"Headaches Of All Sorts"
[Previous post: "Relieving The Pressures of Command", written by the promoted Julian Knight]
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Sickbay
Lea sat on the vacant biobed, clutching her injured hand. The CMO could have taken care of the minor cut a long time ago but too many things had been on her mind. Even with no one else in Sickbay besides her, Lea had found it there to bee to much to do. Actually, too much to think of.
Going onto a mission to rescue Enaii from the clutches of the Grim Reaper had been enough onto itself. Lea could only imagine what sort of hell they would have to deal with to accomplish this miracle. The CMO had also not entirely liked the idea of being stuck once again in this miniature Sickbay. What had made matters worse had been that the aCMO, Liz Halliwell, had been in charge of the ANUBIS' Sickbay. *Her* Sickbay, *her* office, *her* equipment and *her* staff.
This proved to be a very sore point for Lea. The more she tried to not think about it, the more the CMO did and pictured Elizabeth in the ANUBIS' Sickbay. Large, spacious and fully equipped instead of this hole in the wall which the HATHOR's Sickbay was. At least as far as Lea had been concerned that it.
"At this rate I am going to need a large dose of tranquilizer or a
counselling session with Susan," Lea said jokingly. Had the CMO not jammed
the door to Sickbay opened to help make the room slightly larger, Lea
would have known that she was no longer alone.
Standing in the doorway leaning against the frame was the HATHOR's Cns,
a large grin on her face. "Well, I'm here, should we start?"
Lea looked at her friend ready to rip Susan to pieces for scaring her
as she had. The smile on Susan's lips though quickly made the Cns'
presence a welcomed one.
"I have nothing to say to you," Lea huffed while smiling at the same
time. Anyone else might have been confused, but Susan ran with the ball.
"Good, because the last thing I want to do is have to deal with your
problems," the Cns said hopping on the biobed next to her friend. "The
job of a ship's Cns is not an easy one. Always having to listen to
problems, conflicts, fears and disappointments. After a while it gets to
be truly annoying."
"The job of a CMO is not all fun and games either," Lea smirked. As
she turned to face her friend, the CMO inadvertently displayed her
injured hand to Susan.
The Cns looked surprised for a brief moment before she casually slipped
off the bed. "Tell you what, let's change places for a little while.
I'll be the CMO and you can be the Cns," Susan said looking into the
eyes of her friend.
"I don't know," Lea began, not really certain why the idea had sounded
wrong in some way.
"Relax," Susan said to her friend while reaching for a dermal
regenerator. "You can keep your *rank*. I'll just be Ensign Mei, Chief Medical Officer of the HATHOR. During that time, you will be Lieutenant
Summers, Ship's Counsellor. So what seems to be the problem here?" Susan
asked gently opening her friend's hand to reveal the injury.
"I was putting some of the equipment away when I tripped. One of the
trays went flying into the air and my hand landed on the corner of it as
I crashed down," Lea explained. The CMO had wanted to pull her hand
away but the relief caused by Susan's work had changed Lea's mind.
"No problem *Counsellor*," Susan said teasing Lea with the fake title.
"I'll have you all patched up in no time."
"So why were you having such a bad day?" Lea asked. The CMO had not
wanted to play the role of the ship's Cns but Susan was a friend. As
such it made sense for Lea to ask Susan about the problems she had
mentioned earlier.
"People are worried about the mission," Susan replied while still
working the dermal regenerator over the wound. "The splitting of the crew
has made some people anxious, others nervous. Some onboard the HATHOR
are even worried about being away from the ANUBIS for another mission."
"They shouldn't," Lea said while carefully watching her friend play the
role of the ship's CMO. "Both ships are going on the same mission. If
there is any real problem, we will all be there together. Aside from
that, the assignments are only temporary. Once this mission is over
everything will be back to normal," Lea said with confidence.
"Thank you *Counsellor*," Susan said as she glanced up from her work.
Lea knew at that point that she had been tricked. Susan had played her
role perfectly making Lea counsel herself. Again the CMO had only
wanted to rip her friend into shreds but found it impossible to do so.
Susan had not only been a dedicated Cns, but had also been a true friend.
"Thank you *Doctor*," Lea grinned while closing her hand to test the medical work Susan had just finished. "You know, maybe you should become a CMO."
Susan giggled. "Yeah right. I will only if you become a Cns."
The two women looked at each other for a little while before laughing
out loud together. The idea might have been fun, and might have worked
for a short while, but they knew better. Regardless of what official
position they would have, one thing would never change. Susan and Lea
would remain best of friends.
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Lt. J.G. Lea Summers 2006 post #012
Stardate: 60339.1930
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS HATHOR
