[JP] Lt. JG Natasha Cole, Roy Bancroft, Charlotte Brexis - My Little Echo

[Natasha Schell]

((Sickbay - Deck 7 - USS Artemis-A))

The lighting in Sickbay was soft and even, deliberately neutral. The kind of light designed not to alarm.

Natasha lay motionless on the biobed, hands resting at her sides. Monitors hummed quietly. A steady rhythm of vitals scrolled across the display.

No emergency alarms. No chaos. Just recovery. She did not stir.

(( Void ))

There is no pain. No pressure. No howling. No metal tearing. No orders. No responsibility.

Just quiet.

It isn’t darkness. It isn’t light. It simply is … nothing

Her mind reaches. It searches for systems, for status reports, for something to fix. Nothing answers.

Instead… Faces.

Juno, Her mother, Aunt Rea, Roy, Sam, Charlotte. None speaking, just present.

The quiet deepens. And then… Nothing again.

((Sickbay - Deck 7 - USS Artemis-A))

Brexis: ::Softly:: How’s she doing today. Any updates at all? 

Bancroft: ::quietly:: Her vitals are steady. Neurologically unchanged. ::a small exhale:: That’s as much as I can give you, Charlotte. You understand.

Footsteps. Measured. Purposeful.

An older woman with auburn hair streaked faintly with silver crossed the threshold into Sickbay. Her posture was upright. Controlled.

Her eyes, however, went immediately to the biobed.

She did not rush.

She did not panic.

She closed the distance with quiet certainty.

Woman: Report.

The space between Roy’s brows tightened – not in confusion, but assessment. His posture shifted almost imperceptibly as he stepped forward, angling himself between the newcomer and the biobed with the quiet precision of someone used to guarding fragile things.

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t need to.

There was an edge there now – the kind that came standard with the white coat.

And something sharper beneath it.

Bancroft: ::controlled, professional:: I’m going to need a name, ma’am. ::beat:: And your relationship to my patient.

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the woman to answer- but that didn’t come as quickly as she would have liked- so she pushed. 

Brexis: You can tell us now or we can have security come in and you can talk to them. 

The woman stepped to the bedside. She did not look at the monitors first.

She looked at Natasha.

She reached out, brushing a hand gently through her hair, thumb lingering briefly at her temple.

Roy’s jaw tightened – barely. He didn’t interrupt.

But he memorized that touch.

Woman: Oh, my little Echo.

Not fragile. Not broken. Just fond.

Bancroft: ::low, to Brexis without taking his eyes off the woman:: ‘Echo’? ::icily, to the woman:: You will not lay your hands on my patient again. Name and relation, now.

Roy’s free hand rose a measured inch toward his combadge – a silent contingency. At Brexis’s glance, he stopped, but didn’t lower it.

The woman radiated a positive, protective love. Charlotte could feel it hitting her. Something soft and almost motherly hitting her senses. 

Brexis: ::To Roy, holding her hand up slightly:: Hang on… 

The woman stood and stared directly at the good Doctor, after a moment, her features softened … faintly amused.

Woman: My apologies, Doctor Bancroft. Or is it Lieutenant you prefer in moments such as this?  ::semi authoritative:: Lieutenant Commander, Rea Cole. I’m her Aunt.

Brexis: ::Narrowing her eyes and speaking softly:: Mhm…

Bancroft: I– THE Aunt Rea? ::clearing throat:: Commander, my apologies, but I’ll still need to–

Rea:: ::looking to Charlotte:: Lieutenant Brexis can confirm my identity. I consent.

Aunt Rea opened her mind and thought of her connection to Natasha.

It was instant that Charlotte felt the openness from the woman. She let her mental barriers down and honed in on her. Images of the woman and a very young Natasha together. Soft and delicate moments that made her relax. She blinked a few times and looked towards Roy.

Brexis: ::Nodding:: Yeah. She’s legit.

Roy’s eyes widened slightly. Many strange things had happened in this sickbay, but this certainly came close to chart-topping.

Bancroft: Er… ma’am. I’m sure you understand the reason I had to… ::sighing:: My apologies.

He looked over at Natasha.

Bancroft: If I might ask… ‘Echo’? Nat has a lot of nicknames around here, but that isn’t one of them.

Rea: I call her my little Echo because she reminds me of someone I love.

An image of her husband entered her mind, and a bittersweet expression crossed her face, carrying more longing than grief.

The woman's mind was a comfortable place. Charlotte almost forgot that she was still intruding on her thoughts until she saw an image of a man and attached to it were some very heavy feelings. 

Brexis: ::Softly to the woman:: Someone special?

Rea nodded with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Rea: ::speaking quietly:: He is brilliant. Tactical. Always first into the fire. ::pause:: It very nearly killed him. ::looks away for a moment::

She reached again to brush Natasha’s hair, but pauses to look at Bancroft.

Brexis: Nearly?

Bancroft: ::quietly:: That definitely runs in the family…

Rea smiled a little at that and gave a slight nod.

Rea: He defied the odds more often than others cut from similar cloth. ::half smile:: It was after one of those incidents I realized I loved him.

Bancroft: Trauma bonding a sort of… family tradition for y’all, then?

Rea smiled a little at that and gave a slight nod.

Brexis: ::Swatting her hand at Roy:: Be nice.

Rea: Like many worthwhile things, it is complicated.

Roy took the opportunity to extract himself from the conversation, grabbing a nearby PADD and loading Cole’s chart onto it.

He offered it to Rea with a tight-lipped smile.

Bancroft: I believe you asked for a status report, ma’am. This is Natasha’s chart. I assure you she’s receiving the very best care available aboard this vessel ::wink:: a fact that remains true even on the shifts where I’m personally involved. 

Brexis: ::To Rea with a smile:: He really is a good Doctor. Despite his crusty attitude.

Roy shot the Strategic Operations officer a withering glance, blunted by a lopsided smile – the first he’d had in days.

Bancroft: It’s a team effort. In the rare moments I’m not here by her side, Doctor Jaran is – and if I were in Natasha’s position, I’d consider that an excellent trade. Jaran is a superb physician.

Rea: Then I’m grateful she had people beside her who knew when to press and when to preserve.

Charlotte spoke up a bit quicker than she meant to.

Brexis: ::Putting her hand to her chest:: For what it’s worth, I’m not a doctor. Just a friend who likes to sit here and talk to her while she’s out. ::Smirking:: I think my stories are helping.

He paused for a moment, allowing the woman to digest the information on the PADD, then continued.

Bancroft: Commander, I can accept your authorization to discuss Nat’s condition in front of Charlotte. ::apologetic glance at Brexis:: Or, if you’d prefer to go somewhere more private–

Rea cut him off with a gentle hand held palm-out.

 

Rea: ::looking at Natasha:: You have my permission, Doctor. If the two of you are here, that tells me all I need to know. ::looks between them:: She trusts you both.

Brexis: Thank you. 

Rea didn’t take the PADD like she was curious. She took it like she was confirming a theory. Her eyes moved over the readout with the ease of someone who had once done this daily. The muscles in her jaw tightened once, then released.

Rea: ::quietly:: Syncope.

She said it like a diagnosis and a verdict all at once, then flicked her gaze up to Roy.

Rea: And you gave her …  stimulants? No ... you needn’t answer that. You were all making do with what you had.

Rea’s expression didn’t harden. It didn’t need to. It stayed composed, controlled, but the room around her seemed to straighten as if responding to her weight.

Roy caught the quiet edge in Rea’s voice — the gentle caution beneath the words ‘don’t answer that’. Ordinarily he might have let the moment pass. But the question, left hanging in the air of a Starfleet sickbay, had a way of curdling into implication if unanswered. And the reputation of the Artemis medical department — of physicians who had carried far heavier burdens than this one — deserved better than silence.

His voice, when it came, was calm and unhurried.

Bancroft: ::clinically:: I did no such thing, ma’am. Normally we would titrate a stimulant under close observation. However, under the circumstances of that moment, the medical department made the best call available to us. I stand behind that decision with full conviction.

Charlotte shrugged and gave Roy a sympathetic look.

Brexis: I wasn’t there. But I know Roy is doing his best.

Rea: So her body did what she refused to. Some habits run deeper than training.

Bancroft: ::grim chuckle:: Nat? As the old saying goes: ‘all gas, no brakes.’

Charlotte held her hand up to stop Roy from speaking further.

Brexis: Hey. That’s what I love about her.

Rea: ::Raising her eyebrow at the Betazoid:: Is that so?

Charlotte immediately realized what she had said and the implication that followed it.

Brexis: Oh. No! Not like that. ::Beat and then grimacing a bit:: We did almost kiss once. ::waving her hand:: But that was because we were excited about the explosions.

Rea held Charlotte’s gaze for a moment, then a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, followed by a soft laugh.

Bancroft: ::dryly:: Yes, of course. Nothing so reliably stirs romantic impulse as temporary hearing loss and minor facial burns.

Charlotte shot Roy a glance. There was that crusty attitude she adored.

Rea: She does have that effect on people. ::glancing between Natasha’s two friends:: Though I suspect you’re rather more her type than the Doctor Mustache. ::winks::

Brexis: ::Quietly to Roy:: You do remember you and I danced in the rain once right?

Bancroft: ::pleasantly:: How could I not? It was the sort of thing one rarely has the luxury of forgetting.

She hovered her hand above Natasha’s arm, as though memory made her more careful than caution did.

Rea: ::very soft, only for Natasha:: You did enough.

For a long moment, nothing changed. Then … barely … Natasha’s fingers twitched. Not a wake. Not even movement. Just a reflex, like her body recognized the frequency of that voice.

Rea’s breath caught once, almost imperceptibly.

Roy’s practiced eye caught the minute twitch at the exact moment the overhead sensor pod above Cole acknowledged it with a soft, rising chime.

Bancroft: ::barely concealed relief:: She’s coming to.

Brexis: ::Taking a self conscious step back:: Oh…

Natasha’s hand shifted again, small and uncertain, as if searching for something in the dark. She grabbed Bancroft’s hand. Her grip was weak, but immediate … instinctive … a tether.

Cole: ::a rasp of air, more thought than sound:: …so—

The word didn’t make it out.

Rea leaned closer, not crowding, just present.

Rea: You’re safe. Don’t chase it yet.

Bancroft: ::softly:: Easy, Nat. You’re safe. You’re okay. Nobody is in danger.

Brexis: We’ve got you. Just relax.

Natasha tried again. Her throat worked like it hadn’t been used in days.

Cole: …Sor…r…

Bancroft: ::scowling slightly:: Don’t you dare.

Brexis: I’m with captain crusty here. Don’t you even think about apologizing.

Natasha’s grip tightened—then softened, like even that was effort. Her eyes finally opened a fraction.  Light existed, shapes existed, but everything was the wrong distance, too flat, too bright. She blinked once, slow. Then the smallest, most human thing ... embarrassment flickered across her face before she could hide it.

Cole: ::hoarse:: … Sorry.

Rea: Natasha Helena Cole, No.

Charlotte bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing.

Brexis: She used your full name… You’re in trouble now.

Bancroft: ::sideeye at Brexis:: As opposed to, what… every other minute of her life?

Cole: ::barely above a whisper, the ghost of a smile tugging at one corner of her mouth:: That’s deeply unfair, Rea. You only use my full name when I’m in no condition to defend myself.

Rea’s expression softened, though there was still enough steel in it to make clear she was not joking.

Rea: If you were in any condition to defend yourself, we would be having a very different conversation.

Roy consulted the biobed’s onboard diagnostics.

Bancroft: Technically she could… you know what? Scratch that. Quite right, Commander, she’s in absolutely no shape to do anything but lay there. ::eyes narrowing at Nat:: Nice and still.

Brexis: ::Rolling her eyes at Roy:: Smooth Doc. Real smooth. 

Natasha’s eyes shifted, trying to bring the room into focus. Roy. Charlotte. Rea. Sickbay. Not the Bridge of the Karnack or Callis 1. Her breathing caught for half a second as the memory of the toast, the chair, and the sudden nothing tried to settle back into place.

Cole: ::hoarse, quieter:: We’re on the Artemis?

Rea looked to the others briefly, letting one of them answer first if they wished.

Bancroft: ::softly:: Yes, you’re home, you’re safe. And everyone with us on Callis I is, too.

Brexis: The whole crew is safe. 

Rea: Yes, my little Echo. You did it. All of you did.

Natasha let that sit for a moment. Her hand tightened instinctively around the one she was holding, then loosened again as it still took effort.

Cole: I remember sitting down.

Rea: ::dryly:: An excellent instinct. Your body, however, was rather more insistent.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Natasha’s face again, sharper this time.

Cole: I passed out at a toast.

Bancroft: Wasted some perfectly good champagne, too.

Brexis: Don’t worry, ::winking dramatically:: I had some extra for you Nat.

Natasha gave the faintest huff of something that might have been a laugh, if her throat had been in better working order.

Cole: Still feels a little undignified.

Rea: Dignity is overrated. Recovery is not.

Natasha turned her head slightly toward Rea, studying her through the lingering blur.

Cole: You sound like a doctor.

A small, private smile touched Rea’s face.

Rea: I was. Once upon a time.

Bancroft: ::raising an eyebrow at Rea:: Yes. I’d like to have a conversation about that later, if you’ll indulge me, Commander.

Charlotte didn’t speak, she only looked between Rea and Nat with curious eyes.

That seemed to catch Natasha more fully than anything else had so far. Her brow knit faintly, like she wanted to chase the thought, but didn’t quite have the strength.

Cole: Once?

Rea: Mm. Once.

Bancroft: No doubt there’s a half-singed Cole heirloom stethoscope in a steamer trunk somewhere.

Brexis: Half-singed? No doubt if it belongs to a Cole it’s more likely seventy five percent-singed.

Natasha swallowed carefully, then glanced between the three of them.

Cole: So… how bad is the lecture I’m about to get?

Rea’s brow arched.

Rea: From me, or from the doctor glaring at me as if I’ve commandeered his Sickbay?

Roy grabbed a nearby PADD. That it contained that day’s duty roster was immaterial to the moment.

Bancroft: ::waggling the PADD at Nat:: I’ve taken the liberty of dividing it into chapters. We all get to take turns reading.

Brexis: I’m going to need some snacks for this aren’t I?

End Scene

----- ◌● -----
Rea Cole

Family Mystery

&

Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205NC4

&

Lieutenant JG Roy Bancroft

Medical Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240205RB1

&

Lieutenant JG Charlotte Brexis

Intelligence Officer

USS CONSTITUTION-B

A240103SR3