Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - New, Responsible Leaf

[Addison MacKenzie]

(( Captain’s Ready Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis ))

 

After a bit of time away on reassignment, Dakora was now back in her ready room – the ready room he blew up on Frontier Day – in a chair opposite hers. His posture was unexpected, not quite a squirm, but one of discomfort, and certainly one that she hadn’t observed in the officer before. The lack of direct eye contact was also cause for suspicion. Her brow furrowed, wondering what the reason for the unusual behavior might be.

Dakora: Speaking of that… ::He paused, screwing up his face a bit.:: Well, not that, specifically. But, I… uh… have some personal news.

MacKenzie: Personal news?

Dakora: Well, you met Samantha Richards, right? She visited a while back– she was part of that Amity team we picked up on the Borg cube.

She nodded affirmatively.

MacKenzie: I remember Richards, sure. Nice girl. A little weird… but the good kind.

He cleared his throat and shifted in the chair again, finally looking her in the eye—briefly as he nodded.

Dakora: Well, I’m sort of dating her.::Beat.::We ran into each other back on Earth after everything that happened on Frontier Day and… well, one thing led to another. And then a few more things led to… something else.

He issued a nervous, slightly lopsided smile. She wondered if the look on her face suggested he needed to get to the point, and quickly, lest her attention wane further..

Dakora: Wait, ::Sarcastically:: It gets way better.::He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.:: She’s pregnant. With Twins.

 

He held up two fingers demonstratively. In response, her eyebrows raised, and she shook her head slightly, clearly caught off guard.

MacKenzie: I’m sorry, what?

Dakora: I know! I know! It was after Frontier Day– sickbay was swamped, I missed an injection– it just slipped my mind and apparently, that’s all it takes. 

 

Her lips pursed slightly, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she repeated some of the words he had just spoken, as though testing whether she was supposed to believe him.

 

MacKenzie: Missed an injection. Slipped your mind.

Dakora: Apparently that whole “99.97% Effective” thing doesn’t mean a whole lot when you miss the appointment.

She made no attempt to hide the eye roll that followed.

 

MacKenzie: ::flatly:: Whoops. (beat) Now what?

 

Dakora: I… I don’t really have a game plan here. I’m just trying to be responsible. And Honest. With you. With her. With myself, I guess?

 

He blew out an uncomfortable sigh and dropped his hands onto his lap. She wasn’t impressed.

 

Dakora: I know this is all... complicated– and the optics of the thing look not-so-great. But if I’m going to be stepping back into that second chair any time soon, I wanted you to hear it from me and not from some scuttlebutt out of the lower decks.

 

MacKenzie: And believe me when I say that was in your best interest. But, if you’d wanted to demonstrate responsibility, you could at least stick to getting your shots on time. Now, ::raising her hands slightly:: you have a mess to clean up.

 

Dakora: Yep. ::He flashed a sheepish half-grin.:: I deserved that.

Her nod was so slight it was barely visible.

MacKenzie: You’re damn right you did. ::pivoting demeanor:: So. You’re sort of dating a girl you knock up. Who lives in the Delta Quadrant. Do I have it right so far?

 

Dakora: Response

 

She smiled mischievously and nodded very slowly.

 

MacKenzie: So now that you are turning over a new, more responsible leaf, what do you intend to do about that?

 

Dakora: Response

Tag, and TBC!

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Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A

Captains Council Member at Large

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