Touching Bases Part I
Posted on Mon Feb 2nd, 2026 @ 8:34pm by Sergeant Audie Fitch & Lieutenant Jayak Zek
Edited on on Wed Feb 4th, 2026 @ 9:13am
1,456 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Episode 17 - Going Home
Location: Office of Jayak Zek - Infirmary - Promenade Lower Level - Empok Nor
Timeline: MD002 1100 HRS
Audie really was a sight as she frantically pressed the buzzer on the door to Zek's office. Her mass of red curls were all askew, her eyes wide as she looked around, and strangest of all, she was wearing a hospital gown over scrubs-pants and little paper booties.
"Open up," she muttered anxiously, "let me in!"
The moment that Zek heard Audie's voice, he rushed over to his door to greet her. While he might have expected Audie, he did not expect her to be in a hospital gown or scrubs. Hurriedly, he ushered her in and made certain that the door closed behind her.
Finally deciding on his first words, he said, "Well, I know you're not escaping from the psych ward, because I did not put you there. So, perhaps you could explain your attire and why I'm apparently hiding you from someone in medical."
"You know how they are!" Audie muttered as she slunk down behind Zek's desk, keeping her eyes on the door. "They want to keep me, forever, I think! You have to hide me!"
Zek chuckled. "Is that a fact?" He moved to his desk and put his hand on Audie's shoulder. "Tell me more about these doctors that want to 'keep you forever.'" His voice was full of amused affection.
"It's Dr. Jeckle," Audie hissed, looking up frantically. "He's a real monster! And I think I'm just so awesome he wants to keep here there forever!"
At that, she stood and laughed, combing her fingers through her mussed hair, then shedding the hospital attire to reveal the civilian clothes beneath. "Didja miss me?"
Zek laughed heartily, as he approached Audie. "Well, you certainly have a way of keeping me on my toes." With that, he embraced the marine. "So, how long are you going to be staying here with us?"
"Dunno, but not long enough." Sighing, Audie shrugged. "Maybe a day or two, and I plan to make the most of it. So, did Buster behave himself? And I plan to ask him the same thing!"
"Ask away," Zek encouraged. "I think that you will find that he was well fed and thought that my chest or head was the best place for sleeping. I thought that you might want to talk to him about that when you came back."
"Honestly, you shouldn't trust what cats have to say," Audie declared solemnly, "especially orange ones with one eye!" She laughed, then sighed. "Do you have some free time? I want to do something that doesn't involve noises in my head, nightmares or bugs trying to eat me!"
Zek answered, "Not that I ever had a cat, because I grew up on Bajor, but I have always heard from other cat owners that orange ones have a screw loose. As to free time, I'm all yours. Perhaps you have noticed that I like to keep my schedule somewhat informal? So, barring another purple goo emergency, we can do whatever your heart desires. I am most curious to hear about your latest mission, as well."
"Well, it's appropriate for Buster to have a screw loose, since I'm the same way!" Crossing her eyes, Audie stuck her tongue out and made a face that lasted for a fleeting second, then laughed. "No goo, purple or otherwise! How about burgers and bowling?" Not that she'd ever bowled!
"You know," Zek started to reply slyly. "You should not stick out your tongue unless you're prepared to use it."
He took Audie's hand in his and said, "Burgers and bowling sounds great." Zek had bowled before but it was only on prior dates. He never had a lesson and bowling was not native to Bajor. He certainly had no ability to do it as a child of the Occupation. "Then again, so does spending time with you. So, what do you say about seeing if a holodeck or holosuite has some opening for that. We could eat before or after."
Zek then looked at the scrubs and observed, "I guess we will have to come back here at some point. Can't make Dr. Jeckle suspicious. I'm sure that you're only out of his clutches for so long."
"Ah, but there's the charm!" Audie grinned. "See now, you're a doctor, too, right? So I can be your patient and bowling is my therapy!" She had this all thought out, not that she was being stalked by the Pioneer's doctors, she just had a final check up appointment on the morrow.
"And, the good thing is that a proper bowling alley will have a questionable diner inside!"
The Counselor gave a short chuckle. "Should I add conniving and manipulative to your profile?" Zek asked with a mock musing voice. "It seems to me that you have planned all of this out, including what my potential responses would have been. I wonder if I am just that predictable...."
"No, no, not at all! I'm just that psycho...er...psychic!" Audie laughed and scooped Buster up. "Come on, let's go, I'm hungry, and I think Buster is going to like bowling!"
"As long as he is not the ball, he will like it, I'm sure." Zek gave Audie a smarmy glance. "It is that psychosis that kept you out of Starfleet Academy, rather than the marines, then?" he offered. "And I don't know how to feel that you are scooping Buster up rather than continuing to hold my hand. I suppose I will have to accept that I am always second." He snickered lightly as they walked to go bowling.
"Oh, he likes to chase balls," Audie explained. "Swat them into the gutter! As for my psychic abilities, something just told me that I was better off in the Marines." She laughed, then plopped Buster on Zek's shoulders and took his hand. "Better?"
"Significantly," Zek answered, though wondering why Audie deflected the question about her career choice. He looked to where Buster was and said, "Now, remember, I'm not a scratching post, just a friendly body to lie on. Ask your foster mom. She seems to fall asleep there too."
"Maybe because I'm part cat deep down in my DNA?" Chuckling, Audie gave his hand a light squeeze, wondering what it was about Zek that made her let her guard down, and wondering if that even mattered? She was having fun, she enjoyed being with him, and this was all letting her recover from the dreams and bugs.
"And don't worry, you know he won't scratch you, he just wants something warm and comfortable to cuddle with." She shrugged. "It's a cat thing, you know."
"Part cat, are you?" Zek wondered and then wondered further. "Which part would that be?" He chuckled lightly, squeezing Audie's hand back. It felt natural and he enjoyed the moments they were having together. "Do you have a holo bowling alley program or are we just going to have to hope for the best at a holosuite?"
"Hope for the best," Audie commented with a shrug, "and if not, overcome and adapt!" She was fairly certain that there would be some sort of bowling program, and if not, maybe shuffleboard, croquet, corn hole...they'd find something!
"As for the cat-me, well, I'd need to know you better to show you my tail!"
Zek's eyebrows raised at that comment. It seemed that they had crossed a threshold and he was not about to let it go cold. "Well, I always hope for the best. After all, I grew up with the worst. So, feel free to ask whatever you would like. Buster probably already knows everything important."
"Yes, but he'd never tell." Audie grinned, then looked up at him, more somber. "What about the worst? I try to think of that as part of the steps that led here, and here ain't so bad!"
"I'd say that here is pretty good," Zek told Audie with a sly wink. "I do tend to live more in the moment than dwell on the past. The only thing I want to have to do with the past is making certain it happens to nobody again."
"Well, then so long as there were no great bowling incidents, we're good!" Audie chuckled, not pushing for details. She understood that some things were best left where they were, and there was certainly no reason to ruin the mood.
A Joint Post By
Sergeant Audie Fitch
Corpsman Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Jayak Zek
Chief Counselor, Empok Nor
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