Scheduling an Exam.

Posted on Sat Sep 4th, 2021 @ 12:01am by Commander Samantha Howard & Commander Jonathan Grayson

Mission: Breen in Paradise
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: After The Long and Lonely Road

Jon left the counselor's office and headed for Sickbay to get Sam to run physical exam on him.

Entering Sickbay, he looked for her but didn't see her "Might be with a patient* He thought and then began looking to avoid Dr. Perrin. After a minute or so of not seeing Sam, he flagged a nurse down, to go and find Sam, letting her know he needed to see her.

Dr Howard was in a nearby research lab, still on light duties thanks to the new Doctor Dex. She didn't mind overly, letting the new ACMO stretch her legs whilst Sam got in some research time that had been much lacking. She was trying to developing an advanced healing procedure that would improve patient outcomes in war environments, reducing infection and enhancing the body's natural healing.

She looked up as a nurse stuck her head in, requesting her presence back in sickbay. Saving what she'd written she headed back to the main ward to see who had wanted to see her.

"Oh hey" She spied Jon looking somewhat lost.

Jon had been standing, feeling very much out of place as he waited for Sam to appear. It seemed everyone who passed him gave him a look which he ignored. "Sam!" Jon replied a smile coming to his features. As he saw the CMO. "I need to talk with you." He said cryptically. "In private please." He added.

"Sure thing, follow me" Sam said quickly, leading the way to her office and setting the windows to opaque, the door closing silently behind them. She rounded her desk and invited him to sit opposite, resting her arms on the smooth surface of the desk."what's on your mind?"

Jon wasted no time and got right to the point. "Sam, I need you to do a physical on me. The counselor wants it. To be sure I'm of sound body and mind. When can we get it done?" He asked wanting to get the exam over and done with.

"How does right now sound?" She smiled, waiting to gauge his response. Sickbay was fairly quiet and the exam would only take a few minutes without breaking any of the light duties arrangements she was working within.

"It sounds great Sam. Thank you." Jon said gratefully for a friend as good as Sam. They had been through some tough times but come out of them better and closer friends."Lets do this."

" Sure thing, follow me" She lead the way back into the main area of sickbay, grabbing a few items and laying them on the trolley next to the biobed. " Righto - up you get" She patted the soft surface.

Jon did as Sam instructed and hopped onto the biobed. "Alright Sam do your worse." He teased his friend.

" I pray that you never do see my worst" Sam retorted in good nature, picking up a tricorder and starting the standard series of scans. As far as she could tell Jon's wounds were well on the way to recover. There was some very minor scarring that could be addressed if need be, but to the regular eye would never even be noticeable. The exhaustion however was telling " Are you sleeping? Your serotonin levels are a bit whacky" She questioned, having a fair indication that nightmares would be plaguing her friend.

Chuckling softly at her comment Jon got on the biobed and lay still as Sam began her exam, Jon was quiet. When she asked about him sleeping, he didn't reply right away. He wouldn't bs Sam and he knew she was looking at his readings. "Sleeping? Sure, I'm sleeping Sam. I'm just not sleeping well or long." He confessed. Saying nothing on the nightmares that plagued him every night.

" That explains why your neuro chemicals are off." Sam mumbed to herself, taking the required readings and formulating something in her mind to help her friend recover. " I want you to try something, it's gonna sound a little hinky but it may work, if not we have other options" She offered, putting the tricorder aside and grabbing another instrument.

"I'll try anything you say Sam. I trust you completely." And Jon did. He and Sam and been through so much together.

" It's old school, but it works. A glass of warm milk with a little nutmeg or cinnamon about an hour before bed - it's a natural sedative. Then, if you have a nightmare and wake up, focus your mind on your breath, then start counting backwards from 10,000. It gives your mind something to focus on rather than the dreams" Sam offered, finishing up her scans.

Jon looked at her, "Warm milk with nutmeg or cinnamon." He repeated. "Okay." He shrugged his shoulders, "I'll try anything once or even twice." He joked with Sam. "And count back from 10,000 and my breathing. Okay haven't hot anything to lose. Thanks for the suggestion Sam, I'll be sure to try it." He lowered his voice when he spoke the next. "Waking up screaming gets old real quick."

" I could imagine that it would" Sam replied sagely, reaching and grabbing a nearby hypospray, adjusting the controls before handing it to Jon " This will give you 8 hours sleep if the previous method fails, it's enough to take down a small horse so only use it if you need to" She smiled as she pressed it into Jon's hand.

Jon took the hypospray and the Sam's hands in his. "Thank you Sam. I won't promise to use it as I like to try and get through this on my own but I'm also rapidly getting toward the end of my endurance." He admitted. He glanced at her PaDD, "So how is everything else? Am I good to go and get back to active duty?"

" Physically you're healing well, a few minor bits and pieces that will just take time to finish mending, but I see no physical reason to withhold you from duty.... but...." She paused, hating to drop the B word but knowing she had to " I need you to get a decent nights sleep first"

To his credit Jon didn't get mad. He was clearly disappointed by Sam's statement but realized she was just doing her job but that didn't stop him from complaining. "Geez Sam! I'm not a danger to myself or anyone else. What i need is to get back to work and not sit around my quarters."

" What you need is a decent nights sleep and then you can get back to it. The human body needs rest - and at the moment it's not getting it" Sam's voice was calm but firm " If I let you back on duty whilst your mind and your body aren't resting, I'd be neglectful in MY duties. I need you to do this Jon, you need it" She laid a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

Jon knew Sam was right but what she was asking was hard at least to him. "I know Sam and I don't want you to get into trouble because of me. I don't want anyone to get into trouble or get hurt because of me." He looked her in the eye. "Okay Sam, I'll do it."

" Good Man, 8 hours, thats all you need to get signed off and back on duty. Come back tomorrow morning ready to go and hopefully I can authorise you" Sam patted him gently on the arm " Besides could be worse, I could confine you to sickbay and watch you sweat - but I'm not that mean"

"No if you were mean you'd have Perrin to it, who I would promptly dislocate one of his arms or legs. But that would be mean to you and I am not that mean." He bantered back.

" Perrin, I think I'll have him transferred off...I have a new ACMO..." Sam smirked with a conspiratorial grin.

"Not telling you how to run your department Sam but I think that is an excellent idea." Jon replied with an answering grin.

" Only cos you and he don't get along" She poked her tongue out at him and considered the options. Perrin was a good doctor, but his bedside manner was lacking and now that Dr Dex was on board, his skills could be better utilized elsewhere.

" That's true." Jon admitted "But also I put him where he needed to be Sam. In charge of bed pans. It fits his personality and skill level perfectly." Jon countered.

" He's a good doctor Jon, he just needs to work on his interpersonal skills" Sam challenged gently " But I hear Starfleet Medical are sending teams into Cardassia to help with the local effort on the ground - Perrin has expressed interest in joining the next team"

"Tell him bye for me." Jon replied. There was no love lost between him and Perrin who Jon viewed as woefully inadequate and incompetent,

" I will make sure I do" Sam retorted, fully aware of the conflict between the two of them. Soon it would be over when Perrin disembarked. " So... a good night's sleep and report back in tomorrow morning. Yes?"

" Pleas tell him bon voyage." Jon retorted then in a lighter tone said "Yes Sam. A good night sleep and come back to see you in the morning." Jon repeated sounding like a little boy. I'll even take you to breakfast."

" Careful, I'll hold you to that" She snorted as she packed away her medical instruments. " Now scoot before I decide to change my mind" She batted at him in good humour.

Jon nodded, "Scooting" he replied in good humor. "Here's hoping to a good night sleep. I'll see you in the morning Sam." As he exited her office.

"You sure will. Goodnight!" She called after him, taking a few moments to update his medical record before moving onto something else.