Sick Walshy, Sad Walshy…

Posted on 11 Apr 2016 @ 12:52am by Commander Terry Walsh & Commander Jayla Kij

1,035 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: USS Black Hawk, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 6 || 1045 hours

Terry had started getting a sore throat yesterday evening before he had beamed back up to the Black Hawk. He had tried different teas and herbal drinks on the planet, but none of them seemed to do any good. When got back to the ship that night, he searched the computer for something else that might work. There wasn’t very much more than what he had already done. He had gone to sleep with a sore throat, woken up with a sore throat, and worked all shift with an even sorer throat. His option now was a visit to Sickbay and the doc.

A few minutes later, Terry walked into sickbay and looked around. “Is there a doctor in the house?” he managed to get out. Having spent all shift using his voice left him with a rather scratchy and dry one.

Jayla turned from the patient she was examining to see Commander Walsh standing there, looking miserable. "Let me guess," she said. "Sore throat?"

“You got it, Doctor. I’ve had it since I came back from resting and relaxing on the planet. That was last night.” He walked over to where the Doctor was standing. “Is there a free be around here?”

"It seems to be an epidemic," said Jayla, leading him to a bio bed. "Hop up here," she said. "I've got five others who came down with sore throats a couple days ago and now three of them can't wake up and the other two can't sleep. They're exhausted, but all they do is lay there with their eyes closed. Anyway," she added, pulling out her tricorder. "Let's see if we can't figure out what's going on here."

Terry hopped up on the bio bed. “That doesn’t sound good,” he said. “So I’ve got sleeplessness to look forward to next, huh?”

"Theoretically," answered Jayla. "If this is the same thing. Although, there's sleeping before that, so... Well, hopefully it's different. Open," she said, shining a light down his throat.

Terry sighed. “I sure hope this is different, then.” He laughed when he realized something. “But I could use a lot of sleep. Running a squadron keeps a guy pretty busy. And, well, I could use some catch-up sleep from R and R.” Terry opened his mouth for the Doctor’s examination.

Jayla looked, but like the others, there was nothing. No sign of irritation, no redness, no white spots, no swelling, nothing. Not even tracks from sinus drainage. She frowned. "Well, let's try this," she said, pulling out a hypospray loaded with a painkiller. "I don't see any signs of infection, so we'll just assume you overworked your voice." She injected the painkiller into his neck. "Hopefully, that takes care of it. Get some rest, plenty of fluids and see me tomorrow if it's still sore." If you can even drag yourself out of bed, she thought. But, she didn't say it aloud. No need to worry him if he didn't have the same thing as the others.

“I probably did overwork it,” he said, thinking back. Terry looked around the room at all the others that the Doctor had mentioned earlier. He hoped that he wouldn’t end up back in here. He hoped that a sore throat was all it was. “So what kind of awesome painkiller did a I get? Will I be fun to be around for the next few hours?”

"Only if you react oddly to naproxen," answered Jayla. "It's pretty mild, but it should make things bearable for you. I want you back here in the morning, though, whether there's still any pain or not."

Terry nodded. “Okay, I can be here first thing, if that’s what you’re looking for.” He was glad that it was something to take the edge off. But he was rather curious as to why the Doctor wanted to see him back even if he was feeling better.

"Just a precaution," said Jayla, reassuringly. "I'm sure everything will be fine." But, no amount of pretending could make her believe it herself.

"Precautions I get," replied Terry. He looked around Sickbay once again and shook his head. "What time would be best for you? Looks like you're pretty busy."

Jayla sighed, also looking around. "It doesn't matter," she said. "At this point, there's not a lot I can do for them except hope it runs its course and everything turns out all right."

"Well, I guess I'll be in as early as I can. Say around...0900? That'll give me some time to go over morning reports and get the morning meetings out of the way," said Terry. "Does that sound okay?"

"That'll work," answered Jayla, giving him another grin. "And try to rest that voice, eh?"

Terry chuckled. He would have laughed, but his throat was still sore. "I'll give it a try," he said. "But I'm not so sure. I keep pretty busy with the squadron. Hey, maybe I can get my aide to help out. She might like that." He grinned.

"I could have a word with her, if you think it'll help," joked Jayla.

"Ahh," he waved his hand. "She'll do it. Best aide I've ever had. Well, actually, she's the only aide I ever had." He coughed as he got that last little bit out. "Ugh, when will the painkiller start working?"

For once, Jayla frowned. "It should have already," she said, debating whether she should keep him here. Ultimately, she decided against it. "Well, give it a bit longer. In the meantime, take it easy."

"Will do, Doc," said Terry. "Maybe I'll delegate and go lay down for a while. Anyway, is there anything else I should know?"

"Just, if you start falling asleep on duty, get here immediately," she said with an uncharacteristic air of seriousness.

Terry caught the tone in her voice. "Yeah, I will Doctor Kij. Falling asleep on duty equals immediate travel to Sickbay." He hopped down off the biobed. "Thanks for the meds. I think I'll see what I can get delegated."

"Good idea," muttered Jayla, glancing on her five patients. She sincerely hoped there wouldn't be a sixth to add to them tomorrow.

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