Recovery
Posted on Tue Feb 4th, 2025 @ 7:11am by Leiddem Kea (*) & Delaney O'Callaghan
Mission:
Shackles
Location: Betazed
Timeline: BACKPOST
2450 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure
This post takes place prior to the current mission.
When it was all said and done, there were worse ways to be cooped up.
As someone who had never really known a sick day in her life, Delaney harboured no disillusions about her graciousness when it came to being a patient, the very term describing quite aptly the one attribute she failed to possess with enough potency to ease her crankiness. As much as there had been nerves just prior to surgery, the procedure had been as straight-forward as she'd been promised and the recouperation for at least the first day had involved a lot of sleeping off the anaesthetic. The second day, though she'd been more alert, had still seen her somewhat lethargic, content to curl up and watch movies and use certain hyper-diligent boyfriends as pillows when the urge to nap became too much to resist. Sleeping that much was alien to the redhead, and having her contained to one place was likewise a new experience for Leiddem, who could at least draw some comfort from the newfound knowledge that she was capable of slowing down when it mattered. All the scans had shown promising improvement and a near-perfect correction of the minor defect; life was good.
Now, only part-way through the morning of the third day, Delaney found herself ruminating on the early stages of self-pity. It wasn't a comforting sensation and typically wasn't something she was prone to but it was also quite rare that she found herself under medically-enforced house-arrest whilst vacationing on a tropical planet that prided itself on its desserts. She'd been able to stomach a decent breakfast, which was a good sign and could only be improved by a familiar insistence on consuming a second one if she could get away with it, and had even managed to shower and get dressed. Being out of bed was a welcome improvement, but standing and staring out of the window of the out-patient apartment she'd been assigned had only reminded the human that she was wasting time. Betazed had always been high on her wishlist, even more-so since meeting Leiddem; another day stuck inside didn't sound half as appealing as the previous two had been.
Leiddem came out the shower and stopped dead just watching his girlfriend at the window just stood there watching who knows what out the window. He should have requested his mother make arrangements for them to recover at home but he had been unsure of how his family and her would get on. He should have not worried but you never knew and he did not want her to get overwhelmed whilst recovering and having at the very least his parents and youngest sister around. “Credit for your thoughts?” He offered making his presence known as he stepped further into the room rubbing a towel viciously through his hair in the an attempt to dry it.
"Just admiring the view from the wrong side of the window."
As much as she sounded a little forlorn, there was nothing insincere about Delaney's tired smile as she turned her head towards her freshly-washed protector. By now, Leiddem knew her well enough to anticipate what was coming next, which would mostly constitute a lot of bargaining and compromise as they found the line between doctor's orders and boredom-induced mania. To be fair, Delaney was ready to argue, they had been told that light exercise was important to recovery. Whether that permitted a day's-worth of exploration or not was open for interpretation but she was reasonably sure you could manage anything if you were determined enough.
"It's a beautiful day out."
The wistfulness in her tone as she turned her attention back to the window was not lost.
“Why don’t we have lunch outside?” He suggested trying to get her to rest as well as stave off the cabin fever she was most likely to be having. He knew that feeling when he had been injured in boot camp and had to recover by rescue. “We can take our books and movies out there after I am dressed and just chill out.” He suggested as a compromise wanting to keep her as happy as he could without risking her. “My sister did not say you could not go outside, just she could not do anything strenuous.”
"And what really counts as strenuous?" The tone of Delaney's query was a familiar blend of quasi-innocent speculation and impending deviousness. "Floating on my back in a swimming pool is practically the same as taking a bath, right?" Leaning against the wall beside the vast window, she certainly didn't look incapable of holding her own. Stamina was rarely an issue and it took an understanding of how very infrequently she ever slowed down to gauge her actual strength. The lack of bouncing around was telling.
Leiddem pursed his lips together as he thought through his options on whether it was worth the argue in trying to keep her safe in bed. He shook his head. “Fine. Go on.” He sighed, knowing she was right. She knew her limits and it was not down to him to decide on. “I will join you in a minute. I need to dress.”
"I can wait."
There was sacrifice to the compromise, of course, the exertion of patience that didn't always come naturally. As a niggling secondary consideration, there was also a slight trepidation to venture out alone, not because Delaney lacked the capacity to socialise independently but because, no matter how she might feel, there was no getting around the fact that she'd just had heart surgery. Pushing away from the wall, she moved to rummage through the pile of clothing dumped on the couch, a partial unpacking that had been left unfinished because neither of them had prioritised it, and pulled out one half of one of the swimsuits she'd brought. Ditching her robe to pull the pants on, she stood otherwise naked as she went searching for the top-half. She'd been prepared for a scar and was still pleasantly surprised that the incision was practically unnoticeable, visible only because it was still covered by the bio-tape protecting the freshly healed skin.
Leiddem raised an eyebrow at the way she held back and just waited until he was ready which took several minutes as he wanted to dry off his hair and pull on some shorts. He was not planning on swimming but he was going to at least sit on the edge and dunk his feet watching her enjoy a some semblance of freedom. “All ready?” He wondered quietly as he moved to the doors that would open up on to the swimming pool.
Like any self-respecting O'Callaghan, Delaney squinted the moment she stepped through the glass doors and the full force of Betazed's morning sun hit her in the face. Reconsideration saw her turn around immediately and emerge not long after with a tube of sunscreen and the ridiculously large hat she'd replicated perched on her head. Nothing would prevent the eventual appearance of freckles but she could avoid, at least, the inevitability of sunburn. "They weren't kidding when they said out-patient accommodation was designed to promote holistic well-being. This place is like a holiday resort."
"Most of the planet takes that approach." He commented with a smile as he watched her disappear and come back. "Pass." He instructed holding out his hand for the sunscreen with a smile. He was tanned and used to the tropical weather but he knew she would never be like that, she was not built like that.
"It's very pretty," Delaney confirmed, having eased herself into one of the poolside chairs to focus on lathering her legs. Though her attention was seemingly diverted by the task, there was a tell-tale hint of restlessness to her compliment that made her next comment entirely predictable, at least to someone who knew her well. "Everywhere is pretty. It doesn't stop being pretty." The wrinkle of a partially-freckled nose was delicate enough to be playful. "Surely somewhere there's an eyesore or two, it doesn't seem fair." And though she was teasing, Delaney was also quite genuine in her curiosity. Betazed was gorgeous from every angle and yet no place was without its warts. So far it had felt like she'd been given the tourist's version of what the planet had to offer and, if her dragon-hunting exploits were anything to go by, Laney had never been one to stick to the well-worn path when it came to sight-seeing.
“Oh goddess no.” Leiddem frowned a little as he slumped into his seat as he thought on best how to explain it to her without besmirching his homeworld. “There are massive areas still affected by the occupation. It is one of the reasons why the sons of Cheron as a political party have become so popular here as people do not understand why Betazed is still destroyed twenty years after the Dominion War whilst funds go elsewhere where and why the Federation keeps expanding.” Leiddem sighed softly at his words. He hated mentioning them after their run ins with the organisations.
"Have you ever visited anywhere like that?"
Now that they were outside, and the illusion of freedom was at least not something she'd had to struggle to obtain, Delaney was content enough for the moment to sit back in the lounge chair and just watch her boyfriend solemnly. Perhaps there had been a time when her interest in visiting Betazed had been mostly to experience the climate and food but now that people she cared about called it home, the shift in focus ran a little deeper.
“Mother helped in the refugees camp when I was younger. It was one of the reasons I became a marine.” He said quietly smiling at her as she shifted to look at him. He settled back on the lounger. “Mother took us all along as points so we knew how lucky we were.”
"It's hard to imagine what it was like." Having swung her legs onto the lounge chair, Delaney eased herself back and folded her hands over her bare stomach, staring up at the bright morning sun through the shade of her sunglasses. Betazed did a fine job of hiding its scars from visitors but, like most places Delaney had encountered since leaving Earth, there were signs of residual trauma if you knew where to look. "I still remember when Dad took me on a transport run to San Francisco, I was maybe eight? By then, I'd heard enough about the Breen attack to expect desolation and yet it was like nothing had ever happened. On the surface, at least." Looking across, she offered Leiddem a wry smile. "There's an awful lot of remembrance plaques."
“Earth was lucky compared to Betazed unfortunately, not to make it a pissing contest.” He said trying to lighten the mood that could quickly change thanks to the subject. “If you want to see the memorial or something I could take you there.” He offered. The memorial was beautiful and sad but it reminded him that that despite the Dominion taking over his planet there had been resistance and they had over come it all.
Gazing out across the pristine aqua water of the pool, Delaney eventually nodded. "We should visit. You're not wrong, as much as the people around me were preparing for the worst after the first attack, I didn't really get it at the time. I mostly remember being really annoyed that I wasn't allowed outside much." There were times when it was hard to remember that she'd been alive for the war. Very young but definitely present and, for the most part, totally oblivious. As much as it was reasonable for a preschooler to be spared the anxiousness of potential threat until it became a little more palpable, it was still difficult not to feel a little guilty in retrospect. Her family had made contingencies without any of the fuss that went with being forced to anticipate the worst.
"I also want to take you to the whispering monkeys." The man admitted wanting to share more of his culture with her seeing she had agreed to come to Betazed and get fixed so he did not lose her in the future. "It's an amazing sanctuary on the other side of the planet." He used to go there often as it was amazing to see these huge ape like creatures and hear the whispering that no matter how old you ever got you never knew if it was aloud or in your mind.
The slide of sunglasses down Delaney's nose revealed a pair of eyes brimming with fresh intrigue. "Please tell me that's a euphemism for something." It clearly wasn't but inciting innuendo was hardly a new talent. Snorting with laughter, Delaney conceded to common-sense and nodded. "As soon as I'm given the all-clear, we are out of here and onto bigger adventures. Whatever we can squeeze into the final week, anyway."
The man grinned at the fact he had all her attention and interest in the world he had grown up on. He knew she would love it once he got over his reluctance to bring her there where she could meet his family. But they loved Delaney and quite possibly more than him but that was standard; she fitted in better whilst he was reserved and not a girl. "What could it possible be an euphemism for?" He wondered looking back at her with intrigue.
Delaney held her hands up in surrender. "Don't ask me, you're the ones who actually have to designate that beaches aren't for nudists." Laughing, she sat up and squirmed to the end of the lounger, hesitated briefly as the distribution of weight nearly made it flip her off, and then rose up to wander over to the edge of the pool. With only the slightest hint of tentativeness, more the anticipation of potential discomfort than any actual pain, she lowered herself to sit with her legs dangling into the gentle-fragranced water. "You still need to show me some of baby Leiddem's favourite places too," she reminded, peering back over her shoulder with a grin.
“Not my fault you humans have misconceptions.” He grinned watching her sit at the edge of the pool and followed her, dangling his legs there. “I will. But you have to be fully healthy first.” He told her firmly repeating his new mantra it felt like. He leaned over and kissed her temple. “I love you my human and I want to show you my whole world .”
