Lt. Schrader woke in sickbay somewhat disoriented but able to vividly recall the events of the previous twenty-four hours. Something stirred in the shadows to the left of his position,
causing his breath to catch in his throat. Nurse Yahbo stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on his brow.
"You're awake.", she observed.
"Yes ma'am.", Schrader replied, pushing himself into a sitting position.
She looked at him disapprovingly. "You've been through a lot.", she said in a teasingly scolding tone, "You should rest."
Schrader smiled. "Ahm just fine, ma'am", he said, his bravado overcoming the dull, throbbing pain in his shoulder, "but I could do with some grub."
Nurse Yahbo's smile was just as he remembered. "We don't have anything here, but I can have something brought up.""Well", Schrader replied, seeing his chance, "I was kinda hopin' we could
get a bite ta eat together."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible.", she stated firmly, "I have to keep an eye on Lieutenant Scott, plus", she continued, "I'm already seeing someone."
Deflated, Schrader's eyes cast about the room uncomfortably, coming to rest on the plastic shroud that contained Number Two.
"How is he?"
She took a deep breath before answering. "He's stable, but we can't seem to bring him back to consciousness."
An uncomfortable silence followed as Schrader searched for something to say. He spotted his Space Fleet uniform on a chair nearby, cleaned and pressed. "I reckon I ought ta get back to work.",
he mumbled, reaching for his trousers.
"Certainly", Nurse Yahbo replied, turning to leave, "if you're feeling up to it."
"Yes, ma'am."
Schrader dressed in silence, stole a quick glance at the still form of Lt. Scott, and stepped into the corridor. He nearly bumped into Mr. Jeffy as he entered the hall.
"Hey Lieutenant", Jeffy said cheerfully, "feeling better?"
"Yes sir.", Schrader replied, "You heading to sick bay?"
The engineering officer shifted his feet uneasily. "Er... yeah", he stammered, "I gotta go...uh...check on Lt. Scott."
Schrader nodded his head. "Yeah, he don't look so good."
Mr. Jeffy nodded. "Well, guess I better go see him, huh?"
Schrader returned his nod, finding the officer's behavior a bit strange.
Jeffy began rubbing his hands together nervously. "O.K., see you later then.", he mumbled, stepping into sickbay.
Schrader had just begun walking down the corridor when he remembered that he'd left his flight cap in sick bay. He returned, and moved toward the bed. Passing the area that held Lt. Scott, he noted
the absence of Mr. Jeffy. He heard voices from around the corner, and approached quietly, nerves jangling in response to the chaos of the previous day. Turning the corner, he saw Mr. Jeffy holding Nurse
Yahbo in his arms.
"I missed you, Snooky-Poo.", she said looking longingly into the engineering officer's eyes.
Jeffy gazed up at her beautiful face. "And I missed you, Sweetie-Poochie-Poo."
