Out of Proportion - Buehler/Myne

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Evan would have preferred to be in his favorite hiding spot, one of the medical supply rooms tucked away in the corner of sickbay, to go over recent reports, but instead he was sitting at a station in plain sight, waiting for his next appointment to arrive. The Challenger had recently acquired a few new crewmembers, and the initial onboarding (at least as far as medical was concerned) was relegated to him. As much as he hated the paperwork that came with it, check ups for people new to the ship was important. Not only did it give them a sense of the person's overall health and well being, it was also a chance to make them feel comfortable so they wouldn't hesitate to return should they ever need treatment in the future.

While he waited, he decided to read, pulling up a report on a species he hadn't dealt with personally, Onlies.

[myne]

[ Ensign Myne | Sickbay | USS Challenger ]

Having not yet arrived at Deep Space Nine for the meetings and shore leave, but after the time on the bridge.. Myne hurried down to sickbay for the inevitable checkup. It was always a very uncomfortable situation, her brands.. her borg tech.. the scar on the back of her neck from the Bluegil, then everything else. Quickly she hurried around the corner and waved at the Lieutenant who would be handling her.

"Hello Sir!", she smiled brightly both pigtails bouncing. "Hope your well?"

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

With the patient due any moment, Evan skimmed over the extensive file of trials and tribulations suffered by this one and sighed. There wasn't much scientific info about the Onlies, making them what was essentially a walking, pint-sized enigma. And everything else that had happened on top of that, it was a lot for such a little body to go through.

The swish of the doors broke his focus, bring his attention to what looked like a young child adorned in an ensign's uniform. Evan didn't know what he had been expecting, but she was short. He couldn't help but smile at her greeting. "You can call me Buehler," he chuckled.

"You must be Myne. I was just going over your file. All in all, I don't see anything immediately concerning, which is good, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do a quick scan of your liver. But first, is there anything particular that worries you or that you want to bring to my attention?"

[myne]

[ Ensign Myne | Sickbay | USS Challenger ]

"Yeah I came on board 6'8" now i'm 3'4", have you happened to see where an entire nother me went Sir?", Myne giggled as she crawled and hopped and crawled and wiggled till she was up on the exam table. "Nothing overly concerning but if you want to scan no problem one second Sir."

On the table she wiggled a bit and with trained grace she slithered out of her uniform top and bottom sitting there in her sports bra and bloomers. Not that she needed a sport bra but uniform code blah blah she would think.

On her side over her liver was a black and white bit of Borg tech while visibly on her left thigh was a row of brands burnt into her skin. Six in total and each uniquely different.

"So yeah they don't want to remove it because replacing parts of my liver would be a pain do to my species ages one month every one hundred years. Better to leave it in then get me a new liver on a semi regular basis. Any questions for me Doc?", she smiled up at him.

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Evan blinked for a second as his brain took its time to process what had been said before letting out a hearty chuckle. "Sure thing, as long as you promise to let me know if you see my brain around anywhere." He took a deep breath in an attempt to refocus so he could get back to the matter at hand.

With great concentration he continued. "I was going to recommend another scan of your liver, as it's been sometime since the last one. But it looks like you're already of the same mind," he added, noting how the little ensign had already slithered out of her tunic. Although she had no need of it, he was glad that she wore a sports bra. Made things feel a little less awkward.

"I'm going to press my fingers against your abdomen around your liver before actually scanning it," Evan told her, pressing his fingers gently against the skin. "It helps me make sure the organ isn't enlarged or inflamed. It wasn't strictly necessary, but it helped him get a better, more nuanced feel of how healthy the liver was.

His eyes glanced over the brands, but as far as he could tell, they didn't impact her overall well being. "How long have you had the borg tech?" he asked.

[myne]

[ Ensign Myne | Sickbay | USS Challenger ]

Myne smiled at the counter joke, "Well if you had treated any Caitians one might have batted it under the couch?" She smiled at the relaxed tone and when the Doctor began poking she turned on her side arching her back to give a better angle for the Doctors prodding. "Fully understand Doctor"

With a giggle at the poke she listened about the questions with the Borg and straightened her back, sitting up when prodded. "Must assimilate Teddybears. All will join the cute-lective." She smiled leaning back on the table.

"No pain, nothing when poked. Save cold fingers Doctor. Thirty one years ago", she looked up at him. "Go ahead and ask about the brands... everyone does..." She closed her eyes laying back on the table.

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Evan blinked for a split second, trying to think of a good reply to her Caitian quip. "I guess I might have to speak with Lieutenant Mrekrerhas," he chuckled. "Your liver feels fine," he remarked, reaching for a medical scanner. "Now let's see if the machine agrees."

The young ensign's... no, Evan told himself... to call her 'young' felt like a disservice to her knowledge and experience. She was not a child and no doubt had witnessed more than he ever would. But her last remark made him hesitate. The way it was said so nonchalantly despite the deep sorrow oozing from the words.

"I had not intended to ask," he told her gently, his voice soft and caring. "Many come to me with tattoos or marks, most of which are sacred." Evan paused, searching for the right words. "Even scars that come from a painful place carry meaning, that one has survived in spite of the odds..." Gott im Himmel, he was starting to sound like his wife. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said. "But if you feel it will help, I am always willing to listen." 

[myne]

"Well if you keep complimenting my liver Sir, your gonna have to buy it a drink. Since I have Borg parts I can't process synthehol. So I will get smashed instantly..", she smiled up at him. "And as one owner said I get nuzzly when drunk."

Myne turned and shown her thigh. "Each is the brand of a different culture who enslaved me. The Nausicaan's, The Orion, The Kzinti, The Talarians, The Hydrans, Over my liver reminds me when the Borg owned me. The scar on the back of my neck was from a Bluegil taking me over. Gave him diabetes from how sweet I was. The only owner I truly have no brand from is the Choraii. But a bit of lung scarring from breathing there insides for so long. Each one reminds me of my weakness. But they also remind me to be strong. The Aldean's didn't technically enslave me, they only screamed 'baby!' and refused to release me", Myne chuckled so she wouldn't sigh.

"My colony after moving from planet Miri was attacked by Branchers.. or as you call them 'Crystaline Entities'. My only ever true love turned out to be a salt succubus. So yeah short of being impregnated by Gorn eggs I've had my fill of belonging to others. So I joined Starfleet. As I said on the bridge looking at the Cardassian as I scanned his transwarp signatures... I am not in the looking for another brand.. I'll run out of leg at this rate!", she smiled up to the nice Doctor.

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Evan reciprocated her good nature with a soft smile to keep himself from grimacing at the horrifying past related to him. Maybe it was the fact that he had two daughters of his own, but it pained him to imagine so many tragedies to have been afflicted upon one who appeared to be so young.

"I would be happy to buy your liver a drink," Evan laughed, "if you so desire." He was no betazoid, but he could still feel the sad, slightly defeated energy given off by the patient before him. Unsure of how to proceed, he offered the following: "I am grateful you have found your way to Starfleet. We are by no means perfect, but you should never have to worry about being owned again, or receiving another mark on your body without your consent."

[myne]

"Yeah well lets not. Otherwise I will be nuzzling a mugato in the morning..", she smiled weakly. "Doctor.. I have a odd question I want you to research. Something I saw when being a slave so much and seeing so many die of there age.."

She sighed, "In twenty thousand years I'll look like a human girl of around twenty one or twenty two. I know by then I could but I was wondering? Can I ever be a Mommy? What happens if I am with a human with a human lifespan? Can I even have children by a non Only? Sorry Doc it's just your the first one to not run and hide. So your stuck with the fun questions."

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

"As you wish," Evan laughed, "no alcohol for your liver." Only now did he realize he still held the tool in his hand, and that he hadn't even used it, distracted by the ever-shifting moods of the patient... and himself. He could feel the grief ebbing and flowing like waves and a sunny disposition trying desperately to keep the skies clear.

With a sigh, Evan resumed the task at hand, listening attentively as Myne continued to speak. Then she asked a question he never would have expected.

Could she become a mother? "I'm afraid to say I don't know," he replied, furrowing his brows. "Even in the best of circumstances that sort of thing is hard to predict. The federation doesn't have much data on Onlies, but..." he paused, trying to fish his thoughts out of the murky water. "But," he continued, "that also means there isn't any data to suggest that it is impossible. Barring that, it is always possible to adopt... though I can understand the joys of having your own flesh and blood; I have three of my own..."

The device beeped, indicating he had finished the scan, if absentmindedly. "Well, your liver seems to be fine for the time being," he told her. "But if I could ask a question..." he was almost afraid to ask, the topic being so awkward, even coming from a doctor, "... do you bleed? Uh, you know... the way women do?"

[myne]

"It would hurt me terribly to see them grow old and die as I do not change a bit for potentially longer then many of there lifetimes.. it's so lonely. But I do have Lieutenant Kyan. It's so rare for two Onlies to meet..", she said laying back as she stretched out on the examination table.

"So glad to hear about the liver, damn Borg implants make it so hard to drink anything strong", she smiled up to him.

"I am adopted... first by the nine mommies on Miri who all took care of us littles. Then by a family on Tarian IV... dead and I was enslaved. Then by a family on Valakis... dead and I was enslaved. Then by a family on Mimit... dead and I was enslaved. Then by a family on Hydra... dead and I was enslaved. Then by a family on Galen IV... dead and I was enslaved. Then by a family on Auren... dead and I was assemilated. Then lets not even talk about those child snatching Aldeans...... So yeah adoptions a thing..."

The device beeped, indicating he had finished the scan, if absentmindedly. "Well, your liver seems to be fine for the time being," he told her. "But if I could ask a question..." he was almost afraid to ask, the topic being so awkward, even coming from a doctor, "... do you bleed? Uh, you know... the way women do?"

She smiled up to the Doctor and nodded enthusiasticly, "Yes. Of course. I bleed when I cut my finger of when I skin my knee Doctor!"

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Evan couldn't help but snort softly out of amusement at some of the language used by the Ensign, language that would be unbecoming if she were as young as she looked. Oh Gott, he could just imagine the kinds of words that would come out of his own children's mouths as they got older, probably something in Vulcan (his wife wasn't exactly the most refined when irritated).

"Adoption can be a blessing, but even that has its downfalls," he sighed. It was his hope to inspire optimism in her, looking for possible back up plans should she not be able to physically conceive a child.

She smiled up to the Doctor and nodded enthusiastically, "Yes. Of course. I bleed when I cut my finger of when I skin my knee Doctor!"

He froze. Himmel Herrgott, errette mich... Evan couldn't tell if she was being serious; she said it in such a sweet, innocent way, her bright little face beaming like an angel. But surely she had to know how babies were... made? She was far older than her appearance suggested and it was more than possible that she had the knowledge, however, trauma tended to muddle the mind a bit.

He almost asked "do you know where babies come from" but was afraid he would be met with another ambiguous response. ScheiÁŸe, he was going to have to give the 'birds and the bees' talk. So, after several seconds of panicked stalling, he finally said, "Uh... I mean do you bleed down below, in your privates... it would be the body's way of saying it's capable of becoming pregnant..."

[myne]

[ Ensign Myne | Sickbay | USS Challenger ]

The Ensign shook her head, "I do not menstruate Doctor... but I am eight after all. Maybe in close to ten thousand years? Maybe less. I was just confused a bit on if I could. My parents during the plague. I never knew them as they died like right after my birth... But I was raised by my circle of Mommies till Jim Kirk came."

She then sat up pulling her clothes back on, "But hey Doctor I got to go. Gonna get to meet my roomate fully when we reach Deep Space Nine. Kyan was so brave on the bridge. May I go?"

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Evan sighed with relief at the fact that he would not have to explain the mechanics of how babies were made. But at the same time, he felt sad that she couldn't conceive a child that she clearly wanted to have some day. Adoption would have to be the way to go, and given her sweet, tender nature, he was sure Myne would make a great mother when the time came.

"Of course," Evan smiled, "you do not need my permission to go. And even in the dire circumstance that you desperately need medical attention, I cannot force you to stay. There's a little something called 'AMA', code for leaving 'against medical advice'. But don't let anyone know I told you that." He winked jovially.

[2 days later]

After a couple days spent on DS9, Evan was glad to be back on the ship. His presence wasn't required for the mission planning. And besides, there was someone more important who needed someone to talk to.