Bye, Darling

Bye, Darling
January 2018
Sydney, NSW, Australia
The next morning, Jackson takes the bus to a relatively far grocery store; stares at the flower arrangements for half an hour before tracking down a bored employee at the help desk.
"It's still polite to bring gifts to hospital people, ay?" he asks.
"So far as I know." The employee flips the page of their magazine. "I like flowers, myself."
"Yea, I know that much."
The employee finally looks at him, picks up on something, and sighs. "C'mon."
They end up before the bouquets. 
"Pink's not bad."
Jackson shrugs.
"Good friend? Acquaintance?"
"Uh, friend."
"Uh huh." The employee studies the arrangements. "They okay?"
"Gonna find out."
The employee picks out a small bouquet. "Not too understated but not too big to get in the way."
"'s not bad."
"I'll ring you out."
"Thanks."
.
"G'morning," says Jackson.
"'morning," greets the nurse.
"Is Cadet Darling up for visitors?"
The nurse checks the computer. "She's gone, sorry."
"Gone?"
"I worded that badly. Cadet Darling was transferred last night."
"Why?"
The nurse studies him.
Jackson looks down.
"If medical files weren't confidential, I would tell you she's in Anchorage for treatment with Doctor Lightcap."
"Does anyone know what happened yet?"
The nurse shakes their head. "Sorry."
Jackson offers the flowers. "There, uh, anywhere for these?"
"Almost match Bed Seven, thanks!"
.
Andrea and Chantell are upside-down on the couch when he returns to the Vulcan quarters.
"Th' hell 're you two doing?"
"Trying to get blood drunk," giggles Chantell. "So I can muster th' courage t' tell ye what I draf'ed th' mornin'."
"What did ye write?"
"Think may'e ye shoul' sit up," suggests Andrea.
"Nguyen, what did you write?"
"Tha's a good idea." Chantell topples over, falls off the couch. "Wha'd I write?" She wobbles [upright]. "Four memos, six reminders, fifteen calls 'cept I guess I made those—called those?—a non-disclosure agreement, and, uh, right! Permanent transfer request on behalf of one Charlotte Darling to Anchorage. O! 'n then I got an order from Command to classify all related files which meant writing that non-disclosure agreement, making half a hundred photocopies, 'n getting a bunch of Drift nerds 'n Medical folk to sign it. So yea, talkin' to people! Which I was supposed t' do which I'm doing now but I'm not supposed t' do so pretend we never had th' conversation."
"'re you drunk?"
Chantell grins. "I may have broken into Dad's—I mean," she puffs up, "th' Marshal's—uh, bottle place 'n then broken into th' bottle and had a bit. A bunch—"
"It's nine A.M.!"
"Do ye—" She blinks. A lot. "Ye guys dunno how scary y' are, 'specially when it's bad news 'n I was coming here 'n ...." She swallows. "'n now I should be [going 'cause ..." She sways to her feet. "Stuff."]
"Should you lie down?"
Andrea nods furiously.
"I'll get upi some water." Jackson goes to the sink, swallowing. "Thanks."
"Thank you!" [Chantell falls back onto the couch.] "Oof. Awesome couch is awesome. Why's he thanking me?"
.
A week comes and goes, as do a number of storms like the one raging today. Logan's on a run around the inner perimeter of the Shatterdome when he collides with Chantell in a rather impressive explosion of papers.
"Oh god, I am so sorry, I'm, shit, I'm really sorry—"
"'s'ok," says Logan, helping her gather them.
"Christ," she wipes her eyes.
"Ye okay?"
"Yea, uh, I lost my mobile. Have you seen my mobile?"
"Haven't been looking for it, sorry. Have you checked with Lost and Found?"
"About to, thanks. If you do find it, don't go through it, okay? Please?"
"Yea, sure. I'll keep an eye out."
Chantell leaves down the way he'd come.
Logan jogs on the spot for a moment, and then continues his run, nodding to Gerry in Mail, Vic in Lost and Found, and Jem in Requisitions as he passes them by.
Later that day, he joins Jackson in the Rec room, only to stand back up almost immediately.
Jackson raises an eyebrow.
Logan picks up Chantell's mobile from the couch. "Guess it fell out of her pocket or something."
"I'll text Andrea."
When she shows up, she asks, "Did you go through it?"
"Uh, no?"
She facepalms, says loudly, "You stupid boys!"
They jump (as does half the Rec room).
"What do you mean you haven't done the homework yet?!"
They look at each other, eyes wide.
"And you really thought I wouldn't find out?" She throws up her hands. "What did I do to get stuck with dumbest people on the planet?!" She grabs them each by an arm and drags them from the room and to their quarters.
"Are we actually missing homework?" asks Jackson.
"I dunno," says Andrea, fiddling with Chantell's mobile. "Sorry about that, though. Here we go."
C://Nguyens_Brains_Brain/
Pictures/DO_NOT_LOOK/NO SERIOUSLY/STAY OUT/WHY ARE U STILL LOOKING/THIS IS CLASSIFIED JUNK/GO AWAY/FINE
Interdepartment Report: Drift Science to M-TNGU_263.32-K
([Authorized Drift: Darling/Hansen Date + 7 days])
Patient D 48/Status Change: Conscious, Responding
Prognosis: Thomas, we need to talk.
.
The recording ends. 
Logan looks at Jackson. 
Jackson looks at Andrea.
Andrea looks at Jackson. 
"Why're you deferring to me?" he asks. 
"You're the most senior Ranger." 
"Nearly a senior, too," adds Logan. 
Andrea rolls her eyes. "Anybody have any ideas for what we should do?" 
Jackson sighs against his hand, stares at the phone. "We get Chuckles a copilot." 
Andrea says, "We're going to send people to have their brains wrecked." 
"No, we're ...." Jackson frowns. 
Logan snags a tablet. 
Andrea fiddles with her mobile. 
"We ... we're here because other people've paid for it, like Adam Casey and Meadow and now Chuck, too. So either we get Chuckles a copilot as fast as we can and end this or we let Chuck rot in some fucking backwater dump for no reason at all." He blinks. Blinks again. Swallows.
Logan and Andrea look anywhere but at Jackson.
"So ... yea, that's what we'll do." Jackson takes a deep breath, sets Chantell's mobile on the coffee table, and shoves to his feet—
Logan and Andrea still aren't looking.
—shuffles to his room, sits on the mattress, back against the wall.
""Permission to enter, Captain?"" Andrea asks softly.
"Granted," Jackson sighs.
Andrea pads over, tucks up against his side.
"Need a quilt or something?"
"'m okay."
Logan creeps in, curls up at the foot of the bed.
"Don't ye dare start snoring."
Andrea sighs.
Logan huffs.
Jackson works on breathing around the ache in his chest.
Kisses Andrea's hair.
Ruffles Logan's.
Says quietly, "You guys are the best."
And then all three of them shake loose long blue coats and suspenders and American accents.
"Nerds," grumbles Logan.
Category:Jackson
Category:Andrea
Category:Logan
Category:Chantell
Category:Jackson (ficlet)
Category:Andrea (ficlet)
Category:Logan (ficlet)
Category:Chantell (ficlet)
Category:Sydney Shatterdome Medical
Category:Team Vulcan Specter's quarters
Category:Chuck D (mention)
Category:Chuck H (mention)
Category:Chuck H's Drift partners
Category:Meadow (mention)
Category:Adam Casey (mention)
Category:Torchwood (reference)
Category:Jackson is a nerd
Category:Chantell's mobile
Category:Characters in need of Names
Category:Salutations, Darling arc
Category:Nguyen (mention)
Category:Conversations on phones
Category:Lightcap (mention)
Category:Chuck D has Drift damage
Category:Ficlet
Category:Lightcap knows brains
Category:Ficlets with merges
Category:Ficlets in need of tweaks
Category:Comments
Category:Ficlets (incorporated)
Category:Ficlets with comments
Category:Organic Programming