From: Christine Fontaine
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 1997 19:33:38 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Here and there...
SD 90304.1932
MD 01.1505
Scene: CMO's Quarters
Lieutenant Commander Catherine Ledoux was back in her quarters, having spent
a couple of hours in her office in sickbay, reviewing personnel files and
arranging a staff meeting for the medical personnel, which would be held the
following day at 0900. Although there was still plenty of work to be done,
Catherine had desperately needed a break, and so she had returned here, to
spend some quiet time with her two cats. Tomorrow, after her staff meeting,
she could begin the arduous task of carefully reading the Senior Staff's
medical files.
Both Whiskers and Dawn clammoured for Catherine's attention, creating a
cacophony of sound that was totally disproportionate to their miniscule
size. After bending over and petting each Siamese in turn, assuring them of
her love and affection, Catherine walked over to the replicator where she
ordered some feline supplement for the two mischievous felines. Placing
their dinner on the floor, the vet stepped back as the two Siamese scrambled
for the food. Whiskers attacked his portion with vigour, devouring it in
large gulps. Dawn, the tiny female, was more dainty, and she took her time,
almost savouring each bite. While the two cats were busy filling their
tummies, Catherine refilled their water bowl with some cool, fresh water for
them to drink.
After her cats' needs were seen to, Catherine walked over to her bed, where
she plopped herself down, exhaling a sigh. Looking about, the vet decided
that she should begin to unpack but she knew that decorating her quarters
would be an emotionally draining experience. So many memories were tied up
with Rich and the REGENT. Unbidden, a few salty tears began to fall.
Shaking her head in frustration, Catherine decided that it was far too quiet
in her quarters. Back aboard the REGENT, Anna would have already started
some music playing in the background. Here, without the benefit of an
anticipatory computer system, Catherine had to make the request herself.
First, however, she had to make sure her programme files were loaded into
the CHESAPEAKE's computer system.
With another sigh, Catherine forced herself up from the bed. Slowly, she
walked over to the area where her luggage had been deposited. Scanning the
assemblage for the pack that contained her computer data chips, the vet's
deep blue eyes finally came to rest upon the item in question. With a
grunt, Catherine hefted the pack, the effort reminding her that she was
still a bit weak. No doubt her strength would return as she regained the
weight she had lost.
Rummaging through the pack, Catherine secured the data wafers she had been
searching for, as well as a few other isolinear chips. While she was
feeding information into the ship's computer system, she might as well
include her replicator recipes and her holodeck programmes, as well as her
favourite musical selections. Chips in hand, she stepped towards her desk
with its accompanying computer terminal. A few minutes later, Catherine's
personal programmes and preferences had been entered into her personal file
space in the computer system. Now, she could request some music.
"Computer, play music programme Ledoux-Canada-one, s'il vous plait? Merci."
Thanking the computer was a habit Catherine had gotten into while serving
aboard the REGENT, where it only seemed natural to thank a computer whose
name was 'Anna'.
As strains of music began to fill the air, Catherine wiped away yet more
uncooperative tears. They refused to stay locked behind her eyes but
insisted on making their escape, to trace salty tracks down Catherine's face.
With "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams playing in the background, Catherine set
to work, taking a seat beside her luggage, preparing to unpack. First, she
decided to tackle the box that had her Aunt and Uncle had sent from back
home, once they had learned that Catherine had lost most of her personal
belongings when the REGENT-A had been destroyed. Uncertain of what lay
within the container, the vet was looking forward to discovering what
treasures it boasted.
Catherine smiled as she began delving into the box. Knowing their neice's
passion for horses, Catherine's Aunt and Uncle, whom she called 'Ma tante'
and 'Mon oncle', had filled the cargo container with precious riding
equipment. Sitting at the top of the box were a pair of custom made,
leather riding boots that Catherine knew would fit her to a T. Another
custom made item, a pair of leather-seated white dressage breeches were
folded underneath the boots. Beautiful, hand made treasures, Catherine knew
of the care that had gone into their creation, for they were the exact
replicas of the riding gear she had lost, made from her exact measurements
that were still stored in the tack-maker's computer.
Blue eyes flashing with delight, Catherine dug deeper into the box,
wondering what other surprises it contained. Ever thoughtful, her aunt and
uncle had also included a pair of breeches for show-jumping, another pair of
britches for dressage, along with the proper shirts and jackets for both
disciplines. They had also included an assortment of headgear: a show
helmet for show-jumping, a formal hat for dressage, and a hard-hat for
everyday training. Rounding out the collection were assorted other "horsey"
items. Catherine shook her head in disbelief. Surely her aunt and uncle
would realize that she didn't need all of this gear while serving aboard a
starship. No doubt they still felt that Catherine was first and foremost an
equestrienne, no matter what she was doing with her life. Some things never
changed, and her aunt and uncle certainly numbered among them.
*** *** *** ***
MD 01.1730
Scene: Sickbay
Catherine returned to sickbay, her framed diplomas in hand, ready to
decorate her new office. Well, at least she would hang her credentials on
the wall. That would have to suffice for now, although in time she hoped to
add some more personal touches to the room, for she would be spending a
great deal of time there. Studying in her quarters would prove to be nearly
impossible with two rambunctious Siamese cats running around and constantly
vying for her attention.
Ensign Carol Moore, one of the nurses assigned to the CHESAPEAKE was on duty
in sickbay when Catherine put in her appearance. With a bright smile on her
cheery face, Carol approached the Chief Medical Officer. "Hello, I'm Ensign
Carol Moore, Registered Nurse," she stated, a friendly tone to her voice.
"You must be Doctor Ledoux," she added, having noted the pips on the vet's
uniform collar.
Catherine shyly nodded. "Yes, I'm Doctor Catherine Ledoux, Chief Medical
Officer." The vet's voice was barely louder than a whisper.
Carol didn't seemed dismayed by her superior's quiet demeanour. Extending a
PADD, she presented it to Dr. Ledoux, adding, by way of explanation, "Dr.
Donne left a status report for you." Carol smiled again as Catherine took
the proferred PADD. "There's a patient she'd like for you to check on."
"A patient?" Catherine was clearly surprised.
Carol nodded. "One of the science students. Seems there was a bit of an
accident in one of the labs." Then, noting Catherine's look of concern she
quickly added, "oh, nothing serious. Nothing to worry your head about.
Just a broken arm. We took good care of him," she reassured the vet. "Dr.
Donne just thought it would be prudent to hold him for observation, at least
until you could get a look at him. The details are in her report, although
I'll be happy to detail the injury for you."
Slightly taken aback my the nurse's seemingly incessant chatter, Catherine
foggily mumbled, "no, that's fine. I'll take a look."
In a bit of a daze, the vet placed her diplomas on one of the nearby biobeds
and followed Carol, who continued to talk as she led Dr. Ledoux over to the
injured student. Once there, Catherine, shaking off her daze, murmured
"thank you Nurse," and Carol, still smiling, left the doctor to conduct the
examination.
Unlatching a diagnostic cart from the wall next to the biobed, Catherine
addressed the young man who was lying on the biobed, seemingly bored out of
his skull. "Let's have a look at that arm," she stated simply then glanced
at the report Dr. Donne had filed.
Securing herself a medical tricorder from the cart, Catherine flipped it
open and began scanning Ben Kirko's arm, for the medical report had provided
the young man's name. Everythng appeared to be normal - the arm was healthy.
"Everything checks out fine," Dr. Ledoux stated. "You're released from
sickbay."
Kirko smiled, for although the nurses had been friendly, staying in sickbay
was certainly not fun. Jumping down off of a biobed, he smiled at the
doctor. "Thanks," he said, and then was quickly on his way.
Catherine, after replacing the medical tricorder and wheeling the diagnostic
cart back into place, reclaimed her diplomas and headed to her office.
*** *** *** ***
MD 01.2030
Scene: CMO's Quarters
For the millionth time Doctor Catherine Ledoux wondered if there was a way
she could get out of the Senior Officers' dinner. Unfortunately, she had
yet to come up with a legitimate excuse. Nothing, it appeared, was going to
save her from this fate.
First however, she was going to indulge herself in a nice long shower. A
*real* shower, with *hot* water. After everything she had been through, she
deserved it.
Stepping into her washroom, Catherine turned on the water for the shower,
adjusting it until the temperature was just right. Slipping out of her
dirty uniform, Catherine stepped into the shower, delighting in the feel of
the warm water cascading down. The warmth of the water, combined with the
pulsating water pressure, helped to soothe her aches and pains, helped to
relax her tense, sore muscles. For several long minutes Catherine simply
stood there, relishing the feel of the water pounding against her skin.
Once some of the tightness had left her muscles, the vet washed and
conditioned her hair and then scrubbed herself from head to toe,
endeavouring to get all of the travel grime off of her. Finally, after a
good stretch of time had passed, she finally felt clean. A few more minutes
were spent under the warm water, simply savouring its relaxing touch.
Reluctantly, Catherine eventually turned off the water, stepped out of the
shower, and towelled herself dry. If it wasn't for the dinner that she had
to attend, the vet might very well have stayed in the shower until she was
too tired to stand upright any longer.
With a towel wrapped around her torso, Catherine combed out her long locks,
letting the curls cascade loosely down her back. Catherine was not in the
mood to fuss with her hair.
Stepping into her bedroom, the vet donned the clean uniform that she had
laid out earlier. The medical blues suited Catherine's colouring, setting
off her sparkling sapphire eyes. Normally, the form-fitting uniform also
hugged the vet's every curve, showing off her perfect figure. Catherine,
however, had lost a significant amount of weight during the REGENT's last
mission, weight that had yet to be regained. Consequently, her once
perfect-fitting uniform now hung a bit loose on Catherine's thin frame.
Catherine, however, didn't really care what she looked like. There was only
one person whose opinion mattered to her, and that person was not aboard
the CHESAPEAKE.
Swallowing the tears that threatened to engulf her once again, Catherine
took a firm grip of herself. Centering herself with a few deep breaths, she
tried to calm her racing thoughts. Once she felt she had them under
control, she smoothed out her uniform, tucked a curl behind one ear and
headed out. There was an officers' dinner to attend.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine
Lieutenant Commander Catherine Ledoux, DVM
Chief Medical Officer
USS CHESAPEAKE
<< NRPG >>
Skipping around from here to there, but it does get Catherine caught up to
the dinner.
See you there!
'til later,
Chris
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