Two Doctors, A Medical Journal and A Deb

Posted on Fri Jun 10th, 2022 @ 7:47pm by Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh & Andrew Munro & Debbie Gless

Mission: In the Aftermath
Location: Debbie's Diner
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 0800

Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh had a PADD tucked underneath his arms when he walked into Debbie's Diner. He had made arrangements to meet up with Doctor Munro. He had written a medical journal regarding their autopsy of the Chameloids a month prior. He found Andrew sitting in a booth already, "Doctor Munro. Thank you for coming. Have you... read it yet?"

The young Doctor shuffled into the booth across from him nervously still holding the PADD to his chest.

"Doctor Kennedy Walsh," Andrew acknowledged with a smile as he was joined in the booth. "Actually, I just finished a few minutes ago." His hand gestured towards a PADD laying on the table next to an empty coffee cup with froth still lining the sides.

"Has sickbay been keeping you busy?"

The Doctor removed the PADD that was anchoring against his chest and placed it on the table's surface like Munro had. He folded his hands together, "Quite. Yes."

"At least that didn't keep you from writing the paper," Andrew chuckled to himself as he recalled the autopsies. "It's so strange to think that when we examined those remains, they were really rare. Now, only a short time later, we have a whole colony of living examples of the species."

"I allotted time to it ever since the autopsy was completed. I knew that this journal might share light on the Chameloids if other medical professionals come across them. While its not too in-depth, I'm still hoping to get the Captain's blessing before I send it in. I'm not sure if it'll be published and I'm still a pretty young physician."

It was, at that moment, that Debbie appeared -- as if by magic -- with another coffee for Munro. It was a cappuccino this time and, artistically stylized in the foam, a Starfleet chevron graced the surface. "Here you go, sweety," she offered to her favorite biologist, setting the cup down next to him before taking the empty away. Looking to Kennedy, the matronly woman smiled wide. "Well hello there, baby. What can I get you today, huh?" With a few quick chomps of her gum, Debbie then blew a rather large pink bubble as she waited for Kennedy's order. It popped with a loud smack.

Kennedy cringed slightly at both being called baby and the bubble popping sound of Debbie's bubblegum chewing. He looked up offering her a smile and gave her his order, "Irish Breakfast Tea, a waffle, a strip of bacon, fruit salad, and a poached egg, please."

Debbie had produced a PADD from a pocket in her vest, whipping out its stylus and writing the order into the system. "...and a poached egg," she said, nodding as she reviewed her writing of the completed order. "Got it! How about you, sweet cheeks? Did you want anything else besides a cuppa?" As she waited expectantly, the song playing in the diner changed. This one kicked off with a crazy guitar solo full of energy. "Oh I love this song!" Debbie smirked. "Well, who doesn't like Johnny B. Goode, am I right?!" she chortled.

"Johnny, Whoooo?" The young Doctor gave the woman a strange look.

"Johnny B. Goode. The song," Debbie pointed all around her, "is literally all about him. He's a musician who plays the guitar like no one else and rakes in the dough. Money," she clarified, "though we don't have much need for it in this day and age. Anyway, did you want anything else?" she said to Munro, needing to peel away to put in Kennedy's order with the short-order cook.

"Oh, sorry!" In his amusement at the exchange, Andrew had completely forgot that he had been asked a question. "A short stack of pancakes would ... be good."

"Oh..." Kennedy smiled, "I thought he was some sort of person that the song is based on... I never really come here... to listen to the music."

"I'm just teasing," Andrew laughed. "It is about a person, well, a mostly fictional one. He elevates his socio-economic status by performing rock-n-roll songs, like this one. I've lost count of how many times I've heard it in here."

"Teasing?" Kennedy raised an eyebrow before opening his mouth in an o-shape. He had been teased in this way by Irynya. He was curious if it was often in social exchanges like these to be ribbed.

Debbie, meanwhile, had returned to the counter and stuck her head through the service window. "I want those pancakes extra fluffy, Mel. And it's a poached egg...not a hard boil, honey. Please be careful," she said to the short order cook. A response of "Yeah, yeah, yeah...I got your poached egg right here, Deb," came a gruff voice from the service window. Mel, apparently, was not in the mood to have his cooking doubted but Deb wanted breakfast to be extra special for her friends.

Once Debbie had left the two men to their table. Kennedy offered Andrew a smile, "So... be honest... its my first journal... and... I'm already nervous but I am looking for constructive criticism from my peers. And you're one of them."

"Your first one? Really?" Andrew's face conveyed his surprise so the words hadn't really been necessary. "It's actually very good. I'd upgrade that to 'excellent' considering it's your first." Andrew moved his coffee aside and slid his PADD back in front of him, bringing up the notes that he'd made.

"Your review of the existing literature is sound - and that's not easy given that most of what we know of Chameloids was myth and rumour - and you create a nice focused objective for the study so that the reader knows from the outset what you're going to try to answer." Andrew paused to take a sip of coffee before continuing. "Your methodology is strong and you refrain from drawing conclusions on insufficient data, clearly stating the limitations imposed on the study by the situation." Another pause followed, the kind that is usually the harbinger of criticism. "My suggestions for improvements - and they are only suggestions - would be to expand on your recommendations. What further studies should be spawned from this one? Usually those tend to reference or address the limitations that you've already mentioned and also to add statistical significance to the findings." Another sip of coffee followed. "The other thing I noticed is that you tend to explain the concepts that you mention. That's great for reports to command officers however you can assume that your peers are already familiar with those concepts and skip the explanation. Some academics can get a little touchy about that, as though you're implying they would need the explanation."

Kennedy couldn't help but smile across the table at the man he know very little about. This was the only third time the two of them were together. Once to conduct two autopsies, another with the grouping that Irynya had called the Second Stringers for karaoke and now this peer review of his journal. He found Andrew's feedback not only constructive and well thought-out but soothing and understanding. Before he was able to respond Debbie made their way to their table with their drinks and breakfast orders.

"Alright babies," Debbie said, lowering the tray she'd been carrying over her head with a huff. That particular maneuver had allowed room for a roller-skating server to pass by underneath without knocking the tray full of food over. "One short stack of pancakes for my growing boy," she said, setting a plate down in front of Andrew. The pancakes were dripping with melted butter, covered in a viscous pool of dark brown syrupy goodness. The smell of maple wasn't overpowering but it definitely grabbed one's attention. "And for our young doctor," Debbie grinned, hoisting another plate over and setting it down in front of Kennedy. "One waffle, a strip of bacon, some fruit salad, and a poached egg. And let's not forget the Irish Breakfast tea," she said, sliding a tea cup full of the darkened liquid in front of the Doctor. "Anything else for the moment?"

Andrew savoured the smell wafting up from the food before replying. "I'm good, thanks."

Kennedy shot Debbie a smile, "Thanks Debbie. I should be good with this."

"Alright then," Debbie smiled back, "orders to take, food to deliver. You boys be good," she said, tipping her head to the pair before swiveling and shooting off towards another table, tray tucked under her arm and a PADD produced from one of her apron pockets. On the jukebox, a new song began: this one having something to do with a "Yakety Yak," whatever that was.

"Hmmn, where were we?" Andrew teased the top most pancake with his fork as an idea formed. "I've still got the details of a couple of xenobiologists that I met at a conference on Risa a few years ago. Once you're happy with the paper, and you get the ok from Björn, I could reach out to them for some publishing contacts and to stoke some interest in it if you'd like?"

"I would greatly appreciate that," Kennedy smiled and nodded his head. He raised an eyebrow with curiosity about who Björn was. Then he realized that Andrew and the Captain were on a first-name basis., a slight rosey blush grew across the young Irishman's face. "And I'll take your earlier recommendations to heart. I really appreciate the positive constructive feedback."

"I'm happy to help," Andrew smiled back. It wasn't often that his experience felt all that useful on the ship and so he appreciated being able to add some value.

Kennedy grinned as he began to eat some of his breakfast. His nervousness about meeting with Andrew had eased, "I'll take your recommendations and polish it up. Then I'll present it to the Captain to see what he thinks. Then I'll reach out to you after that."

"Sounds good," Andrew agreed. He looked at the sticky crumbs on his plate and regretted not having ordered a larger stack, but he wouldn't have had the time to eat it all and wasting some would have felt rude. "If you'll excuse me, I'm due in the lab soon." As he collected his PADD and drained the last of his coffee, he added "It was good to see you."

"Not a problem," Kennedy smiled while he had taken a small forkful of his fruit salad and while he inserted the fork into his mouth Andrew had stepped up. He quickly chewed and swallowed, "Thanks again for your feedback and have a great day, Andrew."

Kennedy watched Andrew walk away before his eyes returned to his food.

A Joint Post By:

Doctor Andrew Munro
Biologist
USS Sojourner

&

Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh, MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Sojourner

With Special Guest Star:

Debbie Gless
Head Bartender and Hostess, Debbie's Diner
USS Sojourner