milliways_bar | (no subject)

"Good morning, Nightbird," a voice says in her ear. Barry seems to have come out of nowhere this one.

"Hmmm...I need to think of a name for you." She doesn't even jump this time.

Well, not that much. "Good morning."

"Name? I'm already Flash. Isn't that enough?" He says this with a smirk as he settles in next to her.

"Am I right in thinking you fairly well last night?"

"But that's what everyone calls you. Shouldn't I have my own?" He is kissed.

"And yes--I slept very well last night."

"Welllll...I guess so." He flashes a smirk and kisses her back.

"It's nice to see you sleep, you know. It's...calming, seeing you there, even when you're asleep."

"I like being there. And you're the best sleep-aid I've found."

He blushes a bit. That is something that is probably never going to change.

"You know, you are always welcome. Even just to talk, or nap, or hide from the Bar."

"I think I'll take you up on it." She gives him another kiss before turning her attention back to her notes.

"Before I came up, last night, I assisted a man named Greg House, who has the illness. He's turning into a dog."

"Jesus Christ," Barry mutters. Shakes his head. And unconsciously grabs Sara's hand.

"What were you helping him with, poor man."

[ooc: sorry for the delay - work might be sporadically busy]

[ooc: Not a problem--I was busy myself.]

"He couldn't hold anything in his hands--they were paws--and so I helped him drink some water. He was very dehydrated. I gave him some painkillers, but the effects are so temporary."

"Lord. I hope and pray that Alanna is right and that the mission she's going on is a success, and fast. That sounds so utterly humilaiting." And now Barry reaches into his pocket and pulls out his badge.

"Which reminds me. Alanna posted a note in the office, saying that she's helping to find something related to the cure - thus the mission - and that she's taking Archie. Leaving me on active duty again. With the disease my prime concern."

She nods. "I hope she and the others are successful."

"We don't know how the disease is transmitted or even how the symptoms will vary from person to person. I'd recommend quarantine procedures but it's too late for that, now."

As Barry pins on his badge, he considers things.

"I don't think it's highly contagious, since I can't account for a huge number of cases. And it has something an incubation period, if my exposure to Stephanie's sneezing last week means anything. So if nothing else, the general population of the Bar has time.

"But there might be patrons who came down sick and have stayed in their rooms, without knowing about the larger outbreak. Stephanie even told me she was sure it was all a hallucination. So our data set might be insufficient.

"Aside from House, Tim, Stephanie and Officer Sun, do you now of anyone who's ill?" Barry's voice has gone academic. Whatever fear or anguish or anger has faded into the scientist taking over.

"No one I know personally, but considering that there are expeditions leaving to find the cure, I'd say there's a fair portion of patrons."

He sighs, even the gears turn.

"Makes sense to think that, yes. Though it would help if I could track down Lady Ako. Guess I'll have to turst that Alanna wouldn't go on a wild goose chase without knowing who's doing the sending.

"And in the meantime, we keep watch. I've recruited Naraht to help, by the way. She wanted something to do, to make herself feel more useful. And I can't think of a better person than an Starfleet officer."

"Good--I meant to find her yesterday. I'm glad she's decided to stick it out for the duration."

She sighs. "I blame myself for this--I commented to Murphy a while back that things were quieting down. I should've known better than that." She isn't serious but she's trying to lighten the conversation.

"And come to think of it, I warned you about that as well. Clearly, it is your fault. I think you should never speak again. Should only communicate by gestures and notes, and let me and Murphy do all the talking for you." He smirks.

"You know something? I will still maintain that the Bar at its worst is nothing like home for me. No Rogues. No alien invasions or squabbles with teammates. No budget cuts."

She only nods. And smirks.

Ah. Looks like she's playing along.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to go all Bogey on you and suggest that I do all the thinking for both of us. I can barely think for myself some days.

"Oh. I should mention that I also got Naraht a Rubik's Cube, to help her develop hand-eye skills with something less mindless than a video game."

She's still smirking.

"I wonder how long it will take her to solve the puzzle. For that matter, I wonder if he'll take it back to the Enterprise once this is fixed. I'm sure Spock couldsove it easily. But I'd love to see the rest of the crew take a crack.

"Assuming that McCoy doesn't come here and hit me for giving the crew repetitive stree injuries." Barry is not going to blink.

She shrugs, her expression saying what do you expect from a doctor?

"Well, if he does come, it's my fault, yes. But I'm sure I can explain everything.

"And I still owe him a drink from the war. Never mind that I still owe Simon Tam a drink and I never get to meet him!"

You would be surprised how easy Barry thinks this is. For now.

She nods, returning her attention to the ~~chickenscratch~~ pile of notes before her. Every so often, she raises her head to indicate she's still listening.

He smiles at her. He tries not to, but he does.

"Anything else in those notes of note?"