Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [70]
“Just let it go,” Reg insisted.
“I don’t believe you want me to do that, or you wouldn’t have brought it up,” the Doctor replied.
“It’s a waste of your memory buffers.”
“Reg, I consider you to be a friend. Nothing that affects you is a waste.”
Barclay appeared to be genuinely moved by this remark. Meegan certainly would have been in his place.
Placing a hand on Reg’s shoulder, the Doctor continued, “If your feelings are genuine, and I have no reason to doubt that they are, you should do something about them. Three years may seem like a long time, but believe you me, it will fly by in the Delta quadrant.”
“She would never think of me that way. And why should she? She’s beautiful. She’s accomplished. She’s not at all the type of woman I do well with, unless they’re trying to steal Federation secrets from me.”
“Commander Glenn is beautiful and accomplished,” the Doctor agreed. “But she is also a human being. She has her own set of strengths and weaknesses, her own doubts and insecurities. No one sees themselves the way others do, Reg. You just need to gather your courage, and ask her to join you for a recreational activity. Choose something that will permit both of you the time to talk and get to know each other. The rest will come naturally.”
Reg’s shoulders lifted as he inhaled and began to imagine the scenario the Doctor had just described. Soon enough, however, he crumpled.
“What if she says no?”
“She won’t.”
“She could.”
“She won’t.”
“She will,” Reg finally decided. “And then I’ll have to spend the next three years avoiding her, which on a ship this size won’t be easy. We’ll constantly be running into each other in the halls—”
“Reg,” the Doctor interrupted, ending one of Barclay’s meandering, stream-of-consciousness rambles before he could really get going. “You are a Starfleet officer held in high regard by your peers. You served aboard the Federation flagship, you were personally responsible for establishing communications between Voyager and the Alpha quadrant, and you are one of the most respected designers and developers of holographic technology currently alive. You are fascinating, and I’m sure that in time, she will come to see that. But only if you give her the chance . If you decide now that it will never work, it won’t. Decide that it will, and it might.”
“Won’t I can live with. I’m not sure about might,” Reg said, sighing.
The Doctor shook his head in frustration, grabbed a padd and downloaded selected files from his personal database onto it before presenting it to Barclay.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Social lesson number four—Collegial Conversation. I created it for Seven of Nine, but I think it would serve you well to practice a little. You know, get your confidence up.”
Reg dutifully read from the padd.
“Good morning, insert name of officer here. How are you today?”
“I’m very well,” the Doctor replied by rote. “How are you?”
“I am excellent. I have been working on, insert name of current project here, and, oh, I don’t know.”
Meegan jumped up from her stool and crossed to join them.
“I’ll help you practice if you like,” she offered.
“Oh, that’s not necessary, Ensign McDonnell,” Reg began.
“That’s a wonderful suggestion,” the Doctor said buoyantly. “We’ll demonstrate.” Turning to Meegan, he said, “Good morning, Ensign McDonnell. How are you today?”
“I am excellent,” she responded with sincere enthusiasm. “I’ve just finished going over our inventory and replenished our stocks where required. How is your study of the Caeliar catoms coming along?”
“Incredibly challenging,” the Doctor said, “but I’m confident that in time, I’ll begin to make sense of them.”
“I’m certain you will. You are an extraordinary researcher and physician. If there is anything I can do to help, I’d be more than happy to assist you.”
“That’s very kind of you, Meegan.”
“Not at all. I noticed that you’ve been learning a new opera. How’s it coming?”
“Very well. Mozart is difficult, but that’s what I like about it.”
“I’d love to