#crispyghee

"Yes, actually. Been trying to track down a virus on the ship between research and testing. Was wondering if you could help."

"A virus? You'll have to be more specific than that," she said, crossing her arms while he inhaled sharply. 

"Any cases of scale itch? Originally contracted from-"

"Varren, I know," she said, standing up. A hint of a smile played on her lips at the way he had stopped in his tracks. She picked up a datapad on her desk. "The last time we were on shore leave at the Citadel, Hawthorne had a run in with an asari who had it. I don't even want to know where she got it from but none the less-"

"Prescribed ointment and regulatory cooling. Smart," he finished, eyes on the datapad. His eyes flicked to her, squinting slightly. "No patient-doctor confidentiality?" a hint of amusement in his calculating voice.

Chakwas just grinned. "Ah, I think I can indulge in a little bit of medical gossip with a fellow doctor. Some of the things this crew does is too...hilarious to keep to myself."

Mordin kept his eyes narrowed, bringing a hand up to his chin before cracking a smile. "Like the way you think. You're not like other Cerberus crew. Know much more about 'aliens'," he air quoted the term. 

"Oh, because I'm not Cerberus," she said pointedly, sitting back down and waving for him to take a seat as well- he declined, just leaning back against a bulkhead. "I've worked for the Alliance for however many years, and the most recent have always been with the Commander. Even before she recruited her ragtag group of aliens to defeat Saren, I had done many years studying alien physiology in my free time. Mostly out of curiosity."

"Interesting..." he said, eyes roaming before going back to her. "Have always worked as a military doctor, then?"

She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Yes. I can still fire a gun, but most of the time I only use it to threaten the soldiers who don't want to take their medicine or sit still for treatment. Though, I've tried avoiding it recently. Some of them just need gentle prodding."

"Would use the gun more, myself. Helped in the clinic, however..." he sniffed. "Did not have much military."

"Yes. Stubborn bastards, aren't they? They take a shot to their arm and still want to jump back out and go punch someone in the face."

Mordin just made a thoughtful sound, eyes scanning the medbay. "Do you...do any research while waiting? Must be boring."

"It's enough to monitor the squad's health while they're out on missions, and then answering any questions or treating the crew of the ship. Mostly, just making sure everyone is okay is enough to keep my happy-"

"Hey Doc, you might want to get to the air lock. Shepard just got back from her stint in batarian space, and she doesn't look too good," Joker's voice rang over the intercom. 

Chakwas was already out of her chair and stuffing a field bag with the necessary medical supplies. "On it. How bad?"

"Well-"

Chakwas heard a, "I'm fine, Joker," from the tired voice of the Commander, more distant from the intercom microphone. 

"And you know what that means," the pilot mumbled before turning off the connection. 

Walking out the door she tilted her head at the salarian, who had been smiling as he observed her. "It was a nice talk. Professor. I would love to continue it, but-"