the corners of he mouth. Her mother had loved those final months. Fiona and her family had spent a great deal of time here in White Rock during that time, as had her younger sister Regina and older brother Johnny. Despite the circumstances, it had created a lot of fond memories... and it seemed that after her mother had passed away, everything started to go downhill. It was only a year later that Shelley’s daughter Anna had died and two years after that her husband Rick Souray had accepted a deep space assignment with Starfleet, putting a huge distance between them. ::

:: She sighed again. And of course, that had led to her giving up her fairly prestigious civilian position as Assistant Director of Emergency Care at Starfleet Veterans Hospital for an enlisted position in Starfleet. It was supposed to be a way for her and Rick to spend time together, but an administrative foul-up had seen her assigned not to the ship on which her husband served, but to the USS Tiger. Which, of course, led to her becoming acquainted with one David Whale... ::

:: For the third time, she sighed. ::

Regina: Hey. Thought you might need this.

:: Shelley turned at her sisters voice and forced a smile. Regina had always been the “wild child” of the family, but in the last few years, she’d changed so much. She’d become the kind of sister Shelley could confide in and it had been quite the relief when she found that Regina was going to be around while Shelley was on leave from Starfleet. ::

:: Shelley took the steaming mug from her sister, the rich smell of the coffee already warming her up. ::

Shelley: Thanks.

:: Taking a sip, she smiled. ::

Shelley: Dad is right -- he makes coffee so much better than a replicator.

:: Regina laughed. ::

Regina: What a shock, Dad was right about something.  :: pause :: Have you heard anything yet?

Shelley: Yeah. Apparently there’s some kind of problem with the Constitution’s warp drive -- I don’t have to report until they complete repairs, which doesn’t look like it will be until the new year.

Regina: So you’ll be here for Christmas?

:: She smiled and nodded. ::

Shelley: Looks like it.

Regina: The kids will be thrilled to hear that. You know how much they love their Aunt Fi!

:: Taking another sip, Shelley chuckled. Her niece and nephew were good kids, but had almost limitless energy reserves. Spending time with them was exhausting. She had a hunch they may have been powered by dilithium. ::

Regina: And... this guy you mentioned...

:: Shelley quickly turned back to the ocean view, avoiding her sister’s gaze. ::

Shelley: David.

Regina: Yeah, David. He sounds like a good guy.

:: Shelley kept silent. ::

Regina: And he serves on the Constitution now, you said?

:: Damn it. She should have know Regina would make the connections. Whatever differences Fiona and Regina had had over the years, Fiona had always known and been willing to admit that her sister was extremely bright. And at the moment, Shelley kind of wished she wasn’t. ::

Shelley: Yes. He transferred there a little while ago.

Regina: Just before you did.

:: Closing her eyes, Shelley took another long sip of coffee, feeling the liquid warm her insides and hoping the caffeine jolt would hit soon. She hadn’t been sleeping very well. ::

Shelley: What’s your point, Reggie?

:: Taking a sip from her own mug, Regina sidled up beside her sister to share the view. She shrugged. ::

Regina: I don’t have a point, just making conversation.

:: There was a long, long pause... ::

Regina: Does he make you happy?

:: Shelley snapped her head around to stare at her sister. ::

Shelley: What?!

Regina: Does he make you happy. This David guy -- are you happy when you’re around him?

Shelley: I don’t... I just... Reggie, I...

Regina: Fiona, I’m not judging.  :: beat :: The other night, when we were talking, when you were telling me about the things you’ve done in Starfleet, the things that involved David... you were happy. You were smiling -- the kind of smile I remember seeing on the OLD Fiona. I haven’t seen you smile like that -- I haven’t seen you HAPPY -- since Anna died.

:: Reaching up, Regina smiled sadly as she brushed a windblown strand of hair from her sister’s face. ::

Regina: Fi, that means I haven’t seen my sister happy in eight years.  :: beat :: When you joined Starfleet, I thought you were an idiot, giving up a great job here on Earth to live in one of those space-faring tin cans. But now? I think it was the best decision you could have made.

:: Shelley swallowed heavily. She knew there were tears welling up in her eyes. ::

Shelley: I’m just scared, Reg. I just... I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know which way is up, I don’t know which way to turn...

Regina: That’s how I spent my twenties. Dont’ worry, Fi, you’ll figure it out. You always do -- that’s why you’re such a great big sister.

:: Shelley closed her eye for a moment, then downed the rest of her coffee. ::

Shelley: I hope so.

Regina: Look, I’m going to go make some breakfast. You hungry? Pamquakes?

:: Shelley nodded and smiled. For some reason -- probably some childhood mispronunciation that caught on -- the entire family continued to refer to pancakes as pamquakes. ::

:: Regina disappeared back into the house and Shelley turned back to the sea. ::

((Starfleet Veterans Hospital - Emergcy Care Ward)) ((Stardate 237911.06 - Eight years ago ))

:: Doctor Shelley arrived just as the three survivors of what many people were calling ‘The Ackerman Event’ were brought in on anti-grav gurneys. None were conscious. The CMO who had been caring for the patients in the seven days since their discovery was there and he stepped up to Shelley with a curt nod. ::

Mohinder: Doctor Shelley, I presume. Doctor Asad Mohinder, USS Robert Peel. You’re read my latest report?

:: Shelley smiled briefly. ::

Shelley: Doctor Mohinder, it’s good to meet you. Yes, your reports have been a great help. Impressively detailed.  :: pause :: There were… just the three?

:: Mohinder looked at the floor. He was clearly saddened by the answer he had to give. ::

Mohinder: Yes, just the three. All bodies have been identified. The entire crew has been accounted for.

:: Shelley nodded. It was a sad, but necessary part of a doctor’s job to deal with death. Soemtimes it was an expected death – an elderly person succumbing to the ravages of age – but all to frequently, it was what Mohinder had encountered. People struck down in the prime of their lives. She tapped her padd to bring up some information. ::

Shelley: Alton Vines, age fifty-eight. Tina Thoresson, age twenty-four. David Whale, age twenty-eight. Are any of them lucid?

Mohinder: Mister Whale comes and goes. The other two have been sedated.

:: She nodded, then brought up Whale’s medical history, then waved over Nurse Barlan. ::

Shelley: I’d like to see Whale first.

:: The nurse nodded and led Shelley and Mohinder to one of the private rooms the hospital staff had prepared for the Ackerman’s survivors. It was a bit of a shock at first to see the man lying there, still wearing a uniform Starfleet hadn’t worn… well, certainly not in her lifetime. But the most surprising thing was that the man – Whale – whose Starfleet medical records said was twenty-eight, still LOOKED twenty-eight. ::

Shelley: Amazing. Born over a hundred years ago, but…

Mohinder: But he hasn’t aged a day since the ship vanished.

:: The two doctors glanced at each other, then bent close to their patient as he began mumbling. ::

Shelley: I can’t make it out.

Mohinder: Sounds like… jee ahn… Gianna? A name?

:: Frowning, Shelley placed a hand on the side of her patient’s face and leaned over him. His eyelids fluttered and it appeared that he was looking at her, but she couldn’t tell if his eyes were focusing. ::

Shelley: Mister Whale. David. Don’t worry, David, we’ll take care of you. ::pause:: Can you hear me?

:: But his eyes had closed again as he drifted back into unconsciousness. ::

(( White Rock - Present Day ))

:: Shelley wondered how she would have behaved that day if she’d known how intertwined her life would become with Whale’s when the encountered each other again aboard the USS Tiger two years ago. At the time, those eight years ago in the SVH, she’d thought she was treating just another patient. But now... now Whale was a friend, to be sure, but not just a friend. There was more there, she knew there was, but she was also still furious at the man. As much as she cared for him, the hurt he’d caused was still very raw. ::

:: When she finally reported for duty aboard the Constitution, she would confront Whale. He owed her some explanations for what he’d done. ::