[ussbansheec] Sleepless in Sickbay

Sleepless in Sickbay  
  by Moria, PJ, Aneirin and Amanda
  
     She couldn't sleep. Everything felt so wrong, so out of place, so on the 
verge of falling off the edge. The last time she felt so totally shaken to her 
very core was when her mother had been hurt so badly when she was a teenager. 
Dragging herself out of bed Moria padded around her all to empty cabin until 
she'd found a pair of jeans to slip on with her father's shirt. I'm going to 
have to nick another one when we get home. She mused as she ran a brush through 
her hair. This one'll be worn out by the time we do. After slipping on her 
canvas trainers she headed down to sick bay. When she got there she quietly 
checked on her brother and sister taking care not to disturb their respective 
partners. She softly kissed Joshie's forehead and ran her fingers gently 
through her sister's hair, then slipped off across the room and slid down the 
wall until she was sitting in a tight ball in the corner where she could see 
them both.      One good 'I learned this look from my father' gl
 are had
 made the nurses leave Aneirin alone and he slept as best he could, waking ever 
now and then to check on PJ. He grew more awake, though, when he heard someone 
actually come close. He gradually opened one eye then the other, stretching 
quietly before he got up. His eyes caught sight of Patricai's sister huddled in 
the corner and he finally stood up, quietly walking over after he checked his 
e'lev's vital signs. "Counselor, are you quite comfortable like that?" he 
asked.      Moria nodded. "Yes thank you," she replied softly. When they were 
growing up and she wanted to watch but be out of the way, she'd sit in the 
corner of the room. When one of them or their mother had been in the hospital, 
in the corner she sat. Unseen but always there.      "Then perhaps you won't 
mind if I join you," he said as he lowered himself gracefully to the deck next 
to her. "She woke up before. I thought you would like to know that."      Can't 
sleep. Amanda held one of her most precious possessions
  in her
 hands, the first painting her father had ever done for her. It showed a 
elegant looking felanoid in marine fatigues. He'd mentioned that she had been 
the person to start him painting again and she'd also said every little girl 
should have a cat.      He'd sent it to her for her third birthday whilst he 
was still in the Gamma Quadrant and it had travelled with her ever since. This 
is no good, can't sleep without him here. She placed the picture on the bedside 
table and left for sickbay.      "Waking up is a good sign." Moria said with 
just a touch of relief in her voice. She wouldn't be completely relaxed where 
her sister was concerned until PJ was yelling at her for something. Why hadn't 
she worked harder to be closer to her older sister?      "It is," Aneirin 
agreed, "nor did she kill me." He bit back a sigh. Displays like that served no 
purpose. He wouldn't dare divulge what they spoke of. It was for Patricia to 
do, if she wanted. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned his
  head
 back against the wall. This, he told himself, is one of those times when I 
truly wish I could speak to Di'nanov or Mother.      Moria sat perfectly still 
for sometime simply watching the first two of them fighting their own battles. 
At that moment she took back each and everytime she'd thought life would be 
easier for some of there weren't so many of them.      Rubbing her jaw absently 
as she entered, Amanda immediately noticed her sister-in-law and went over. 
"Any change?"      "PJ woke up for a bit." Moria repeated what Aneirin had said 
without taking her eyes from her brother and sister. "No change with Bubble 
Boy. God what he won't do for attention." She paused and then her heart sank 
when Joshie didn't reply. No laughs, no telling her she was the only one who 
seemed to act out for the attention, not calling her the typical middle child. 
She blinked to keep the tears away.      Placing a hand over Moria's, Amanda 
held back her own tears. "Yep. I'd got that much in the ti
 me I've
 worked in Security with him. He'll come through, his ego can't allow him not 
to."      "Ya know between the five of us we've spent more time in hospitals 
and sick bays then we have at home." Moria sighed and then asked, "Did he tell 
you why his lungs are cybernetic?"      "No, just said it was an accident when 
he was young."      Moria was still for a moment as before she started to 
explain. "The boys were forever picking on us girls, but mostly they picked on 
PJ because she was always the loner. For our twelfth birthday PJ got this 
electronic diary that the boys tried for weeks to get open. The last time they 
tried they tried to use something from PJ's chem set to get the lock to melt. 
There were bottles and vials all over PJ's desk. Somehow one of the vials she'd 
gotten from Mummy's office got knocked over and it mixed with a bunch of 
others, casuing a chem fire. Joshie and Dad both were hurt from the chem. 
smoke, it burned out his lungs."   Amanda cringed."That's horrendo
 us."    
  "James was too little to fix Joshie then the way he has Victoria, but he'll 
do it now, he'll fix Joshie." Moria hoped. "When they were loading him and Dad 
into the med-vac, PJ and I were fist fighting, though I can't remember why."    
  "Never fought with my brother or sister 'til I was a teenager. By then David 
was in his thirties and Caroline was in her twenties."      Moria laughed but 
it sounded hollow. "We all fought at some point, but only me and PJ ever got 
physical and down right mean about it." Her eyes burned with the tears she 
wouldn't shed. "Even called her a bitch right in front of are whole family and 
extended family. Mummy's face turned purple that time."      "I don't think 
David took me seriously until I'd knocked him on his arse. But then a thirty 
year old man being floored by a fourteen year old girl will tend to do that." 
She looked at her sister-in-law with her clear blue eyes, "Your whole family 
have an amazing inner strength Moria, she will pull throu
 gh
 because of the rest of you."      "I don't think she ever really liked being 
one of a set." Moria sighed and leaned her head back.      The blonde looked 
across at the doctor and allowed the muted noises of the room wash over her.    
  "...'bout damned time you two stopped yammering..." PJ murmered without 
opening her eyes.      Aneirin would have bolted to ger side if it wasn't so 
undignified. As it was, he stood up with all due haste and crossed the room. 
"How are you feeling, Patricia?" he asked softly as he took her hand.      "I'm 
fine," she answered, mindful of who else was listening to her answer, though 
she did give his hand a gentle squeeze.      Moria's head snapped up first and 
then pushing herself to her feet. I'm getting to fucking out to be sitting on 
the floor. She moaned inwardly.      Walking over to her sister as quickly as 
she could she said nothing, but simply threw her arms around the oldest of them 
as best she could.      Standing, Amanda decided to lea
 ve them
 to it and made her way to Josh's room. Sitting beside the bed she stroked his 
forehead, "Patricia has come round, just you left now."      "How's Bubble 
Boy?" PJ asked, opening her eyes at last.      "The same." Moria replied as she 
pulled away. "He's really milking this one, gonna have Mandy there waiting on 
him hand and foot when he's done. How do you feel?"      "Stable," Aneirin said 
simply. "Not worse in any case. I believe Dr. McEntire is still asleep so I 
cannot say for sure but the vitals are all the same."      Amanda closed her 
eyes and did something she'd never entertained doing before, Praying.      PJ 
closed her eyes again, shaking her head. She'd been hoping so much for good 
news. Should have known better. Life doesn't work that way.      "He'll be ok, 
PJ." Moria told her sister matter of factly. "I mean he's survived living with 
the two of us for close to 40 years. This is a cake walk." God how she wished 
she believed that herself.      Amanda opened her eyes 
 hoping
 that someone somewhere had answered her prayers. Josh still lay there before 
her, no change in him at all.      Once she was sure that her sister was 
alright Moria thumped her arm before slamming her hands on her own hips. "Don't 
scare me like that again!"      Moving to the door, Amanda peered out at the 
little group. Sisterly love. What must it be like to have siblings of the same 
or similar age to you. She felt a knot of combined sadness and envy as she 
watch the scene play out between her sisters-in-law.      PJ yawned pointedly 
in Moria's direction as she gathered her best 'big sis' material and set out to 
help settle them some. "Like you cared..." she teased with a slight smile. 
"You're just using us an excuse to avoid real work, as usual." Raising up on 
her elbows, she winked at Mo before nodding toward Amanda and calling out. 
"Where you think you're going, chainer? Sneaking out when the arguments start, 
are you?" Moria didn't find her sister's teasing very funny. She
  did
 care, very much so.      "Pardon Ma'am? Just wondered what all the noise was 
about, and if it's an argument you want I'm more than willing. It might even 
snap my lazy husband out of his coma."      That made Moria giggle. They all 
knew ma'am and sir went with rank, but PJ hated it as much as she did.      
"Are you kidding?" PJ guffawed. "Bubble boy there can sleep through anything. 
Once when we were younger Jaimo and Mo there came home from a party tore up 
from the floor up after Jaimie apparently beat the stuffing out of a kid for 
messing with her. Mom made a huge fuss and we all about jumped out of our skin. 
Except Joshie. Slept through the whole damned thing. Daddy had to go in and 
work to wake him after." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "And can that 
Ma'am shit, will you? I'm your sister in law not your mother."      Moria 
blushed as PJ told Amanda about that whole awful mess. Joshie wouldn't say 
anything, and it had to have been him, but apparently James had gone 
 back to
 finish Manny off. It couldn't have been James cause their mother never left 
him out of her sight.      "Look at her over there turning all red," PJ laughed 
as she pushed it a little further and sat completely up. At this rate I'll be 
out of here in ten,she told herself. "All embarrassed 'cause baby Jaimo had to 
defend her honor."      Eyes that were normally lighter then their mother's 
turned even darker as Moria looked at her sister. "Shut up, Patricia Jane." She 
hissed. "No one wants or needs to hear of this."      PJ looked at her sister 
and sighed. Stretching slightly, she swung her feet over the edge of the 
biobed. "You're right. No one does." Without another word, she stood and headed 
for the door.      Moria sighed. "Why do you have to be such a sodding bitch 
all the time? Where are you going?"      "We can't all be perfect," PJ answered 
dully as she looked around and found her shoes. "I'll leave it to you and Vix 
to decide whose turn it is this week. I've got work to
  do."   
   "Perfect?" Moria snorted. "Who the hell is perfect? Do you even fucking know 
me?"      PJ paused and shook her head. "Not really." she admitted without 
looking at her. "We haven't known each other for years, really. Any of us."     
 "No, not us." Moria spat. "You.. You've never wanted to be close to the rest 
of us. How do you expect to show your four what it means to be part of a set 
when you've always hated it."      "I wasn't going to have them, Moria, or 
hadn't you heard? I planned on having an abortion. Why do you think I didn't 
tell you I was pregnant? I didn't want to your input, Mo. I didn't want to have 
to hear how it affected the rest of you. How aborting them would affect you or 
Vixie. I didn't want to hear it, because it wasn't about you. Don't you get it? 
It was about me, my body, my choice, my life, not OURS...MINE..." Watching the 
expression on Moria's eyes, she continued angrily,"What? You think the rest of 
you are any closer?" PJ laughed bitterly as she bli
 nked
 away the dizziness."Come on, Moria. Did Joshie tell you he was sick again? 
What about James? Has he talked to you about what's bothering him lately? And 
Vixie...we all saw how close you and she were, right? Face it, we're not a 
'set'. We're five people...five DIFFERENT people ... who just happen to share a 
birthday. And IF I decide to have them, IF I decide to give birth, these four 
will NOT be a set. They'll be FOUR DIFFERENT PEOPLE..and I'll let them...and 
either way you and your judgment can go straight to hell..." The room tipped 
slightly, and she righted herself at the door, then hurried out. Get to your 
quarters,dumbass, she told herself as she angrily wiped away another tear, 
weaving down the hallway. Just get to your quarters.      Tears blurred angry 
eyes as Moria watched PJ leave the room. Without looking at the others who were 
still there she barked, "Now do you see why I always ended up hitting her?!" 
Charging off Moria headed towards Victoria's to cool off and c
 ry, she
 just hoped Andy wasn't home.      Aneirin stared, almost open mouthed, at the 
arguement . He hadn't wanted PJ to leave in her condition but he was too 
stunned to stop her. Now, though, he made sur the PA was on duty and went 
after. It certainly was her decision but he also didn't want her to exacerbate 
her concussion. "Patricia...wait. Please let me walk with you and make sure 
you're safe."      PJ held her hand out to him behind her without stopping or 
slowing down. Once she felt his hand in hers, she grasped it tightly, 
reassuring herself she wasn't alone, no matter how she felt at the moment.    
  When her head had stopped spinning Amanda returned to her husbands side, 
"Somehow I think you've got the right idea Josh. Sleeping through all this is 
the best way to avoid it." 


"If there's nothing wrong with me... maybe there's something wrong with the 
universe!" 
~ Dr Beverly Crusher (ST:TNG, Remember Me)



                
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