[Chapel's quarters onboard the Enterprise - Open]

[headnursechapel]

After unpacking and stowing away the few items she'd had with her and the clothes and other necessities she'd bought on Risa, Christine's quarters looked as bare as they had when she'd walked in. They were smaller than her quarters on her own Enterprise, but she didn't mind; she'd never needed much space anyway

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[rn_chapel]

Before she'd quite charted her way through the schematic, a trill at the door announced that Christine had a visitor.

"It's me, the other Christine," Chapel called. "Are you busy?"

[headnursechapel]

Christine glanced up at the door chime, but smiled at the familiar voice.

"Computer, open door," she commanded, and moved to greet her younger self. "I'm not busy at all; just trying to figure out where Sickbay is. Please, come in."

She moved to the replicator to order some tea; the nice thing about entertaining for yourself was that there was no question about what to serve.

[rn_chapel]

"I wanted to check in with you, since we never did have a chance to connect when we were on Risa," Chapel said, taking a seat. "It looks like you're settling in pretty well. Is there anything I can do?"

[headnursechapel]

Chapel brought the tea over and offered a cup to Christine.

"Settling in all right," she agreed. "I was thinking about going to Sickbay and offering my services later on. I don't want to step on any toes, though - you're Head Nurse here, after all."

[rn_chapel]

Chapel sipped at her tea, pausing for a moment before replying. It was an odd situation. Irrationally, she felt challenged, even though her alternate universe counterpart was actually going out of her way to avoid just that. Being confronted with a more experienced version of herself made her worry that her own experiences and qualifications wouldn't measure up, somehow, that she didn't really deserve her position on the ship.

But her own insecurities weren't the other Christine Chapel's fault. And since she was here, it would be stupid - illogical, the Spocks would say - not to take advantage of her, both as another experienced hand in sickbay and possibly as something of a mentor.

And, too, Chapel couldn't help but feel that if she herself was caught in a strange universe, she'd be anxious for something to do with her time. Of course the other Christine wanted to work. And Chapel wanted to help her

[headnursechapel]

Christine shook her head. "Not yet," she replied. "I did mention it to your Captain Kirk, though, and he seemed amenable to the idea."

She looked down, suddenly - irrationally - embarrassed. "I was thinking - well, I don't know how long I'll be here - away from my own ship. But I - we," she amended with a soft smile, still unsure how to refer to this other woman who both was and was not her. "Well, as I said, I don't want to step on anyone's toes. You have a fully staffed sickbay already, and while I'm happy to help in any way I can, I really don't have a position here. I was thinking of taking the opportunity to do some research. Maybe start working on turning that bioresearch degree from a pipe dream into a reality." She glanced up at the other woman. She'd abandoned bioresearch when Roger had abandoned her, and not looked back. Now she felt like she was finally ready to face those old dreams again.

[rn_chapel]

Chapel's eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "Oh, that's a fantastic idea! We have some laboratory facilities on board that I've been able to take advantage of now and then. I'm sure you'd love them. I keep thinking I'll make some time to pursue research again, myself, but... Well, I'm sure you know what it's like."

[headnursechapel]

Christine laughed in delight. "I know exactly what it's like. Dr. McCoy certainly keeps me on my toes - and I've met yours, I'm sure he's the same way."

"I'd have to ask permission to use your facilities first, of course. And I'd still like to work in Sickbay part-time, help earn my keep. But I thought it would be a good way to make use of my time here - and to make sure I'm not too much in your way." She said it lightly, but she could only imagine how strange it would be to have an older and more experienced version of herself suddenly show up and ask to work beside her. She had no intention of showing her younger self up, or anything else of the sort, and she hoped the young woman realized that and was able to feel at ease around her.

[rn_chapel]

Chapel smiled, reassured by the other Christine's words and manner, and no longer feeling so defensive. Those feelings were being replaced by a rising tide of enthusiasm for Christine's idea of pursuing studies in bioresearch. It was exactly the sort of thing that Chapel would want to do, given the opportunity, and she was already taking a vicarious pleasure in it.

"We should be able to clear that with Commander Spock pretty easily," she said. "He trusts me not to trash the labs already, after all. And getting you set up with access to the ship's library so that you can catch up on journals and so on is something I can do myself."

[headnursechapel]

Christine smiled in return, warmed by the young woman's enthusiasm at her idea and her willingness to help. "That would be wonderful," she replied. "Your ship - well, it's very different from ours. Much larger, for one thing, and the technology seems well ahead of anything I've seen. I'm sure your labs are a sight to see."

She hesitated, then reached out to lay a hand on the younger woman's arm. "Thank you, so much. For offering your help, and - well, everything, really." She dropped her hand and glanced around the bare and featureless quarters. "This isn't my home; it never will be, but everyone's kindness has helped so much."

[rn_chapel]

"You make it easy," Chapel said sincerely.

She busied herself with her teacup for a moment, not sure what else to say. She'd had training in breaking bad news to patients and their families, in being sympathetic and developing a good bedside manner, but "comforting one's alternate self from another universe when she is homesick" wasn't part of her curriculum.

So she decided to change the subject. "I've been thinking about what we should call ourselves," she said. "I mean, having two Christine Chapels around shouldn't be too big a deal on a ship with a half-dozen Spocks, really, but I thought it might make things easier if one of us used a nickname, or something. Have you ever been called anything but Christine?"

[headnursechapel]

Christine thought for a moment. "Well, Roger used to call me Chrissy, but..." she trailed off, and shook her head. "I was always Christine to everyone else. What about you?"

[rn_chapel]

Chapel shrugged. "Some of the girls on my floor in the dorm when I was at college called me Tina. It didn't really catch on like some nicknames do, but I could try going by it for a while, see if that helps make things less confusing."

[headnursechapel]

"If you're comfortable with it -" Christine replied hesitantly. "I'd hate for you to feel you have to go by a name you don't identify with, just because I'm here." She offered an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid I don't know the identification protocol normally used when meeting your double from another universe."

[rn_chapel]

Chapel grinned. "I think I missed that chapter in the manual, yeah. I'll give Tina a try for a while, and we'll see how it goes." She paused, checking the time. "I have a meeting coming up in just a little while and I should get going. Can I help you out with anything before I leave?"

[headnursechapel]

"Oh, no, but thank you so much for offering," Christine replied, standing up to show - Tina, she reminded herself - to the door. "It was lovely to sit down with you. I'll see you in sickbay later?"