Orbital Recovery

Posted on Mon Sep 21st, 2026 @ 5:43pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Quinn Sullivan & Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade & Tessa di'Orion

4,355 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Die Hard: Chimera Edition (side posts)
Location: Sickbay/Shuttle/Surface

The aesthesia was wearing off finally, leaving Jenna's brain groggy as she blinked her eyes open. The pain was gone, her shoulder no longer burning as it had been before Kally had put her under as soon as they had been transported to Sickbay. The memory of the impact of the bullet and the sudden searing pain as it had penetrated her body caused her to jerk in the biobed, feeling the resistance from one hand as it involuntarily freed itself from the warmth of someone else's.

Quinn's head snapped up and he immediately stood up as her hand flew out of his. He'd been half asleep, but was now wide awake as he stood over her. He watched her eyes flutter open and as she focused on him, he looked down at her with worry. "Will you have dinner with me?"

"Wait, what?" Jenna slurred out as the figure looked down at her from the chair next to the biobed. She blinked her eyes a few more times and her face pinched as she tried to focus on in the face, giving up and squeezing her eyes shut. The voice was familiar, "Quinn, is that you?" she got out somewhat less slurred.

"Yes. Sorry, I meant...how are you?" he said with an apologetic look.

"Ah'm feeling fine.." Jenna's eyes opened again, a little clearer, but she reached her hand back out towards him, "Ah don't know if it's just the meds or what..." Her voice became smaller, "Ah got shot... Ah wasn't supposed to get shot, not in a diplomatic situation.." She looked over at the shoulder that had been hit, "It was supposed to be safe..." Tears formed in her eyes.

He took her hand and held it between his. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," he said, his voice strained. "I'm sorry you weren't safe."

"It's not your fault, Quinn, the Captain needed an engineer and JJ needed a few days off and Katie wanted to go on a date with Jadizon on the surface..." Jenna reached up to wipe her eyes with her free hand. "It's just... What did you say before?" Her brain started replaying his words and they didn't sound like his words, just coming out of his mouth.

His skin darkened in a slight blush and he swallowed. "I just...I've spent the past couple of hours thinking how you could have died, and I never properly asked you out and it was still on my mind when I woke up so without thinking...I asked." He swallowed again, unaccustomed to talking so much. "Will you?"

"You...wanna go on a date with me?" Jenna repeated his words, just in a different way, "Why did it take you so long to ask?" She reached out to touch his face, squeezing his hand, then placed a finger across his lips, "No, don't answer. How would Ah know it's you if you did?"

He gave her a small smile and shrugged, looking at her silently, the question still hanging between them.

"Is this just you tryin' to distract me?" she sniffled, wiping her hand across her nose and glancing down to the medical gown she wore, "Ah'm in no fit attire to go out right now, plus Ah'm sure that the Doctor would want to give her clearance for me to leave and Ah know Ah just woke up, so who knows?"

Quinn nodded. "All right," he said, sitting back down, but still holding her hand. "When you're ready."

"Ah've been ready to go on a date with you for...quite a while now." Jenna gave him a smile, "But since Ah've been back in Engineerin' since we finished with the shuttles, Ah just haven't seen you that much an' figured that you might not be interested in it, since we never made time for it or to see each other outside of work, so... Ah chickened out."

He nodded. He hadn't exactly gone chasing after her. They'd had one walk through the arboretum, and it had been nice. He'd let her talk, she'd held his arm. He'd wanted to do more, but they'd gone their separate ways. He'd buried himself in work, and, looking back, he could understand how that could come across as disinterest. His quiet nature hadn't been an issue before now, but now he had to step out of his comfort zone. He screwed up his courage and looked at her. "So?" he said.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, confused by the question.

"So what is your answer? Not now, but when you are ready," he said, forcing the words out.

"Of course Ah'll go out with you." Jenna drew his hand to her chest as she squeezed it, "If you'd asked me in the shuttlebay, Ah would have said yes, especially after that first week. You were there for me when Ah needed it the most and you just seemed like a great guy and we worked really well together. But..." She exhaled, "KALLY!" She yelled out.

"Kally is occupied right now." The trill of Tessa's English-sounding voice came as the doors to the recovery room opened. "But, Milady, since I was the one who dug the bullet out and got you all patched... up...what?" She saw the look on Jenna's face: concern. "I used all Starfleet technology for the procedure, don't worry, I've been getting better!"

"But Ah need her now," Jenna gave Quinn a quick look, "Ah need to be released from sickbay, like right now. Ah have to leave."

"Tch..." Tessa clicked her tongue, glancing at the readouts for several seconds on the wall before looked back at the PADD she was carrying, "I think that Lady Kellerman would want you to stay overnight for observation. I don't think I could override that."

"Tessa!" Jenna squeezed Quinn's hand hard. "Please, Ah've never asked you for anythin' ever before, can you please make an exception this one time? Ah'm beggin' you..."

The Tialan glanced between Jenna, the PADD and Quinn hesitantly.

Quinn gave the young woman a nod hello. "I will watch her," he said.

The teenager looked like she wasn't sure whether to hold the line or to grant clemency, then delayed by taking a tricorder from the table and scanning her shoulder, "If you promise that if anything goes wr-"

"YES!" Jenna answered pre-emptively, "Of course Ah'll come right back if it starts to hurt or anythin' feels off about it, Ah promise!"

"I'll hold her to it," Quinn said.

"Then I suppose I can let you go, but I swear... If Kally interrogates me about it..." Tessa looked up at Quinn. "You will keep an eye on her."

He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

"She's gonna kill me..." Tessa whispered, meant purely for herself, but squiggled something on her PADD. "All right, provisional release." She glared at Quinn, "You are responsible for her, Mister um... Oh never mind. She needs to be seen tomorrow morning, 1000 hours for a follow-up."

"She will," he said. He stood up and squeezed Jenna's hand. "I'll let you change," he said, stepping out of the recovery area.

"Ah suppose that Ah should actually get some clothes, Ah suppose my uniform?" Jenna asked to Tessa's shaking her head. "Where are we gonna go, Quinn? Or... Did you wanna just...?"

He looked at her for a moment. "Meet me outside," he said, stepping out of the room.

Jenna turned to Tessa, "Ah've got no clue what he has in mind, what should Ah wear if we're goin' out on a date?"

"Well, I tend not to wear anything with Henry, it cuts straight to the chase," Tessa said brightly, then caught Jenna's blush. "But you mean going OUT on a date..." She corrected herself, "Um... Okay, I've got an idea." The Tialan tossed the PADD over onto a table expertly and hummed her way over to the replicator and took another look at Jenna before punching in a few keys and brought the result to the engineer. "Trust me, he won't be able to resist." She leaned over to kiss Jenna on the cheek and flounced off, recovering the PADD as she went.

"You forgot," Jenna started to call after her as she opened the outfit, but shook her head as she did, "Underwear..." She padded over to the replicator and looked at the outfit with a wary eye before replicating silver-shaded underwear which she put on before she stripped off the gown and looked at the outfit once more before stepping into and pulled the short sleeves on. It was a silver lacy thing, with sleeves that barely went past the shoulder and flared out into a skirt just above her knees. On her own, she'd never have chosen something like it, but clearly it was part of Tessa's wardrobe. The sandals waiting on the bed were clearly of Tialan style as well, but Jenna sighed before sliding them on as well.

She took a glance towards the office door where more humming came from, then made a beeline for the door before Tessa changed her mind.

Quinn turned as the doors opened and his eyes widened. "You are beautiful," he said, quietly. He looked down, realizing he was in a simple sweater and trousers. "I'm underdressed. If you need, I can change."

"Tessa made me this..." She glanced down and grimaced at how with the right angle, she could see her skin and could only imagined how that would look to him. Thank GOD she'd put on the undies, "But no, Ah'm sure they'd like me to rest as much as possible and Ah wanna spend as much time upright as possible?"

"In that case," he said, slowly, but thinking fast, "we should make it as short a trip as possible." He offered his arm for her to hold onto.

"Is this officially our first date?" Jenna asked him as she slipped her arm into his, the side that hadn't been shot, "Or is this just a casual dinner while you plot and scheme for our first date?"

"I wish I had the forethought to plot and scheme," he said. "But you're dressed for an evening, and I don't want to waste that. My plan would be to make you happiest, but not overtax you," he said, simply.

"After lookin' forward to this for so long?" Jenna shook her head, "Ah don't care. It's been over a year since Ah last went out with someone and Ah know, we don't know if this'll work out, but we won't know until we try. Ah know you're not all into the whole talkin' thing, but Ah can carry that part of our conversationin'." She paused a moment, "Right now, Ah'm just happy to be here and in one piece, Quinn, but dinner should be at least a good start, then see where we go from there?"

Quinn nodded. "I suppose then, we could compromise with--" he stopped as she stumbled, and he grabbed her in a strong, but gentle grip and kept her righted. "All right, you've had your fill of being vertical," he said, firmly, steering her towards the turbolift.

"But..." Jenna gave a desperate look at the hallway they were headed, then gave in and leaned against him more to help with her weight, "Ah suppose if Ah tried to argue with you, you'd turn me right back around and take me back to sickbay, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," he said as they stepped into the lift. "Deck six," he ordered. It only took a moment before they were deposited one deck above.

Jenna stayed up next to him and looked up to give him a curious look, "My quarters aren't on Deck six." It wasn't really a complaint.

"We aren't going to your quarters," he said, steering her towards the shuttlebay. The ship he'd flown everyone out on was now back and parked safely on the shuttlebay deck, empty of both people and cargo. He led her to the hatch and opened it, guided her on board and sat her down in the copilot's chair, turning it to face the pilot's chair. "Stay," he said.

"Yes, suh." She said with a slight chuckle, unsure of if she could go anywhere else at the moment.

He sat down in the pilot's chair and closed the hatch. He did the preflight check smoothly and efficiently, and as the engines came to life, he lifted off and steered them back out through the forcefield and into open space, the planet swirling below them. He angled the shuttle around and pitched them so that the planet's green and blue landscape was in full view through the viewscreen, and set it to maintain relative position near the ship.

He stood up and quietly walked to the back and activated the replicator. He came back with what appeared to be a carry case, but after opening it and extending both the support legs inside and the flaps on the outside, it turned into a relatively sturdy, makeshift table. He set it between them and went back to the replicator, returning with a white sheet that he draped over the table. Another trip back and he returned with a tray containing two deep, steaming dishes of what looked like mountains of snow. He set one down in front of her and the next in front of him. He then went back and returned with two, large, frosted mugs. He set one down in front of each of them, then turned the pilot's seat to face her and sat down. "Dinner and a view," he said, simply.

Jenna watched him prepare the table and place whatever it was in front of them in silence. She smiled at him demurely each time that he re-entered the cockpit and really wanted to get up to help him, even if it had been a simple thing like setting the table or the like, but the first time she started to get up, he'd quietly held up one admonishing finger and she'd settled back down into the seat, turning it to face inwards, "Ah will say this for sure, Quinn, the view is absolutely gorgeous.. There's nothin' like lookin' over a planet and wonderin' just how it can be that somethin' so big can be so pretty."

He smiled at her. "I hope you like shepherd's pie. My mother would make it on cold rainy nights. And crisp apple cider to wash it down."

"Ah think Ah've had shepherd's pie three or four times in my life and every single time it's been different." Jenna gave a laugh before picking up her fork and poising it over the mound of mashed potatoes, "Ah've had it sweet, savory, ground beef, steak, lots of gravy and almost none, different vegetables and all." She poked her fork in, an additional plume of steam rising, "It smells heavenly though."

"Shepherd's pie is lamb," Quinn said. "Beef makes it 'cottage pie.'"

"So all this time what people have called 'shepherd's pie' has been a lie?" Jenna grinned and tucked a delicate bite that encompassed everything in the dish into her mouth, then closed her eyes as the lamb effectively melted on the tongue, "Mmm... And Ah'm glad that they were a lie, because this is... Great."

Quinn smiled and chewed quietly, barely glancing at the planet glowing above them, instead watching her carefully.

Jenna's eyes were all for the food in front of her, the carrots inside still maintained a slight crunch to them, the gravy was absolutely divine with a hint of pepper and the onions just melted in her mouth as they hit her tongue. Still, she maintained a dialogue even with herself, despite the fact that she was absolutely starving, "Ah was in Ireland once, but it was just for a tennis tournament when Ah was fifteen, so Ah was on a real particular diet at the time, couldn't eat whatever Ah really wanted to eat, it was high protein, low carbohydrate, to give me as much energy as possible and to maintain my muscle strength. It really was like that when Ah travelled for tennis tourneys, never got to enjoy the surroundin's because it was the matches and then Ah had to get back home for some event or studyin' for school and for the Academy Entrance Exam and you know how that can get, takin' up all your time, and then with my probe project, because Ah had to really impress in order to get into the Engineerin' track at the Academy."

Quinn nodded. "I've never been to Ireland," he said. "Nor the academy. I have been able to sample several species' foodstuffs, but food that reminds me of home is still my first choice."

"You've never been to Ireland?" Jenna asked him, "Ah shoulda remembered that you enlisted rather than go through the Academy, but with a name like Sullivan, Ah'd have thought that you'd'a been direct from the island."

He smiled at her and shook his head. "That'd be my great-grandfather," he said.

She glanced down as her fork scraped the nearly empty bowl in front of her and focused on collecting the last bits of the delectable dish so that none of it went to waste, "Maybe we should visit while we're on shore leave? Though Ah was plannin' on stayin' around to help with the refit and all, Ah still need to repay the Cap'n and JayJay for keepin' me on after all that stuff happened."

"I was thinking of going to Earth," Quinn said. "Starfleet has a transport heading there. However, it's....loud," he said, making a face. "I love my sisters but they've scattered to the winds as it is, so I can send a letter to my parents. I'm sure they'll schedule a reunion soon."

Timetables flickered through Jenna’s head as she calculated how long that message would take to get to Earth, then to his various sisters (if they had an average dispersal rate of say… twenty percent of the radius of the Federation, for example), logistics of making additional travel plans for them. Her eyes glazed over ever so slightly as she silently ran through the projected numbers, her body lapsing into motionlessness. The final guesstimate, presuming her assumptions and typical response times, didn’t compute to the point of being back by the time the ship left.

"Are you all right?" Quinn said, concern in his voice.

Jenna blinked and shook her head slightly, seeing his eyes on her and flushed red, “Sorry, just ummm.. Sorry…” she looked down at the plate as her face burned, “Ah suppose it’d really be too early to meet your family in any case, Ah mean, this is just our first date and we don’t even know if there’ll be a second.”

Quinn gave her a small smile. "That is up to you,"

"Don't you think they should have some say about it?" Jenna asked him with a curious expression on her face, "Ah mean, you know them better than Ah do and if you think you want them to meet me, of course Ah'd be willin' to, but it's a bit fast."

Quinn raised an eyebrow, then he chuckled as he realized the misunderstanding. "I meant a second date."

Her eyes flew up to his and she flushed an even brighter red, "Ah um... Ah knew... That." Jenna looked out the window at the stars, "The stars sure are pretty tonight, Ah think that especially after what happened on that station, we really don't appreciate them enough."

He looked out with her and nodded. People often relegated common things to the background of their minds, especially those things they saw all the time, no matter if it was stars, places, or people. Some people resented that cloak of invisibility, others took advantage of it. "Agreed," he said, simply.

Jenna sighed lightly, trying to bring her face under control, glancing out of the sides of her eyes at Quinn before reaching out to take his hand with her own, “Of course Ah’ll go out on a second date with you, Quinn.”

He took her hand and held it, watching her and smiling. "Good," he said, squeezing her hand. He stood up and cleared the dishes and recycled everything, including the tablecloth and the folding table. Once the area was clear, he sat back down in the pilot's chair. "Can I walk you to your room?" he said, smiling at her as he set course for the station.

"If you didn't, you wouldn't be a gentleman, that's for sure." Jenna gave a slight giggle, "Besides, Ah don't think you're allowed to leave my side until the mornin', are you? Doctor's orders after all. That means we'll have to figure out sleepin' arrangements there, unless, of course, you promise to behave yourself?" She had no fear that he would behave, but it was only proper to confirm.

Quinn blushed as crimson as his uniform. "You have my word," he said. He steered them into the landing bay of the station and cut the engines. Once they were cleared to disembark, he stood up and held out a hand, ready to help her walk to the elevator and then to her hotel room.

She didn't even pretend she wasn't going to lean on him as they walked to the elevator. "So, Quinn, how long has it been since you wanted to go out with me? Ah'll admit, it was a couplea-three days before Ah'd started to realize you weren't just someone else there just to annoy me." She smiled forwards at where they were going, "And a couple more before Ah saw you as well... A pretty cute guy."

"The first time I heard your accent," he said, smiling as they stepped into an elevator car. "I enjoyed having you around, doing the talking for me."

"That's one thing we girls are good at doin', and that's talkin'." Jenna squeezed his hand, "You were there to talk a bit here and there, but honestly, Quinn, there were a lot of times that Ah really liked the fact that you did like the quiet. It helped me more than you might imagine, especially after... Everythin'. You didn't judge me, just let me be me and get through things the best way Ah could."

"Five sisters," he reminded her. "Letting women talk is the way of the Sullivan men. My father gets some words in now and again, though. His brother hasn't said more than hello in five years." He gave a slight chuckle. They stepped into the lower station and he guided her carefully to the public transport area and the station hotel.

"God Almighty..." Jenna chuckled, "Ah've got the genetics to keep up with all the jabberin', those double 'X' chromosomes that is, but Ah could only imagine if, and Ah do mean 'If' we get married and somehow get both of our families all there, we'd need a really large venue." She shook her head quickly, "But that's getting way ahead of things and Ah'm not suggestin' we do or don't and all that, Ah'm just tryin' to... Shit. Ah don't wanna freak you out or anythin'."

"One step at a time," he said, quietly, guiding her down another hallway. He'd taken the time to check her room assignment before they'd disembarked and studied the floor plans while she was talking in order to make sure he could get her to her room safely. As they reached her door, he let her put her thumb to the plate, and the door opened obediently.

They stepped inside and he let her go as she sank down into a chair. "Do you need anything?" he said.

"Just a few minutes before we make the next never-endin' journey to the other room." Jenna gave him a smile, "This was the first time Ah've ever been shot, not like it's a normal thing to have happen, Ah believe. But in case you never do, and Ah do pray you don't, Quinn, it takes a lot outta you!"

"The irony being it originally put something in you," he said, smiling at her. He sat down in the other chair next to her and took her hand. "Take a moment, and once you're settled, I'll let you get some sleep."

"Ah'm gonna have to get outta this dress and into some pajamas." Jenna raised part of the fabric before dropping it again, "Ah have this feelin' Ah'm gonna sleep pretty well. At least, Ah hope so, and with you here to keep me company, at least Tessa won't be able to yell at me. And then tomorrow we gotta get off the ship, since it has to go through that baryon sweep and then..."

Quinn walked up to her and put his arm securely around her lower back and held her against him as he leaned down and kissed her with no reservations. As the room finally fell silent, he let the kiss linger, and when they finally broke apart, he simply said, "one thing at a time."

Jenna's heart pounded as he kissed her, one hand suddenly finding it's place on his cheek, the other on his side, both just appearing there without any conscious thought. There was no thought of pushing him away or objecting, her eyes had closed instantly as she was there in his arms. Things felt... Right. The pounding in her chest seemed to only accelerate as he finally broke apart, but never released her, "Uh huh." She whispered simply, looking up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling "All right."

He looked back silently, smiling gently, then stepped aside so she could get to her bedroom. "Pajamas and sleep," he said. "Call out if you need me."

Jenna took a couple of steps before she bit her upper lip gently, stopped and half turned back towards him, “Well, aren’t you comin’?”

He looked at her for a long moment, then silently put his arm around her waist and walked her to bed.

 

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