I'm Here For A Checkup

Posted on Tue Jan 8th, 2019 @ 11:56am by

1,331 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Emerald Road
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Backpost

Tara had made her way to Sickbay. Dr. Patrovski had reached out to her and the two had agreed to meet and get her "coming aboard" physical out of the way. A good way to get to know one another and get some much needed business out of the way in an environment that both would be comfortable and somewhat familiar with. Upon entering the Sickbay Tara noted that this one had all the familiar sounds, sights, and smells of every other Sickbay she had been in before either as a patient or working. One of the nurses greeted her and took her name. In moments she was being led to a bio bed and told to wait there. Tara knew this meant that the doctor would be along so she put the padd with her transfer orders beside her after hopping up on the bed. Taking in the familiar and relaxing view of a location she had spent much of her time in, she waited for the doctor's arrival.

Sat in his office Xavier was going through some routine medication reports of some of the few civilian crew members on board. Even though it was a required task it was however boring and he found himself reaching for the Coffee more and more as the minutes, 10, 15 then 30 went by. When the Nurse arrived and informed him that Lt. Lithbeth had arrived for her appointment he downed the rest of his beverage, grabbed his coat and walked out to the main floor area. "Lieutenant, welcome. Shall we?" Hand out to one of the biobeds that he'd had prepared for the appointment.

"We shall." Tara said with a smile as she handed her transfer orders to the doctor. Hopping up onto the biobed Tara laid back and began the typical small talk one engages in during a medical exam. "Busy day?"

'Nothing out of the ordinary. Routine mostly which for us is a break." Xavier answered looking at the transfer orders and supporting documentation including medical records. Everything seemed normal but protocol had to be followed. "What about you?" He asked

"Same here. Still trying to wrap my head around everything while getting my first taste of running a department. Can't wait to have some time to sit back and actually but some real thought into setup, find the best candidates for various roles, and such. Right now just flying by the seat of my pants, metaphorically or course." The counsellor continued.

"You will find on board the Dreadnought that at some point or another you will always be trying to get your head around something." He paused for a moment. "Honestly though its good we have an assigned Counsellor, after the mission we just had there are a lot of people that might need help getting over it."

Tara looked at him perplexed. She had not yet had the time to review any information on past missions, she was still to busy prepping for the current one.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"The Dreadnought, which is currently under repairs was infected by a radiation absorbing organism. Attatched to the nacelle and just fed off the residual radiation. It followed the conduits down the nacelle towards engineering and when ever we tried to remove it or do something about it, it got violent." He explained. "We lost some people to it I'll admit, it was hard to prep for storage because Starfleet Medical wanted to do its own autopsy."

"Perhaps we should consult in the near future and you could recommend anyone you feel I should focus on first. Reports help but getting insight from someone that was present during event, I've found is always better." the counselor commented.

"I can help with that, though I'd have a better idea of when we get back to our proper ship instead of this one. Records even relating to what happened have been taken for inspection and review by command." Xavier replied, he himself unhappy as nearly all of his records were sealed and confiscated.

"And while we're on the subject on consulting, I'm a medical doctor as well, and I was wondering if... when I have time, should I have time, if I might be able to pick a shift or two up in Sickbay and possible continue some work on a research project. I find it's best to stay in practice when possible." Tara explained.

"You would have to run that by the First Officer." Xavier answer knowing that especially on this ship time was a premium luxury, on the actual Dreadnought however it might be more fee-sable given the size of Sickbay and the staff within it."While we are on this ship, even the help from medical marines has been axed because some also needed to keep certifications and hours."

It was not that Xavier was not against the idea, but while they were on board the Indefatigable, people had a station and they were needed at it.

Tara nodded agreeing. She wanted the CMO's approval before she would even consider going to the XO for permission. She saw it as a professional courtesy.

"How's are my results?" Tara asked as the medical scan continued.

"So far....good." He replied looking at the results with his medical eye for anything that leapt out at him. "I'll forward you the dossiers of those that might need to see you. Some are on board but most are on Earth while the Dreadnought gets repaired. In the mean time while I've got no real objection about you helping out I would suggest you wait until we get back to the Dreadnought. As you can see we already have a full staff here since only a fraction joined an already crewed ship. Once we are back on the Dreadnought though, space and equipment will become far more readily available."

"Agreed." Tara said. "When we return to the Dreadnought my family will be joining me. I'll make sure to bring my daughters in for their check up. I have them followed closely as their father was born with his telepathic abilities active. He's only one fourth Betazed, but it still caused him some difficulty in his younger years. I've seen research that the condition can be genetic so I like to have them watched closely so that we can catch any signs and get them assistance should the same occur with either of them. So far there have been no symptoms of signs."

"When ever suits you, by all means stop on by." Xavier replied smiling, though when they would get back to the Dreadnought was one question, if they got back to it after this mission was another.

"He functions normally. Only being partially telepathic and empathic was a benefit to him. And it was discovered where he was between the ages of two and three which allowed his family to provided him with the additional supports he needed to cope with the extra stress at such a young age. Now he's been able to create his own mental filter of sorts although he admits it isn't always as effective as he'd like. But it's a coping mechanism that works for him.

"Well if you need help, you know where I am. There are other resident telepaths and empaths on board as well, I'm sure they can advise you far better than I." Xavier knew of such issues but that was not his field, there were medications that could numb or blank out the surrounding effects but that was temporary at best. "I will log the results into the medical database, that way we can avoid a repeat when we get back to the Dreadnought and you bring the family in, unless you want to go through this again with them." Xavier understood the power of parents showing children it didn't hurt, by going first themselves.

"Thank you." Tara said. "I'm sure I will see you again soon." and with that she exited Sickbay.

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