The Shape of Home - Part I
Posted on Wed May 20, 2026 @ 10:33pm by Commodore T'mpest Michaels & Commander Tayanita 'Tay' Lio'ven
1,646 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Jubilee
Location: Sickbay, Deep Space 5
It had been several weeks since T'mpest spoke with Tay. It wasn't because she didn't want to, it was more that she'd been so busy she simply hadn't taken the time to visit some of the senior staff, and she did enjoy talking with the doctor. So, when she had an afternoon off, she made her way to sickbay to see how the doctor was doing.
The main Sickbay had settled into one of its rarer quiet stretches, the kind that never lasted long enough to trust. Tay stood beside a biobed near the paediatric alcove, crouched slightly so she was closer to eye level with a small Vulcan boy sitting very upright on the edge of the mattress. His expression was composed with impressive determination, though one hand remained curled around the sleeve of the adult Vulcan beside him.
“There,” Tay said, passing the dermal regenerator over a small scrape along his forearm. “All repaired.”
The child studied the skin with serious attention. “The discomfort has ceased.”
“That is usually the goal,” Tay replied, her mouth curving into a warm smile. She reached into the pocket of her coat and produced a small adhesive badge shaped like a silver starburst. “And for being very still, you get one of these.”
The Vulcan adult’s brow lifted by perhaps half a millimetre. “A decorative adhesive is not medically necessary.”
“No,” Tay agreed, placing it carefully on the child’s sleeve when he offered no objection. “But neither is courage, technically, and people still appreciate having it noticed.”
The boy looked down at the badge. For a moment nothing changed. Then his shoulders eased by the smallest fraction. “It is… acceptable.”
“I’ll take acceptable,” Tay said, rising as the adult gave her a formal nod of thanks and led the child away.
Only then did she notice T’mpest near the entrance. Her smile softened, the professional focus easing into something more personal. “Commodore,” she greeted, warmth in her voice. “That was almost a rave review, by Vulcan standards.”
She set the regenerator back on the tray and turned fully toward her. “It’s good to see you. I was starting to think Command had sealed you in a conference room and forgotten which one.”
T'mpest bowed to the two Vulcans as they left, then smiled as she walked toward the doctor. "There are times I feel that way myself," she admitted. "There always seems to be something more that needs attention. You appear to be settling in well."
Tay gave a quiet laugh and glanced around Sickbay, as if checking the room hadn’t heard them.
“I am,” she said. “Settling in, I mean. Though I’ve learned not to say that too loudly. Sickbay has a way of taking confidence personally.”
She picked up a PADD from the nearby tray, checked one note, then set it aside again so T’mpest had her full attention.
“It’s a lot,” she admitted, but there was no complaint in it. “Officers, enlisted, Marines, civilians, visitors… and somehow half of them seem convinced they don’t need medical advice until they very suddenly do.”
Her smile warmed. “But I like it here. It’s busy, complicated, and never the same for long. I think that suits me.”
T'mpest's smile grew. "Yes. To all of that. I found more here than I thought possible, and that is a very good thing." She'd even found something she'd given up on ever finding.
Tay caught the shift.
It was small, almost hidden beneath T’mpest’s smile, but it was there. Something softer than professional satisfaction. Something personal.
Her expression warmed, but she didn’t press it there in the open ward.
“That sounds like the sort of thing better said somewhere quieter,” Tay said gently.
She glanced toward the main floor, where a nurse was restocking a tray and two junior medics were pretending not to listen. Then she tilted her head toward the office tucked off the side of Sickbay.
“Come on. I’ve got tea in my office, and for once nobody’s bleeding on the furniture.”
With a nod of understanding, T'mpest followed.
There was a lightness in the last line, but her eyes stayed kind. She led the way, letting the door slide shut behind them before speaking again.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Tay said, moving to the replicator, “but whatever that was… it mattered.” She glanced back with a small, knowing smile. “I’m glad you found it here.”
T'mpest's smile softened. "You do not miss much. An admirable trait." She paused while Tay got the tea, letting the silence breathe. She was glad she found it here, too. "This is a remarkable place."
Tay gave a small hum of amusement as she set the tea down.
“I’d love to take full credit,” she said, “but being El Aurian is cheating a little. That, and nine hundred years of watching people try very hard not to say what they’re feeling.”
She sat opposite T’mpest, hands settling around her own mug. Her expression stayed open, not pushing.
“So,” she said gently, “did you come to check whether I’d settled in… or did you need somewhere quiet for a few minutes?”
A faint smile touched her mouth.
“Either is fine.”
T'mpest chuckled softly. "I actually came to see how a friend is doing."
Tay’s expression softened, and for a moment the CMO slipped a little further into the background. What remained was simply Tay, warmed by the fact that T’mpest had come because she wanted to, not because duty had sent her.
“That means more than you might think,” she said, her hands resting around the mug. “People usually come to Sickbay because something hurts, or because they’ve been ordered through the doors. It’s nice to have someone come just because they wanted to see me.”
Her smile was small, but honest. “I’ve missed this, actually. Having someone nearby who feels easy to sit with.”
She looked across at T’mpest, the warmth still there, but quieter now. “So I’ll take the visit gladly. And since you came as someone checking on me, I’d like the same courtesy back.” A gentle pause. “How are you, T’mpest? Not as Commodore. Just you.”
"This is nothing like what I expected," the half-Vulcan admitted. "I came here looking for something different. A challenge. I found a life I never knew I needed." She smiled. A smile of contentment. Of peace. Of...belonging. "I want to settle here. Put down roots. So, I would say I am doing well."
She looked at Tay for a moment. At the expression in her eyes, the air of calm around her. "Lasuma takes up much of my free time. But that should not be an excuse for neglecting a friend. How are you doing?"
ay smiled at the way T’mpest spoke about Lasuma. She didn’t know the man well, but she knew that look.
“I don’t think spending time with someone who makes you happy counts as neglect,” she said. “That sounds like a good problem to have.”
She took a sip of her tea, then gave a small shrug.
“I’m good. Busy, but good. Sickbay hasn’t eaten me yet, so that’s something.”
A little smile tugged at her mouth. “I went to the Marine Ball with Curtis Thibideaux. That was unexpected. Nice, though. He asked properly, brought flowers… made an effort.” Her smile softened. “I liked that.”
She glanced down at her mug for a moment, then back up.
“And I spoke to Ailani a few days ago. My daughter. She always manages to remind me I’m not just the doctor around here.” A quiet breath. “That helps.”
Her eyes returned to T’mpest, warm and honest.
“So yes. I’m doing alright. Better than I thought I would be, maybe.”
T'mpest laughed softly. "This place seems to do that to people. To me, at least. There were a few relationships in the past. Brief. Unfulfilling. But I never thought I would want to settle down. To consider a family. But I do. Here. With Lasuma." She smiled again. "It almost feels strange to be so happy."
Then she shook her head and changed the subject. "Curtis is a good man. Quirky, but good. He needs a good woman in his life. But these things take time to be nurtured so they will grow."
T'mpest paused again. "And maybe I need some time to grow, even though it feels like I have known him for much longer. But enough of that. How is your daughter doing?"
Tay smiled into her tea. “If anyone understands taking time, it’s us El Aurians,” she said. “Though I’ll admit, sometimes even we need reminding not to rush the good things just because they finally arrived.”
She looked back up at T’mpest, warm but gently amused. “And yes, Curtis is quirky. I noticed. Not always a bad thing.”
At the mention of Ailani, her expression softened in a different way. Less doctor, more mother.
“She’s doing well,” Tay said. “She’s on Earth at the moment, working with a coastal recovery clinic near the Pacific. Lots of long days, stubborn patients, and too many committee meetings for her liking.”
A quiet laugh touched her voice. “She’s sensitive. Always has been. She feels the room before she walks into it, then tries to carry half of it home with her. I keep telling her that healing people doesn’t mean taking every ache into your own bones.”
Her smile grew smaller, fond. “She listens. Mostly. Then tells me I’m one to talk.”
(To be continued...)
Commodore T'mpest Michaels
Commander
Deep Space 5
Commander Tay Lio'ven
Chief Medical Officer
Deep Space 5
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