The Dog House

Posted on 24 Mar 2018 @ 1:04am by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commodore Harvey Geisler

2,908 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Crossing Over
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 35 || 1900 hours

Harvey had had plenty of long days in his nearly forty-four years of life. Today was certainly among the top five. Two hours ago he'd finally relented and visited sickbay to undergo the treatment. What followed was a massive migraine that had yet to vanish. Under normal circumstances, he would have considered retreating to his quarters and sleep it off.

But nothing about today was usual.

Doctor Kij estimated that it would take more than an additional day to restore the memories of the full crew. Even at this moment, less than a quarter of the people on board knew who they were and everything about their lives. Harvey felt sorry for those who were forced to wait, but even now he couldn't leave the bridge unattended.

With a solid crew now to man the bridge, Harvey decided to take a few minutes to retreat to the Ready Room for some headache medicine. Aspirin and water in hand, Harvey sat down and leaned back on the couch. He popped the pills and took a drink. With that accomplished, he closed his eyes for a moment and waited for the medicine to take effect.

It felt good not to be in command any longer, but it was an experience that had her considering some courses in the future... the distant future considering the changes that were going to be happening in her life soon enough. But now, with the bridge covered, she found herself following her husband into his ready room. Rico and Pequeno were now tucked inside their quarters eating and enjoying socks and other things that were left out for them.

She crossed over to the desk and leaned against it, then turned her attention to him. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, feeling more than a little helpless.

"Only if you stop the jackhammers from drilling out my eyeballs," he said with his head laid on the back of the couch.

Joey frowned, wishing he could do just that, but another trip to sickbay would take care of the problem. However, she knew her husband well, and knew he wouldn't be making another trip there until all personnel had their memories back. That was the biggest priority, even if she felt seeking medical treatment for it was also a priority. "I wish I could, but a trip to sickbay would take care of that. I know what you're going to say, though," she said as she started to push away from the desk, but stopped when something caught her eye.

There was a PADD on his desk that was still on, which struck her as odd. Joey reached over to pick it up with the intention of turning it off when something caught her attention as she held it at an angle.

= = = = =

From: CAPT Harvey Geisler
To Harvey

Trust no one. The Federation depends on it.

= = = = =

What the hell? Joey mused as she turned it in Harvey's direction. "What is this?"

They'd barely been married more than a month, but Harvey already knew that tone. In fact, that tone pierced above all of his mind's attempt to restitch and reconstitute his memories. He opened his eyes and looked up. Instantly, he spotted what she was referring to; the padd he found--he'd hidden--in the fish tank.

Closing his eyes, he leaned back and placed a hand next to his left temple. "Would you believe it's a message from the future?" he asked.

"Considering the future is what brought us here in the first place, I would believe it," she replied, turning it back her way so she could read it again. There were so many thoughts going through her mind that she didn't know what to make of any of them. "Is this the reason why you were walling yourself off to everyone again? Which, if I remember correctly, started shortly after we got back from shore leave. Is that about how long you had it?" She couldn't help the hurt that laced her voice as she spoke. So many things made sense now.

Harvey sighed. The cat was certainly out of the bag now, and he wished Rico and Pequeno were here to scare it off. Despite the fog he found himself in now, he remembered finding that padd very clearly, how a corner of it had emerged in the fish tank and how he was so curious by it. Of course, if he'd had his memories a few hours ago when the Aketi and his friends were aboard the ship, he was certain everything would have unfolded quite differently, and he wouldn't have needed a note to keep his crew out of danger. "Zach handed it to me just before I left the ward room on DS Nine. Decrease the contrast and you can see the letter he hid it in, but it looks like future-me sent present-me a warning about the Zone."

Joey was starting to feel a headache building as she tried to process everything. "So, you've had it all this time, let it eat away at you, and never told me about it?" she asked softly, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. "It went beyond the Zone, though, didn't it? It extended to the crew... to me..." It all made sense now. That morning she thought she was in her office and saw him... thought he was an intruder... This was a lot to take in. "If it didn't, you would have told someone it existed."

She paused for a moment, powering the PADD down and placing it back on the desk. "I'm not even angry. What right do I have?" she questioned quietly, trying to keep tears at bay. Joey blamed her hormones, and right now, they were all over the place. "I get it. I do. If you don't trust anyone, betrayal hurts less, and you've had more than your fair share of that over the years. I just... I just never thought I'd be lumped into that category, but I get it." She took a deep, calming breath as she wiped the moisture from beneath her eyes, but nothing was going to soothe the hurt she felt on the inside. "I need to get back to work... check on my Intel people and see how the progress with their memories are coming along."

"Joey, wait," Harvey said, rising quickly to his feet. The glass of water found a table quickly, and did so amazingly without a loud clatter. There really wasn't an excuse for his actions. After all, he'd had the message for two months, and after all that time he couldn't figure out what it meant. Was it really the catalyst for saving their hide in the last few hours? Or where they really never in danger. It was when they resisted that the gunfire started.

Sighing, he crossed the room to take her hands and stand in front of her. "You used to work in Close Protection. Had I shared that message with you, what would you have done?"

"You didn't share it with me, Harvey, so what I would or wouldn't have done doesn't really matter," she answered softly, wishing he would have kept some distance, because now the tears were welling up in her eyes again. There was no anger there, and Joey had a feeling that was an emotion easier to deal with. "You didn't really trust me, and yet... you married me. Have I ever given you any reason not to? Professionally or personally? I love you with everything I am, and would never do anything to jeopardize that, because a life without you in it is a life I just never want to experience."

"I've never had a reason not to trust you," Harvey gently stated. He could see the tears welling up, but he didn't dare touch them in fear that she might leave the Ready Room. He did pull closer, however, and felt some resistance near his abdomen. He couldn't believe that she thought lizards had made her womb a home, alas... Harvey had no idea what he would have thought if he were in her shoes. "You have been there for me at every turn. I never thought I'd marry again, much less find love after what happened to Alison. If I'd have told you, you would have done everything you could have to protect me. If it had been something or someone on board... the last thing any of us need is a divided crew. I didn't tell you to protect you. To protect us."

He was right. Joey would have done everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it meant giving her own life for his. There would have been no hesitation... no regrets... just action. Harvey knew her well, and now she was seeing things from a different perspective. Had their roles been reversed, she would have done the same... kept it from him in order to protect them both from something that could have changes their lives forever. And not in a good way.

Now, Joey wrapped her arms around him as she laid her head on his shoulder, overlooking the resistance her ever growing stomach provided. And while she didn't seem to protest it, a tiny foot kicking against the intrusion did, but she still didn't move. In fact, a smile formed on her lips. Did he feel it? All she could do was wait. "I love you, Harvey."

Harvey embraced her tightly, or as tightly as he could with the precious cargo between them. "I love all three of you," he whispered back, moving a hand down to rub what he found feel from the side of her stomach. "I'm sorry I hurt you. It was the last thing I wanted to do."

"I forgive you, Harvey, I really do. Your reason... it makes sense, and you were right. I would have done whatever I could to keep you safe," she whispered, not showing any signs of letting him go. Joey adored her husband, and she knew he felt the same about her if he was willing to go to such lengths. "Just promise me, no matter how big or small, you won't keep anything from me in the future. Watching you lose sleep... stress... it was killing me because I couldn't do anything to help. Our babies deserve a healthy father just as much as a healthy mother."

He did not sigh, nor did he hesitate. "No more secrets," he confirmed. "Though, I can't promise I won't lose any more sleep over stress. There's nearly eight hundred people on this ship, and we lost people today." Of course he knew risk was part of the job, as did every one on board from captain to crewman. To think that they would have escaped unscathed would be ignorant.

Joey lifted her head so she could look at him. "I wasn't in your shoes long today, but it's stressful, and has definitely given me a newfound respect for what you do day after day. I can see why it causes you to lose sleep," she said, knowing that some of the lives lost were because she didn't remember shields. That was her burden to bear, though. "I will do my part to make things better once you're off duty. That being said, how's your head feeling?"

"About as good as it can be," he answered. "I think I'll be fine after a good night's sleep, which I won't get until tomorrow. I'm actually debating a cup of coffee to make it through the graveyard shift."

"On that note, I should go check on my people so you can enjoy some of... that," she said, not wanting to say the actual word for fear it would make her stomach turn. Now that she had her memories back, she needed to get to sickbay when things calmed down a bit and get her hypo. For now, though, her biggest concern was him. "Before I go, though..." She tapped her combadge. =^=Lieutenant Geisler to sickbay. The Captain has a migraine. Can someone bring him something to the ready room to fix it?=^=

After a few moments, an affirmative came back before the link was terminated and she smiled at Harvey. "I'm your wife, and I get to do things like that."

Her husband was unable to argue or refute that fact. Nevertheless, he could still feel guilty about pulling even just a medical tech to run a hypospray to the bridge. He did muse that with having to see the entire crew over the next day and having extremely long shifts until everyone was back in sorts, a quick trip out of sickbay was more than a godsend. "You most certainly do," he said before leaning down to kiss her.

She returned the kiss, knowing they likely wouldn't get to see one another for a while. Joey understood his role on the ship and would never be upset with him for something he couldn't control. As much as she needed him, the ship and crew needed him more. "Also be on the lookout for dinner to get to you in about an hour or so. If I'm not able to bring it to you, I'll find someone that can," she said, leaving it unspoken that she got to do things like that, too.

"I wonder where Mila is anyway," Harvey mused, wondering if the Russian yeoman was still among those without memories. Engineers and medics were highest on the priority list, along with a few members of security, so he doubted she'd be taken care of for a while.

"I brought Chow to her earlier, and she had them back. Reports are going to be coming in like crazy over the next few days, and Administration is a mess according to what she told me," Joey replied. "What about Thiago? Any word about him and if his memories have been restored?"

He shook his head. "I haven't heard yet. I suppose no news is good news, especially since there aren't any threats on board and the crew's contained to open areas until they can have memories again."

"If you have a chance to sleep for a couple hours, will you take it?" she asked.

Harvey nodded with feigned confidence. "Every hour, there's more and more able bodied crew available to us. In a couple hours, I should be able to trust the bridge to someone for a while." Hell, he was doing that right now with both him and Joey in the Ready Room together. "But I'll probably do that here, just to be close in an emergency."

"And I don't blame you for wanting to do that. I'll probably sleep in my office, too. One never knows what could happen," Joey said, looking toward the couch. She'd sleptnon it once before for a couple hours, and had to admit, it was a bit comfortable. More so than she expected.

"You might be able to do a few things for me," he said, his tone becoming protective, "and I can do a few things for you. For instance, I know first hand how uncomfortable your office is. You should sleep at home, in bed. Have Petty Officer Torg bring you padds and chips. The Intel office will be there in a couple days when the whole crew is back on their feet."

"Yes, Captain," she said, leaning in to kiss him with a smile. "I wouldn't mind putting my feet up while I get some things done. I'll stop by my office and grab that stuff on my way. It wouldn't be too much of an issue. The boys will be happy to have me there, and it won't be the same without you, but they're good for cuddles."

Harvey kissed her once more. "There's extra socks in the drawer," he told her, thinking of their canine friends. "And as soiled as these pants are, Pequeno can have them tomorrow."

"I know they'll appreciate that. Spoiled dogs," she said, smiling again. "Okay... I need to let you get back to it, but not until someone has come up with something for your head, then I'll have dinner sent to you so I know it's not a sandwich or something else quick. You need hearty. I'll see you a soon as we're able. I love you." She leaned in to kiss him one more time, then made her way to the door.

He considered, only briefly, following her out. By the time he thought of it, however, the door had already closed. Alone in his Ready Room, Harvey moved back over to the desk and picked up the padd that he'd taken great care in hiding. He picked it up, powered it back on, and read the message once more. Finally, when he'd decided that he was thankful he didn't do a better job of hiding it, Harvey set it on his shelf, in between a few medical textbooks and a couple of other padds that contained personal documents and journals that he never wanted to lose. It wasn't that he thought he was done with the message. It was that he felt certain things needed to be kept safe and close by.

After all, who knew what other secrets and dangers awaited them out here. His future self did. And, soon he would too.

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