Checking Up With The Doctors

Posted on Wed Aug 18th, 2021 @ 6:17pm by Lieutenant Commander Emni t'Nai & Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 2100

Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh was relieved that the medical evaluations for the crew were completed. He had finished compiling his latest report on his colleague Nurse Dogrov. He poked his head into the Chief Medical Officer's office, "I think with Nurses Dogrov and Lal are both done that's it for evaluations."

Emni looked up, eyebrow creeping up as she did. "Did I magically do your evaluation in my sleep?" she asked deadpan before cracking an amused smile. "Unless I'm mistaken you and I both require updated physicals."

"I'm pretty sure you... did?" Kennedy scratched his lower ear while looking over to Nurse Dogrov instructing a medical technician to wipe down the bio-beds before returning to Emni with a half-attempt of a smile.

"Nice try," Emni quipped back, rising from behind the desk to come around. "We'll work quickly."

She stepped out into Sickbay letting Dogrov know he could end his shift on a hunch that perhaps Dr. Ryan Walsh was a touch uncomfortable.

Kennedy followed Emni behind.

Once Dogrov had exited Sickbay, Emni turned back to Kennedy. "So, you first or me?"

"I'll leave that to you to decide," Kennedy wasn't sure he would go first if that is what Emni wanted.

Emni frowned lightly, but relented. "Ok, you're up first then. You know the drill." She turned to the side giving her direct report a moment to remove his shirt and jacket and climb up on the biobed.

"That I do," Kennedy undressed out of his shirt and duty jacket and climbed up onto the bio-bed.

"Arms out," Emni instructed, coming around. Unlike most patients she skipped the explanations, moving right into the appropriate test when Kennedy held is arms straight from his side. She pressed down on his triceps, meeting the resistance she was looking for and then indicated he should lift his arms straight over his head. Repeating the test, she set her hands on his biceps, pressing outward, then moved to his triceps to the same effect.

"You can put your arms down," she instructed, tapping rapid notes into the PADD. "Starting to feel settled in?" she asked as she recorded her results.

Kennedy looked away, almost to the point of cowering. He didn't know how to broach the subject, "Yeah, for the most part." He rubbed his forehead briefly. He looked at his feet and the floor.

The spike in Kennedy's discomfort was everything short of physically visible in her mental landscape. A beacon of uncertainty and anxiety that was as clear as day to her. Even without her empathic senses she wouldn't have been able to miss his body language. She slowed in her note taking to give him a chance to say more.

"Doctor?" Kennedy inquired but continued to speak, "You know, I've never really been a part of a social unit before or have been reserved." He looked up at her, "but while I've only been onboard the Sojo, I feel a part of something. I've got amazing roommates... for the most part. I've never really have had friends or even a friend before."

Emni nodded. "So you're in uncharted territory so to speak," she commented.

Kennedy answered, “Yes, very much, yes.”

Kennedy wasn’t sure if he wanted to discuss this further, especially after Doctor t’Nai’s observations of his evaluation of Irynya. He hoped it wasn’t clearly apparent as it was to hear.

Kennedy was not going to be so lucky. "It seemed you survived Lieutenant Irynya's physical." It wasn't so much a question as an observation. It wasn't her job to pry, but it had been evident how distracting the whole experience had been for both of them.

She took the rod for reflex testing and held it up in the air so he could see what she was doing before tapping lightly against his knees. Both jumped in the appropriate way so she tucked the rod away, indicating with a nod that he should leave the biobed for the next test.

She tapped a quick note into the PADD before waving him forward, watching as he made the walk across the room and back.

Kennedy couldn’t stop thinking about Irynya’s physical, he tripped over his own feet stumbling down on the Sickbay floor. He picked himself off the floor straightening out his pants than about to do his duty jacket before realizing he was shirtless.

Emni pointedly pretended not to notice that her comment had, quite literally, tripped the man up. She considered what she should say, but in the ended decided to wait. If Dr. Ryan Walsh wanted to discuss further he would say something.

When he was back to the biobed she nodded at his shirt, giving him a moment to don his clothing while she made further notes on he PADD.

Kennedy redressed into his uniform, “Do you think she knows?”

Emni considered for only a moment as she handed him the headphones for the hearing test.

"I don't think so, no," she replied. She briefly considered alerting Kennedy to the fact that Irynya was clearly interested in him as well, but thought better of it. These things were better discovered organically and without intrusion from empathy. "Let me know when you're ready for me to start the test."

“Ready,” Kennedy replied.

Tonal notes sounded in the headphones seeming to appear on one side of another and random intervals. Emni took notes as Kennedy raised his hands in time with the sounds as if he took hearing tests every day. When the last time wounded she nodded, indicating that he could remove the headset while simultaneously pinching and flinging the vision screening at the appropriate distance in front of him.

"Ready when you are," she noted indicating that he could begin once he had removed his headphones.

Kennedy lowered the headphones and sent them aside on the bio-bed. He went through the vision test but had some difficult reading the smaller font size, "Vision correction for me. Don't tell my Mother or Father that I haven't retained my 20/20 vision."

Emni raised an eyebrow. "Are your parents expecting you to magically retain perfect vision or have they somehow perfected a method to guarantee your vision never needs correcting?" she asked, wryly, before handing him the PADD.

She waited a moment so he could leave the biobed before nimbly undoing the clasps on her duty jacket and removing her SOJO t-shirt underneath. Appropriately disrobed she settled into the spot Kennedy had been in before her, holding her arms out from her side for the first test. "Do you think she knows?" she asked, curious as he hadn't said anything further after asking that question.

"Pardon?" Kennedy shook his head thinking her question was about his mother knowing about his eyesight, "She probably doesn't know about my eyesight. I haven't heard from her since before I was sent on shore leave."

Emni chuckled lightly, muscles flexing as the Irishman pressed on her triceps to test her resistance. "Lieutenant Irynya," she said with a look, "I assume that was who you meant when you asked me if I thought she knew."

"Yes," Kennedy nodded as he had his mind elsewhere, "I don't know know if she knows." Emni performed the triceps resistance test perfectly before moving onto the next.

The Romulan woman nodded, dropping the subject as she stretched her arms above her head, tensing muscles as Kennedy attempted to pull them apart and then dropping them back to her side when he was done. They were quiet as the two of them moved through the test of her reflexes, both aware of the steps and not bothering with the bedside manner niceties that would normally be involved in patient-care.

When appropriate, she slipped off of the biobed, making her way from one side of the room to the other before returning and picking up her t-shirt to pull it back over her head.

Kennedy looked briefly away while his superior slid her t-shirt back on, "You ready for the hearing test?" He picked up the headphones he left on the bio-bed and wiped them clean. He passed them over to her.

She settled the headphones over her ears, carefully of the pointed ends which stuck out beyond the headset and nodded her readiness. The tones began, sounding low then high, loud then soft, from side to side. She closed her eyes to focus, hands set lightly on her thighs and shooting into the air as each tone sounded. As the test reached completion, the last tone sounding, she slid the headset from her head, handing back to Kennedy to return to its slot.

"It seems like you have become quick friends with Irynya," she remarked, dropping the Risian's rank to add a bit of informality to the comment. She let that statement sit waiting to see what Kennedy might say.

"I was prepared to do what I normally did at parties since the Academy. Be seen for a few minutes and sneak away," Kennedy continued while he gripped the headset with both hands, "Then, I was given a drink. Poured it down my future roommate Sheldon's back after accidentally running into him. But she was the first to see me at a party without incident and included me in dancing. Since then, she's been there for me and I like to think I've been there for her. As you mentioned when I first came onboard, that the Delta Quadrant can be a lonely place without friends. And being emotionally reserved, its been rather diffi-" Kennedy caught on that he was rambling but knew that he was in a safe space with the Chief Medical Officer, "difficult. But she's just been a great friend to me. I've never had that before, I've always felt like a ghost, unseen, an apparition whether it was by personal choice or just societal unit."

Kennedy took in a deep breath without realizing he sat on the bio-bed next to Emni still with the headset in his hands. It was helping ground him in this moment, "I just don't want to lose the only thing I've got close to a best friend in my life. That's why I wanted to know if you think she knows. But that's also sort of cheating."

Kennedy realized he popped himself on the bio-bed, "Sorry." He hopped back down placing the the headset back into the case. Pulling up the PADD and bringing it up for her to read off of, "Ready when you are."

Emni ignored the vision test hovering in the air in front of her and tilted her head at her ACMO. It was an interesting experience to have him confide in her in this way--a connection she was glad for if they were going to be working closely with each other. She considered a moment. "To be clear," she began, "From what I could see Irynya understands you see her as a friend. I don't think she knows that you're starting to..." she considered her words carefully, "see her as possibly more than that."

She tracked the vision test with her eyes then, reading it off rapid fire before faltering on the last two lines in keeping with where most crew members began to find the characters difficult to make out.

Kennedy's cheeks rosened slightly while he held the PADD. He was tempted to hide behind the PADD but wanted to conduct himself with some professionalism even if they were speaking rather frankly about his friendship with Irynya, "I also don't want to risk losing her friendship in the process. And the fact, I've never been in a relationship before. Well, besides my first year at the Academy but that only lasted hours. Only minutes really." His cheeks started to brighten red again.

Emni's eyebrow crept up despite itself. "Would you mind if I said something as a friend then, rather than your superior officer?"

Kennedy wasn't too sure what to expect with the question coming from Emni. He slowly nodded his head in agreement but was a bit uncomfortable as he hadn't had a superior as a friend before but he needed a friend outside of Irynya right now, "Sure, I could use friendly advice from, another friend."

Emni's grin lit behind her eyes, a light chuckle coming form her. She scooted to the end of the biobed, pointing to the spot next to her and suggesting he sit.

"Irynya knows what she's doing. I had the opportunity to get to know her better on Risa and she's about as Risian as they come. But you, on the other hand, are not. First... romances..." she stopped short of saying first loves aware that she didn't want to make any assumptions.. "have a way of carrying us away. Don't rush it, Lieutenant. Let it go where it goes, and if it's going to go there, it will. And you'll know when you have to admit what you're feeling."

Kennedy sat down beside her on the bio-bed. He looked over at her quizzically that Irynya was like most Risians. He was confused but felt that she may have made a misjudgment about Irynya, "I won't rush into anything, I'm Kennedy. I second, triple and quadruple guess what I want to have for breakfast on a given day. I can be extraordinarily indecisive, it's probably not my best quality." He took in a deep breathe, "I get what you're trying to say but I've always found attraction and being interested in others very difficult. In all my relationships, I feel that I have that emotional connect with her and I've never made that connection with anyone beforehand."

Emni nodded her understanding. "That's an important thing, but emotional connections exist on many levels. I would know." She tapped her head lighting with a finger, an amused smirk on her face as she referred to her own empathic senses, something she rarely did with others. "The deeper those emotions get the more other... elements... may enter in. Just... be aware. You may find yourself surprised how easily you'll act in the moment if given the opportunity."

Kennedy tried to focus on what Emni was now trying to convey on emotional connect. Emni's words I had the opportunity to get her know her better on Risa and she's about as Risian as they come, pierced through his eardrum continuously. He closed his eyes as he felt it was important to focus on what his newfound friend in his superior. He smiled that he had two friends onboard the Sojo. He unconsciously placed his hand on hers lightly before realizing it made contact he pulled it away, "Sorry." Instead of looking ahead he now redirected his gaze down to his feet nodding his head, "I hear what you're trying to say here. To take things slow and steady."

The Romulan woman let out a low chuckle. "Yes. If what you want most is to keep her friendship, then get to know her a bit. Learn a bit more about her. Then see where it goes."

Kennedy didn't understand why the Romulan was laughing, "Get to know her. Got it."

Despite her appreciation for their conversation, the hour was catching up to Emni, long hours already put in on bringing them up to full readiness on physicals and other required drills. Without meaning to she yawned.

"I'm sorry," she remarked, biting off the yawn at the end. "It's nothing to do with this conversation, just that it feels like I have been in Sickbay for the last 3 days straight."

She straightened where she sat stretching her back as she did. "I'm happy to sit and chat more if you'd like, but perhaps we could do it in the office with the chairs if that's the case? Otherwise I'm pretty sure my bed is calling me."

Kennedy nodded his head, "What time is it?" He realized he could check the time. "Computer. Time?"

The computer chirped, "Local time is 2134."

"It's pretty late. I think my bed is calling my name as well," Kennedy smiled at her with a chuckle. He didn't want this bonding to end, "Emni. I really appreciate that you took the time to talk to me about this. I've never had a boss that cared, I mean Doctor Bolivar, I think, sorta cared but not to this extent that you've shown me. I truly appreciate it."

Emni nodded, glad that her ACMO felt comfortable to share. "Any time," she remarked, extending a warm smile. "Now, get out of her and get some sleep."

=/\= A mission post by =/\=

Lieutenant Emni t'Nai
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant JG Kennedy Ryan Walsh
Assistant Chief Medical Officer