"The Longest Night"
[Previous post: "Final Farewell", written by eternal romantic Lisa Mac Isaac]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, CMO's Office
Stardate: 60327.0700
The long night had come and gone and Lea had yet to see the inside of her quarters. After dinner Maya and Lea had returned to sickbay to continue to search for a cure. The CMO had never expected it to be so difficult to find a remedy for the condition David was in. Then again the illness afflicting the CEO could hardly be considered to be a normal sickness. If you could consider being possessed by the spirit of a dead relative a sickness at all.
According to most medical journals SDS did not exist. As far as the majority had been concerned, SDS was a psychological, not a physiological disorder. In other words, and according to those would-be experts, David needed a padded room and a shrink, nothing more. Lea of course did not believe this, hence why she had spent the night here, trying not to fall asleep.
Late the night before Maya had left complaining that the instruments here were not sufficient for her needs. Maybe the message the CSciO had received from Pravat had something to do with Maya's decision to go. Maybe looking at this from the point of view of medicine had been the wrong approach. Either way Lea had not argued with Maya's wish to leave. The line of research they had last ventured onto seemed more oriented towards the Para-physics than medicine. The formulas left behind by Maya had been well beyond Lea's comprehension which had made the CMO almost glad to be alone once again.
Lea was sure that the answer to David's problem was out there, somewhere. All that the CMO needed to do was to find it before it was too late for the ANUBIS' CEO. As disturbing as the news had been, the decision to have a court-martial might have been a good thing. True David would not see it that way, but it gave those working on his behalf more time. The problem was not only to find a way to separate Richard from David, but also to prove that he had been there in the first place. Proving that Richard had taken control of David would be just as challenging as separating the two.
The CMO had begun to accept that her role would be to prove the presence of Richard, if not to remove it. The actual dealing with Richard would have to be left in more capable hands, such as those of Maya. After all, based on what the CSciO had said, or at least what lea could remember of it, this task had been more up her alley.
Lea heard the door to Sickbay whoosh open and close. The CMO had expected to hear footsteps after this but Lea heard nothing. Captain Arlington had been transferred to the base and her staff had been given time off. Worried that maybe she was losing her marbles Lea left her office and went to investigate.
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Stardate: 60327.0710
"Good morning Doctor Summers," Clora said startling Lea. The CMO had not been expecting any visitors, especially not one apparently so cheerful.
"Good morning," Lea mumbled back. This was the first time that the CMO felt the full extent of how tired she was. There was an increasing gap between what Lea's mind wanted and what her body could do. So before she found herself on the floor, Lea reached for the nearest chair and sat down.
"I had wanted to speak with you yesterday," Clora said sitting next to the CMO, "but you seemed quite busy."
"I have been a little busy," the CMO said, her back melting into the chair. Lea could not believe how tired she was and wondered if she would fall asleep while sitting there.
"Would this be a good time for us to have a little chat?" Clora asked. The question had been nothing more than a formality, and Lea know it.
"Counsellor," Lea said feeling her eyes growing heavier. "I'll be honest, I spent all of last night working on trying to find a cure for SDS. My brain is like pea soup and my body is not all that far behind. If it is all the same to you, I would rather we talked later. Right now I don't think I would make much sense."
"Get some rest, I'll speak with you later," Clora said before standing and glancing back at the CMO. The NEW ALEXANDRIA Cns seemed a little concerned but Lea could not figure out why. Was it because the CMO had spent the night up working on a hopeless case or had it been something else.
Whatever the reason for Clora's concerns Lea would have to wait to find out. When the Cns left Sickbay Lea's eyes had closed at the same time as the doors. And like then they would not reopen unless someone made them do so.
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #435
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
