Sliding Doors

Posted on Sun Jul 21st, 2024 @ 4:41pm by Lieutenant Ame Solis M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Savin

Mission: Character Development
Location: Deck Eight: Sickbay
Timeline: Pre: Into the Qniverse
3225 words - 6.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Everything important that wasn't a necessity was in storage. Key items had been dropped off in her quarters, and a box of PADDs, prototypes, and equipment was clutched tight to the Bajoran’s chest as she checked the doors. There shouldn't have been many of them, on Deck Eight; but the last thing Ame wanted was to walk into the wrong room and feel the eyes of others realising her mistake.

She read the names on the doors and stopped far enough away from the one labelled "Sickbay" that it didn’t open automatically. The Doctor had put off interest in the role for a long time, even though this request was against her will. Mira had put her forward as capable, and the time off the starbase would be much more of a challenge.

Given everything she had read, it just might have been the action she had been waiting for between research and testing. She stepped forward, and the doors opened to reveal pristine whites with a warm glow. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and her nose wrinkled more than usual. "Welcome home," she said to herself, spinning on her heels to locate the CMO’s office.

The familiar open glass arch she had spent so much time in now led to her own space. She placed the box on the edge of the desk and picked up the PADD that had been cast aside. It activated with her touch, displaying a list of outstanding work, issues, ailments, and routine courses of treatment to keep everyone in tip-top shape. She took a moment to take it all in, active crew, potential issues, and rosters.

On the list, there would also be people who were undergoing treatment for recent injuries or would be requiring a follow up before being released to full duty. One of them slowly walked in now, obviously having learned of a new arrival. And what better way to still one's innate curiosity than just head down for a required follow-up?

Savin approached the door to the office, which slid aside to admit him. "Greetings doctor," the Romulan counselor started, staying by the door in case she was too busy already. "I am Savin," he continued, a pleasant smile touching his face.

Ame was lost in her own little world, eyes down and reading to the point where her hair covered the side of her face. The hum of equipment was broken by the sliding hiss of the door, which quickly brought her back to reality. The Bajoran straightened up and swept back her hair, a tight-lipped smile replacing her lost-in-thought gaze.

Lieutenant Commander Savin, the Romulan Counselor who had a near miss with an overly friendly Gorn, entered. That could have been an incredibly tragic casualty report to read if he were human. Luckily for him, that was not the case.

“I hear you had an intimate moment with a Gorn and lived to tell the tale?” Ame laid down the PADD beside her box of creations and trinkets. “I did some light reading on my way over. Is it time for a review? You picked just the right time.” Her shoulders flexed in a stretch as she turned to face him and gestured out into the bay.

The counselor nodded. "Yes doctor," he answered amiably, "can I ask that you look my way when you speak? I cannot hear you, so I rely on seeing you speak to understand." It was important for the chief medical officer to be aware of his handicap even if he wasn't always this forthcoming with fellow officers, not when he didn't need to be anyway. He eased himself down on a vacant bed, unable to hide a grimace of discomfort.

Given her position, it was in her best interest to be aware of any existing medical conditions, treated or not. Working under the medical roster, Ame wanted to know who she was working with, even if they weren’t directly under her care. “I can do that.” She tilted her head in agreement before following her colleague out to the biobed.

The Bajoran’s face didn’t hide her concern; there was still so much discomfort despite several days passing since discharge. Blindly, she reached for a tricorder, leaning over to swipe one from an opposing tray before flicking it open to take a reading. “How’s it looking in there? Fully healed, no redness?” It was a subtle invitation to take a closer look.

Even if it wasn’t her work, she was going to check it anyway just to be sure. The numbers looked good, no infection. He wasn’t struggling when he walked in, so it seemed to be limited to the upper torso, which would be expected given the circumstances.

"I am not in the habit of examining myself in a mirror," Savin confessed, "Doctor P'Rel did most of the healing and she required me to rest after doing so. I am mostly experiencing discomfort when moving too fast or too far. I do not remember the extend of the damage done, I only remember excruciating pain. You are a medical professional, you may touch."

The Bajoran tilted her head and raised a brow, “I’m not in the habit of undressing my patients unless they are incapacitated and it's required.” She moved around the bed to return the tricorder to its home.

Ame made sure to return to her previous position in front of him before continuing. “It ruptured the left cavity of your chest, tissue repair was completed but that doesn’t take into consideration the body's natural response to trauma. Aches and pains are normal to a point, this was pretty … rough.” Her eyes narrowed and a faint smile found its way back to her lips. She watched, paying close attention to his range of motion and sticking points.

"It was, and we still had quite a hike back to our shuttle, that did not help either." He pushed himself up into a sitting position, gritting his teeth visibly as he did so. It was obvious which side was his dominant side as his left arm nearly collapsed under his weight. "I need to practice slowly again," he muttered unhappily, "my usual training regimen is far too strenuous right now and I cannot do it right handed." He looked up. "I would request some assistance in getting up," he requested.

It seemed there were plenty of sticking points before he’d even reached a full sweep of his arm. Ame’s mind ticked over and she held up a hand to him, “Gimme a moment.” Another tight-lipped smile appeared before she dashed to the array of equipment neatly laid out on a work surface. With a finger extended and muttering “No, not you. Ah yes, you and you.” she picked up a neural monitor, a short cylindrical palm-sized device, and a longer one.

Carefully, she piled the items on the tray beside the biobed before offering him her hand cupped under his left elbow. “We’ll go slow.” A wider smile slipped through; fixing problems was her key skill after all. “How strenuous is strenuous?” she asked, generally curious about what might have added to the delayed healing. She made a concerted effort to keep eye contact with him even while leaning over him.

"Sword fighting," he answered, "which I have not engaged in since being released from sickbay." Once he was sat up, he continued to take off his uniform jacket and undershirt. He hissed in the process, leaving his left side for last as that was the easiest and less strenuous way. His naturally greenish tinted skin showed a few angry, darker green lines across the left side of his thorax, starting at the sternum and fanning out towards his left side. "I have not engaged in any exercise so far, I only attended to my duties as chief counselor."

Well, at least it was different. “Okay, well that’s a good start. Light exercise will do you some good once I’ve had a better look at you.” She didn’t wait for him to finish taking off his jacket as she pressed the neural monitor against his temple and reached for the tricorder again. She detached the scanner and ran it over his chest as he moved.

Her eyes narrowed, taking in the lines as they radiated across his chest. It was a lot of work done in a very short space of time; aches were normal and the neural scan confirmed what she had thought. “Mind if I?” He’d already consented, but it was better to check before Ame touched anything that might be tender, especially with someone who could be impacted by physical contact. Her hands lingered, ready to start from the furthest lines and move inward.

Not everything would be impacted, and she could tell from the scan it would be more central to the original site of the wound. Over-repair could also cause issues, and that wasn’t something she wanted to remedy in her first official report.

He steeled himself against her touch, holding as still as possible as he consented yet again for her to touch him with a minute nod. "I am out of breath quick," he informed her, as it was always best to be honest with one's doctor, "but I am certain that will pass. The injury caused breathing issues."

“You had a lot of damage done to you, new tissue even if it's regenerated still takes time to ease back into things. Everything else around it is used and comfortable.” With light touches, she traced inward working down the tendrils of one line and then onto another. Her gaze flitted between his face and the contact, the faintest twinges allowed her to map where she needed to treat.

“You’ve got some residual micro-tears in the nerves around your wound, it's not uncommon in large injuries. Usually, these things work themselves out but you just need a hand.” Ame continued, her mind reeling back medical knowledge of infection and healing properties of Vulcans and Romulans. “How adverse are you to analgesics? Would you rather tough it out? I’d like you to start physiotherapy to ease you back into things.”

"Discomfort is a good indicator of going too far," Savin reasoned, "but there is no logic in being in pain. I am not opposed to analgesics and physiotherapy is a good start." He hissed under his breath as she touched a particularly tender spot. "As long as I am able to see my patients, that does not require any physical effort." He gave her a small smile. "Only mental, and there is nothing wrong with my mental abilities."

“Mmm, usually that’s the case; but not today.” The Bajoran answered before switching to the other side of the markings. The sensitivity seemed to be concentrated to the mid-left side, treatment with the reconstructor would help and perhaps another follow-up in 48 hours would help make sure the tears didn’t reoccur. “If you can manage an hour total throughout the day, just some simple stretches. You could use heat treatments to help soothe aches for some light relief if you’re still struggling, I’m only down the hall.”

Deftly she picked up the Myelin regenerator, passing small circular movements from the outside inward. The neural monitor kept an eye on her progress, there would be no physical signs of change but she hoped the pain would gradually ease. There’d still be a bit of a struggle but hopefully not to the point where he couldn’t prop himself up again.

“I guess we’ll also be due for a review on my part?” Ame asked with a reluctant glance, better to rip off the bandaid now. She’d butted heads with enough psychological reviews that she knew her flaws. There were no formal warnings since her time in the Academy, however, she had been warned about burnout with research and extended learning.

"When you are ready to," Savin encouraged as he studied her. "And you can ask me to join you in a place where you are at ease. The use of my office is not a requirement." He held still as she continued her treatment. "Anything I should avoid for the near future?"

A place where she felt at ease? Everything was so new, that she’d need to find a place first. Holodecks were cliché everyone could find a home there. Sickbay gave distractions, but perhaps that was for the best and not to think too much into it.

The rhythmic circles of the regenerator had completed and it was time to switch out for the synaptic reconstructor to fill in anything else that was still missing. “Moderation is a good word, start small and build it up. Practice some forms? Isn’t that what you call it? Take it from there.”

Slow movements back and forth above the darker green lines on his chest before fanning to the spaces between. Ame lowered her piece of equipment and leaned over to check the tricorder, “How’s that feeling?” Her eyes narrowed in anticipation, she could still top him up with a mild analgesic if it was tender. “Give me a little wiggle.” She encouraged.

"A wiggle?" The counselor queried, not quite certain what she meant by that. Out of reflex to the treatment however, he moved his left shoulder as rotation had been very sensitive and he took a few breaths that were deeper than he had allowed himself so far. "Breathing deeply is still uncomfortable," he reported, "but movement is less tender."

He continued to watch her, knowing there was something she did need to talk about. There was something about her whole bearing when she had brought the subject up. "There is no rush doctor, you just arrived. We can wait until you have settled in and then you can come back to me about it. Unless you feel it might hinder your performance, in which case I would recommend sooner, rather than later."

“A bit of movement” The Doctor clarified. She noted his comment about breathing deeply, “I know I’m not the counsellor and that’s your job, but have you tried some meditation or focussed breathing since your injury?” She stepped back from him and scratched the side of her cheek, reconstructor still in hand.

“This was a big injury, they happen but not that often you know? We’ve just met so maybe I’ll judge you a little more next time we meet either later on today or in 48 hours for another pass of this.” Ame rocked the device between her fingers to make it apparent that was what she was referring to. She made a quick scan of the room, where were the hyposprays and their vials?

The Bajoran did a quick one-two step over to retrieve what she needed, returning to bed and laying down the reconstructor before pushing a vial into the hypospray. “Like I said heat therapy might help, warm for your chest but, any bruising that’s still on your lungs would benefit from some cold.”

“I’m not worried about my performance, I’ve passed every review to date. I’ve just been moved around a lot the last few years.” She waited for him to redress, taking note of any further areas of difficulty.

"Cold? How do I achieve that?" He pulled his shirt and jacket back on, readjusting them to sit properly. "My quarters are warmer than sickbay, I have grown up in a Vulcan climate rather than Romulan. I do prefer warm." He gave her a small smile. "Also this is not the worst injury I have recovered from. I was once run through with my own sword." He touched his right side, just a fraction from his heart to indicate where. "Doctor, based on what I have observed so far I have no concerns regarding your performance. A boarding evaluation is just a formality."

She took a moment to consider options and the impact each of those would have. “I’d say that the cooling gel packs for about 10 minutes between your shirt and jacket a few times a day would be the better option. Otherwise, if you want something a little more direct - a cryo nebuliser. However, I’d want you in here to keep an eye on you.”

If Ame didn’t know any better being run through with one's sword almost sounded like a brag. “That sounds like a story for a strong drink off duty.” She was curious about how others were so invested in combat sports. Outside of the occasional hunt, it wasn’t something that was generally on her radar.

“For that I’m glad and I’ll be sure we can set a date for that when we’ve both got some availability. I’ve got a lot of people to meet and ship this is bigger than the Endeavour. It’s nice to have some space.” The Bajoran gave a genuine smile, it was nice even if it was outside of her comfort zone.

"I do not wish to stay here if there is no need to," Savin answered -perhaps a little too - hastily. "And it is not really a story I am inclined to speak about just like that as the situation was awkward enough. I will tell you, maybe, but it is nothing to be proud of. But as medical professional, I will tell you even if you can probably find the information in my medical records."

He slid from the bed and straightened. "This is a very good ship with a very good crew. I shall leave you to explore and I will come back when you tell me to."

The Doctor struggled to contain a chuckle at his response. “It’s fine, you’re not captive.” She reassured him before leaning forward to remove the neural monitor. A hasty step back allowed her to begin tidying away the mess she had created. “I’m sure they are, and I’ll make sure to take care of them.”

With his jacket back on, she fished the hypospray out of the collection and pressed it against his neck, “Analgesic and anti-inflammatory. Try the gel packs and some light physio, and I’ll see you in two days.” Another pinched smile, there was a party between, much to do and remember.

Ame needed to check in with her staff and speak to Engineering about borrowing the lab at some point. She was sure she could find someone to assist her with her work even if it was on her own time.

"I will book time on the holodeck," Savin promised, "I will leave you to meet your staff." A genuine smile this time. "Thank you for your time and attention. Good day Doctor."

“Thanks for being gentle.” Ame made sure to turn back toward him before she spoke, watching the Romulan disappear with the same sliding hiss that had broken her attention before. The first of many jobs marked off her list and a follow-up to add on for later. Scan data needed to be noted and treatment updated. At least it wasn’t crew vaccinations.