<USS Avalon> Holding Open the Door (Part 2)

Ming supposed his stare had helped the pilot into making what he considered  
the right decision.  They were still along side the other shuttle.   His 
father-in-law took Zachan from him as he moved to look over the pilot's  
shoulder.  
"Any word, my friend?" he asked quietly.

Vickman  thought Lieutenant Li's husband was a bit strange but he was 
likeable enough,  certainly level headed and calm, unlike some civilians he'd 
seen.  
"Hold  on, Reverend, I'll check," he said before tapping the comm connection 
to the  other shuttle.  "This is Lancelot.  Have you got our missing  knight?"

****

Melanie stood behind the young engineer  who seemed to be holding her breath. 
She could empathize with the woman, she'd  be out of her mind mad if she 
didn't know Vevay was ok, but luckily for her she  could feel this wee tickle 
in 
the back of her mind that told her that her love  was alright.

"Mac?" Annabelle  asked.

***

"Got him," Mac replied, trying hard not to  sound as worried as he felt. "EMH 
is with him now. Found someone's little girl  there, too. Might want to check 
around and see if anyone's reported her missing.  I don't recognize her."

***
Ming looked at his son then up at  his father-in-law.  "And here I thought he 
was the eldest aboard," he said  dryly.  

***

The EMH stabilized the child  first, then moved to the Lieutenant, 
administering first Triox and  other blood oxygen boosters, then a very large 
dose of 
anacrese piggybacked with  high infusion nutritional supplements, commenting 
all 
the while on the  documented inability of certain humans to adequately manage 
their own  health.  He continued fussing even as the young man gasped for 
air,  coughed weakly, and began to stir, seemingly attempting to move back from 
his  well-trained and perfectly designed hands. The EMH stepped forward,  
placing those hands firmly upon the young man's shoulders to discourage  
movement, 
only to find himself flying over  him into the bulkhead as his  patient rolled 
and drew himself into a kneeling position, head down as  though he were still 
trying to clear it. 

"Lieutenant!" The EMH  huffed.

"Easy, Kid, we got you," Mac spoke as he moved closer to  Josh , carefully 
stopping just out of his reach. Just in case.

Vevay  watched carefully, keeping a close eye on Mac and the Chief Engineer.  
 "Sir, do you need some help there?" 

"You might want to just stay right there and not move for now," Mac  
answered, easing closer to his friend. "He's just a little out of it. He's  
coming 
around, though, aren't you Kid?" Josh sat upon the floor, drawing his  knees up 
to his chest and resting his head upon them on folded arms, drawing  slow deep 
breaths. "That's it, Bean. Just take it easy a minute." Mac  encouraged. 
"See," He told Vevay. "He's coming around."

Vevay still stared warily, her hand on her phaser.  The man may be  skinny, 
but that was never a way to judge.  Her own father had once been a  slight man, 
after all.

Josh murmured something in a language the UT  didn't seem familiar with, 
causing Mac to lift a brow. "What was that, Kid? Try  it in Standard."

"...cold..." Josh murmured again, this time in  Standard. Sure enough, he was 
shivering as though he were  freezing.

"If you'll get back up on the biobed, I can increase the  ambient temperature 
around you, Lieutenant," the EMH chimed in a huff. "That is  assuming you 
wouldn't mind too much allowing me to do my job..."

Vevay stayed watching carefully.  "You need a hand to get onto the  bed, sir?"

Noting how hard Josh was shaking, Mac nodded. "I think  you better, thanks. 
He don't weigh much, but shaking like that it'd risk  dropping him picking him 
up myself. Take that arm, will you?" He noticed Josh  stiffen as she 
approached and quickly reminded Josh, "Vevay here will be taking  your arm and 
helping 
me help you. For God's sake, don't do anything to her,  okay?"

Vevay smiled a tight smile as she offered her hand out.  "I'm  not going to 
hurt you, sir."

Josh looked at her, his eyes filled  with confusion and distrust. 

"Take her hand, Joshua," Mac said  sternly as he placed a hand on his other 
arm and helped him up.. Slowly, Josh  reached out hesitantly and allowed her to 
help him as well. Once they had him on  the biobed, the EMH raised the 
temperature around him as Mac tucked him in with  a blanket. "Better?" he 
asked. 
Josh nodded slightly, sighing deeply, his eyes  closing a moment before 
snapping 
open again, filled with fear. "The ship...Mac  the ship..."

"It's okay, Kid," Mac responded, shaking his head at  Vevay, hoping she'd 
catch on not to say anything of the fate of the Avalon just  yet. "know. We're 
handling it. You just rest, okay? Just rest." Reassured by his  friend, Josh 
nodded, allowing his eyes to close  again.
***

Melanie patted the engineer's shoulder and smiled.  "See, all's well." 
Reaching out she tapped the comm button. "Now that we've all  our missing ducks 
may 
we please get this bloody evac on the road? Some of us  don't fancy hanging 
here in cramped spaces and would rather be able to check on  loved ones, not to 
mention the fact that I'm bloody pregnant and would like a  bloody cup of 
tea!" 

"Sure thing, princess," Raven replied wryly. "Anything else we can do  for 
you? A fluffy pillow, maybe..a bit of cheese to go with that whine?"

"How about a room with a force field to put ensigns with the bad habit  of 
back chatting higher ranking officers." Melanie replied without looking down  
at 
the woman. 

"Sure thing..." Raven answered, adding a sarcastic,  "ma'am" as she punched 
up a forcefield around the area she was in. "Whatever  feather tickles you..."

Melanie rolled her eyes and muttered  something about rude American New 
Yorkers. "Don't be daft. Take that  down."

"Yes, ma'am," Raven said, almost laughing as she complied.  "Whatever you 
say."

"The only way this could be worse would be if  we'd gotten stuck with a 
frog." Melanie groaned as she turned to return to the  back to sit. 

Annabelle blinked and held back a snicker. "Ya know  it's not smart to tease 
when their hormonal."

"Yeah, well. It gets  better. Watch this," Raven said with the wink, morphing 
from the red haired blue  skinned beauty she was into a frog of equal 
stature. "Call her in here," she  whispered then. "I dare you."

Annabelle nearly yelped as she watched the  woman change into the frog. 
"How'd you... Never mind...  Lieutenant!"

Melanie sighed and grumbled as she headed back out to  the front of the 
shuttle.

"What do you think" Raven whispered to  Annabelle. "Should I hop to her or 
just sit here and croak at  her?"

"Just don't send her into labor." Annabelle smirked and shook  her head. "And 
don't tick off her broach."

"Her broach?" Raven  asked curiously. She had an emotional broach?

"Actually," Melanie said  from the doorway. "the broach is Auntie Maggie's." 
She looked around the cockpit  to see only Garrity. 
****
Ming dropped back into his shuttle seat with a  huge sigh of relief and an 
even bigger smile.  Nalas  sat next to  him.  

"Thank the Prophets for that, Ming," the older man  said.  He knew how fond 
his little family was of the strangely quiet  engineer.  He'd hardly ever 
spoken to the boy but he was always decent and  kind enough.  "No one should 
have 
to go to Them before it's  time."

"Speaking from experience are we, sir?" Ming teased as he  draped an arm over 
him.  "But you're right.  God didn't want him  yet."

***
Raven stretched her frog legs until they nearly  touched Annabelle and 
croaked lazily before drawing them back and hopping to a  position right next 
to 
Melanie. 


Melanie blinked at the  actual frog and then glanced at the engineer. "You 
wouldn't happen to have any  butter would you?"

âSee, I knew it,â Raven laughed. âeveryone loves  my legs.â Still 
laughing, 
she morphed back to her more familiar form. âNot so  bad after all, I take it?
â

Melanie laughed and shook her head. "I  rather like frogs. I once let a whole 
box of them loose in our house in London.  I was referring to the French 
earlier. Mood swings."

Raven smiled,  shaking her head as she flopped back into her chair, 
indicating an empty one for  Melanie. âI've heard certain somewhat  hormonal 
women 
aboard have that same  issue at the moment.â

***

Mac watched the EMH and  Joshua closely, cringing at some of the annoying 
thing's comments, but not  arguing. He'd speak to the real docs once they 
reached 
Izar, he supposed. As  long as the kid was alive, he'd take it for now. Once 
he was sure Josh was  settled, he headed back to the front of the shuttle. 
"Any info come back on the  little girl yet?" he asked, wondering who she could 
possibly  be.

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