Blind Sided

[DJ McKinny 0]

DJ McKinny was fuming. Under other circumstances, she might have thought it funny....the way people quickly stepped aside as she trudged along toward the nearest turbolift dragging, her luggage behind her. But she saw nothing humorous about this situation and her expression clearly reflected her mind-set. Nick Lepage was following at a discreet distance...and that was probably for the best. Considering her mood, he was wise not to get too close. As hard as she tried not to blame him for this unexpected turn of events, she couldn't help thinking he might have had something to do with it.

 

Fifteen minutes ago, she was about to board a lovely passenger liner for a relaxing trip home....home to Earth....to her pretty little house just a few blocks from the Gulf of Mexico and her job at Eglin...a job she loved. Granted, she regretted leaving Aegis because of Nick. But, deep down, DJ had been looking forward to going home and immersing herself in her work. She was more than content with her assignment at Eglin. In spite of her strong feelings for Nick, she had never considered requesting a transfer. The fact was, she hoped to remain at Eglin until she retired.

 

DJ she had so many plans for that facility. Much had already been accomplished but there was still a lot to do. She'd been looking forward to expanding many of the existing programs and implementing new ones. She was even planning to finish a couple of proposals during the trip home so she could present them to Starfleet Medical next week.

 

And then, at the last moment, she was blind sided by a hapless midshipman who'd been tagged to track her down and deliver the bad news. She wondered if he knew what he'd handed her. That might have explained why the young man made such a quick exit. Now, she was so mad, she could barely see straight.

 

Why? What had she done to deserve this? Why did she have to find out about the transfer from a nameless kid who could have cared less how she might feel? Couldn't someone from Starfleet Medical have exercised a little common courtesy and called to give her the news? And what happened to her darling brother, Robby? Surely he knew about the transfer. Why didn't he make an effort to contact her?

 

These questions and more flooded her thoughts as they finally reached the lift. The doors swished open as she approached and DJ entered, hauling her luggage in after her. She remained motionless, staring at the back wall of the car while Nick stepped in and carefully sat a couple of her bags down on the floor. The doors closed behind them but neither spoke.

 

"Please state your destination." The computer's friendly, female voice startled DJ. It also annoyed her. "Earth," she snapped, whirling about to face the front of the car. "My destination is Earth!"

 

There was a momentary pause before the computer politely announced it was unable to comply with her request. DJ was about to make another smart remark but Nick spoke up first. "Ops, please." He'd barely spoken the words before the lift started moving.

 

She glared at him, her frustration mounting. She was hurt and angry and wanted to strike out at someone. Nick was a convenient target. But she was struck by how miserable he looked and she managed to bite her tongue long enough for him to take a step toward her.

 

"You have to believe me, DJ." he pleaded. "I had nothing to do with this. I won't deny I wanted you to stay but not like this."

 

DJ continued studying him closely. If he was pleased about her new orders, his expression didn't reflect it. He seemed genuinely distressed by how upset she was. As badly as she wanted to blame someone, she couldn't see Nick going behind her back to engineer a transfer he knew she didn't want. Besides, she doubted he had the clout to pull off such a thing. She wasn't sure the station CO had the juice to pull this off.

 

"I know," she whispered, looking back toward the lift doors. "I know this isn't your fault."

 

And she meant it. She truly believed Nick was in no way involved. But one thing was for certain....she intended to find out who was responsible and when she did....heaven help them.