Lieutenant JG Ras El'Heem - Gotta see a man about a suit
Ras El'Heem
((Deck 6, USS Khitomer))
That initial shock Ras had caused her had worn off quite quickly and he himself was relieved for that. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he was bracing for the gentle let down. The smile on her face said it all.
oO Thanks Ras, but I prefer the better, more accomplished, cooler, and less scaled surgeon to operate on my brain, please and thank you. Oo
Gentle.
Jacin: Ras you’re my friend too. Besides you’re more than capable and I’ll count myself lucky for you to do it. The important thing is I’d like it done before the wedding. That’s kind of important to me.
oO Knew it. Oo
Her response didn’t completely register. He was still going through the motions of the imagined “No.”
El’Heem: Exactly. C’mon let’s keep walking, I have an appointment with some Terran food. I haven’t been away all that long, but I could really go for a cheeseburger.
He took a few steps and upon noticing she wasn’t following, gestured for her to follow him. He knew it was a no but needed a definitive answer for clarity’s sake.
El’Heem: So. Yes, I’m asking-
As they made it to the turbolift, Jacin stopped in a way to make a point. He watched her put on a dramatic show.
Jacin: :putting on a silly simpering voice and fluttering her eyelashes: Why yes Ras of course you can be my brain surgeon.
Well, that was unnecessary.
He blinked.
Maybe it wasn’t.
He blinked again.
It totally wasn’t. It took him two whole “yes’s” to make the connection. Slightly embarrassed by the surprise that flashed across his face, Ras cleared his throat.
El’Heem: I’ve been studying all the scans. I know your brainstem like the back of my hand by now.
She had given him permission and yet he still felt he needed to convince her. To reassure her that she would be in good hands.
Jacin: Could we go back to that cheeseburger thing? Somehow the idea of you knowing my brainstem so intimately is just a little bit strange.
That was that, then. It was her brain, and she seemed over it. He needed to learn how to take yes for an answer.
El’Heem: Yep, that is weird. I’ll never utter that combination of words again. ::laughing before letting the laugh trail off and pausing for a moment:: Do you have any concerns or questions?
Jacin: It’s funny you should that Ras because I did want to talk to you about something.
As he stood there facing her, he realized they hadn’t called the lift.
El’Heem: Okay. Shoot.
Jacin: Well it sounds silly I guess.
He watched her hand lift to the metonym that was her buzzed hair. A scar in place of the scars that hadn’t formed due to Doctor Ohnari’s meticulous work. As she ran her hand over her head, he could hear the soft rasping of each hair whispering against her palm. His eyes fell away from her hand back to hers.
Jacin: I umm. The thing is.
El’Heem: Ayemet, what is it?
Jacin: I thought I wanted to grow my hair back naturally. To not pretend what happened to me didn’t happen to me, but I, I don’t want Connor’s memory of our wedding day to be a faint me walking down the aisle with a shaved head. :in a joking tone: I want him to be blown away by how incredible I look. So can you err stimulate the hair follicles to encourage growth before the wedding?
El’Heem: Not exactly a wig but I called it! Chief Ohnari said I was being insensitive! Boom! ::laughing while punching the air:: Absolutely we can do that. It won’t be an overnight fix but I’m confident we can get you a full head of hair before your wedding day!
Ras grinned internally. For once, he’d get to do an elective procedure that the patient was actually looking forward to. And he’d get to help a friend make one of the biggest moments of her life just a little bit more like she’d pictured.
Jacin: There is err one more thing.
Gotta be a little thing, right?
El’Heem: I’m sure we can add some natural highlights or add some wavine-
He stopped talking as she did something that completely caught him off guard. He looked down, his eyes darting between both of her small smooth-skinned hands in his large rough hands. He met her gaze just as she took an audible breath.
oO She’s not inviting me to also marry Chief Dewitt right? Oo
Jacin: Will you give me away at the wedding?
He let out an exasperated breath he hadn’t realized he was holding in and gave a gentle squeeze to her hands.
El’Heem: You want me to give you away? I’m honored but ::pausing, hoping it wasn’t a sore subject:: What about your family?
Jacin: Response
El’Heem: I see.
Ras dropped her hands and bristled at the prospect. He’d never been in a wedding before. He held out his arms and looked over his uniform, turning his arms this way and that and then lifting his legs one at a time to look at each.
El’Heem: This won’t do, will it? I need to get a suit! You don’t happen to know a tailor, do you?
His eyes flashed baby blue and winked at her.
Jacin: Response
El’Heem: Thank you, Ayemet. You won’t regret it. Does Connor know yet?
Ras reached out to call the turbo lift, his hands shook barely able to contain his excitement.
Jacin: Response
El’Heem: Okay let’s go eat now before either of us come up with more dramatic questions!
Jacin: Response
TAGS/End
Lieutenant JG Ras El’Heem
Medical Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
K240106RE3