Medibay Rage - A Joint Post By Keto And Shakespeare (A Bit Long)

Who: Medibay Staff (all of 'em)
Where: Medibay
When: After Donover/Wildflower's Date
==============================
> "He doesn't scare me," she said defiantly.
"Oh, don't I?" said a cold voice from behind them both.
Shakespeare and Wildflower turned to see Keto standing there, leaning
against the medibay wall, arms folded.
"And just where, might I ask, have you been?" he asked quietly.
Not replying, Wildflower shrugged and walked over towards one of
the desks set against the wall of the medibay. Keto frowned at her
as she remained silent and opened one of the drawers in the desk.
"I bought you a new tie," said Wildflower, taking a small package
from the drawer, turning and handing it to Keto, who held it rather
gingerly. He stared at it. Sure enough, it was a dark silk tie with
a silvery pattern over it. It looked quite well-made, almost
delicately crafted, and therefore expensive.
"Thank you," he said, "I'll treasure it for as long as I care."
Slowly, Keto turned and placed the tie gently inside the waste
disposal unit, hit a button, and listened to the faint whoosh as the
item was ejected into deep space.
"Guess what?" he asked, turning back to glare at Wildflower, "I
stopped caring."
Shakespeare's silence was suddenly almost palpable, and the rest of
the medibay staff suddenly seemed very interested in their work.
Wildflower, who had been staring shocked at the waste disposal,
looked back up at Keto, an annoyed expression on her face.
"Why are you so mean all the time? Were you dropped on your head
as a child?"
Raising an eyebrow, Keto replied, "I was never a child, didn't you
know? I sprung fully-formed into this man who, apparently, really
likes sandals and ties."
"Well, what *do*, you like, Keto? Except being potty with cans of
liquid and calling them ointment. I mean, come on, ointment is
dead!" said Wildflower, snorting.
"Ointment was never alive, you silly girl," sighed Keto, "It is a
mere chemical concoction. No, what is *alive* is that appendix of
yours which, from the looks of it, has more brains than all of you
fools who call yourselves 'medical staff' combined!"
*Rustle-rustle!* interrupted the Tree. Keto glared at it.
"No," he growled, "I don't think that's a little unfair on you."
"And that's another thing, Charlie!" butted in Wildflower, "Why do
you pick on the Tree so much? He really likes you and all you do is
throw it back at him!"
Keto froze.
Slowly, he turned from facing the Tree, and took a couple of steps
towards Wildflower, glaring directly into her eyes.
"*Don't*," he hissed quietly, "*ever*...call me *Charlie* again!
My name is Doctor Charles Keto, and if you EVER call me CHARLIE again
I will have you thrown OFF this ship before it is even in PORT!!"
By the end of the outburst, Keto was shouting. His face had grown
red once more, and a tiny vein at the side of his head was beginning
to visibly throb.
Wildflower, non-plussed, stood still. As Keto's face gradually
faded in colour, turning back to it's merely normally-enraged tone,
she asked, "Why? I think Charlie suits you, Keets."
If the silence had been palpable before, now it was positively
concrete. For a second, there was not a sound in the medibay. Even
the constant hum of the faulty screen was momentarily quiet.
Keto did not move for a second. Then, as if on a turntable, he
turned away from Wildflower and faced the wall.
"Everyone...out of the medibay," he whispered quietly.
The medical staff looked at each other.
"But...Charles..." began Shakespeare.
"Out. Now," murmured Keto, calmly. Still hesitating, the mediteam
began to troop out of the room. The Tree, following, paused in the
doorway.
*Rustle-rustle, rustle?* it asked.
"EVERYONE!" screamed Keto, fists involuntarily clenching. The Tree
shed a few leaves and hurriedly exited the medibay.
The door closed behind it, and Keto sighed in the silence.
"Holly," he ordered, "Lock the doors."
There was a click as the doors sealed, and Keto let out a deep
breath.
"You're going to burst a blood vessel one day."
Keto stiffened once more, then slowly turned around. Wildflower
was standing exactly where she had been before. Keto was, for once,
bewildered.
"Y..W...Didn't you hear what I just said?!" he demanded.
"Yes, but I chose to ignore it," she replied.
Keto ground his teeth and took a seat on the chair Shakespeare had
vacated, an office chair that had three wheels on the bottom, one of
them (as is traditional) with an annoying squeak.
"I may indeed burst a blood vessel in the near future," he
growled, "But it won't be mine!"
"Oh dear," chuckled Wildflower, suppressing a smile, "What's
Shakespeare done now?"
"I DIDN'T MEAN SHAKESPEARE!" screamed Keto, leaping to his feet and
kicking the chair across the room in one movement, "I MEANT YOU!
OUT! OUT, DAMNED NURSE!"
Wildflower hurried around the desk, putting it between herself and
the furious Keto.
"But Doc, I'm not a nurse, I'm a surgeon!"
"You're only here because you were a PATIENT!" spat Keto, "You have
no real reason to be here!"
"I think you'll find that I'm now an official member of the medical
staff, actually," corrected Wildflower, "Willy is teaching me to
become a surgeon, and I've officially moved departments."
"Well in that case," muttered Keto, "You are officially a member of
my staff. As Chief Doctor, I order you to get out of the medibay
before I fire you!"
"No. I'm not scared of you, Charles. You've no business ordering
everyone out! No-one did anything."
Keto paused, breathing deeply.
Suddenly, Keto laughed. Placing a hand over his eyes and wiping
his brow, he said quietly, "You know what? I really don't give a
smeg. Holly, unlock those doors. If there are any calls for me,
I'll be in my office."
Shaking his head, the doctor headed for his office. Before he
closed its door, however, he turned to face Wildflower once more, and
she saw that his eyes were still angry.
"You may have won this round, *Surgeon* Wildflower," he
cursed, "But if you so much as place one foot in my office I swear to
you that you will never step out again!"
With that, he slammed the door (made difficult by the fact that it
was a sliding, hydraulically-powered one, but he tried anyway).
Wildflower smiled, smugly. Slowly, the other members of the
medibay trooped back in.
"Whateth happn'd?" asked Shakespeare.
"He likes me," murmured Wildflower to herself, "He actually likes
me."
"I won," she told the room, raising her voice so that the others
could hear, "Keety baby knows that I'm not one who'll be bossed
around like you all will."
*Rustle-rustle!" said the Tree defiantly.
"Remember yesterday?" asked Wildflower. There was a pause.
*Rustle,* said the Tree reluctantly.
"Yes, I know it's a good point."
Inside his office, Keto sat with his head in his arms.
"Holly," he murmured, "Load up program Keto 159. I want to push
some old ladies down the stairs to relieve my tension."
=====================
OOC: Well, that's the end of a joint post by myself and Sean. And
considering we had to dig this up out of conglomerated ICQ histories,
be thankful that it's actually relatively coherent. ;)