From: Christine Fontaine 
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 21:10:19 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Sickbay: LT Murray's Physical

SD 90311.2108
MD 02.1400
Scene: USS CHESAPEAKE: Sickbay: CMO's Office
Lieutenant Commander Catherine Ledoux was up to her elbows in PADDwork.  Not 
only did she still have medical files to review and personnel records for 
her medical staff to examine, but she also had to prepare the Emergency 
Procedure Drills for her staff, which would be conducted in the holodecks.  
Accustomed to having Anna's assitance for such simulations aboard the 
REGENT, Doctor Ledoux was finding that programming the holodecks herself 
involved quite a bit of work.
Of course, there were standard emergency programmes available but Catherine 
wanted to customize her drills to reflect the needs of the CHESAPEAKE's crew 
and to address the strengths and weaknesses of her medical staff.  For 
instance, Doctor Ledoux wanted to be sure that the holodeck simulations 
covered, if not all, than at least most of the races represented aboard 
ship.  Unlike the REGENT, which had boasted a very diverse senior staff, 
most of the CHESAPEAKE's senior officers were human.  Aboard the REGENT, the 
French Canadian vet had dealt with Sivaoans, Vulcans, Betazoids, Trills, 
Viari, Spaxellians, Trader-Monks, and Klingons, although only the Sivaoans 
and the humans had ever been in her care in sickbay.  Nevertheless, 
Catherine had studiously reviewed the physiology and anatomy of each of 
those races, so that she would have a passing familiary with them should her 
medical services ever be required.
Catherine was just making a notation to include a Rihannsu as part of their 
holodeck drills when Nurse Carol Moore poked her head into the CMO's office, 
a smile on her friendly face.
"I'm not disturbing you, am I?" Nurse Moore asked, noting that Doctor Ledoux 
looked a little better than she had the previous day.
"Not at all," Catherine replied, relieved for the respite from her paperwork.
"A Lieutenant Murray is here for her physical exam," Carol explained, still 
smiling.
Catherine's eyes opened a fraction wider in surprise.  An officer reporting 
in for her physical voluntarily?  With any luck that meant that Catherine 
hadn't completely bungled things with the Chief Science Officer at the 
previous night's dinner.  Feeling a little thrill of hope tempered by a bit 
of apprehension and embarrassment the vet wondered if she and Anne would be 
able to become friends.
Realzing that the nurse was still standing there waiting to be dismissed, 
Doctor Ledoux cut her thoughts short.  "Thank you Nurse Moore," she said, a 
hint of a smile beginning to shadow her lips.  "Tell her I'll be right there."
With a nod and a smile, Carol was gone.  Catherine turned to her computer 
terminal and downloaded Lieutenant Murray's medical file onto a PADD.  
Taking the PADD in her left hand, she rose from the desk, and, as she 
prepared to leave the quiet sanctuary afforded by her office, Doctor 
Catherine Ledoux assumed the role of a calm, competant, professional 
physician.  All of her personal problems were pushed aside, still present, 
but no longer dominating her thoughts.  Right now she was a Chief Medical 
Officer, and the moment she stepped into sickbay, she would complete her 
duties with efficiency and ability.
Tucking a loose curl behind one ear, Catherine entered the main sickbay and 
walked over to the examination room where Lieutenant Murray was waiting.  
Completely focused on her task and her patient, Doctor Ledoux noticed that 
Anne seemed to have an easy familiarity with the instrumentation and 
readouts surrounding her.  If she remembered reading the Lieutenant's jacket 
correctly, one of her parents had been a physician.  Perhaps that would 
explain the look in Lieutenant Murray's eyes.
A small smile gracing her lips, Catherine approached the biobed that Anne 
was perched upon.  "Good afternoon, Lieutenant Murray," the doctor's voice 
was soft but pleasant.  As the vet's cheeks blushed a pale pink, still a bit 
embarrassed by her comportment the previous evening, she added, "its nice to 
see you again."  Catherine's tone of voice rang with sincerity.  "Thank you 
for reporting in for your medical exam so promptly."
Anne smiled back at the doctor, feeling a lot better already.  Perhaps it 
was professionalism, perhaps not; but either way, there was an opening... 
and this time, Anne wasn't running a psychometric test, on a conscious or 
any other level.
"It is always a pleasure," she said truthfully, "to come see this place.  
And..." She hesitated, then decided that non-professional talk could wait 
until a more appropriate time.  "To be a good officer, one must know what 
is good for one, as I heard one of my division chairman tell his 
subordinate earlier today."
She neglected to mention that the remark had come at a rather inopportune 
time, in the midst of the morning drill; it had been uttered by a harassed 
Stephen Stenford while trying to wrest a loaded hypospray of something or 
other from a nearly hysterical student. 
Dr. Ledoux seemed to take the comment at surface value, nodding 
pleasantly and heading toward the medical instruments.
Unlatching a diagnostic cart from its niche in one wall, Catherine wheeled 
it over to the biobed.  Next, she retrieved the PADD containing Lieutenant 
Murray's medical file that she had deposited next to Anne.
With a ghost of a smile still playing about her lips, Doctor Ledoux was now 
ready to begin.  "First, we'll get these questions out of the way.  I know 
that most of this information should be in your medical files, but its 
easier to hear things first hand sometimes."  Catherine spoke quietly, her 
sapphire eyes fixed upon the PADD she was holding.
"Any major illnesses?"
"No," said Anne, feeling relieved.  These questions might not be as 
terrifying as Myron had said they would be; he went in for a medical 
almost once a month, and he still came home crying every time.
"Any major injuries?" 
"No injuries," answered Anne.  Thank goodness, she added to herself.  
Starfleet service was a dangerous profession.  
 
"Have you ever had any surgery?"
"Well... I donated a kidney, but I haven't had any surgery for health 
problems." Anne shrugged almost instinctively; the CMO on her previous 
ship had stared her down at that point and demanded an explanation of why 
it hadn't appeared in her medical files.
"Any enforced stay in a sickbay or hospital?"
"No..." Anne chewed her lip.  She didn't suppose she was ever in a 
*hospital* as such... "No," she said more firmly.
Catherine noted Anne's slight hesitation but decided to let it pass.  
Although physical examinations were routine and painless, most officers were 
uncomfortable with them.  No doubt that explained the Lieutenant's small pause.
 
"Anything else I should know about, or anything that's not in your official 
medical records?"  Catherine always felt a bit embarrassed asking this 
question.  If the information wasn't contained in an individual's medical 
file that it was either very touchy or sensitive material or else it was 
classified information.  In either case, it was usually difficult to find 
out the truth, although any information given to the physician would be 
considered strictly confidential.
As if reading the doctor's mind, Anne spoke up.
"The usual doctor-patient privilege holds, doesn't it?" she asked, her 
voice a lot lower than it had been before.
Catherine returned her deep blue gaze to Anne's visage.  "Of course," she 
said quietly, placing the PADD down on the diagnostic cart.  "Our 
coversation never leaves this room."  Catherine paused, brushing a loose 
curl off her forehead.  "Completely off the record."  As if to emphasize her 
point, the vet turned off all of the medical sensors in the room.
"I suppose... well..." Even with full knowledge of how the medical 
profession worked, and even after she herself had virtually forced the 
doctor into self-disclosure the night before, Anne wasn't at all certain 
that she wanted *anyone* on the ship to know what she was about to tell 
the doctor.  She looked down at her hands for a moment, then realized 
that Dr. Ledoux was still waiting.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Anne shook her head.  "I don't know if this would fall 
under your jurisdiction or not, but anyway... I was in a... 'special' 
class for six years, before I went to Cochrane High... and... well, and at 
Cochrane, too," she concluded.  She had a feeling she might be telling 
the wrong party here, but she felt a whole lot better about telling this 
quiet, but friendly, doctor than the... Ship's Counselor.
Patiently, Catherine waited for Anne to continue.  'Special' could mean just 
about anything - from a gifted individual to someone with a learning 
disability.  When it appeared that Anne needed a little bit of encouraging, 
Catherine decided to prompt her with a simple, non-judgemental question.
"'Special' class?" asked the CMO, her voice as soft and calm as before.
"Yes..." Anne's cheeks burned.  "They thought it might be something 
organic at first, especially after Myron was born..." She babbled on, 
unable to stop the flow of words.  "They decided it wasn't by the time I 
was six, but I never made it past the screening committee."
Myron.  If Catherine remembered Lieutenant Murray's file correctly he was a 
close relative of Anne's.  Wondering where this was all leading, the vet 
decided to pose another question, hoping that she wasn't being too intrusive.
"What wasn't organic?" asked Dr. Ledoux, gently, making Anne realize that she 
had somehow managed to leave out the specific noun in all this.
"Oh.  Mood swings." She smiled tightly.  "I used to have a lot of 
tantrums when I was younger, and very wild ones at that.  That was partly 
why my parents wanted to stay on Luna, because it had a specialized 
education program with smaller class sizes.  I was eligible for 
mainstreaming when I was six, but I had to get the evaluating 
psychologist's approval first, and..." She shrugged.  "It didn't happen."
Catherine nodded sympathetically.  When she had gone over Lieutenant 
Murray's jacket, she had noted that the Science Officer had completed her 
doctoral work at a very young age.  Such gifted individuals usually had some 
difficult interacting with less-talented peers, which made integration 
difficult.  Catherine used to envy such individuals, who were able to 
accomplish so much at such a young age.  Now, listening to Anne, she wasn't 
sure that she envied them any longer.
Anne sighed a little, remembering... but what she remembered was the 
imposing Counselor at San Francisco Medical... and how she had managed to 
botch the chance she had to gain entry into a medical school.  She had 
been eleven...  San Francisco Graduate School had taken her on, but the 
Medical School dean had been most unyielding: a good report from the Head 
Counselor or no go.  She brought her mind back to the present with a jerk.
"The medical work-up at Cochrane went fine, too, but they insisted on their 
Head Counselor's OK before mainstreaming, because of my age and my educational 
background, and... well, it just didn't go through.  Anyway," she concluded, 
feeling somewhat embarrassed about dumping everything on the doctor, "I guess 
that about sums it up... so, I guess, it really wasn't... *medical*.  
Since I was going in for a post-undergrad, San Francisco University 
officials decided that whatever the problem was, it wasn't large enough 
to impact on my work... and it just stayed off the record since."
Until Kevin Mallory found out, she added to herself... and now, she had 
just told Dr. Ledoux... of her own free will.  And in a *medical* exam.  
Was she going out of her mind?
As she listened to Anne, Catherine felt a surge of sympathy for the 
Lieutenant.  Having been subjected to repeated examinations by counsellors 
herself, the vet could understand what Anne had been through.  Tucking a 
loose curl behind one ear, she finally spoke, her voice quiet.  "Well, 
whatever the problem was, you have certainly risen above it."  Warmly, 
Catherine smiled at Anne.
"Thank you for your trust, Anne," Catherine continued softly.  "You can be 
sure that I'll keep this in the highest confidence," she added, seeking to 
reassure the Lieutenant.
Now that the questions were out of the way, the actual physical examination 
could begin.  Obtaining a medical tricorder from the diagnostic cart, Doctor 
Ledoux asked Lieutenant Murray to lie down on the biobed.  Readings could be 
taken from a sitting position, but it was generally easier if the person was 
lying prone.  Tricorder in hand, Catherine began scanning Anne's form.  
Everything looked normal.  Lieutenant Murray was in good physical condition.
 
Doctor Ledoux ran through the standard series of tests.  Each major body 
system was examined by the medical sensors:  the skeletal system, the 
muscular system, the integumentary system, the nervous system, the 
cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, the lymphatic system, the 
digestive system, the reproductive system and the urinary system.  Should 
any aberration be discovered in any of the systems, a more complete and 
exhaustive examination of that particular system could be undertaken.
Snapping the medical tricorder shut, Catherine turned from the diagnostic 
displays back to Anne.  "All done.  Everything looks normal."  Smiling, she 
added, her cheeks once again flushed a delicate pink.  "Thank you."
"Thank *you*, doctor," said Anne sincerely, her own cheeks flushing 
fiercely.  "And thank you for... listening."
Catherine smiled.  "My pleasure, Anne."  Then, blushing, she added, "umm, 
Lieutenant Murray."  They were, after all, on duty.  "If you ever need to 
talk, I'll always listen."
"Thank you," replied Anne.  "And if you ever need someone to talk to, or to 
listen, my offer from last night still stands."
"Thank *you*."  Catherine was still blushing.  "You know," she added, 
leaning in closer to Anne as if sharing a secret, "one of my favourite 
quotes has always been a passage from _Jane Eyre_, an old book, written, 
well, I don't know how long ago..."
Still speaking softly, but now using her 'stage voice', Catherine began 
reciting:  " 'Sit down, I'll talk to you as long as you like, and hear all 
you have to say, whether reasonable or unreasonable'. "
Sighing, Catherine added softly, "if only counsellors were that easy to deal 
with..."
"I know what you mean." Anne's smile was a bit sad.  "My mother is a 
psychiatrist, and somehow, I've never been able to trust her as I trust 
my father." She felt rather guilty; after all, wasn't her psychometric 
experiments of the same class as the oh-so-casual glances that her 
primary school teachers used to send her way?  
"I suppose it's harder to be around them," Anne went on, "because they're 
trained to... figure out what we're thinking.  Just one little shrug, one 
little word, and they can read you like a book.  It's disconcerting." She 
shrugged helplessly.  "And we're required to subject ourselves willingly 
to their scrutiny?  I don't know..."
 
Grimacing, the vet looked at Anne, "I guess I shouldn't complain."  She 
paused, sighing.  "I know how difficult it is to get some officers to report 
in for their physicals, and I'm sure the counsellor has the same problems 
getting people to report for their required interview...  Still..."  
Catherine shook her head, her golden curls tumbling loose.  Brushing a 
strand off her forehead she added, "I suppose I should just get it over 
with."  The vet expelled another heavy sigh.
 
"Dr. Ledoux... Catherine..." Anne felt a bit embarrassed, using the 
doctor's first name; but what she had to suggest was not one that 
patients offered to their doctors.  
"Sometimes, doing something unpleasant with others may make it easier 
to do," said Anne.  "My cousin used to make me drink grape juice with him every
time he had to take his medicine, just so that he had somebody doing pretty 
much the same thing with him.  He's... mentally retarded, traumatic brain 
damage with medical complications..." Her voice caught for a moment.  She 
hadn't ever uttered those words about her cousin before, but they were 
accurate ones.
Catherine nodded sympathetically.  She could tell that Anne wasn't 
used to discussing such things.  Touched and honoured by the trust that Anne 
had given her, the vet continued to listen attentively.  
"Anyway," Anne concluded, a smile beginning to form, "he used to say that the 
medicine tasted like poison, but when I started sharing that time with him, he 
said it wasn't quite so deadly... though not safe enough to take by himself." 
She gazed up at the doctor, into her beautiful blue eyes.  
"What I'm trying to say is, will it be easier for you if we agree that we'll 
both go see the Counselor within the next twenty-four hours?  It'll help me 
immensely," she added.  "I'll understand if you think it's rather... 
intrusive of me to suggest such a thing, but..." She smiled sheepishly.  
"I just thought it might help?" It was a question.
Catherine smiled at Anne.  "You know what?  Somehow that does help.  I know 
its silly," Catherine blushed, "since we all have to see the counsellor, but 
somehow..."  the vet trailed off, a little embarrassed.  After pausing for a 
breath, she continued, "somehow, it does seem a little easier that way.  
Thank you Anne."  Catherine's lips turned upwards in a smile again.
"I'm glad that we agree on that." Anne smiled back, a real smile that few 
people had ever seen.  "I think it might be a good idea if... if we 
checked up on each other after we see the Counselor.  Not in an intrusive 
way," she added quickly, "just to make sure each followed through." She 
laughed softly.  "I learned that the hard way... it took me three days to 
figure out that Myron wasn't actually drinking any of his medicine... until 
I happened to look in his cup afterwards.  That's taught me that the 
promise of a follow-up is half the key to success."
Catherine grinned, well able to imagine a youngster who didn't want to take 
his medicine.  Then, as Anne finsihed speaking she nodded, for what the 
Science Officer had said certainly made sense.
Anne looked toward the doctor, feeling rather like a fool... she'd gone 
on about Myron forever, it seemed.  She plucked up her courage, however; 
Dr. Ledoux did not look like someone who would bite... not immediately, 
at any rate.
"So... how about it, Catherine?" she asked, her left eyebrow arched into 
a question mark.
Blushing, the vet replied, "the follow up sounds like a good idea."  As her 
cheeks deepened in colour, now turning a dark shade of pink, she added, 
"knowing that someone is 'checking up' on me will ensure that I actually 
make the appointment."  Catherine looked back at Anne, smiling bashfully.
Anne seemed to understand, for she nodded, smiling.  "That's the idea."
Still blushing, Catherine smiled.  Not sure what to say or do next, she took 
on the role of Chief Medical Officer once again.  "Well, I think we're done 
here," she stated quietly.  As if to accentuate her point, the vet wheeled 
the diagnostic cart back to its recess and latched it in place.  
Then, a bit embarrassed by her abrupt actions she gently added, "thank you 
Anne."
"Thank you Catherine.  Its time I got back to work anyway."  She smiled.
"Take care."
"You too."
With that, the two women parted, each hoping that the seeds of a nascent 
friendship had been sown in fertile ground.

Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine                          Masako Goto
LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM              LT Anne Murray, PhD
Chief Medical Officer                   Chief Science Officer
USS CHESAPEAKE                          USS CHESAPEAKE

<< NRPG >>
Yep, another joing post, brought to you by the efforts of Masako and Chris. :)
Sorry if the ending is a bit lame - I always have a hard time drawing these 
darn things to a close.   -- Chris

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