Healing the Visible.

Posted on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 @ 11:54am by
Edited on on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 @ 11:58am

1,186 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Emerald Road
Location: Sickbay

JUST PRIOR:

Acacia gasped in a very painful but needed breath, and pushed herself up to a semi sitting position so she could try to get breath in through a swelling throat. Coughing violently, she tried to slow her breathing by inhaling through her nose, which only worked a little bit. That could have gone much much worse, and she shivered as the adrenaline left her. Gingerly she touched her throat and then the side of her face and winced both times at the tenderness of the flesh. Sickbay was going to be her first stop.

Finger marks were rapidly bruising onto the pale soft flesh of her throat and breathing was exceedingly difficult when she arrived in sickbay. The world was still a little greyscale because of the lack of oxygen. She didn't have enough voice to call for help- so instead she got herself to the nearest biobed and hit an assist/alert button.

Xavier walked into the main floor space when he heard the chime sound, even though he was the CMO it didn't exclude him from assisting and he liked to help out when ever he could, even in the mundane things about being a doctor. He saw Acacia, hard to forget her with hair such as hers but that was not what caught his eye next. The shocking bruises to her face and neck. "Acacia, what on earth happened to you?" A heavy voice and worry and concern.

Her vibrant hair was still mussed from the bed, and her bright blue eyes locked with his. Trying to speak only ended in a paroxysm of coughing. She shook her head clutching the biobed in an attempt to stop coughing.

"Hey, easy now, easy." Xavier grabbed a medical scanner and scanned the wounds, they were consistent with strangulation, blunt force. "Acacia, who did this to you?"

"Was....an accident..." she forced out "fix...and ill explain."

Xavier began working on the wounds, neck first so that she could explain, he'd be interested to know who would do this to her and one of his medical staff.

The tension abruptly left her the moment that the swelling had gone down enough that she could breathe. "Thats better...." oh her voice was hoarse, she'd sound sultry for a few days that was for sure.

"What happened?" The bruising was fierce so it happened a while ago or was very recent and powerful.

"Ive been seeing Colonel Frost, socially." her cheeks colored just slightly "I made the mistake of startling him awake out of a PTSD induced nightmare. Ive been trauma trained so i should know better than to do that. I just....was half asleep myself."

"He did this to you?" Xavier knew Jack was a marine, as such he was a powerful and strong individual but had not seen his prowess first hand but this was something else, something..terrible.

"It was an accident. Yes he grabbed me, and struck me once. He said...I'm not so easy to kill slaver... in this tone of utter rage" she shivered, distressed at the situation he must have endured. "I'm really fair skinned, so I bruise terribly easily."

Xavier had known from others in his medical past the dangers of waking others during a nightmare sleep cycle, especially those who had seen combat and all the dirty up close traumas that came with it. "Where is he now?"

"The marine office, I would imagine. He was almost fully awake when I ...when he left me. He was devastated. Ill never forget the look of utter desolation he had in his eyes." She chewed on her lower lip, showing her distress about that simple look.

"You know I have to report this?" Xavier spoke. Not that he wanted to because based on what she had told him it was an accident but still, any assault had to be reported.

"Yes I know you have to tell the Commander." Her whole demeanor was sad as she looked up at him.

Xavier finished doing the required paperwork for an assault though made sure to repeat several times in his write up that it was accidental. "So, the Colonel hmm?" His tone meaning more that he was surprised she was with Jack than what he'd done.

Chuckling low in her throat she leaned back on the biobed. "Yeah. Started on the array. Was supposed to be a one off, but it didn't end up that way....I'm...rather taken with him if i may be honest."

"A tall order Acacia, hes a rather big Marine and if memory serves you are the first in a considerably long time. I think you have discovered that hes got demons of his own, are you sure you want to pursue this? I don't want you to get hurt again." Xavier spoke as he leaned against the bio bed next to her.

"Everybody has demons Xavier. That doesn't mean they aren't deserving of affection." The look of devastation in his eyes crossed her minds eye again and she spoke more quietly "No-one, has ever made me feel like he does. I can be more careful, but he can no more help his PTSD than I can help breathing. Combat does that to people. That doesn't mean I cant try to help. Its been a long time I think since he opened up to anyone. I want it, to be that someone."

"You really are taken with him." Xavier smiled. He was always happy when someone finds love he himself was fortunate to have a fine woman himself. "So how is it that you managed to bag yourself one of the toughest marines on board?"

"Though i don't know if he feels the same way..." eyes flickering away from Xavier's, she continued " I wasn't hunting him. He found me actually. I was having a drink on the array, all my friends had to leave and when they did and he sat down next to me."

"Well, why not ask him?" Xavier spoke. "Sometimes being straight forward and direct is the best approach to take things." He sat there thinking of how himself and BJ got started and the things done since then.

She nodded to acknowledge his point. "I had been planning to go there and make sure he was okay after..."

"Well, you are going to be sore for a while, tender in some spots and might have some vision blur in that eye but you should be fine." Xavier explained as he put the tools from his coat pocket away. "It will take me a little bit to write the report so you should be able to speak to him before the Commander reads it."

"I figured" she said as she examined the lingering bruise around her eye. Her hand fell to his elbow and squeezed for a moment "Thank you Xavier..."

"Better go see him, hes probably kicking up a storm of self loathing and stewing."

She nodded slowly, and slid off the biobed. Her resolve returned to her eyes as she then walked with her chin high to the Marine deck.

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