How'd You Break That?
Posted on 28 May 2020 @ 3:45pm by Lieutenant Cole Dering M.D., M.S. & Commander Kristiana Petrova
1,006 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Changing Faces
Location: Sickbay
Kristiana stepped into sickbay, wearing her work-out clothes. Trainers, jogging pants and a tight tank-top, hair tied back in a ponytail and concluding with fabric wrappings around her hands. She looked like she'd worked up quite a sweat, prior to whatever had caused her to make her way to sickbay. A pained expression and the way she cradled her left arm gave a hint, though.
"Doc?"
Cole had just entered the room with a lab report and was looking it over when he noticed her. He sighed, "Oh great..." when he looked up and took in the image of yet another crewman with an athletic injury. "Must be the latest trend," he murmured unhappily as he started heading towards her, shaking his head when he recognized who she was.
Then suddenly head nurse Helen was whizzing by him. "On it, doctor."
Causing Cole to slow in his tracks and his brow's furrowed, "I see that..." He then held up the lap report, "And okay!" deciding to place it on a nearby work station before joining them.
"This way," Helen smiled and gently started leading Kris on over to a biobed, keeping her eyes on her as she did.
"Thanks," Kris muttered, wincing slightly as she sat down on the biobed. "Was working out. Slipped and fell, landed on my arm," she explained, not voicing her expectation of at least a cracked bone. She was dealing with the professionals now, no sense in venturing opinions other than the facts.
"Ouch," Helen responded, grabbing a tricorder. She started scanning and then held it out to Cole as he arrived and then immediately started setting up a tray.
"Besides this," Cole asked as he finished the scan, "how have you been doing, Commander?" He politely smiled up to her.
"Ask me that when I've had a moment to do anything other than sleep, eat, work out or work," Kristiana sighed, wincing slightly as she shifted a bit. "Mostly the latter, really," she added, shoulders slumping a bit, just looking exhausted.
Cole shook his head and sighed. He started preparing a hypo. "You managed to crack your radial bone, Commander. You want to tell me exactly how that happened?"
"Huh. That makes sense actually," Kris seemed nonplussed. "Like I said, I slipped and fell, landed on my arm on a bench. Just being clumsy."
Cole raised an eyebrow, "You didn't tell me." He placed the hypo against her neck, releasing it's contents."
"He told me," Helen spoke out as she pass by them in a hurry, having overheard.
Cole glanced at her with a strange expression. "Anyways," his expression got stern as he started using an osteo-regenerator on her arm, "I'm going to be honest with you, Commander. I'm getting a little tired of all the athletic injuries that have been coming in my sickbay recently. I'm about ready to use my prerogative as the Chief medical officer and close the gym."
"The heath benefits of a crew working out and staying in shape outweigh the extra work a few athletic injuries bring you. Plus, do you want people to start working out in non-approved areas with non-approved equipment?" Kris asked, quirking a brow. "Gonna be even more injuries then. I can tell you that much."
Seriously? Cole thought and then replied, trying to keep the irritation he was feeling out of his voice as he continued mending her arm, "It's not about the work it brings me." The crews' well-being foremost on his mind, that had felt like an insult. "I've always been one to encourage physical fitness but at this time too many of the crew are not keeping their minds on their workout, not working out responsibly. If it keeps up, I'll be giving alternatives.."
"Might I suggest a productive alternative then over limiting people's ability to work out and work off energy and frustration. Because I think that's a root cause to the problem at hand," Kris mused, wincing slightly as he worked though holding still. "Offer courses on safe use of equipment, work with the counselor to come up with a training regimen to promote focus and clarity of mind."
"Thanks for the confidence, Commander," Cole said quietly, somehow managing to hold in his frustration. He became quiet as he took another scan on her arm.
Kris sighed softly, shoulders slumping a bit. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I've just got a lot on my mind and am running on too little sleep and too little relaxation time. I see you're frustrated, and I'd prefer you not to be. Whatever you come up with, feel free to run it by me and we'll try to make something work, ok?"
Setting aside the medical regenerator, Cole sadly nodded. Understanding and then relating, he then slid over a stool and sat on it before her, folding his arms. He looked at her intently and could see the fatigue within her features. "What this crew needs is a vacation. I don't suppose there's a chance our new bosses will grant us one."
Kristiana gave a chuckle, though empty of humor and with a hint of despair. "Damn right we need a vacation, all of us," she wasn't about to complain that she was heavily overworked, though it was visible in her eyes. "Not looking too good for us getting one on the short term though. All we can do is our best until then."
"Yeah," he gave her a small smile in return, not taking his eyes off of her, "Your arm's healed, but is there anything else I can do for you?" It wasn't a statement out of formality, he was really concerned.
Kris hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I've got work to do," she mused, standing up again, offering half a smile. "Thanks for the care, Doc."
"Same here and you're welcome." Cole watched her walk away and then shook his head as another crewman in athletic shorts came limping in.
Cmdr Kristiana Petrova
XO
&
Doctor Cole Dering
CMO
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