From: Gershon
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:48:13 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Sickbay: LTJG Stavay Tats-Marush's Physical
Sickbay
MD 3.1000
Walking into Sickbay, LTJG Stavay Tats-Marush looked with a more critical
eye at the surroundings than most would. She could find the enervic
stimulator, for example, when most people wouldn't know what one *was*.
As a registered nurse, she began to look for equipment. There's a rack
of hyposprays...there's the pharmacy replicator...that's probably a
pharmacy tech....
"Lieutenant," asked Ensign Carol Moore, "can I help you?"
"Yes...I'm here for my physical exam." Moore looked through the PADD to
see which of the MDs was available. Stavay, given the choice would rather
not be here at all, but knew the advantage of getting these things over
quickly.
"Yes. Dr. Ledoux will be ready to see you in a few moments." Stavay could
see her ministering to some young woman in a crimson tunic. The woman
stood up and exited.
However, Stavay couldn't meet Ledoux until Moore brought up all the
information for the PADD for the MD and prepped the exam room. Normally,
Ledoux could do that herself...but some MDs expected that done for them and
so Carol made the necessary preparations. Old habits die hard.
Catherine had already caught notice of the only green person in the room. She
picked up a PADD and walked over to the Counselor.
"Counsellor," Catherine greeted Stavay with a gentle voice, "thank you for
reporting for your physical exam. I've never had so many people coming in
voluntarily." Ledoux seemed to be quiet and relaxed, but she was also
keeping her emotions under close control. Undoubtedly, it was quieter in
the medical setting.
"Doctor Ledoux, I'm afraid I won't be able to fit you in for a psyche
evaluation today. I've already wrangled ENS Keyrin and I still have LT
Murray to do...and these things take a long time."
"Yes, I can certainly understand that." In a way, Catherine was relieved
that her evaluation wouldn't be for a little while longer yet. Perhaps it
would give her some time to get her volatile emotions under control.
Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Ledoux grabbed a diagnostic
tricorder, a long, pointy piece of equipment that only did a few things,
but did them very well. "And you certainly don't want to know how many
more of these I'm going to have to do," she sighed. "I'll need some blood,
if you please, Counsellor."
Nurse Moore walked over and placed a blood sampler near Stavay's right
antecubital space, at the bend of the arm. "There's a nice vein there.
Distended. We can get some arterial and venous blood. I want a full
count, Chem 200, blood gases, plasma... the usual suspects," Ledoux
informed Moore.
Stavay raised an eyebrow. "Testing? I think my body fluids have been tested
by every MD in Starfleet right now."
Catherine nodded sympathetically. With all the changes that she had
undergone, Lieutenant Tats-Marush had probably been pocked and prodded so
much that there wasn't a single millimetre of her body that hadn't been
gone over with a fine tooth comb. Quite frankly, Catherine was surprised
that the Counsellor *had* reported in voluntarily for her exam; she must be
thoroughly sick of the darn things by now.
Compassion in her voice, Catherine empathized with the Sheveshal officer.
"I'm sure you're tired of all the tests," she stated softly, "but I would
like to do some basic work-ups. While I hope I never have to treat you for
anything serious, I do need to have a baseline reference in case anything
ever *does* happen to you."
Pausing to tuck a loose curl behind one ear, Catherine continued speaking,
"As I'm sure you know, most of the important data comes back in the blood."
Ledoux looked at the Counselor. Aside from the masculine haircut, Stavay
looked every inch a woman. Taking in a deep breath in Catherine could
feel her cheeks blushing a pale pink as she made her next statement. "Even
the Z'T' chromosome match for Shrevashal females, as compared to the Z'K'
match for males--which your labwork from two years ago indicates."
Delicately, Catherine broached the next topic, her voice almost a whisper.
"I understand several attempts have been made to find a cure."
"None of which work." Stavay's foot slammed against the bio-bed reflexively.
"Is it something you'd like us to work on?" Catherine gently asked. "I
can't guarantee we'll have any more success than others who have sought to
find a cure, but we can try..."
Stavay thought about the matter. "Maybe later. Frankly, I don't have
much faith in a cure...besides, there's so much to do here. I've waited
almost a year now...and I can make myself wait a little longer."
Looking back at the counsellor, sympathy clear in her deep blue eyes,
Catherine continued her questioning. "Have you had any client education?
Seen any counsellors?"
"Some aboard the SUFFOLK. Most of the information I need to know about
this body, I've read. I'm always on the lookout for something new to
read."
"Have there been any females to help you through this?"
Stavay laughed. "Hardly at all. I think the female sex is a little shy
in turning over a lifetime of secrets to a temporary member of the club...
there's no telling if the transformation is permanent, or not."
Catherine blinked. That was something she had never considered.
"Is there anything that upsets you?" she gently queried.
The Shrevashal Counselor thought for a few moments. "The way people look
at me. Particularly, the way *men* look at me."
Catherine nodded, then closed her eyes. A beautiful woman, Catherine still
hadn't learned to cope with the attention that her looks drew. The vet
wanted to be respected for her mind, for her intelligence, for her
personality; not for her looks. Only Rich had taken the time to look past
the exterior and through to the wonderful woman inside. Only Rich...
Speaking softly, Catherine confessed, "I'm afraid I can't help you there."
She looked away, blushing fiercely. "I still have problems coping with
that sort of thing." Sighing, the vet brushed a curl off her forehead.
With her cheeks still flushed, Ledoux continued, "I'm told you can just
tell someone to leave you alone. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at
that," Catherine admitted. Introverted and shy, the quiet vet would find
it very difficult to tell someone to just let her be.
"Actually...I never thought of that." Stavay imagined what words she could
have used in other situations.
Cheeks still coloured a rosy shade of pink, Catherine decided it was time
to switch topics, before she became any more uncomfortable.
"It seems that you were a nurse before you switched over to Counselling.
Actually, Counsellor, you are on my short list of emergency personnel in
case of disaster. When was the last time you served as an RN?"
"Over two years ago. Of course, one year of that time was spent in an
institution."
Ledoux, taken aback, stated, "An institution? What kind?" Then she
blushed, "if you don't mind my asking," she murmurred.
"A *mental institution*. Levan's World. A Romulan naval bombardment. We
were without supplies for three months and up to our necks in wounded.
We would work 120 hours at a time with virtually no equipment. One day,
I snapped. I killed one of my patients in a rage."
Catherine tried to remember what she had heard about Levan's World. Where
was that again? There had been something about it on the holo-news, one of
those minor planets perpetually in a territorial dispute. They hadn't
spend 30 seconds on it. Curious, she asked, "what happened?"
"Well, there wasn't anything my colleagues could do except tie me up and keep
an eye on me. Less than a week later, the Federation came in and rescued
us all. My friends tried to cover up the incident, but I was already
spiraling down. I was hospitalized less than a month later. I really can't
remember what I was doing that ended with me hospitalized, although it should
all be in your files."
Catherine quickly flipped through the information on the PADD. "I don't
see it."
"It's probably under 'auxilary information'." Ledoux pressed a key and
the pertinent information popped up. "Anyway, I decided to switch to
Counseling. I've been keeping up my required education, but unless I make
the requirement of 100 hours of RN service, I'm not going to be much help
to you without certification."
Catherine considered the counsellors words. A moment later, she indicated
that the Counselor should follow her. Switching a button, a black, opaque
field popped up around the bio-bed. "Hmm. I think we can work it out.
Maybe 10 hours a week? You'd be certified in three months, and you would
attend the required nursing seminars held aboard the CHESAPEAKE. I can use
you *with* or *without* certification, but I'd rather have you certified.
Provided that you would like to be re-certified, of course," Catherine
quickly added, blushing.
Stavay was glad. Things were working out. Catherine prepared the sterile
lights. Turning to the Counselor, she said, gently, "now I know you've
been examined and re-examined again and again. Unfortunately, although
those exams are in your records, they don't give me the first-hand
information that can sometimes be so essential." Sighing, Catherine wished
she didn't have to do this to the counsellor, for Stavay had already been
through so much. Still blushing, Catherine gently asked "could you please
remove your clothing?" Quickly, she reached for a hospital gown, and
handed it to the counsellor.
Stavay changed her mind. Things were *not* working out.
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***
After a interminable amount of time in a thin hospital gown, Ledoux
finished her examination. Preparing a hypospray, Catherine was not looking
forward to the next phase of the examination, although she knew that it
would be even more unpleasant for the counsellor.
Taking in a deep breath, Catherine was searching for a way to delicately
phrase her next request. This was not going to be easy, on either one of
them. Having read the counsellor's file, the vet knew that Stavay was
going to protest.
Keeping her gaze firmly locked on the floor at her feet, Catherine softly
but clearly stated, "there's one examination left to perform. I'm not
going to coerce you into it, and I'm not going to insist on it." Pausing,
Catherine took in yet another deep breath. "I'm hoping that you'll let me
perform this examination, since it will be to your own benefit, but I'm not
going to force you."
Stavay had a feeling that she knew what was coming.
Sighing, Catherine continued. "As a nurse, you know that good health
depends on many different factors, and although our sensors can provide us
with a wealth of information in a non-intrusive manner, some examinations
still tend to be a bit intrusive." Catherine could feel her cheeks
becoming warmer and warmer.
Stavay voice a protest. "No. No way." It looked like she was about to
bolt from the room.
Releasing another sigh, Catherine looked up at the counsellor, sympathy
showing clearly in her vibrant blue eyes. "I know that this will be
difficult for you. I can give you a sedative," Ledoux indicated the
hypospray that she still held in one hand. "That should make it easier on
you. It will help you relax and also make you feel a little less vulnerable."
Still blushing, Catherine returned her gaze to the floor. Voice a bare
whisper, she continued speaking, hoping that her words of explanation would
provide a measure of comfort to the counsellor. "Your first internal
is actually a rite of passage." Looking back up at Stavay, her words were
full of compassion. "I'll be honest with you. You may feel a bit
uncomfortable, but it won't hurt. I'll be quick, and I'll be as gentle as
possible.
"But its up to you counsellor. Its your body and your health."
Sighing, Stavay thought it over. It had never been put to her like that before:
before it was always, "Do this or you'll inconvenience us". He was a grown
man, or woman, or whatever he or she was...besides, Stavay could lie down
and sleep it off after it was over. Maybe.
Closing her eyes, Stavay replied. "Fine. Let's try it this one time.
I promise not to jump out of here screaming. But...if I don't like it,
I might not be back for another one."
Christine prepared the hypospray as Stavay exposed her deltoid for the spray.
"Now, we have a problem. In order for this to work, I can't sedate you
*too* much, because a sudden shout by you would indicate that I might be
causing damage. It's a primitive and painful alarm system, but it works
very well, I'm sad to say. Stavay was afraid, it was quite obvious.
"I'm going to do this quickly, Counselor," Catherine assured.
Stavay got into position. "Are you all right, Counselor?", Christine
asked.
"Yes. I'm fine."
"I'm counting...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...**1**." Stavay gave a yelp.
"There we go...hmm." Ledoux brought over her equipment. The whole
procedure took about sixty seconds, same as it always had. "All right,
Counselor, I'm done."
Stavay walked over to her clothes, trying to hide her face. Catherine looked
over. Was Stavay crying? It was undoubtedly an embarrassing moment for the
Counselor, but the entire procedure did entail a temporary sacrifice of
dignity.
"Stavay...are you all right?", Catherine asked quietly.
"I'm fine. Don't worry...it's just all such a shock...but I'll be okay."
Stavay smiled. "Don't worry. Hopefully when you come in tomorrow, you
won't have any hard feelings when I poke around your head. How does 1500
hours sound, Doctor?"
"That should be all right. Until then." Catherine and Stavay made some
shop talk, talked about how Counseling fit into the scheme of the Medical
Department and how well things were going. Saying goodbye, Stavay walked
over to ENS Moore for some information about the CHESAPEAKE's Nursing
Division.
The nurse was already making the equipment in the exam room ready again.
Ledoux sat down for a few moments. No one ever said the healing profession
would be fun. Picking up a ceramic cup, Catherine suddenly remembered a
similar cup Rich had given her aboard the REGENT. The Doctor was tempted
to cry herself.
***************************************************************************
Respectfully Submitted
James Bowman Chris Fontaine
LTJG Stavay Tats-Marush LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM
COUNS, USS CHESAPEAKE CMO, USS CHESAPEAKE
jrbowman@london2.skn.net AND cfontain@uoguelph.ca
JBowman489@aol.com
All: Part III of IV parts. And now, Masako...your turn. :)
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