Physicals are Never Ending

Posted on 03 Apr 2019 @ 6:21pm by Commander Jayla Kij
Edited on on 24 Feb 2020 @ 10:48pm

1,453 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: History
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: BACKPOST - Before entering the zone

Joe did his best to avoid heading to sickbay but he knew the time for a physical was needed, slowly he poked his head inside to scope the place out. Joe was never a fan of doctor visits not that he had anything against doctors he just felt like the same thing happened every time and didn't see the need to go through another physical. Finally walking inside sickbay, Owens knocks on a wall. "Hello?"

A blond head poked out of a nearby doorway and was quickly followed by the tiny form of Nurse Rigby. "Hi!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Nurse Rigby. What can I do for you?"

"Hello, I'm Ensign Owens. I have my physical scheduled for today." He answered as he steps closer.

“Of course!” replied Eleanor cheerfully. “Doctor Kij told me about that. She’s expecting you. Come right this way,” she said, leading him towards a biobed. “Now don’t be afraid of her. I know she looks scary, but really, she’s never friendly,” she advised, a twinkle in her eye.

Joe was not expecting Eleanor to be so cheerfully but he followed her as he was told. He sat down on the biobed, "Well I do whatever she needs me to do." He smiled at the Nurse she seemed like a really nice person.

“I’ll let the doctor know you’re here,” replied Eleanor. “Remember- don’t be afraid of her!”

“Ellie!” scolded Jayla playfully as she approached from behind. “Stop trying to frighten the patients!”

Eleanor just laughed wickedly as she hurried off to other duties.

“Sorry about her,” Jayla told the man on the biobed. “She has a warped sense of humor. I’m Doctor Kij. You must be Ensign Owens?”

"Well everyone finds different things funny, can't blame her for that." Joe still keeps his smile after watching the two interact. "Nice to meet you Doctor Kij and yes I am Ensign Owens."

“Good to meet you, too,” replied Jayla, taking out her tricorder and beginning her scans. “Any complaints other than Rigby?” she asked with a twinkling grin to indicate that she was joking.

Owens lets out a soft chuckle, "I can't complain, Doctor, healthwise I've never really had any problems. Never even broke a bone yet."

“That’s lucky,” agreed Jayla with a nod. “Hopefully it stays that way. I can’t say I’ve been as lucky, though.”

"Oh? Tell me about yourself, Doctor?" Joe was curious about Jayla.

“I’m Trill, obviously,” she started, gesturing to her spots. “Joined way too young and with no training- long story- can’t carry a tune to save my life and enjoy sports and acting. I was in a couple of plays in the academy,” she added. “And I directed one while serving on the Impala. I thought about doing some here, but then I got my paints back out and started experimenting. I had an exhibition once! It was actually kind of fun.”

"Wow your life seems so much more interesting than mine, I grew up the son of a mechanic. It was only natural that like all my brothers and sister before me that I followed them." Joe felt uneasy, he had always had a question he wanted to ask a Trill but he didn't know if it was offensive or if the Doctor would hate him. his curiosity got the best of him as he began to speak again.

"A joined Trill, sorry if this seems rude but it's something I've always kinda wondered and I've never really known a Trill who I could ask. When I talk to you, am I talking to the host, the symbiont, or both? Again I don't mean to be rude and I'm sorry if this offends you it's just something I've wondered since I learned out your species when I was younger."

“Coming from a min-Trill, it’s Fine,” Jayla assured him. “Trill used to get all offended over questions like that, but now we realize that if you’re not constantly exposed to joined Trill from a young age, there is no way you would know. The answer is, both, sort of. The symbiont is sentient and separate, but once joined, our thoughts are one. After several years, it is sometimes possible for joined to know whether the thoughts originated with the host or the symbiont, but only if I’m paying very close attention. So, a short answer- both of us hear you, but it’s more like only one being.”

"Thanks for answering the question, and I'm glad I asked you would hate to have someone mad at me for asking a question like that." Joe laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his neck.

“No problem,” replied Jayla with a smile. “As I said, we understand. Trill, that is, not Kij and me. Well, okay, so also Kij and me. You know what I mean.”

Owens laughs, "I do Doctor." Joe leaned on his arm as he sat up on the biobed, "Anything you want to know about me?"

"Not in particular," Jayla replied, tapping a couple of buttons on her tricorder and frowning at it. "But, anything you want to tell me would be welcome. I'd much rather have conversation while performing a physical."

"Alright then, I'm the youngest of five kids. Worked for my old man's mechanic shop official for a few years before he retired and left it to my oldest brother. I've had also been told I am an amazing chef when I can make stuff myself." Joe laughed a little at just pulling random things about himself. "What about you Doc? What's your off duty guilty pleasure?"

"Doctor Who Holonovels," she replied with a grin. "My favorite is four, but I also like 12, 9, 13, 27, and 18- in that order."

"Can't say I've seen any of those, but I guess if it has been through so many characters."

"I've loaded them into the ship's computer," she replied, studying her tricorder once more. "Feel free to create a program. Okay, this is driving me crazy. It's reading a mild fungal infection, but I don't see anything. My guess is early ringworm. Do you mind if I take a skin scraping? It doesn't hurt, I promise. tickles a little."

Joe was a little surprised by her words, "If it helps you take as much as you need."

Quickly, Jayla took a small scraping from the area of the underside of his chin indicated by the tricorder and applied it to a plate which she then fed into a slot on her tricorder. "Yep," she said as she readied a hypospray. "Traces of ringworm. That stuff is a nuisance. Luckily, it's easily treated. Quick antifungal," she added, pressing the hypo to his neck, "and you're good to go. We shouldn't need any more than that, since it's so small, but come back in two weeks or if you experience any itching- whichever comes first."

"Thanks, Doctor Kij. I didn't think you would get enough of a sample with my beard in the way but as long as I don't have to get rid of it all is well." He laughs as he remains seated unsure of the physical was over or not. "So how did you come to serve aboard the Black Hawk?"

“I was assigned here, just like you,” she replied with a grin as she made a couple of notes on a PADD. “I was on the old Black Hawk, too, before it was destroyed. On a side note, I never want to see the inside of another escape pod.” She gave him another winning grin. “Anyway, you’re fit for duty.”

"I guess that is how most people got here." Joe laughed at her statement. "Well, the important thing is you survived and you are here now." He got up from the biobed and adjusted his uniform. "Thanks for taking the time to look me over Doctor Kij, hopefully, next time we meet up it's outside of sickbay. I would love to learn more about you, Doctor."

She gave him a slightly melancholy grin this time. To be honest, she would probably feel the same, but she was still a bit hesitant about social relationships. She knew she needed to heal a bit more after everything that had happened. “Yes, maybe sometime we will have to meet at Talons or something,” she replied noncommittally.

"Sounds good, if you excuse me. I'm gonna go take things apart and put them back together." Joe laughed as he walked towards the exit of Sickbay.

Jayla grinned to herself as he left. Such a friendly guy. She was feeling a little better after talking to him.

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