DS9: Doctor's Orders (with justmedk)

[gutterpupper]

"Well if you need me I'll be in the next room," Bashir said to the young boy, clapping his hands on his knees before he stood up from the bed. He gave a soft smile before he left the sleeping quarters and returned to the the main living area. He flopped down on the couch, resting his head back on the back on the furniture and rubbed his temples with his thumb and index fingers.

"Computer." The internal system beeped in response. "Set to do not disturb unless from senior staff or an emergency." The system chirped in acknowledgement. "At least that will give him time to settle and rest," he said to himself.

Bashir gave the situation some thought and how he could integrate Steven to normal station life. It was just his first day on Deep Space Nine and he knew the boy would take some time to adjust. Well, both of them really. He was now a father, which changed everything. If O'Brien was still here, maybe he could have asked from advice on being a parent. Maybe a call to him might help. But not right now. He wanted to figure this out himself. That was the best thing for both him and Steven. They needed to bond. A few days and maybe he could talk to the lad about some things they could do to get to know each other.

"Don't push him," he said softly to himself as he gave a small yawn. Maybe a nap would help him refresh a bit. He closed his eyes and folded his arms, thinking about what his next few days might be like.

[justmedk]

Steven, despite his own assurances, actually did fall asleep again after a while, this time in a sitting position, his back against the wall, and when he did, he lost grip on the PADD when fell to the floor with a loud bang.
Not loud enough to wake him, though, as the mental exhaustion of the day had so thoroughly overwhelmed him that it would have taken a lot more for him to wake up.
Instead, he sat upright sleeping, his neck in a strange position.

___________________________

He woke up the next day lying on the bed, and yawned a bit, stretched, and looked around. He did not remember falling asleep again, but he obviously must have, as he removed the blanket and sat up in bed.
The fact that he was here on the station was still a bit of a change that he had to get used to. He had of course known about Deep Space Nine. Everyone in the Federation knew about this place. It had taken on almost legendary status as being the "Gateway to the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants", with that damnable wormhole.

Steven cursed the day that this wormhole had been discovered. It had been good for both the Federation AND Bajor.....at least until an enemy bent on galactic domination had emerged from it, and changed everything.

"I wish that wormhole didn't exist", he said to himself in a low voice as he stood up and stretched.

[gutterpupper]

Bashir jumped from his dozing slumber on the couch at the sound that came from the sleeping quarters. He rubbed his eyes and got up from the couch and headed into the quarters. He found the PADD he was reading on the floor which was most likely the noise.

Adjusting the young male he put him to bed properly under the sheets and made sure he was in a more appropriate sleeping position. He took a step back and looked at Steven, still trying to adjust he now as a son. He smiled for a moment though still unsure what the future had in store. Though quickly that thought turned to sadness as he remembered the boy's mother from his past.

Maybe he needed a drink tonight.

___________________________

It was the first time in a long while that he woke up without an alarm or an emergency. Though his body ached from how uncomfortable the furniture was, it was still the best sleep Bashir had in a while. He stretched and stood up, eyes instantly going to the sleeping quarters. He didn't want to wake Steven up. When the lad was ready he would come out.

"Coffee. Black. Hot," he said as he approached the replicator, the machine whirling the desired beverage to materialise. He picked it up, took a sip and went back to sit on the couch. He had drifted off while think of what he could do today with Steven, perhaps get to know the lad and maybe gain his trust. He thought maybe he would take him round the station, give him the tour to settle him in. He also cursed inwardly as he had no clue what to do.

[justmedk]

Steven headed into the shower attached to the room he was sleeping in, and "soaked" in it with delight. He had spent a long time with only sonic showers now, and though they did the job necessary, they were much less comfortable than actual showers with water. He allowed himself the luxury of taking much longer than he normally would have needed to, before he finished up and got dressed, in a pair of pants and a long-sleeves "t-shirt", before heading for the door.

When he got to the door that led to the main area of the quarters, he hesitated for a moment. Steven felt the gravity of what was about to happen. He was about to start a new life. This was, quite literally, the first day in the rest of his life. He was now living on this station...with a father he had never met.... And it was quite honestly growing to be a little bit too much for him to handle at once.
But he didn't have any choice. He stood for many minutes, it seemed to him, and stared at the door, afraid of taking that step and afraid of not taking it, before he finally was snapped back to reality by the sound of his mother's voice in the back of his head:

Go on, Steve, the voice said softly There is a reason I loved this man once

Steven took a deep breath, shook his head to get that voice out of it - at the moment the wound was still much too raw for any kind of reminders of her to be good ideas - and opened the door.

"G...goodmorning", he said cautiously.

[gutterpupper]

The sound of the sliding doors to the sleeping quarters caught his attention and Bashir looked to see Steven standing the door way.

"Good morning! Did you have a good sleep?" he asked. He didn't give the young boy much time to answer before he asked him if he wanted breakfast. He assumed he would but what he'd want was a different question. Bashir finished his coffee and place it back in the replicator to desolve before he looked back at Steven. He could see the uncertainty in his eyes and the way he stood. He could read the boy was unsure and still adjusting to the change in surroundings. So he walked over to where the lad stood in the door way.

"I know this must be quite a challenge for you right now, adjusting to such a dramatic change in your life," he said softly. "But I am here to help in any way that I can. I know it will take time to settle in but I want to reassure you that you are safe here. We can do what you want to today."

[justmedk]

Steven couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Yeah, breakfast would be nice", he said, as he ordered cereal and orange juice from the replicator. "I never thought I'd miss simple cereal and orange juice", he said, "But apparently the Vulcans don't use that, so they of course don't program their replicators for it", he explained before adding with a bit of a scoff:

"It isn't "logical", I imagine", he said with the tiniest hint of a mocking accent.

When his father told him that they could do what he wanted today, Steven again felt overwhelmed a bit, and didn't quite know what to do with himself, which showed itself in his facial expression.

"I...don't know?", he said. "I mean....you know the place...what is important? Like...what do I need to know?", he asked "If the Jem'Hadar come back, or something?", he asked cynically. He didn't trust this peace treaty further than he could throw it, and he wanted to be ready for the next time they came.
He'd make every single one of those artificial bastards pay for what they had done to him.

And the anger that was starting fill him, was also starting to show in his eyes as he looked away from Julian a bit.

[gutterpupper]

Bashir could see the bitterness in Steven's eyes when he mentioned the Jem'Hadar. He couldn’t blame him but at the same time hatred can easily be self-destructive.

"You don't need to worry about that. Should something like that arise the station's command will handle that." He sat next to where the boy sat with his cereal. "Today, I can show you around station. It is going to be your new home so I might as well get you the grand tour so to speak." He said it with an enthusiastic smile, hoping that he could pull Steven away from his angry thoughts.

His facial features turned softer as he spoke his thoughts. “I’m sorry about what’s happened to your mother. We…. we all know the risks when we go into battle. “How could he say this without sounding too harsh? He wanted to speak positively about Belinda because he knew that she would had not have made the decision lightly to leave her son in the care of strangers. “She fought to keep the Alpha system safe. To keep Earth safe. To keep you safe. It’s part of the reason many of us in Starfleet do what we do.”

[justmedk]

"A.....a tour would be nice", Steven said, trying to return the smile, and keep composed, but when Bashir mentioned his mom, he tensed up again. Not out of anger at him, but anger at himself, at the Dominion, at the Vulcans, at everyone and everything in the universe....

"I know", he said curtly. "Mom told me that too. Doesn't make it any easier, you know?", he said, trying very hard to keep his voice calm and collected - a skill he had practised until it made him sick to his stomach during the time on Vulcan. "I mean...she could have done anything else....run a freighter.....work on a station like this", he gestured to their surroundings, meaning to indicate the station rather than their quarters. "But no....it had to be some ship in the middle of the battle."

After a short pause that felt, probably for both of them, but especially for Steven, like an eternity, he finally said as he finished his breakfast:

"I hate Starfleet. And I hate the Dominion. And I hate....nevermind", he said, stopping himself from saying "Vulcans", because he knew that this would be frowned upon, and he was in no mood for an argument at the moment.

[gutterpupper]

"I know, I know," Bashir responded, mentally slapping himself. He didn't want it to come across in the manner Steven had taken it. He could see the young man was getting bitter again and he changed the subject quickly. It wasn't the best time to discuss Belinda and it was clear it was pushing too many buttons right now. "A tour it is! I'll just go have a shower and...uh... we can get going!"

Making his way into the private quarters he let the doors slide close behind him before he let out a heavy sigh. It was stressful, probably for both of them and Bashir was feeling it. What were the right wards to say? How does he address Steven's attitudes? Can he really blame him for having them in the first place?

There was a lot of work to do, for both of them to do. They needed to take one step at a time.

-

"This is the main feature of the station, the Promenade," Bashir said as he strolled through the main hall, Steven close behind. "There is lots to see and do here. You can eat out, have a coffee, go shopping, look out into the quadrant..." he made note to leave gambling and holosuites out as he didn’t want the boy to be tempted to misbehave like Nog and Jake had down when they were younger.

[justmedk]

Steven also realized that his dad hadn't tried to make him feel bad.....which kinda made him feel bad a little, inverted as that logic is. He knew that it was a big change for Julian Bashir as well, but he was having trouble adjusting to the many changes recently, and it was all getting to be a bit too much for him.
So when dad changed the subject on his own, Steven was relieved and nodded, waiting for him to finish his shower.

__________________________

Steven paid close attention to what his father was showing him, realizing that
he'd need to learn to navigate the station on his own rather quickly if he didn't want his dad to take him everywhere.....which he most certainly didn't.
But when he turned his head to see something else he got pointed out to him, he noticed a large brightly-colored sign saying in large letters:

"Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade. Embassy of the Ferengi Alliance"

Steven stopped for a moment and raised an eyebrow in a very Vulcan way that he had unwittingly adopted from his foster father. If someone had pointed out that bit of information to him, Steven would have vehemently denied it, but it was there nonetheless.

"A Bar....a Grill...a Gaming House, a Holosuite Arcade.....AND an Embassy all in one?", he said with a mix of incredulity and amusement. "What kind of place IS that, even?", he asked rhetorically. He didnt' expect an answer, and he didn't have time to get one before he saw a Ferengi dressed in rather fancy clothes running out of the establishment.

"Doctor Bashir!", he called. "Doctor Bashir! I hope you haven't "forgotten" yours and Chief O'Brien's last bill!", he said. "It's been quite a while now, and I might start charging interests. And I'll tell you something else...", he began, then noticed Steven, then looked at Bashir. "Uhhh....I.....guess there might be other things than my bar tab going on...just....try to remember it soon?", he said, and retreated to the bar.

Steven stared after him.

"Let me guess", he said with something that was almost a chuckle. "That was Quark?"