From: Christine Fontaine <cfontaine@nac.net>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 11:28:42 -0400
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: The Doctors Meet
SD 90710.1128 EDT
>------------
>CMO's Office
>------------
>
>MD 12.1230
>
> LCDR Catherine Ledoux was sitting in her office... having
>lunch, Melissa gathered. Alone. Nibbling on a sandwich. Odd, that.
> Perhaps she was shy. Maybe Derek hadn't been merely kidding when he
>had said that the CMO was very quiet. Melissa shrugged and pressed
>the chime to get the doctor's attention.
>
> "Yes? What can I do for you?" asked Catherine quietly, looking up
>from her sandwich. A pile of PADDs stood next to her plate, as if
>she had been studying something.
>
> "Hello, Dr. Ledoux," said Melissa. She hurriedly came to
>attention. "Lieutenant Commander Melissa Kirk Fielding reporting to
>duty, sir!" she said, her eyes twinkling.
>
> Oh, it was wonderful to be a normal doctor again.
Blushing, Catherine greeted the new arrival. "Welcome aboard the
CHESAPEAKE, Doctor Fielding," she stated quietly. "Please, have a
seat," she added, gesturing to one of the chairs in the office.
"Thank you, sir," Melissa replied.
Blush deepening, Catherine shook her head. "Please, no 'sir's." She
smiled, adding, "Doctor will do just fine, or Catherine when we're off
duty."
"Thank you, Doctor," said Melissa. She was a bit surprised by the
informality, but she decided to think of that later. Right now, she
had other things to discuss with her department chairman.
Tucking a loose curl behind one ear, Catherine really didn't know what
else to say. By all rights, the petite woman sitting before her
should be the ship's Chief Medical Officer. Not only was Doctor
Fielding a qualified physician - a real MD - but she had more time in
grade, as a Lieutenant Commander, than Doctor Ledoux.
Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Catherine refocused her
attention on Doctor Fielding. "I understand you've just transferred
off the NEBULA?" she queried softly, then winced inwardly at such a
stupid question.
"Yes, I have, Doctor," said Melissa. "It was a nice posting, mind
you... but it wasn't for me. I'm Derek's older cousin... Derek
Fielding, the one who's in Sciences here. He and I had served on the
same ship ever since the Academy, and I decided I should come back to
where he was." She paused, realizing that she was doing most of the
talking in the room at the moment. "But..." her eyes strayed toward
the medical equipment. "I'm very much looking forward to working with
you, Dr. Ledoux."
Cheeks colouring a pale shade of pink, Catherine eyes dropped to her
desk. A quiet, "thank you," issued from her lips. Then, looking up at
Doctor Fielding, she stated, "and I'm happy to have a physician with
your experience on staff. Both Doctor Donne, who has BETA shift, and
Doctor Willingham, who has GAMMA, are excellent physcians, but our
other staff physician, Doctor DawnFire to-Ennien, is fresh from
Starfleet Medical." Dealing with medical business, the vet's natural
shyness was somewhat diminished.
"After you've settled in," Catherine continued, "you can have your
pick of ALPHA or BETA shift. Any preferences?"
Melissa was about to blurt out that of course she'd take *both*, then
realized that she wasn't the CMO any longer. She should probably
start out with one shift.
"I'll take ALPHA shift, thank you," she told Catherine. If she
remembered correctly, Derek worked ALPHA. She should work when he
did.
Nodding, Doctor Ledoux made a notation on a PADD. "That's fine." She
smiled. "Now, do you have any questions for me?"
"Which shift does Dr. DawnFire to-Ennien have?" asked Melissa eagerly.
She well remembered her trip to GAMMA with Dr. StarSong to-Ennien and
her encounter with Riverlights on the NEBULA. "I'd like to meet
her... I've met some Sivaoans, and..." she lowered her voice
conspiratorially. "I think they're just the *cutest* species! Quite
intelligent, too."
Catherine smiled. "They are beautiful, and very knowledgeable." From
experience, the vet knew that many people tended to view Sivaoans as
large cats, rather than sentient individuals. At least Doctor
Fielding had some experience with Sivaoans, and form the sounds of it,
those experiences were positive.
"To answer your first question, Doctor DawnFire to-Ennien rotates
between ALPHA and BETA shifts," Catherine replied. "Just be sure to
address her by her full name and rank."
Smiling, Melissa nodded. Not all Sivaoans were like StarSong, who
didn't mind when people shortened her name.
"I think, too," said Melissa, getting back to business, "I should ask
about virus problems... have we had any on this ship?" She looked, for
a moment, slightly uneasy. "Filoviruses, to be exact? I'm sorry...
how very unprofessional of me. It's just that we had *three* of them
at the same time on NEBULA, and it was *quite* revolting, I can tell
you. But... oh, dear..." Melissa ground to a halt, staring at the
Doctor helplessly. She suddenly laughed, a happy laugh. "I'm sorry,
Doctor, it's just that you're so... *good* at listening! So
sympathetic and *interested*... I can talk all day... but I'll stop
now."
Smiling, Catherine softly replied, "that's alright. I don't mind
listening." Unsure of what else to say, she tucked an invisible curl
behind one ear.
"You know," said Melissa contemplatively, "Derek forgot to tell me one
little item when he was telling me about the CHESAPEAKE... he totally
forgot to mention the fact that you have the Most Beautiful Executive
Officer *ever*."
The words that had remained unspoken were, predictably, "I think I
have a crush on him..."
Catherine was a bit taken aback. Why was Doctor Fielding telling her
this? Daniel - Commander Brennan - was certainly kind and pleasant
- even funny. They had had a wonderful time riding in the holodeck,
and Catherine hoped
that they were starting to become friends... they certainly shared
some interests. But beautiful? Catherine normally didn't think of
her superior officers in such a fashion. Certainly, she would have
never called Commander Brennan beautiful. Handsome in a fashion,
perhaps, but beautiful?
"Commander Brennan is very kind," she finally managed to get out.
What else was there to say?
"Yes... I sensed that from the way others have spoken of him," said
Melissa dreamily. "I saw him only for a short period, when I went to
get some lunch... he knows how to walk, has the most *beautiful*
voice, *and* has a personality to match..."
Suddenly, Melissa realized where she was. She sat even straighter
than she had been doing and blushed a bright scarlet.
"I'm sorry, Doctor," she murmured. "I seem to be letting my mind
wander off in unexpected directions..."
"That's all right," Catherine replied. "Now, unless you have any other
questions..."
"No Doctor, thank you." Melissa stood. "I'll see you during ALPHA shift
tomorrow."
"Until then."
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Fontaine Masako Goto
LCDR Catherine Ledoux, DVM LCDR Melissa Fielding, MD
Chief Medical Officer Staff Physician
USS CHESAPEAKE USS CHESAPEAKE
cfontaine@nac.net mfielding@aol.com
<< NRPG >>
Yes, another joint post brought to you courtesy of Chris and Masako... :)
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