Joint Log | RAdm. Harper, Col. Harper & VAdm. Stevens | "Recovery & Revelations"

Posted on 241511.30 @ 3:32am by Colonel Patrick Harper & Rear Admiral Kassandra Harper

Mission: Non-Plot Log

Come time, she was standing there waiting on the doctor after the nurse begrudgingly said she would notify him. Displeasure showed upon her features as she stood with a slight lean to that cane. Stevens had given her the time, said she could see Patrick... and now... this nurse wanted to delay things. Her jaw clinched tight as she totally understood now why Sharpe had shot at that nurses foot.

Stevens, bright and alert as he always seemed to be, arrived after being notified by the duty nurse that Admiral Harper had arrived outside Colonel Harper's room at the exact time eight hours later. This had elicited a chuckle from the older man, as he had no doubt that Kassi would've timed it down to the nano-second.

He arrived and spotted the young blonde Admiral standing outside the room. "Good Morning, Kassi." He said, with a friendly attitude. "I trust you rested well?" He knew full well that she'd been fretting all night, but he wanted to give her the chance to pretend she was fine. There would be no way she was fine, what with her husband and the father of her child lying in a medically induced coma after nearly dying of a fatal shot.

"Morning, and I rested.... Now will you tell the nurse there that you said I could see him at this time and let me in." Kassi replied straight to the point. Yes, she'd totally ignored his question, after all she knew him well enough to know how she slept, or didn't sleep. Hell, even breakfast hadn't gotten much more attention other than a few little pokes at it. "So how long do I get to visit with him this morning?"

"Well, I first need to check to see if he's awake, and how he's doing. Once I've done my checks, I think we can try for an hour, and see how he's doing." Stevens replied, looking at her sternly. "But you follow my rules. If I say he's done, you leave. Am I clear?"

Though she tried not to give into that impatient sigh, Kassi gave a little nod of her head. "Yes, it's very clear." Of course she bit back the mutterings of how he could have been here a little earlier to get those checks done instead of making her wait longer.

Actually, he had already done the checks about fifteen minutes ago, but it didn't hurt to make her wait a bit longer. He entered Patrick's room, and found him sitting up. He was groggy, but at least he was awake. "So, Mister Harper, I see you're awake this time."

"So it appears." Harper replied, slurrily. "Hospital ship?"

"Sector Medical Facility." Stevens replied. "I'm Doctor Stevens."

"I remember you, from Zetari. Weren't you a big-wig Admiral?" Patrick asked, looking at him.

George chuckled at that. "Still am, Colonel, still am. Your wife appears to be very well connected. I received an urgent summons from Fleet Admiral Malone to attend at once a priority patient. Naturally, I assumed it was a VIP, so imagine my surprise when I got nothing more than a ground-pounder like you." He was teasing, trying to elicit some response from Harper. As far as Stevens was concerned, a patient was a patient, regardless. He would've made the trip for a Private if he'd been summoned.

"That's my Kassi... always getting what she wants." Patrick tried to laugh, but winced in pain.

"Well, talking of naggy wives. Would you be kind enough to see yours? She's driving my medical staff insane with her desire to kill you herself." Stevens asked, jokingly.

"Do I have to?" Patrick asked, mockingly. "I mean, I've only just recovered from being shot..."

"I'm afraid this is one battle that you'll have to fight yourself, Colonel. You did, after all, do it to yourself." Stevens replied.

"I know..." Patrick pretended to sigh.

Stevens went out of the room, and spoke to Kassi. "You can go in."

"Thank you" Kassi said before slipping past Stevens and into the room. It was there, she paused a moment as she stood inside the door and looked at Patrick.

She wanted to run over to and hug him tight, yet those machines would stop that. Of course there was a part of her that wanted to yell at him for getting himself hurt and scaring the crap out of her, though she new that probably wouldn't be a good thing either. Closing her eyes tightly a moment as she felt them starting to water up, she now knew how he must have felt when she was the one in the bed.

After chewing on her lower lip a moment more she tried to give him that warm smile of her's as she started closer, her heart pounding with love and that small hint of fear. "Hi..."

"Hello." Patrick replied, raising an eyebrow. "Do I know you?" He was going to tease her, because it was obvious to him that she was under extreme internal conflict, so the only way to bring her out of her shell was to be horrid in an affectionate way.

She scowled a little hearing that and eyed him. "You better remember me other wise I'm going to have to go out there and kick some peoples backsides more than just putting you in this mess." Of course, a very pregnant Kassi trying to kick anyone's backside was probably a rather amusing picture.

"Uhm... did we serve together or something?" He asked, a big Irishmans grin on his face.

Reaching him, she sat down in the chair by his bed. "You're picking on me...." Kassi replied as soon as she saw that look on his face. "I'm so glad you find this amusing." She muttered, but finally gave into that soft smile again. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone shot me." He smiled. "I find it amusing because I didn't die. A marine expects to be shot at in combat, and prepares for the fact he might actually get hit. Doesn't mean I enjoy it, or look forward to it, it is what it is. I'm just grateful I'm still alive. Many of my marines like-as-not were not so fortunate." He became somewhat sober at that point, thinking back to the battle. "Do you know if my unit got out?"

Fingers curled around his hand, her other resting on her rounded belly, as she listened and nodded. "It's good that you're alive, your children and I need you." A little shake of her head was given. "I don't know, the minute I heard about you.... I was busy getting out here to see you."

"What about your own command?" Harper asked.

"I was... for now... released of my post for personal reasons. Something that was going to happen soon anyways..." Kassi said with that warm smile, though her lower lip was nibbled on slightly as she noticed he didn't catch the subtle hint she'd dropped.

"When are you due?" He asked. He'd been deployed for so long, he'd barely had a chance to notice.

"In about five or six weeks... of course that depends on them of course. The Doctor and I had a few choice words about me leaving, then again he had issues when I would get stressed out at work back home also. I suppose it's a good thing there is a doctor here that I trust." Her thumb rubbed lightly upon his hand as they talked. "I'll see what I can find out about the rest of your Unit when I'm not in here with you."

"At least you're in the right place should you need it." He smiled. "Apparently, this is Sector General hospital."

"This is true... and one of the Doctors here, was one that served on Zetari for a while. Although he can be a bit of a pain in the backside, but then... that's most Doctors for you." There was of course, no love lost between Kassi and the Doctors.

"At least you don't shoot them." Patrick smirked.

"If I'd have had a phaser this morning....." Kassi said with a slight smirk.

"You are not Richard Sharpe, and you don't have a civil war to distinguish yourself in to get forgiven for it either." Patrick said, then winced slightly as his chest gave a stab of pain. "Speaking of - we should probably talk..."

"Yes... we probably should..." Kassi said softly, although really she wasn't sure where to start with things.

"I think its time we considered life, beyond Starfleet." He said, after a few moments silence. "We don't just have ourselves to think about anymore, and if recent events have taught me anything - I'm no safer as a Colonel than I was as a Sergeant Major. If anything, things are worse, because when I was Richard's CSM - I was at Headquarters behind the lines. Now, I could be anywhere at any time. So could you."

Kassi was listening quietly to everything that Patrick was saying. She too had been thinking it was perhaps time to get out, the stress of it all wasn't good for any of them. And she wasn't really overly fond of letting just anyone raise their little one's while they where away or at work. Chewing on her lower lip some as she thought of everything, nodding slightly at times.

"Richard always has regretted putting the service before his family. However, its all he's ever known, and he felt it was best to let his kids grow up in a stable environment with their grandparents. He didn't want to give up Starfleet, and it destroyed his relationship with Sarah - that took years to repair. He's got a good relationship with Panda, but now that he wants out - they won't let him out." Harper said. "With no state of emergency declaration in effect anymore, perhaps its time we considered pensioning out."

"I'll talk to Malone and get things set up on my part to see if I can get out." She thought a moment. "So... we going to stay in the new place or do we want to move back on earth someplace?"

"What do you want to do?" He asked.

"I don't know, I like our little home, but I'm sure Richard and Amelia would prefer we live someplace back on earth to make it easier to visit." Kassi replied with a slight furrow of brows, thinking about where to live once one leaves Starfleet hadn't been on the top of her things to think about.

"We've done what others have wanted of us, pretty much our entire lives. This is our retirement, our future. The place we want to raise our many children. I intend to breed you like a cow." He smirked. "Well... I certainly enjoy the breeding part anyway."

Kassi smirked a little. "I'm not sure my body will be able to keep up the two kids at a time.... The doctors are already concerned with this go round." Her tone kept light, as she hoped to tease him though this surprise. "So tell me... where would you like us to be when we leave here?"

"Together." He sighed, contently, as the pre-programmed painkillers were injected into his body. His eyes closed and he succumbed to the the drug.

At that moment, Dr Stevens entered the room, frowning. "We got a spike on his EKG stats, and the computer put him under. What did you do to him?"

Well dang if she wasn't frowning when the doctor entered, granted she knew Patrick was on pain killers and could doze off at times... She remembered how it was for her. But still!

Looking at Stevens as he entered with a shake of her head. "I don't know, we were just talking and next thing I know he dozed off. He didn't even respond when I told him my news!"

"News?" Stevens asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "It wouldn't necessarily be the shocking kind? You know, the kind that raises the blood pressure and heart-rate of a man who's just had emergency heart surgery?" He glared at her. "What did I tell you before you came in here?"

"Umm... well....." Kassi chewed on her lower lip a little. "How long will he be out?" She asked curiously, hoping to change the subject.

"About four hours, give or take." Steven said, checking the machine. "Just long enough to reduce the strain on his heart."

"So, I suppose I should go rest for a few hours myself then hmm..." She asked, although she knew the answer.

"You read my mind, Admiral." George said, and pointed with his hand that she should leave. "And next time, try not to kill your husband. I assure you, his life insurance isn't worth the hassle."

"Ohh... that's the last thing I want. But, I do have a favor to ask... you think you could give me a check up?" Remembering she'd had to promise to keep up with those in order to get the ok to leave from her original doctor.

"Pretty sure I can handle such a mundane task." He smirked. "Come on, we'll do it in your own room. I think you've done enough damage in here, don't you?"

Kassi sighed softly and nodded. "Yes... it seems I have." She said before turning to walk out with him.

= End Log =

Col. Patrick Harper

RAdm. Kassi Harper

VAdm. George Stevens MD