Grief Stricken & Furious

[DrDMatthews 0]

Russ Eckert approached and waited quietly as Debbie reviewed the latest printout on Ensign Gerb. The young officer was healing quite nicely and the CMO was pleased with his progress. Now, if there was only a way to turn off Gerb's continuous babbling.

 

      "How did it go?" asked Debbie. She was referring to the private viewing Dr. Eckert had arranged for Lt. Glendal. Glendal was one of the few survivors of the Cairo disaster and she had a very close personal relationship with her now deceased Captain. Debbie had planned to attend the viewing but she was detained in Sickbay.

      "I suppose it went all right."

      Debbie glanced at Russ. "You suppose?"

      The red haired doctor shrugged his shoulders. "It was different. I've never been to a Caitian funeral or viewing or whatever you call it. Captain S'erio looked just fine but his girlfriend was pretty upset."

      "What did you expect?"

      Eckert shifted uncomfortably. "I can tell you what I didn't expect. I wasn't prepared for that howling."

 

      Debbie looked away quickly and tried not to laugh out loud. "Howling?" she asked, barely able to say the word.

      Russ nodded and lowered his voice. "Remember those cats that lived in the alleys behind the Academy dorms?"

 

      The CMO took a deep breath and met Eckert's gaze. She remembered the cats all too well.  No matter how often the animal control folks attempted to round up the strays, there were always dozens of cats in those alleys. A lot of cadets adopted them as unofficial pets. Therefore, the felines never went hungry and they had no desire to find alternative housing. Why move on? They had a good thing going at the Academy.

 

      For the most part, the cats were quiet and unobtrusive. There was only one small problem. They had a bad habit of fighting at the most unholy hours of the morning. Debbie couldn't begin to count the times she was awakened by that gawdawful howling at 3:00 or 4:00AM. If that's what Lt. Glendal sounded like, then she could sympathize with Eckert. Debbie wouldn't have been prepared for that sort of thing either.

 

      The CMO couldn't help chuckling. "That bad?"

      Russ shook his head. "Worse!"

      Debbie took another deep breath. "I'm sure she was grief stricken."

      "Grief stricken and furious."

      "Furious?" What was she angry about?"

      "She didn't know about the wife and kids."

     

      Debbie felt her heart sink to her feet. "How did she find out?"

      Now it was Russ's turn to draw a deep breath. "Before the viewing, she told me she wanted to claim the body. She planned to take Captain S'erio to her hometown and bury him there. I advised her to clear that with Starfleet. If S'erio had blood relatives, they might have legal rights to the Captain's remains. She seemed to think he didn't have any relatives."

      "And how did she find out that he did?"

      "It wasn't from me," replied Russ quickly. "Another of the survivors must have told her about the wife and children shortly before I arrived to take her for the viewing."

      "Who would have known about the Captain's family?"

      Eckert looked directly at Debbie. "A couple of people from Ops survived. They may have known."

      "That's possible," said Debbie as she started to walk toward her office. "And it really doesn't matter. She had to find out sooner or later."

     

      The two physicians walked silently across Sickbay. As they neared Debbie's office, she looked up at Russ. "Did you give her the flag?"

      He smiled sadly. "I tried to. She wouldn't take it."

      Debbie nodded slowly. She could only imagine how Glendal was feeling....hurt, angry, betrayed. But that was now. Who knew how the Lieutenant would feel tomorrow or the next day. In spite of everything, she'd once loved S'erio and those feelings could easily resurface in the near future.

 

      "Hang onto the flag, Russ," said Debbie softly. "And don't be surprised if she changes her mind about taking it with her."