Gonna be a Nurse

Sequel to this picture.

Silly little story under the cut.

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

He sighed. Shook his head and took a deep breath. “N…nothing. I care about you, that is what I am talking about! So much!” His eyes were still shiny because of the tears, that now had stopped. “Do not speak as if your life was…just…like any other. Because to me it is not.”

It felt like all the steam she’d been building up evaporated all at once. Joanna’s shoulders slumped and she frowned as she looked over at him. “I’ll be careful. I’ll be safe. I’ll try to avoid any conflict. That I can promise you.”

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

He shook his head, so lost, so unsure of what to do…and his heart loved her so much…so much…that even the thought of losing her was too much. Even if he wasn’t showing clear despair, tears escaped, he covered his mouth with one of his hands, turned away, as if panic was starting to rise. Khan had noticed her determination. He knew he wouldn’t be able to change her mind.

“If you only knew what I feel for you…” He was crying, his hair over his forehead. “If you only knew how you are making this harder!”

Jo’s brows furrowed, confusion crossing her face. What he felt for her? He was right about that because she just didn’t know. She didn’t know he felt anything for her besides annoyed most of the time. Joanna moved closer, hand stretching out to his shoulder. “Khan?” she placed her small hand on his shoulder, gently pulling him so he’d hopefully turn back to her. “What are you talking about?”

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

“Augments normally do not have mercy. They will kill you. Doctor or not. My family would never do that…but most the other ones would. My species is complicated. They are…revolted. Very revolted. You did not live the Eugenic Wars. It was not a war. It was a gathering of many massacres. I know you are strong, I know your ideals are beyond limits…that is why I love you so much, just promise me you will not approach a damn enemy augment if this war happens, promise me.”

He closed his eyes, breathed. Relaxed his arms, his hands far from her now. “You will not be seen by them as a doctor. You will be seen as an human. I already saw a war of the sort happen. I just want you to be safe.”

“Then I will die. Because if I see someone hurting and in pain I will offer my assistance. Every time. I cannot make that promise.” she couldn’t. It went against every part of who she was as a person. “I just... if it was you... I’d want someone else to do the same. I’d want someone there who upholds their Hippocratic Oath.” though nurses didn’t take the oath she still felt bound by it’s rules. By its meaning. “Do no harm.”

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

He sighed. “In a war…both sides get hurt. You cannot be on both of them, otherwise, both will kill you.” Khan approached, took hold of her face with both his hands gently. His eyes locked on hers as he approached more. “You have to promise me you will not risk yourself. You say you are a nurse and that you will act as such. Well, I am a super soldier and I do not act as one…and I like it that way. Augments in the whole world are revolted against the Star Fleet oppression against them. Almost 98% of the society voted for augments to be placed under constant observation…and nearly 86% voted for our exclusion from society… This time…it will be different. Different from the previous war, where many humans fought alongside augments to gain their freedom. This time…there are fanatics in both sides in a very high level. It will be humans against augments. No matter the outcome…I will protect you. I…am not promising I will succeed…but I will try because…if I lost you…”

He let go of her face. “When this start…they will call soldiers…doctors and nurses to attend to the zones of attack. Do not go. Promise me.”

Joanna took in a shaky breath as his hands met her skin, eyes closing for just a moment to center herself. “Nurses and doctors treat both sides. They always have. We don’t turn patients away and nobody has ever expected us to. This goes back well before the first world war.” 

“Can you stop shedding feathers in the shower? Or at least clean them up afterwards?”

“Sorry about my cat. she/he really, really likes feathery things.”

“Hold on, your feathers are looking a bit disheveled. Want me to straighten them out for you?”

“Can you actually… use those things?”

“Oh my god. You have wings.”

“How is this even possible?”

“Hey, what’s up with your back? You look like a professional olympic swimmer on steroids.”

“You flew for six hours? Come here, you’re getting a back rub.” 

“Did someone try and pluck a feather again? Are they dead?”

“What on earth happened to you? Have your wings been trimmed? Wh- are you ok?!”

“…Where are your wings? What happened to you?”

“So, like… do you just cut holes in your clothes and stuff?”

“Underwear must be confusing.”

So there has been a bit of “what if humans were the weird ones?” going around tumblr at the moment and Earth Day got me thinking. Earth is a wonky place, the axis tilts, the orbit wobbles, and the ground spews molten rock for goodness sakes. What if what makes humans weird is just our capacity to survive? What if all the other life bearing planets are these mild, Mediterranean climates with no seasons, no tectonic plates, and no intense weather? 

Human: “Honestly we can tolerate anywhere from -40 to 50 Celcius, but we prefer the 0 to 30 range.”

Alien: “……. I’m sorry, did you just list temperatures below freezing?”

Human: “Yeah, but most of us prefer to throw on scarves or jackets at those temperatures it can be a bit nippy.” 

Other human: “Nah mate, I knew this guy in college who refused to wear anything past his knees and elbows until it was -20 at least.”

Human: “Heh. Yeah everybody knows someone like that.”

Alien: “……. And did you also say 50 Celcius? As in, half way to boiling?”

Human: “Eugh. Yes. It sucks, we sweat everywhere, and god help you if you touch a seatbelt buckle, but yes.” 

“Yup, with blizzards you cant see through every other day just about.”

“Amazing! when did you manage to send drones that could survive such temperatures?”

“… well, actually…”

“… what?”

“…we kinda……. sent……….. people…..”

“…”

“…”

“…what?”

“we sent-”

“no yeah I heard you I just- what? You sent… HUMANS… to a place one hundred degrees below freezing?”

“y-yeah”

“and they didn’t… die?”

“Well the first few did”

“PEOPLE DIED OF THE COLD AND YOUR SOLUTION WAS TO SEND MORE PEOPLE?”

aka The History of Russia

aka Arctic Exploration

‘Yep.  Pompeii is legendary.  Entire cities went. Towns buried under lava, peoples’ brains boiled in the first rush of heat, loads more killed by falling pumice.’

‘ah, good, they learned their lesson and didn’t build there again.’

‘…well…’

‘Are you seriously telling me this volcano is legendary for killing several urban conurbations and you built on top of it AGAIN?’

‘In our defence it hasn’t actually done it since.’ 

‘What about earthquake-prone areas? Tell me you’re at least vaguely sensible about those.’

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

“I…I…” He flinched. “You are making things so harder… I will have to choose a side. Humans…or augments. If you just…tried to stay safe…it would be easier. But if you stay close or even fight for the Federation…you could become…a target. I do not want that to happen.”

“Again, I’m a nurse. Before I’m a Starfleet Cadet or a Terran or even a woman. I am a nurse. I take care of people. That’s what I do. I took an oath to do no harm. I do not fight, I heal. If this breaks out into a war the only side I’m going to be on is the side of the injured.”

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

He couldn’t help but to let a slight shy smile out as well. “I am not sure about what to say. Maybe just that…it is impossible to not like you.” His smile widened a bit, his eyes so sincere. “Jo…promise me that if things become dangerous…you will forget me and follow your own way, far from the danger…because…I know things will…worsen. Other augments were…found dead in last few weeks… Purists inside the Star Fleet…inside the Union of Confederated Planets…humans from Earth…have begun hunting augments like me. People, families that just wanted peace. Hate is starting to flow again…I can smell a conflict coming…and I am not leading it.”

“I’m never going to make that promise, Khan. I’m a nurse and a Starfleet Cadet. My entire life is leading me into danger. I’m not running away because you’re possibly going to be one of those dangers.”

Send me “It’s okay,” for my muse to react to your muse wrapping their arms them and telling them this

@jonursetobe

“There where…? You should stop worrying about me, Joanna. I can take care of myself. You should not have gotten so involved…”

“I believed you hated me after I used you to enter the Star Fleet Headquarters. You sure are interesting to behave otherwise.”

His eyes seemed rather surprised at her words. He was thinking. They narrowed a bit in sadness, but when a soft smile came out. “Thank you. Thank you for saying all those things. You…worry so much…thank you for that…”