Nurse Nightingale
Posted on February 13th, 2015 by Ilaihr

After his unpleasant conversation with Lieutenant Quinn; Ilaihr was extremely worked up and almost angry. He paced around the biobed mumbling to himself in every language, dipping between them; mixing grammars and syntaxes. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt as insulted as he did now, he was trying to think of a time just to calm himself down. A nurse eventually came by at the sound of the commotion, inquiring if he was alright.

"Mr. Ilaihr?" Her voice carried sweetly in the air. "Are you alright?"

Knowing he couldn’t address the lady with as furrowed a brow as he had, he took a deep breath and rubbed his head for a moment, stretched his antennae and tryed to give in to the teachings logic to quell his emotions. He finally turned around and mustered up a smile for her.

"I’m fine nurse." He replied hastily.
"Are you sure? Can I get you anything? A cup of tea perhaps?" She asked in a hopeful tone.
He wanted to say no, but the sound of the word tea had his anntenae perked up. "I suppose I cannot turn down a cup of Rosy Lee now can I? Yes please my dear."

She walked over to the replicator and ordered a cup of tea for Ilaihr; it appeared in the blue fizzle of materialisation, in an ornate looking faux china cup and saucer. She moved back over to the biobed, tea in hand, and was about to drop the forcefield, but stopped herself short.

"You wont try to escape will you?"
Ilaihr smiled at the question before shaking his head. "Oh, no. I have no problem with nurses, I just don’t like doctors very much. It wouldn’t be entertaining to escape if you dropped the forcefield."
"How do I know that you’re telling the truth?"
"I still think I can trick Doctor Slade, he’s youthful enough. Doctor Tav however is a Trill in his 140s; as a man in his 120s I can tell you tricks wont work. But at how his attention peeked at my mention of medicinal plants and herbs earlier, I may have a bartering chip." He smiled at her, sat down on the bed, and patted on a spot next to him. "Come, take a pew, converse with an old man."

She was hesitant, and rightly so, but she couldn’t help but want to believe him. She lowered the forcefield cautiously, passed Ilaihr his tea and slowly stepped in, eventually taking a seat next to him on the bed. They sat quietly for a moment as Ilaihr fondled the cup, warming his hands up before taking a sip.

"You seem to be quite annoyed about something. Would you like to talk about it?" She asked politely.
He sighed. "Oh I dont know." He paused, thinking about what to say, with a pained look in his eye. "As you can tell; I dont like sickbay. Never have you see… spent the first decade of my life in a laboratory. But I wont let fear be the only reason…of course. I suppose… I suppose I’m used to doing things my way… the way things used to be done. If you were injured, you got on with it."

"Yes, but you had fairly major surgery, especially for a man of your advanced years."
"That is not the point. Mr. Quinn accused me of wanting special treament, but the reality is I want proper treatment. I am not the number of years I have lived; I am the sum of the experiences and decisions made in those years. I am of no help in this room, but even sat firmly on a chair on the bridge I can atleast offer something."

"I understand your need to get back to work… But threatening to escape and arguing with your direct superior? That will get you in trouble…. Your already behind a forcefield…." She pleaded with him.
"I’m behind a forcefield because the doctors have a sense of the theatric about them, as well as the misplaced belief that they’re humourous. And why can I not threaten to escape? Keeps them on their toes, and the thought exercise is good for the mind" He laughed, noting the whole situation in sickbay hadn’t become serious until the lieutenant walked in. "As for Mr. Quinn…." He thought about the whole situation.

"What about him?"
Ilaihr sipped his tea. "I don’t quite know. I dont understand the root of his problem. He offended me today, and I am not a man often or easily offended. If I was, I would never have survived 80 years of trading and dealing with people; several of whom undoubtedly harboured ill-will towards me. But it’s not just about what he said, but how. I am… disappointed."

"What will you do?"
"I will continue to do my job. The same thing I have always done." Ilaihr finished his tea and placed the cup down beside the biobed, and smiled at the nurse. "I wont keep you any longer, nurse….?"
"Nightingale." She smiled back courteously before standing up and leaving the bed area, remembering to raise the forcefield before she left.

"Well nurse Nightingale; I shall remember to mention you in my memoirs." He began tapping a PADD on his hand. "I think I may start writing them…. there’s much to tell; I’ve been around for a while and alot has changed over the years…" He crumpled a number of PADDs together and started working whilst he nattered to himself.
Just ever so slightly bemused at the shifting thought track of Ilaihr, Nurse Nightingale smiled as she walked away to continue her work, chuckling to herself. "I hope it’s good things, Mr. Ilaihr."