The Doctor Is In

Posted on 29 Jun 2017 @ 8:11am by Lieutenant Sterek & Commander Jayla Kij

1,184 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 4 || 1945 hours

Sterek swung by his new quarters for just long enough to make sure his cat was settled in before heading off to report into sickbay.

While it might have been late in the evening according to some, the hour meant little to a vulcan who was accustomed to an irregular shift pattern, so the sight that greeted the infirmary staff was a relatively bright and bushy-tailed doctor, with a benign face and quite thick dark hair cut shorter than normal for his culture, giving it a slightly messy appearance.

His lab coat and scrubs were immaculately presented, however, and he offered Lt Cmdr Kij a formal vulcan salute when the two came face-to-face, his tone just as calm and professional as anyone might expect.

"Lt Sterek, reporting for duty, Commander."

As luck would have it, Jayla was actually in Sick Bay during Beta shift. She liked to come in on other shifts from time to time just to get to know those she rarely saw during Alpha shift. Besides which, she'd gotten word that her new ACMO would be arriving shortly and she wanted to meet him.

"Welome, Sterek," she said with a friendly smile. "I'm Doctor Jayla Kij. I'm over the moon to have a full-time assistant CMO. I'm sure the doctors who have been filling in will be ecstatic, too."

"Thank you, Doctor." Sterek bowed his head, and then looked around, taking in the state of things. "I look forward to serving under you. A small matter, before anything else - Starfleet Infectious Disease Guidelines item 10.9 require that I inform you of my current status. I'm an aysmptomatic carrier of Chronic Xenotropic Humanoid Immunodeficiency Lentivirus, Vulcanoid subtype 2." He rattles that off as if it's something as simple as "a cold" or "chicken pox", ever the typical vulcan in his speech.

Only vaguely familiar with that particular strain, Jayla's eyebrows wrinkled slightly. "I'll have to read up on that," she confessed. "I don't believe I've ever treated anyone for that before. What can you tell me about the treatment?"

"It is controlled with regular doses of antivirals, and is not transmissible at its current viral count, but regulations require that I inform you." He tilted his head. "There should be full details in my medical history. Meanwhile, I am ready to begin work immediately - is there anything I can assist you with at the present time?"

"Oh, my goodness, yes!" she replied, letting her relief show freely. "We've been ordered to complete all crew physicals immediately. Most of them are done, but there are still about a dozen and a half remaining. If you could take a few of those, we'd all be eternally grateful."

"Of course. I will attempt to complete as many as I can." He looked around, as if familiarising himself with the location of the nearest console. "Is there a particular reason for the urgency?"

"Well, I can sort of see their point for a third of the crew," she replied fairly. "We all just came off a two-month leave. But the rest, well, your guess is as good as mine."

He began to roll up his sleeves with the deftness of the experienced surgeon; his arms were lightly freckled, unusual for a vulcan but not unknown. "Nevertheless. I shall proceed straight away. Have you had yours yet, Doctor?"

She opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again, wrinkled no her brow. "Ya know," she said. "I don't think I have."

"Then this is an opportune time." He picked up a tricorder from a nearby equipment tray and switched it on. "Would one of those biobeds suffice for you, or would you prefer a private bay?"

"No, that's all right," Jayla replied, crossing to the nearest biobed and hopping onto it. "This is fine. I know every doctor has their own preferred method for running a physical, so whichever you like is fine with me. I try not to micro-manage."

Sterek gestured to a biobed, and pulled up Jayla's medical records on a nearby console. He spoke while his gaze took in the data. "That is acceptable. Any areas of concern, before I begin the scans? Anything I should know?"

Wracking her brain for a moment, Jayla took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Not that I can think of," she replied.

He nodded. "How is your diet? Stress levels? Exercise regime?"

"Not so great," she replied sheepishly. "The last couple of months were spent mostly on mental health. I know I put on a few pounds, but I'm getting back into exercising again. It... wouldn't surprise me if my cholesterol and blood pressure are slightly elevated due to a combination of mum's cooking and a lack of motivation towards any physical activity."

Sterek brought up her previous metabolic scans for a point of comparison. "Your prediction is correct, but this in itself is not a concern. You mentioned you have been focusing on your mental health - do you have any particular concerns? Are you seeing a counsellor?" He tapped a few commands in, initiating a brief neurological scan.

"Yes, I have," she reassured him. "I saw someone at the Symbiosis Commission and I've got an appointment with Counselor Stuart in a couple days. I don't have any concerns in that department. No, I'm more concerned with getting my physical activity back to where it should be."

"Resuming your exercise regime should help to balance your mood, but if initial motivation is a problem, I can prescribe a short course of serotonin reuptake inhibitors."

"I'll certainly let you know if I have any problems," she replied. "I think it's just a matter of getting out my running shoes and calling up a good holodeck program."

"That is highly acceptable to hear." Sterek made a brief note on his medic account, fingers tapping deftly. "I will make an appointment for you in a month's time to check your progress, just as a precaution, but if you feel you do not require one nearer the time, you can ask Counselor Stuart to put in a cancellation request. Meanwhile, you can of course consult myself, Stuart, or any other medic you feel comfortable with if you experience adverse psychological symptoms before then. Is there anything else before I conclude?"

"Nothing at all," Jayla replied. After all, there really wasn't anything left. She didn't believe in keeping anything from a doctor and so she would have spoken up if there had been something else.

"Acknowledged." Sterek copied the pertinent readings to Jayla's file and then unrolled his sleeves. "In which case, I believe we are finished here. I detect no points of concern aside from those we have already discussed."

"Thank you, doctor," she said with a friendly grin. "And now, I must be off. I've got plans in a bit."

"In which case, I shall continue working my way through sickbay personnel. I will no doubt see you tomorrow, Doctor."

"Absolutely," she replied. "I'll be here bright and early!"

Sterek gave her a nod of acknowledgement as she left, and got straight to work.

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