SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

Sounds of groaning and crying were accompanied by the sharp pitch of the biobed monitors and ventilator alarms.  Shouts of the medical staff tried to rise above Sick Bay cacophony.   The air was saturated with the odors of medication, blood and sweat.  Doctors, Nurses, Respitory therapists and lab personnel worked at a hurried yet organized frenzied pace. 

The Enterprise was ordered to assist the Undaunted who had been attacked by Klingons near the Neutral Zone.  The Undaunted was testing new equipment that would enable to Star Fleet to monitor Klingon activity more efficiently.  There was suspicion of espionage and a human Klingon agent who had leaked the information to the Klingons.  By the time the Enterprise arrived, the Klingon vessel was safely back into its territory.   The Undaunted was battered and scarred by phaser and torpedo hits, shields were down but there were life signs and maintainable life support systems.  A boarding party of well armed Klingons had fought their way to Engineering and absconded the monitoring equipment.  There were many crewmen injured and killed during the raid.  The six bed Sick Bay on the Undaunted was not equipped for so many seriously wounded crewmen and the morgue was not large enough for the dead.  The Enterprise took on the more serious and urgent cases.  For twenty eight hours this unrelenting fast pace continued. 

New to the Enterprise were two nurses, one surgery resident and one Xenobiologist. The Enterprise was the most demanded and requested ship for any branch in Star Fleet, especially medicine.  Eric Johnson was the surgical resident.  He was tall, muscular, strait blond hair and his demeanor was always intense.  Eric was gifted at surgery but his bedside manner was rude and his treatment of the staff was demeaning and highly critical.

Lorena Vasquez was one of the nurses.  She possessed an inward as well as an outward beauty with mocha colored skin, light brown eyes and long silky black hair.  Lorena had a laid back and friendly personality.  Even when things were busy or hectic, she never lost her cool.  She was intelligent, and her insatiable quest for knowledge and skills added to her many attributes.   She and Christine became fast friends.  Erin O’Connell was so very different; with fiery red hair, electric green eyes and delicate pale skin.  She was sharp, organized, outspoken and had a good sense of humor but a bad temper.  The Xenobiologist was a quiet dark skinned young man with wavy black hair, large dark eyes and long black eyelashes.  His name was Ari Kampoor.  This incident with the Undaunted was their Kobayashi Maru.

Most of the patients were young men and women, the same ages as the new medical staff.  This was so different than the hospitals and Star Bases that they had worked in before.  These patients, before the attack, had been at optimal health; no chronic diseases, no cancer and no disabilities.  Now these young men and women had burns, head injuries, internal organ damage and some loss of limbs.  These injuries were fixable with artificial limbs and joints, skin grafts and organ transplants.

However, the emotional wounds and the changes to their bodies would impact their lives for a long time.  It was the crewmen, despite their efforts who died that affected the medical team the most.  Eric was yelling at everyone, projecting his sense of loss of control and failure on the staff around them.  Chapel put him in his place several times but he still continued his tirades.  McCoy and M’Benga who were busy doing the more complicated surgeries heard some of the yelling.  When Eric yelled at Erin, their arguments were so loud that McCoy sent word that if they did not shut up, they would be fired from his staff and off the Enterprise by the end of the day.  This helped somewhat but the tension between Eric and Erin added more stress on the staff in Sick Bay.  After one long surgery, a young crewman succumbed to his many injuries and died.  Technology even in the twenty third century could not save him.

Tired, frustrated and overwhelmed Eric tore into Lorena; he accused her of incompetence and failing to follow his orders which led to the unsuccessful surgery.  Chapel quickly came to her defense and then went to McCoy about this impossible young doctor.

Though infamous for his temper, Leonard McCoy never berated one of his staff in front of others.  He may yell out orders, yell out in frustration but he never singled out anyone in his staff.  If there was there was incompetence, medical error or failure to be professional; he would address the person in his office.  The nurses were under Christine, whom McCoy had the upmost respect for.  The doctors were his concern and he also relied on Chapel to provide him with information that she had witnessed.

Very rarely did he have to lecture a doctor for yelling at Christine; it was known ship wide the confidence and admiration McCoy had for Chapel.  If one of his interns, residents or doctors confronted or yelled at Christine, the expression on McCoy’s face and the intensity in his blue eyes were enough to make Klingons wet their pants.  The admiration that Chapel had for McCoy was immeasurable.  She had volunteered to be his Head Nurse.  She also could see through the façade of his glaring and scowls and see the tender hearted physician inside.

After she informed McCoy of Eric’s actions and he had finished his last case, McCoy set out to check on Lorena.   The young nurse was charting at one of the computers.  There was no other staff around her.  The slumped shoulders, the frequent twisting a strand of hair around her fingers and then the wiping of her eyes told McCoy all he needed to know.  Lorena’s eyes were red and wet with tears, she was sniffling and her lips were trembling.  He poured them both a cup of coffee and then pulled up a chair beside her.  She jumped when she saw who it was sitting next to her.  McCoy was surprised by the uncertain fear in her eyes, and then he realized she was expecting an admonishment from him as well.

He gave her one of his lopsided smiles and tried to soften his red rimmed blue eyes.

Lorena relaxed and gave him a weak smile back.  McCoy had been very impressed with her during this chaos but also with her knowledge and insight on other cases.

He cleared his throat, “Chapel told me that you were verbally abused by Dr. Johnson.”

Lorena broke out into sobs, her chest was heaving with the intensity of the intake of the breaths.  McCoy gave her a tissue and waited for her to calm down.  There were times when McCoy could see humans through Spock’s eyes, the ability of emotions to short circuit the thinking processes.  Before him was a beautiful, competent nurse who proved her mettle during this crisis; yet statements from this young asshole had penetrated her barriers and self esteem.  McCoy was going to talk with Eric later; he hated arrogant assholes especially in his Sick Bay.

Lorena blew her nose, and then looked at McCoy.
“Did my actions in any way cause that patient to die?”  Her brown eyes were painful to look into, the hurt was so intense.

“Absolutely not.  Unfortunately, there are cases that no matter what course you take, the outcome is hopeless.  I, myself, have difficulties in dealing with a loss of a patient.  This patient had so many injuries that whatever system you try to stabilize, there was a cascade effect that made it impossible to control.  Dr. Johnson did the best he could do but to blame someone else for the loss of a patient is unprofessional and will not be accepted in my Sick Bay.  There was no failure on your part; in fact Christine informed me that you made numerous suggestions to Eric about fluid replacement, to use another stabilizing blood pressure medicine than the one Eric had ordered.  You followed sound protocol in treating the patient.  I am very pleased with your performance and of your care.  Christine has informed me almost every day how impressed she is of you.”   He leaned closer, “I have never heard Chapel commend any of the nurses or doctors the way that she has about you.  I don’t think she has said that many good things about me!”

Lorena laughed at this, “Oh, Dr. McCoy, according to Nurse Chapel, you’re the finest doctor in all of Star Fleet.  In fact, Star Fleet considers you as one of the greatest surgeons it has.”  She blushed at this and McCoy blushed as well.

He put on a semi-serious expression, “One of the greatest, who are the others?”

She laughed again then took a sip of her coffee.  “Thanks for the coffee, Dr. McCoy.”

“You’re welcome, Lorena.  I am impressed by your skills, your compassion and your professionalism.  In my Sick Bay, I want a staff that cares and is serious about their jobs.  I won’t tolerate laziness, lack of empathy or bullies.  I have no patience or tolerance for bullies.  There are a lot of good surgeons out there that have good skills, but they want their patients unconscious so they don’t have to interact with them.  We are a team in Sick Bay, everyone has a job to do and we depend on each other.  I can’t do my job without Chapel and other great nurses like you.  I can’t do my job if I’m havin’ to put out fires ablazin’ between staff members.”  McCoy’s southern accent was becoming more pronounced; this was an indication of strong emotions, the effects of alcohol or in this case overwhelming fatigue.   “I have handpicked my staff and every one of them is important to me.  Dr. M’Benga, especially, is a great addition to my staff.”

“He’s such a good surgeon and a great doctor.” Lorena interrupted.

“I taught him everything he knows.”  McCoy said, and then he rolled his eyes.  This made Lorena breakout into giggles.  These were the giggles of a very exhausted person; he could empathize how tired she was.  “Actually, he interned on Vulcan, he has taught me a lot about surgery on Vulcans, Romulans and Tellerites.”

“Christine told me you successfully performed heart surgery on Mr. Spock’s father.  Even Dr. M’Benga said your surgery was beyond genius.”   McCoy saw the awe that this young nurse had for him and it made him very uncomfortable.  If she had known his heart rate and his stomach’s gymnastic maneuvers during that surgery, genius would not be word he would have given.

“Well, I pay him to say that.”  McCoy said with a small laugh, and then he went back to his main reason for talking with her.  “I want you to be assured that if there is ever an issue with your care or skills, Christine will talk to you about it.  She shares the same values that I have, if there’s a problem, it’s discussed in private.  We are very lucky to have you as a part of our staff.  I want you to know that my office is always open, if you have a problem with one of the staff please know you can talk with me freely.  I am goin’ to have a talk with Dr. Johnson.  I think he projected his feelings of failure on to you.  I heard him yelling at Erin, big mistake.  She’s a petite little thing but you don’t want to mess with her.  Christine told me there are some security officers who think she’s very cute, but they’re scared of her.
She’s a good nurse also, I am fortunate to have two excellent nurses working in Sick Bay.”  He put his hand on her shoulder, “Remember, we are a family and there is always someone to watch over you.  Are you goin’ to be okay?” 

She smiled then reached over and hugged him around the neck.  Then she released him.
“Thank you, Dr. McCoy.  I feel better after talking to you.  Christine’s right, you may act like a grizzly bear but you’re a softy inside.”

“Shhhhhhhh!”  McCoy said, “Don’t repeat what she said to anyone.  I have a reputation to maintain.”  He gave her a big smile then rose out of the chair.  He tried to appear as if he was as young as she was and that the popping sounds were not coming from his joints.

He walked to his office and melted into his chair.  He was so tired and his back and neck were killing him.  McCoy sighed as he formulated what he was going to say to Eric.  He rubbed is eyes then his temples, and added a headache to his list of complaints.

The door to his office hissed open and Dr. Johnson stomped inside.  He stood in front of McCoy with his arms crossed, his mouth a tight line and defiance was written all over him.  McCoy let his blue eyes set the tone for their meeting, Eric’s demeanor quickly changed.
Shortly after their meeting, McCoy was called to the bedside of a patient who was bleeding severely.  He took a deep breath and went out to perform surgery to stop the bleeding.

After the surgery and making his last rounds, McCoy went to his quarters and collapsed on his bed.  He did not have the energy to shower or take off his surgical scrubs.  The long shift, the surgeries and the incident with Johnson had depleted all of his energy.  There wasn’t a place on his body that didn’t hurt, and the percussion of his pulse in his head made the headache worse.  His stomach growled in protest to being ignored except for coffee, he sent a message by way of the nervous system to shut the hell up.  The buzzer to his quarters sounded and McCoy grunted out something even he didn’t understand.  Spock came inside and he walked over to McCoy’s side.  McCoy could feel the obsidian eyes assessing him and he could almost hear that impressive brain calculating which action he would take in dealing with a highly illogical and over wrought physician.  Spock’s eyes softened and he stroked his warm fingers across McCoy’s forehead.  Then he turned and McCoy could hear Spock starting a water shower for him.  Without words but with a tender and gentle touch, Spock undressed him and helped him shower.  Soft lounging clothes were placed on him and he was guided to the bed.  Starting with is feet, Spock massaged his feet, his legs, his fingers and hands and then his back and neck.  Before McCoy could descend into the abyss of sleep, Spock gave him some hot herbal tea and a sandwich. 
Spock lay on the bed beside McCoy and wrapped his arms around the limp doctor.
Enveloped in the warmth of the Vulcan’s embrace and the security of the strong arms, McCoy drifted off to sleep.

  “I’m so glad I have you to watch over me, Spock.”  McCoy said through their mind link.

“Always, Leonard, always.  You care for so many yet you neglect yourself.  Sleep, Thy’la.”  Spock replied.

                                      ~~~~~the end~~~~~~