Work Text:
There wasn’t much difference between normal days and holiday working hours for the medical team. In fact, it seemed that there was much more to do in the medical bay as the holidays drew nearer than there was when missions were being run on the regular. As though the darkening of the hemisphere as winter set in increased the need for medical assistance, that boredom and cabin fever incited acts of stupidity and daring in new and interesting ways, and the lack of sunlight increased the need for mood enhancers and antidepressants. It wasn’t a new phenomenon by any stretch of the imagination, but Kardinal found it increasingly silly every year that she and her team had to deal with it. Kardinal couldn’t help but wonder why the Gestalts hadn’t implemented some kind of social norm or even some sort of punishment for the ridiculous daredevilry but then again, she supposed that the levels of stupidity and bravery required to continually run exploratory missions across the galaxy were the same traits found in the people who would take a small piece of plastic sheeting and ride it down a snow-covered hill at breakneck speeds without a care for the safety of the action itself.
Needless to say, she was increasingly proud of her little team. They had grown so much more than she had expected, in ways that she hadn’t expected. It was unusual for the replikas to deviate from their initial programming ,but her little team had become more than just a team. They’d each grown in new ways, developing personalities and interests different from each other, finding their talents as they grew. Kardinal probably didn’t express it enough, but she really was fond of them all, especially as they developed their own personalities, and she certainly didn’t tell them that she was proud of them as often as she should have.
Kardinal glanced at the clock in her office. It was just after three in the afternoon and their shift wouldn’t be over for a few hours, but there weren’t any pressing emergencies and she felt that the team deserved a break. Smiling to herself, she eyed the stack of gifts she’d wrapped and placed in the corner of her office. This was their first Winter Solstice together as a team since they’d begun developing their individuality, and Kardinal wanted to surprise them. They’d all seen the gift exchanges, and the team had received a gift for the unit the year previous from a thankful patient, but they had never been given singular gifts. Kardinal had every intention of making sure that her team was treated kindly and given a Solstice they would never forget.
There were five of them on the team, and they were interchangeable when it came to most procedures so Kardinal made sure that they would get rotation across all their disciplines, but always ensured that they got extra time on their favourite duties whenever she could. Unfortunately, today was just a standard operations day, and everyone was on rotation as things came up and needed to be completed. Kardinal checked the schedule on her desk, nodding. There were no surgeries scheduled for the day but there was a deep cleaning of the operating room, and several sessions of therapy and physical therapy still scheduled for that afternoon and the replikas would be mostly busy with those things for the next hour or two. Kardinal sighed and ran her hand through her hair, the white locks settling back into their asymmetrical cut framing her face. She really wished that she could give her team a proper Solstice celebration and a proper break, but alas, they were busy.
She picked up the first of her gifts and headed out of her office. The Meise all looked the same to outsiders, with black hair tied back in severe buns, the same calming smile and round face, and the same medical uniform. They were all petite standing five and half feet tall, and looked incredibly unassuming, at least compared to Kardinal and her massive seven foot tall frame. She called them her “Little Chickadees” and she loved them all, able to tell them all apart with ease.
Uta and Sabine were chatting together, giggling and covering their mouths as they whispered, and Kardinal tilted her head quizzically as she caught sight of them. They looked like they were having a good time, and she knew that if they were spending time like this, their duties would be up to date, or otherwise ahead of schedule. She smiled as she approached and Sabine saw her coming. The look on Sabine’s face shifted from one of merriment to that of shock and she hurried off, mumbling apologies for being tardy with her work.
Kardinal reached out, the request for her Meise to wait dying on her lips as Sabine hurried off. Uta stood before her, head hanging in shame as she awaited a reprimand.
“Sorry, ma’am, we didn’t mean to be slacking. We are both ahead of schedule and thought that a moment to ourselves wouldn’t hurt,” Uta explained, quietly.
“You needn’t apologize,” Kardinal said with a tired sigh. They’d been over this many times before; the Meise had gotten extremely efficient at their work and often had downtime between tasks, or during a shift if there were no scheduled appointments and no emergencies, and Kardinal was always encouraging them to use that time for their betterment, but the Meise refused, it was outside of their programming to let themselves have downtime. “If you’re ahead of schedule and tasks are complete there is no reason why you should force yourself to work, as long as you can be ready in a moment’s notice, I don’t mind.”
“Yes ma’am,” Uta said with a nod. “Is there something that you need?”
Kardinal smiled. “I was looking for you, actually.”
“Me?” Uta asked, her voice lilting up in excitement. “Is there a new task for me, ma’am?”
“No,” Kardinal said gently. “I wanted to give you a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes, because it’s the Winter Solstice,” Kardinal explained patiently. She had a feeling that she may have to give all of the Meise the same speech, if they weren’t already talking over their hivemind connection. She supposed that it might be easier if she didn’t instruct Uta to keep it a secret, the Meise weren’t very good at hiding things from one another. “And traditionally, you give the people you care about, your family and close friends, gifts on Solstice.”
Uta nodded, humming happily. “Yes ma’am, we know. We remember the gift from last year, although it wasn’t a very good gift since we all were meant to share, and it wasn’t particularly shareable if I recall.”
“That’s correct,” Kardinal sighed. “But the thought was in the right place.”
“I understand,” Uta said with a nod. “May I have my gift now?”
“Of course,” Kardinal agreed, handing over the bright paper bag with tissue paper sticking out of the top.
Uta sat on the floor, cross-legged, like a child, a smile on her face as she opened the gift. Inside was enough quilting fabric and thread to make a whole quilt. “These fabrics are beautiful, ma’am,” Uta said brightly, touching each piece delicately as she looked them over. They were assorted squares, perfect for making a complex patchwork quilt, which was Uta’s favourite thing to make.
“When you’re ready, I’ll get batting for it,” Kardinal promised.
“Thank you ma’am!” Uta said excitedly, standing up quickly and tucking the fabrics carefully back in their bag. “May I go and put this gift in my locker?”
Kardinal nodded. “Of course.”
Uta hurried off to the locker room and Kardinal shook her head. She hadn’t seen her Meise so excited in a very long time. She noticed a small scrap of paper on the floor where Utan and Sabine had been standing and she knelt to pick it up. It was handmade wrapping paper, she was certain of it, and it wasn’t from her. She narrowed her eyes and looked toward the locker room where Uta had run off. She would have to ask where this scrap of paper had come from, even though she had a very good idea. It wasn’t quite the Solstice yet, and she couldn’t deny the warm feeling spreading through her at the thought of her Meise exchanging gifts with one another. There was no small hint of curiosity, too, wondering what they could have possibly acquired to gift each other when she’d had to go out of her way to requisition the gifts for her team.
She turned and headed back to her office, Sabine needed her gift next, especially because Kardinal had startled her and run her off accidentally before she could tell her. Sabine’s gift was much smaller than Uta’s, and Kardinal frowned as she picked it up. She wasn’t sure if they would be satisfied with the gifts being in various sizes, or if she should have made sure that they were more ‘even’ in the way they appeared. This was, after all, the first Solstice they were experiencing, and Kardinal wanted them to have a happy memory of their first gifts.
Sabine was tidying the reception area when Kardinal found her. She looked more than a little distraught, perhaps guilty, and Kardinal held her hand up as she approached, wordlessly asking Sabine to stay a moment before she ran off again.
“I’m so sorry for slacking!” Sabine said quickly. “We were ahead of schedule…”
“It’s all right,” Kardinal promised with a tired sigh. “You really don’t need to worry about these things. I trust you Meise, and I know that you wouldn’t be slacking if there were emergencies or pressing matters. Besides, it’s the Winter Solstice, I don’t mind if you work a little less.” She smiled and held out the gift in her hands. “I have this for you.”
Sabine’s eyes widened as she looked at the package. “A gift for me?” She reached out tentatively to take it, like she thought this might be a prank. “Is this what you had come to give me earlier when I ran away?”
Kardinal hummed and nodded. “Well, I was coming to give Uta hers, and you rushed off before I could give you yours as well.”
“May I open it?”
“Please do,” Kardinal agreed.
Sabine sat down at the desk and set the small package on the pristinely polished wooden desk. She carefully unwrapped the gift, doing her best to keep the paper intact and smoothing it out like she intended to save it and reuse it before methodically looking over the contents of the small package. She smiled as she examined each bobbin and the linen thread, her hobby was making lace and there was plenty of material now. “These colours are beautiful, I don’t think I’ve worked in pastels like this before.”
“I’m glad that you like them,” Kardinal said. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with when you have the time to put them to use.” She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Sabine arrange the gifts into a pile. “After you put those in your locker, can you please send Rosamund into my office?”
Sabine nodded. “Shall I give her a message?”
“No, I don’t think you need to tell her anything, unless you wish to tell her that I have a gift for her.”
Sabine nodded. “Understood.” She pushed herself away from the desk and gathered her things, saving the wrapping paper as well. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Kardinal turned and headed back to her office. The Meise were absolutely acting strange and she would ask Rosamund in private what they were up to.
Uta pulled Sabine aside as she exited Kardinal’s office. “Did you get in trouble?”
Sabine shook her head. “No, Kardinal gave me a Solstice gift.”
Uta nodded. “That’s what she gave me, too. Obviously something different than what you got, but still.”
“I don’t think she knows that we exchanged gifts,” Sabine said quietly. “She didn’t suggest that she did.”
“I just don’t want to spoil the surprise for her!” Uta complained. “We worked so hard on it.”
Sabine nodded, frowning. “We worked so hard to share gifts with each other, too. I don’t want anyone to get in trouble.” She sighed. “I’m meant to go get Rosamund now. It’s her turn to get a gift.”
“At least we already exchanged all of ours,” Uta said with a sigh. “Now we just need everyone to be done with work so that we can present Kardinal with her gift.”
“She seems so happy,” Sabine said thoughtfully. “Giving us gifts. Do you think she’ll like what we made?”
Rosamund poked her head out of the operating room, as if she’d been summoned. “Were you talking about me?”
“Yeah,” Uta said, waving Rosamund over. “Kardinal is giving us all Solstice gifts, and it’s your turn.”
Rosamund smiled. “Oh that’s nice. Shall I go see her now?”
“As soon as you’re ready,” Sabine agreed. “But don’t tell her about the gift we have for her yet, okay?”
Rosamund rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m not going to ruin this surprise! We worked too hard on it!”
It didn’t take long for Rosamund to arrive, she had been tasked with doing the most work in the operating room and the smell of the chemical disinfectants she had been using wafted into the office with her. She took a seat wordlessly and folded her hands in her lap. She looked surprisingly serene as she sat down and Kardinal wondered what Sabine had told her.
“How is your day?” Kardinal asked.
“Quite productive, actually,” Rosamund said with a tired smile. “The operating room is sterilized and the tools have been reorganized. The newly sterilized ones have been restocked, and the packages look different this time, but they seem to be just as effective. I don’t think we should anticipate any trouble.”
“I appreciate how dedicated and thorough you are,” Kardinal said. “I’m sorry that you had to work on that alone, I realize it was a larger task than should have been assigned to a single person.”
“But I enjoy that kind of work,” Rosamund finished the thought. “I understand and I have had quite a nice time, actually. I thought about projects that I would like to take up in my spare time while I worked, and it was very relaxing to deep clean on my own. I fear that the others would have gotten in my way.”
“That is not a very charitable thing to say about your team,” Kardinal said quietly. But it was true. Rosamund was surprisingly methodical, more so than the others, and she did insist on helping in the operating room as often as she could. It felt like it was her domain and Kardinal didn't mind giving her a task that she would enjoy.
“Forgive me,” Rosamund said quietly. “I love them very much, but I sometimes question whether we have the same programming.”
Kardinal made a small noise. “That is a discussion that we will have another time, just you and I, all right?”
Rosamund nodded. “I understand that you have something for me?”
“Ah, Sabine told you.”
“Was she not supposed to?”
“No, I told her she could,, I just wasn’t sure if she would, because it’s meant to be a surprise.”
Rosamund smiled. “Well I am very surprised that you have something for me, it’s quite unexpected, and from what Sabine told me, I’m certain that I will love it. You got her lace making items, right? That really made her happy.”
Kardinal nodded and produced a rather large bag from beneath the desk. She sat it on the flat surface and slid it over to Rosamund. “Happy Winter SOlstice, Rosamund. Thank you for everything you’ve done this year.”
Rosamund smiled and pulled the bag close. She peered inside it, moving the tissue paper aside as she did and her face lit up in delight. “You got me new crochet supplies?” She stood up in her excitement, nearly toppling the bag as she hurried around the desk to give Kardinal a hug. “Oh! I’m sorry, that might have been inappropriate…”
Kardinal wrapped her arms around Rosamund and hugged her. They weren’t usually very affectionate like that, although there was no reason not to be, and Kardinal hadn’t realized how much she enjoyed it when the Meise were willing to hug her. She did consider them like family, and she cared deeply for them all. “I think that this is an appropriate response, actually.”
Rosamund laughed under her breath. “This is the best day ever.”
Kardinal smiled and let her go. “I do have another question for you.”
Rosamund returned to her seat, the more serious tone of voice Kardinal used made her tilt her head slightly, like a confused puppy. “Has something happened?”
“No,” Kardinal said slowly, producing the small scrap of wrapping paper she’d found. “Do you know what this is? I found it in the unit here.”
Rosamund’s face went carefully blank. “It looks like a scrap of paper, ma’am.”
“You know that I dislike it when you lie,” Kardinal said quietly.
“It looks like wrapping paper,” Rosamund replied. “Handmade. Did we get a gift again?”
Kardinal sighed. They were hiding something from her, and she was certain that it was simply that the Meise were exchanging gifts, but she didn’t like the fact that they were hiding things from her. “You’re right, someone must have accidentally dropped it. Thank you for your input. Do you like the yarn?”
“I love it,” Rosamund said. “I want to try and make mittens for when we go outside and it’s cold.”
“That sounds lovely.”
“May I be excused?”
“Of course,” Kardinal sighed. “If you’re finished with your work, you may take a break as well.”
Rosamund nodded. “Thank you ma’am.”
Kardinal tapped her fingertips on the desk as Rosamund departed. There was something that they weren’t telling her and she was starting to worry. She didn’t have much time to be alone with her thoughts before there was a timid knock at the door. Obviously the hivemind was working as intended. “Come in, Nora.”
Nora did as she was told, shuffling quietly into the office. “I’ve finished with the last session for the day. Is there something else that I can do?”
Kardinal hummed. There really wasn’t anything else for the Meise to do. It was meant to be a holiday after all. She just had to hope that there were no emergencies and that they could actually relax a little bit over the next few days. “No, but could you sit down for a moment? I have a Solstice gift for you.”
Nora’s face split in a bright smile. “They weren’t kidding when they told me?”
“Do the others often play pranks on you like that?” Kardinal asked, genuinely curious about the capabilities and limitations of her Chickadees’ hivemind.
Nora shrugged. “Sometimes Uta and Rosamund like to try.”
“But you don’t fall for it?”
Nora laughed. “They forget that I’m in the hivemind, too.” She sighed, happily. “Thank you for the gift.”
“You haven’t even seen it yet.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Nora explained. “You thought highly enough of me, and of the others, to take the time to get us all gifts. That’s very kind of you.”
“It’s the Solstice, I figured you’ve all worked so hard this year that you deserve to experience the holidays.”
Nora smiled, softer this time, and nodded. “It’s still very kind of you.”
Kardinal got up to retrieve the gift from its place and give it to Nora. She perched on the edge of the desk where they’d been sitting and watched as Nora carefully opened the bag. She picked out each item, inspected it carefully, nodding and smiling as she did, before moving onto the next one.
“This is all so wonderful!” Nora exclaimed. “How did you know that I was running out of materials for embroidery and cross-stitching?”
“A good mother knows,” Kardinal said gently, putting her hand on Nora’s head. “What did the others get you?”
“Nothing,” Nora said quickly, her face briefly contorting in discomfort as she lied.
“No?” Kardinal asked. “Then where did this homemade wrapping paper come from?”
Nora shrugged as she looked at it. She knew exactly who had made it, because they’d been exchanging gifts with each other all day. “Maybe one of the patients brought it in accidentally, like on their shoe or something.”
“You’re not very good at lying,” Kardinal sighed.
“I’m not lying!” Nora insisted. “The others didn’t get me anything.”
“Are you the only one who didn’t get something?” Kardinal asked, prepared to be scandalized on Nora’s behalf.
Nora shook her head. “You’re making a mistake, Kardinal, ma’am. It isn’t like that.”
A loud knock on the door interrupted Nora’s panic and she mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ as the others interrupted. She’d been signaling them with a hivemind S.O.S. for help. The door opened unceremoniously without Kardinal even saying anything and Ellie let herself in.
“Are there really Solstice presents?” Ellie asked loudly.
Kardinal sighed and shook her head. “Yes, of course, Ellie. Come in, and tell the others that they ought to come in, too.”
Nora looked like she was about to panic, or cry, and Kardinal put her hand on Nora’s head again. Ellie beckoned for the others and soon the office was filled with the five Meise and Kardinal looming over all of them.
“No one is in trouble, I just want to know what you’ve done. I don’t care for the lying and the secrecy. I thought we were a team, and it troubles me that you’re all keeping secrets,” Kardinal explained as Ellie opened her gift excitedly showing off each item to the girls, and babbling about how many wonderful things she could pattern and sew with the fabric and accouterments in the bag.
Rosamund sighed and stepped forward. “We exchanged gifts this morning,” she admitted. “We drew names and did a secret gift swap with each other, the paper you found was from me, I gave Sabine a gift.”
“See,” Nora said more petulantly than she meant to be. “The others didn’t give me anything, I only got one gift and I only gave one gift.”
Kardinal looked her Meise over in disbelief, not entirely sure what to say about the whole thing. She started to laugh.
“We didn’t mean to do anything bad!” Sabine insisted.
“How did you manage to get each other gifts without me knowing about requisitions?” Kardinal asked as her laughter subsided and her voice finally came back. “I would have had to approve anything out of the ordinary.”
“We… we made each other’s gifts,” Uta said slowly. “So it’s really fortunate that you gifted us these supplies because we were almost out of things after we made each other gifts.”
“Oh,” Kardinal said, feeling slightly stupid for not having guessed. “That’s so kind of you all to think of each other like that.”
“But,” Nora said quietly, “we also have one for you.”
“I’ll go get it,” Sabine said quickly, hurrying out of the room.
“You have a gift for me?” Kardinal asked, surprised. “But why?”
“Because it’s Solstice?” Uta asked. “And we’re like a family. Isn’t that why you got us all gifts?”
Kardinal couldn’t argue with that. They understood more than she thought they had, and she shouldn’t have been surprised. The Meise were very intelligent. Of course they would have all decided to celebrate the Solstice on the same day, in the same way. “That is true.”
Sabine returned with a large wrapped parcel in the same handmade paper as what Kardinal had found and she handed it to her. “We hope you like it.”
Kardinal opened the package carefully, not sure what to expect. Inside was a handmade partially quilted dressing gown. She looked it over, admiring each piece. Ellie had clearly made the pattern and sewn the buttons, as well the non-quilted parts, including the bodice and sleeves. There were embroidered flowers along the hems of the front, which must have been Nora’s doing. The quilted areas for warmth were made by Uta, and the collar was knitted, obviously done by Rosamund. Finally, the sleeves were patterned with a delicate lace edging and no one else but Sabine could have produced that. Kardinal felt a warmth in her chest that she never thought could be possible, moved almost to tears by the thoughtfulness of the gift, and how her Chickadees worked together to create such a beautiful and unique piece. She pulled it on over her uniform and it fit perfectly.
“This is beautiful, thank you all.”
The Meise chattered quietly, excited and happy that it all worked out, and more than a little bit relieved that they weren’t in trouble.
“For our first Solstice together, I think this was a success,” Kardinal announced. “I think we all deserve a nice little break…”
Kardinal’s suggestion of a break was cut off as an alarm began to ring in the main ward. It sounded like an accident and that people were headed to the medical unit. Kardinal sighed and took off her dressing gown.
“Everyone get ready,” Kardinal said, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. “It sounds like this is going to be a busier Solstice than I’d wanted.”
The Meise laughed and hurried to get prepared for whatever was about to come their way. They were a team, and a family, and they’d do their best to make sure that everyone coming into the medical unit would get to have a happy solstice if they could.