From: Christine Fontaine
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 19:23:30 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Good Morning? No, I don't think so...
SD 90331.1922
MD 04.0600
Scene: USS CHESAPEAKE: CMO's Quarters
It was early. Too early. Much too early to be awakened by the pattering of
tiny cats' feet, tracing a path up and down one's body. Clambering up one
side, and down the other, it was as if they were climbing a miniature
mountain.
And the occasional prick of a claw as it dug in to gain a better purchase,
well, that was most certainly *not* comfortable.
Lieutenant Commander Catherine Ledoux, tired, cold, and wanting nothing more
than another hour or two of rest, was beginning to feel like one the the
pincushions her aunt had used when mending clothes the old-fashioned way:
by hand. Turning over to her other side, the vet hoped that her Siamese
cats would get the message: leave me alone for just a little bit longer,
please?
The cats either didn't understand, or chose to ignore, Catherine's
unvocalized plea, for they resumed their trek, hopping up onto the vet,
pouncing upon one another, and generally using Catherine's bed as a feline
playground. Catherine, sighing, buried her head under the covers and tried
to ignore their antics.
Amazingly enough, it worked. Perhaps the cats became tired of their game,
and moved on to another, more exciting adventure. Perhaps Doctor Ledoux was
sufficietly fatigued to sleep despite their romping about. In any case, the
vet fell back asleep, lost beneath the waves of dreams.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
MD 04.0900
Scene: USS CHESAPEAKE: CMO's Quarters
Catherine felt cold.
Curling up under her blankets, the vet tried to preserve as much body heat
as possible. For some reason, the thought never occurred to her to ask the
computer to change the environmental settings. Standard temperatures
usually sufficed, providing a temperature that was neither too hot nor too
cold. At this moment, however, Catherine was cold.
Beginning to shiver, she burrowed deeper under the blankets, her sleepy mind
wondering if it were possible that she was becoming ill. Her foggy thoughts
dismissed such a notion and began to pull her back towards unconsciousness.
Unfortunately, her body protested, loudly proclaiming that it was too cold
to be able to sleep comfortably.
With a grimace, Catherine poked her head outside of her covers, her blankets
still wrapped tightly about her neck, preserving heat. Cautiously, her
right arm crept out from underneath the blankets as well. Rubbing the sleep
out of her eyes, the vet glanced towards the chronometre next to her bed.
0900! She was *two hours* late for her duty shift. Two hours! Already she
could feel a flush of embarrassment creeping its way up her face. By the
time she showed her face in sickbay, her cheeks would be bright red.
Muttering to herself in French, Catherine dragged herself out of bed.
Shivering all the way to the shower, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief
once she stepped beneath the hot water. Warm water cascaded over her body,
carressing it with warmth, easing her sore, tense muscles. Letting the
water wash over her, Catherine could feel the tension draining out of her.
Even if she might be late getting to sickbay, at least she'd get there in a
half-way decent frame of mind.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
MD 04.1000
Scene: Sickbay: CMO's Office
Catherine was moving rather slow this particular morning. Everything seemed
to take longer that it normally did, and everything seemed to require so
much more effort. Not for the first time, the vet wondered if there was
something wrong with her, beyond the obvious, of course. Quickly, she
dismissed the notion, and turned her attention back to the PADDwork that
awaited.
As she brought up the first file for review, Catherine reflected that none
of her staff had batted so much as an eye when she had wandered into sickbay
late. Of course, she had no idea what they were thinking, or what they were
saying once the CMO was out of earshot, but at least they had not badgered
her with questions. No doubt if Doctor Willingham had been on duty he would
have asked her the reason for her tardiness; luckily the Vulcan had the
third shift, and was not present in sickbay that morning.
Forcing her thoughts back to the task at hand Catherine was daunted by the
sheer volume of material awaiting her perusal and the large number of tasks
that had yet to be completed. Expelling a sigh, the vet hooked a loose curl
over one ear while quickly scanning her list of 'Things To Do'. There were
medical files to review. Emergency drills in the holodeck to arrange and to
attend. Coordinating these drills with cross-trained personnel from other
departments. Conflict resolution among the members of her staff. Reviewing
the proposals for medical research projects. The list went on and on, and
that list didn't include the organization of her studies, not to mention
study time itself.
Catherine sighed again. Well, there was only one way to make the pile of
work disappear, and that was to get working on it. Unfortunately, her mind
did not seem to be capable of focusing on any one item for any great length
of time. From one minute to the next her thoughts would flit from one
subject to another, distracting the vet from the task at hand.
Concentration seemed to be a near impossible task, and soon the vet was
becoming very frustrated.
Grabbing a PADD, Catherine focused her gaze intently on the first paragraph.
Reading with deliberate care, she sought to make sense of the words that
were displayed upon the screen. Unable to grasp the meaning of the
paragraph, Catherine went back to the beginning and read it again. And
again. Sighing, Catherine brushed a loose curl off her forehead. All of
the material she was reading was going right over her head. Understanding
proved to be elusive, although she continued to search for it, reaching,
seeking to grasp a sliver of comprehension and work from there.
Taking in a few deep breaths Catherine sought to calm and centre her
thoughts. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in then exhaled it.
Then she inhaled again, and exhaled. After doing this several times, she
reopened her eyes, prepared to tackle the difficult paragraph once again.
Catherine read it. Then she read it again. It just wasn't making any
sense. The vet was becoming more and more frustrated. Why was she having
so much trouble?
Finally, in a fit of pique, Catherine hurled the offending PADD away from
her. The sound it made as it impacted with the wall was most satisfying.
Then, realzing what she had done, the vet collapsed upon her desk, resting
her forehead against her crossed arms. As tears of frustration leaked from
her eyes, Catherine wondered if she was going insane.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine
LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM
Chief Medical Officer
USS CHESAPEAKE
<< NRPG >>
No, Catherine's not having a very good day... I'd say the two days of
vacation the counsellor ordered will do her a world of good.
James: Golf? I suppose she could give it a try... Perhaps the
counsellor would like to try horseback riding in exchange? Thanks for
your additions to the counselling post. :)
Masako: I have a feeling Catherine is going to be contacting Anne sometime
after her counselling session. Another dinner perhaps? Or some
after-dinner relaxation time?
Amy: Glad to hear that you're alive! :)
Takako: Any chance Catherine could convince Brennan to go riding during her
vacation time? Although, as shy as she is, I'm not sure if she'd have the
courage to ask him... ::shrug::
All: Well, since Catherine will be away from sickbay on MD 05 and 06, you'd
better get your physicals done on MD 04 sometime, or else wait 'til later,
but why wait? Get them over with!
All (again ): If any of you have cross-trained personnel (ie. personnel
in your department that have some training in first aid or medicine) and
would like them to take part in the medical drills, let me know. :) Masako
has kindly provided a list of cross-trained personnel from the Sci
department, so feel free to do something similar if you'd like. :)
TTYL!
Chris - off to study industrial micro...
***********************************************************************
* Chris Fontaine * "If I waited for perfection... *
* cfontain@uoguelph.ca * I would never write a word." *
* http://www.uoguelph.ca/~cfontain/ * - Margaret Atwood - *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* LCDR Catherine Marie Ledoux, DVM, CMO, USS CHESAPEAKE, NCC-31813 *
* LCDR StarSong to-Ennien, MD, PhD, COUNS, USS LEVIATHAN, NCC-25002 *
* RADM FireSong to-Vensre, MD, ALB Adjutant, Armstrong Lunar Base *
***********************************************************************
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