Check (up), mate

Posted on 27 Feb 2023 @ 6:36pm by Lieutenant JG James Ryan Jr & Lieutenant JG Roger Harrison Jr

Mission: R&R - Styx Outpost 2
Location: Sickbay
1823 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Roger was busy today. That was fine with him-it; made the day go by faster. They were finally clearing people out of the sick bay from the last disaster, and he was FINALLY getting his footing with the crew. His next patient was the new guy, Lt. Ryan, and Roger was interested in meeting this one. His service jacket preceded him, and Roger was always excited about people who were far more interesting than him. Gathering his tricorder and stuffing his candies in his pocket, he stepped out into the Medbay and to Biobed 2, where a man sat, whom he presumed was Lt. Ryan.

"LtJG Ryan?" He asked. No need to embarrass himself otherwise.

James hated new assignments - it always meant a stop by sickbay for a check-in with the Chief Medical Officer or one of their assistants. He already knew that he was physically in great shape, but his mental health, on the other hand, wasn't the best - it was pretty damn bad. He'd received notification that he had an appointment with Doctor Harrison at 1000 hours. James had arrived at the sick bay and had been directed to hang out on one of the biobeds. So he'd tossed himself up onto the bed, and instead of twiddling his thumbs, he swung his feet underneath him like a child. James looked up at the approaching officer, hearing his name, "Yes, I'm Lieutenant Ryan - I'm guessing you're Doctor Harrison?"

Roger gave the man a friendly smile. "That's correct. Welcome to the Andromeda. I know you've had a checkup recently, so this will be quick, and I can return you to duty. Lie back." As he issued instructions, Roger turned on the biobed and got things ready. "Any medical issues I need to know about before we begin?"

James swung his feet onto the biobed and leaned back, now supine, "Uh, no, no physical medical issues to report. However, I have some mental health issues, as are noted in my med profile." He wanted to cross his arms over his chest, it would be more comfortable for him, but instead, he left them at his sides. His fingers tapped away in a random pattern.

"I noticed. After this, I can refer you to Counselor Higgins; she's a nice woman. I promise." He had crossed trained in psychology before he went to medical school, but it wasn't where his passions were. "Try to calm down, Lieutenant. It'll be ok. Are you cold?" He was trying to determine if Ryan was tapping out of habit, nerves, or because the temperature in the medbay was often a few degrees cooler than the rest of the ship's common areas. The biobed hummed to life, and he read some outputs while he scanned the man with the tricorder. "Looking good so far. What brought you to Andromeda? Interested in deep space exploration?" Roger was trying to make friendly talk. His goal was for any crew member to see him as a friend, confidante, and capable trauma surgeon.

"No, not cold. Just not a fan of Doctors, no offense." James replied with a meek smile; he stopped the tapping with his fingers and just lay on the biobed. "Also, it's somewhat of a tic I have - I tap or fidget. Always have, probably always will." He turned his head slightly to look at Doctor Harrison, "I would appreciate the referral and why I'm here. My previous Captain recommended the Andromeda, and it was an opportunity to run an Operations department as a junior officer, so I jumped at it. I like deep space exploration as it's a great way to escape things..."

Roger chuckled lightly. "That it is. And I understand. Nervous habits are hard to break." His own was chatting incessantly about his family; he was proud of himself that he hadn't brought it up once yet. "Vitals look good. Are all of your body parts intact?" Roger inquired.

"They are, aren't they? Sometimes I wonder if my mental health issues worsen some of them..." James mused, realizing that the Doctor had asked him another question that he had not answered. "Uh, as far as I am aware, they are. Ten fingers, ten toes, two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, organs where they should be - except for my appendix. No tails or anything like that." He replied.

Roger just nodded. "Well, missing appendixes aren't enough to disqualify you from duty, so that's good. And thank you. And you're likely correct; mental health affects so much of our well-being." He shifted his eyes to the readouts from the Tricorder. "Besides your mental health, anything else you're worrying about lately? I can include it in my message to Counselor Higgins." Truly, nothing was wrong, he didn't notice, and it might prove to be his fastest patient yet. "Oh, blood pressure is a tiny bit high. I'll retest you in a minute; I am sure it's just the nerves of being here with us yucky docs." Roger chuckled. "I understand people's hesitance, I do. I don't take it personally. Just remember...it's my duty to ensure you're fit and alive."

"Uh, to be honest with you, Doc, I replicated a 21st-century nicotine vaporization device, and I use it rather frequently. So the high blood pressure is probably spot on and not because I'm stuck here in sick bay..." He chuckled awkwardly, "So, I'm probably not the healthiest in that aspect."

Roger blinked once. "Well, that's good to know. If you want some information on nicotine cessation, I can give you that; otherwise, I will spare you the lecture. We all need a vice out here." He paused a moment. "Just don't let Syvar see you," he said, pointing to the main doctor. "HE probably won't hold back on letting you have it." The Vulcan doctor wasn't a trifling fellow-less rigid than himself but still stuck on that logic switch, while Roger could be reasoned with, to an extent. "Are you sexually active?" Time to move on to the more awkward parts of the exam.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't plan on stopping anytime soon unless it becomes a serious risk," James replied; he agreed. Everyone needed a vice out in space. "I don't do it anywhere but my quarters or the holodeck when I'm there. So we'll call it our secret?" He grinned, knowing it was now documented in his medical profile. Rolling his eyes, he looked back to the Doctor, "Uh, recently, no. But I've had sex. This guy is currently in a drought..."

Roger stifled a laugh. "I was just meaning recently; I don't need to submit you to a sexual health test unless you've been active in the past three months." It sounded like the younger man was fine to forego that, though. "I will need to retest your blood pressure every six weeks; I will not tell anyone about your smoking if you show up for the blood test. I'll arrange it with your department head and tell them that you are on a standing medical watch for three months. Nothing else. Fair?" He turned off the tricorder.

James sat up in the biobed, “Sounds fair,” He replied with a few nods. He looped his arms over his knees, hooking his armpits on his knees to keep him in an upright position. “Well, you just notified my department head,” James added with a smirk and a wave, “I am the Operations Chief, so you’ll need to notify the XO in this instance.” He cocked his head to the side, a question formed in his head, and he now looked to the Doctor, “Could we do one more set of scans, Doctor, specifically on my head? I mean my brain, to be specific.”

Roger smiled. "Of course, forgive me. I DID read that in your file. I will alert them; it is Lt. Ames, right?" He nodded then. "Of course, we can. Counselor Higgins would probably appreciate it, anyway. Lie back." He turned back on the Tricorder but pushed some buttons on the biobed and set it to run a neurological scan.

“No, Doctor, it’s Commander Fox… Do we need to switch places and scan your brain?” James teased, or at least he hoped it came across that way. Laying himself back down, James returned to tapping his fingers on the biobed as Doctor Harrison. “I like to keep track of my neuro function. I know it helps the new counselor I’ll be seeing and also trying to figure out how to fix my brain on the side.”

He nodded. "Ah, I forgot Cdr Fox was back on duty! You're correct. And yes, a brain scan is probably a good idea; my wife says I need a brain transplant." He used the tricorder over the man's skull to determine what was happening. "Mmm, brain waves and activity seem normal, but you appear to have some deficits in the corpus callosum. That is, indeed, par for the course in Depression disorder. Your neurofeedback is also a bit slow, but that can be explained by the fact that it's cold in here." Damned Caitians with their fur were always freezing him out. "Otherwise, your brain appears fairly normal for a man of your age who doesn't have a history of illicit substance abuse, alcoholism, or organic brain diseases like epilepsy." He said, trying to reassure the younger man.

With a sigh, Ryan stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment. "Yeah, what I was expecting you to say, Doc." Pulling himself into a seated position once more, "Guess we'll have to stay the course and continue the current treatment regime... We managed to cure a common cold, and you'd think we could do the same with depression by the 24th century..." Focusing his attention back to Doctor Harrison, "Well, Doc, anything else you need me for, or may I return to duty?"

Roger gave the younger man a knowing look. "I wish I could say so with confidence, but believe it or not, the human-and humanoid-brain is a complex machine that we STILL haven't quite figured out, I am afraid. I am confident that with the help of myself and Dr. Higgins, you'll be fine." He let the man sit up. "I can prescribe something that might help, if you'd like, or see what Dr. Higgins can do with her Psych tricorder?" He offered. Either way was fine with him. "And when you're done here, I can book you with her, so don't scoot out immediately."

With another sigh, Ryan shook his head, "I hear ya, Doc; it's just frustrating some... well, most days." He swung his legs off the biobed, "I'm sure I'm in good hands, let's get a session under my belt with Doctor Higgins first before we start playing medication roulette, but I will for sure take you up on it after my session with Doctor Higgins."