"More Than Just Broken Bones"
[Previous post: "Mechanical and Engineering Debate", written by the too often absent Francois Charette]
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Stardate: 60323.1550
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Lea glared at the man. The CMO had expected there to be injuries on this mission, but not so soon, and certainly not him.
"Just hold still," Lea said while running the dermal-regenerator over the man's forehead. "This can take a few minutes or a few *hours*. It's up to you."
The Marine finally gave in and stopped fidgeting. As much as he might have disliked what had happened he had no choice. The cut had been deep and even the team medic had recommended immediate medical attention.
"There," Lea said taking a step back to admire her work. Pravat didn't seem overly happy but the CMO didn't care. There was something in the man's posture that said he didn't trust her, but Lea had a job to do. "Now let's take care of that fractured Ulna," Lea said almost grinning as she started working on the arm that the nurse had prepared.
"There is no need for that Doctor," Prav objected, "I'm fine."
Lea glared at the Marine once again, but not in the way that the Enaran remembered her doing the first time they had met.
"I am picking up *three* microfractures and one clean break. This means that you are going to be in excruciating pain for the next *month*. It also means that your arm will need to be completely immobilized," Lea said crossing her arms over her chest. "If you like pain, I would be happy to oblige. I just didn't picture you as the type to stay behind while your men go running in into action."
Pravat glared back at the CMO, unwilling to give in a second time to Lea so soon. There was no way to know how long it would take for the ANUBIS to pick up the trail of the MERCURY's crew. That meant that Prav needed to be ready now, not in four *weeks*.
Caught with his back against the proverbial wall, the Marine extended his arm. The immediate pain he felt was all the indication Pravat needed to tell him that he was doing the right thing.
While Lea worked on repairing the fractured bone, Susan entered Sickbay. The look on the Cns' face and the way she made her way to the Marine saying that news of the incident had reached her.
"You know, a promotion doesn't mean that you have become invincible," Susan said with a smile. "Maybe tougher, but certainly not invincible."
"I did not believe that I was," Pravat said, adding a sigh at the end for good measure.
"So tell me," Susan continued, "how did this happen? I overheard Ens. Doratheva mention something about a training exercise, a Klingon and the butt-end of a phaser riffle."
"Our respective teams were working out the cobwebs. During a close-quarter encounter, I became distracted," Pravat replied. The Marine had no intentions of explaining this in more detail for obvious reasons. Looking at his arm and the CMO working on it, Pravat decided to pick the lesser of two evils for the time being. "Tell me Doctor, how will my aim be affected by this?"
Lea looked surprised at first by the question. Prav had not exactly been the model patient, but the question had meant that there had been some progress made. "If you remain absolutely still for the next two minutes, I will have you back as good as new. There might be some minor discomfort for the next few hours, but nothing that should affect your performance."
"You might want to run a neurological scan," Susan said looking directly at Pravat. "The cause of the distraction could be psychological and not biological."
"I am fine," the Marine snapped back. Remaining absolutely still for the benefit of the CMO meant that he could not make a hasty retreat out of the room. That said though, Pravat had already figured out the fastest way to get out as soon as Lea gave him the go ahead.
"There, all done!" Lea said, the arm of the marine vanishing from her grasp instants afterwards.
"Thank you Doctor," the Marine said jumping to his feet and heading for the nearest door. "I have things to do, but I promise to be more careful," he added as he stepped into the corridor and the doors closed behind him.
Lea looked at the doors for a little while before turning to her friend. "There is something wrong with him, and I don't mean in the physical sense."
Susan gently smacked Lea on the shoulder. "Hey, that's my job! That is unless you want me to start fixing broken bones?"
Lea grinned and gave the universal sign of surrender. The CMO had done her job, now it was up to the Cns do to the same.
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #268
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
