SD242001.21 || Joint Log || "The Good Doctor"

Posted on 22 Jan 2020 @ 12:21pm by Captain Mallory Thorne & Lieutenant Cole Dering M.D., M.S.

693 words; about a 3 minute read

=/\= Begin Log =/\=

Doctor Cole Dering walked the corridors of USS Odin with no awareness of anyone he may have passed as he made his way to the Captain.

He'd been called to her office. It should have been a welcome diversion, but rather he felt the weight of the last two days.

There was the injured the medical staff were still tending to, along with subdued grief and shock at the previous CMO's suicide. The medical department felt a bit like a wake, and for Cole the routine autopsy he had just finished on Doctor Finley Bell did not help. It etched grim lines into his usually positive demeanor.

Within the ready room, a similar pall continued to hang. On the part of the captain, it was not just Bell's actions but everything that had happened to the ship, as well as where they were now and what it all meant. She wondered if they would ever make it home... Would she ever see her family again?

Mal had just sat behind her desk with a fresh cup of coffee when she heard the chime ring. "Enter," she called, expecting it was Dr. Dering.

The door slid open and Cole stepped inside. “You wanted to see me, Captain?” he asked, carefully and casually looking her over. While their recent adventure had been hard on everyone, she carried the weight of it all on her shoulders. He was feeling concerned about that more than anything else.

"Thank you for coming," Mal said with a sincerely warm if also genuinely weary smile. "Come in. Have a seat. Do you want anything to drink?" She waved at the replicator.

Cole hesitated and then decided he'd already had his fill of coffee. Not wanting anything else, he replied quietly, "No, thank you," his eyes remaining on her as he sat down in one of the chairs facing her. "When was the last time you had a decent night’s sleep, Captain?”

The captain chuckled. "A decent night's sleep? A while, I'm afraid. But it's starting to get easier," she replied honestly, since it did no good to lie to a doctor. "I'm sure everyone is by now aware of the...circumstances around the passing of Doctor Bell. How is the staff in sickbay holding up?"

Having gone from a raised eyebrow to a nod at what she had first said, Cole exhaled as he thought about her question. “They’re coping,” he answered. “Some more than others. And then there are a few who have voiced that they should have seen the signs.”

Mal nodded sadly. "I wish there had been more time to see the signs," she said. But the truth was that not much time had passed between their return from Earth until Bell took his own life. "Sickbay and the medical staff needs someone to help them now, to keep things organized and help the medical needs of the crew..." Her voice hitched the tiniest bit. "...we have left. That's why I called you today. I would like to that that role. Be the new CMO."

Catching the hitch in her voice only added to how Cole was feeling. "I’ve..ahh…" His brow had furrowed a little and unlike himself, he was momentarily struggling for words. He had already taken on the responsibilities of a CMO, been trying to be there for crew, and under the circumstances, had been expecting the promotion, yet in this way was never part of the plan. He ended up nodding, replying quietly, “Yes, Sir.”

She smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure this isn't the way you wanted to get the job, but you have many compatriots on our senior staff feeling much the same. I'm sure you'll do well."

In acknowledgement, and at the reminder, Cole had nodded again, only slightly.. “Thank you,” he said and then became quiet as he thought about how it was not only those that died that the crew was feeling the loss of. "I will do my best , of course.”

"Thank you, Doctor," Mallory said, standing and offering her hand. "And good luck."

=/\= End Log =/\=

Captain Mallory Thorne & Lieutenant Cole Dering

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