Did you Hug a Grump Today?

Posted on Fri Jun 20th, 2025 @ 1:45pm by Lieutenant Endymion Tox & Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus

1,888 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Preservation Instinct
Location: Sickbay | USS Ontario
Timeline: Just before leaving Space Station

ON:

Endymion Tox walked into the sickbay and smiled. He bounced on the balls of his feel. "Well aren't you a sight!" He said to the sickbay. "Knock, Knock, Knock, Any doctors here?"

"No, we only have cooks here. You are going to have to go find Sick Bay." Aaron called out from his office. He had no idea who the hell was in Sick Bay now. Fact was he didn't care so long as whoever it was left.

Tox followed the sound of the voice a smile curving his face. He found the office and stood in the doorway. "Most Excellent!" He clapped his hand. "I have yet to eat lunch so I will take a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup oh! And a chai latte."

He chuckled. "You must be the delightful doctor Aaron Marcus. Your picture in the manifest doesn't do you justice." He walked in as if he owned the place and held out his arms. "Say hello to your Head Nurse!"

Aaron raised an eyebrow in the Vulcan fashion. This was indeed a strange turn of events. "I am sorry you were under the impression that this was not a prison. There you are wrong, so for food all we have is bread and water. As to you being the head Nurse. That cannot be right, I ordered something in the female persuasion."

He snorted. "Well you got the whole house. I was a female a few times. Joined Trill at your service, and I know you can't tell cause of my .... lack of spots on all the visible places but here I am. You must have been a good kind and loving doctor for the Gods to give you me." He sat down. "Bread and water are good. Do we have any flavored oil for dipping?"

Aaron rolled his eyes deeply. Of all the goddamned luck. I get a Trill with a slug for a nurse. he thought and sighed heavily. "No, nothing for dipping. If you are the Nurse the surgical bay could use a good sterilization. I will be in my office. Do not bother me even if someone is dying. In fact talk to you never." He turned to head toward his office.

"Doc, wait." He stopped the man. "I will get the sickbay cleaned but I do have a question for you."

Aaron's shoulders slumped. He wanted nothing to do with this person or anyone else for that matter. With a heavy sigh he turned to face the nurse and leaned on his cane. "Before you ask your question, you need to know something. This is to apply for any and all dealings with me. I am not here to make friends, I do not want friends. I do not view this crew or anyone in Starfleet as family. In fact if I had my way I would not even be here. So, before you speak to me ask yourself a question. Does Dr. Marcus give a care?" He paused for a moment to allow what he said to sink in and so that Endymion would understand that this was no joke. "Now, with that in mind. What is your question?"

"Aren't you going to medically clear me? I know that I'm just on clean up at the moment but still need clearance to clock in and...I could use a doctor...self diagnosis is not fun when you're in medicine and you know that your guesses can be fifty shades of messed up."

Aaron pantomimed as if he dipped his fingers in a bowl of water and made the sign of the cross in the methods of old priests. "In the name of the Admiral, the Captain, and the Holy Vulcan I deem you clear for duty. Let the angels sing." He followed this comment with actual signing of Hallelujah. Without any further words he turned to leave and head to his office again.

Endymion laughed. "Oh my Gods of the Galaxy! I LOVE YOU!" He trailed after him. "Seriously though as amazingly fun as that was I totally should get scanned." He sighed. "Look Doc..." Suddenly when he spoke again there was a clear vulnerability to his tone. "I have had some medical changes and while I can guess ... I really should have it checked. You are...well from your record an excellent doctor so I kind of waited until the transfer was complete to talk to you about this. I know you have a good grasp of joined Trills."

There it was, if Aaron had a kryptonite it was this. He could never pass up the chance to look at a new illness, or cure an old incurable on. He exhaled sharply. "Damn..." Aaron whispered more to himself than anyone else. A moment later the nurse sat on a bio bed and Aaron and the scanners humming with life. "Now, what do you need to talk about." He said as he stood next to the bed with his arms crossed.

He sighed. "Now I'm no expert...and I did kind of sleep through most of the Symbiosis lectures..." He said sheepishly. "I was never supposed to get a slug but here we are. Any whoooozyyyy even I know that if isoboramine levels dropped below 40% then it's lights out for the host and the slug gets a new identity." He paused and dramatically said. "I wanna liiiiiive!!!!!!"

"Seriously? Not even a chuckled." He sighed again. Bad jokes and overacting were his mechanism when he was nervous. Tox continued, "My levels have been....fluctuating. Not danger levels but like down a few points and constant...lowest it hit was just before our ship was disabled at 89%. At that point though we'd been up for like 72 hours straight treating wounded so could be that but...it's been in flux for a while and I didn't have the most...comforting joining. Granted I was joined since just before my first year at the academy and waaaaaay younger then any Trill so if I were to get infected from then it would have already been lights out but..." He tended to ramble when nervous and he let his words trail off. "I mean the levels are the most concerning of the symptoms."

Aaron retrieved a medical tricorder from the cart and began to scan. "Well a lot of things can go wrong when one takes a parasite into their body..." He knew well that the symbiote was not viewed as a parasite, however, by medical definition it was and no one would convince him otherwise. "However, it is possible that it could be nothing, it could also be your body rejecting it." He paused speaking as he looked at the initial results of the scans. "It seems at the moment you have a fever but your immune system is not focused on the symbiote. You have a slight case of iridian flu which seems to be moving into your sinuses. It is possible that you picked this up while en route to the Ontario. That said the issue could still be with the symbiote. We will have to cure the flu and then re-evaluate. For now I am going to give you antibiotics to fight the flu and we will go from there. If things get worse let someone else know."

Tox smiled. "Okay. That's a logical step. The parasite is more problems then it's worth trust me. If I'd had a real choice in this ..." He sighed. "Okay, antibiotics. That will help." He paused and then prepared to ask something most Trills would never ask. "Can I ask you a complex Medical question?"

"Despite my best efforts it is what I am here for." Aaron said with little to no emotion. As he spoke he updated the medical records and replicated the appropriate medication.

"Our ... people believe that once a host and parasite are separated then the host will not survive. It's something crammed down our throats since we're young. BUT our commission has lied about things such as not every Trill can be joined. It's a panic thing. Can....a parasite be removed with the host staying alive?" A sudden shock of pain shot through his abdomen. He closed his eyes and let out a pained moan. "Alright! Alright you ungodly parasite. I won't remove you I'm just... getting information."

Tox looked up. "It's...rather a nasty parasite. Mind of it's own despite linking with mine."

The fact that Tox referred to the symbiote as a parasite intrigued Aaron to no end. That was not something any Trill would do. It was for this reason that Aaron took the request with more sincerity than he had earlier. "Is it possible for a host to live yes it is. In fact there are records of it. However, the host survival depends upon how long they have been joined. Like most parasitic relationships the parasite needs the host, but the host does not need the parasite. That said there comes a point where the parasite has integrated so well into the hosts systems that removal would create a sense of system shock which could lead to death."

He sighed. "Listen Doc...Thanks. I really am grateful for your help. I... read your work on Bendaii Syndrome & Dementia....one of my host's previous spouses died of Bendaii and well the parasite has been obsessed since but as a Nurse it's something that interested me cause one of my former CO's...a woman who was like a mother to me also had Bendaii and died. I'm... happy that people like you exist who are working to find a cure. I know that on Vulcan you were hoodwinked but don't give up, okay." He hopped off the bio bed. "I really am happy to be working with you an thankful for you taking the time to look at me as well." He smiled and then, all of a sudden, Tox gave a the doc a brief hug pulling back quickly.

Aaron never liked to be touched, it was a side effect of what happened to him with the transporter. However, he knew that the nurse did not know that. As a result he stiffened and did not return the hug. When Tox released all Aaron did was nod. That is the closest thing anyone would get to a smile. For the moment it seemed that Aaron could welcome this Tox to his team. He always preferred to have a team of medical professionals to bounce ideas off of as he worked his differential diagnosis.

He grinned. "We'll I will leave you to your work." He headed out prescription in hand. "You have the best sense of humour I've seen in a while. Honestly I needed a laugh today. I can tell it's going to be fun working with you!"

Aaron picked up his cane and hobbled into his office without another word. To him that was perhaps the oddest interaction that he had in quite some time. Coming from Aaron Marcus that was saying something.

Smiling, Tox headed off to work feeling like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. For the first time his anxiety about a new place lessened a lot.

====

Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ontario

&

Lieutenant Endymion Tox
Head Nurse
USS Ontario

 

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