Posted by Lieutenant Miriam Cross (Chief Medical Officer) in Sick bay Joe getting prodded for physical

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Joe Milligan (XO) in Sick bay Joe getting prodded for physical

Posted by Lieutenant Miriam Cross (Chief Medical Officer) in Sick bay Joe getting prodded for physical
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Now walking down the corridor to sickbay Joe was once again cursing under his breath. Doctors always felt the need to know every little thing about you. It was one of his pet peeves. Joe had a few scars, remnants of more than a few broken bones and he was told all sorts of signposts showing a rough life. All this aside he knew he had to endure this. Not only endure it but try to be friendly with the medical personnel. You never knew when you might need them.

Joe walked into sickbay with a confident stride as if he owned the place. He stopped in the middle of the floor with a scowl on his face. No one seemed to be readily visible at the moment. His first instinct was to turn and leave but he halted himself. Instead, he called out, “Hello! Anyone around? You have a perfect specimen here for a physical!”

Lt. Cmdr. Joe Milligan XO

The XO probably heard Hunter before seeing him ‘’I don’t care that your nose is broken ,you’re needed at at the dept come back when the shift ends,the analgesic will help’‘ the male doctor said as he took a few paces backwards, that’s when Hunter felt someone was behind him and turned round to excuse himself .It was the uniform that caught his eyes first ‘’Lt Cmdr’‘ and was quick to give the XO a quick salute.

Hunter Dr.

Joe stood looking at the young medical officer and watched with amusement as he snapped to attention. Joe tried his best to stare at the Doctor with an angry glare. He was really trying not to laugh. He found to his chagrin however he couldn’t keep it up for long. A smile was soon tugging at the corner of his lips.

Joe, still looking the young man straight in the eye, told him,” There’s no need to salute me like that Doctor. I’m just a working man like everyone else. I just happen to have more pretties on my sleeve. What you might want to do is answer a few questions that I have. Number one being the name of the department head who is demanding that this man get back to work with a broken nose. Second I want to know if you are certain that both bone and cartilage have been realigned and joined so that they can heal properly. And third … well, a broken nose is painful doc. It literally hurts every time you breathe. “Pointing then, at the little bump in his own nose Joe finished by saying, “Take it from someone who knows. I want that man to be offered some pain meds. And then I want you to call his DH and tell him he won’t be back on duty until his next duty shift tomorrow. Remember in future that when it comes to medical issues you can give the captain himself orders. Now take care of that and I’ll be waiting for my physical on bed four over there.” Pausing then he turned to the doctor and said,” Oh my name is Joe Milligan by the way. I’m the new XO.”

Lt. Cmdr . Joe Milligan XO.

‘’You caught me of guard Cmdr thus the salute and as for him’‘ he pointed at the crewman holding his nose ‘’He’s a frequent visitor in sickbay always fighting because he is obsessed with’‘ now Hunter was scratching his chin ‘’Ah ya Sylvia he thinks she’s his girlfriend and who ever happens to be speaking to her well he gets into a fight.Now I did give him analgesia and yes I want him to come after his shift finishes ....maybe two, three hours time and his lucky in the sense that the plastic surgeon would be on duty’‘.

‘’I’m doctor Hunter, the CMO is in her office’‘ seeing the door half open he called out ‘’Cross,Cross I mean ma’am’‘.
The CMO came out of her office with both hands on her hips ‘’How many times do I have to tell you not to call me ma’am!’‘ Hunter gave a sheepish smile and pointed at Joe .

Hunter Dr.

Joe sat and listened carefully to Hunter. He forced a smile and nodded as the man stood there and clear as a bell stated that he had no intentions of following the orders that Joe had just given him concerning how to handle the crewman. And he was pretty sure he probably hadn’t even heard it when he advised him of his powers and duties when it came to the field of medicine on a starship. After Hunter had finished telling Joe what he would and would not do, Joe had to pause for a moment wondering if the man was sane.

It was at that moment that the fool saw the Chief Medical Officer and yelled at her by her last name as if he were in a noisy Denobulan bar. Joe had to turn, close his eyes and take a deep breath. He was not like many officers who were crazy about all thing’s regulation. But having junior officers thoroughly ignore orders and to act up in such a way toward their senior officers set his teeth on edge.

Joe was trying to convince himself not to jump down off the biobed and grab Hunter when he turned to see the Chief Medical Officer enter. Thus, it was with Joe. He had started his career in security and had been trained in observation. So, when he saw Cross, he observed. The thing that caught his attention first was the eyes. He was nonplussed for a moment then as she walked his direction. Besides the eyes, the rest of her was pretty interesting as well! He smiled as she arrived, nodded his head and said,” Hello Doctor I’m Lieutenant Commander Milligan. Joe if you wish. I’m the new XO. “

Lt. Cmdr. Joe Milligan XO

The CMO turned her head towards Hunter and mouthed the words ‘’Get lost’‘ then she focused on Joe ‘’Lt Cmdr I assume you’re here for your medical?’‘ Cross pulled a chair and attached the diagnostic wand to the medical tricoder ‘’Em sorry about that confrontation but I keep telling him not to call me ma’am ,though I suppose he did cause of your presence ‘’ she said as an after thought ‘’So Cmdr Milligan is there anything I should know about before I start scanning?’‘.

Cross Dr.

Joe smiled amicably at the Doctor and replied saying, “Yes Doctor I am indeed here for my medical.” Joe started to say more but Cross was already pulling a chair to the bio-bed and talking about Hunter. As she began to get down to business Joe cleared his throat and said, “Yes I would like to talk about Mister Hunter for a bit first. As I understand the goal of physicians their number one rule is ‘do no harm.’ Mister Hunter as I walked in was berating an injured crewman and was sending him back to his duty station only half treated because the man’s DH was shorthanded. I gave orders to him to make sure the man was properly treated and to let his DH know that he would be gone for at least one watch. ” Joe took a deep breath. Doing things like this was not like him. As a rule, Joe wasn’t confrontational for the sake of being so. And he much more preferred to get along with the people he had to work with. But when you had a medical officer who ignored orders and put the crew at risk, he found himself trapped. He simply had to act.

“To be quite frank her doctor I want your man Hunter to be placed on report and a written warning placed in his record. He’s at the best irresponsible and perhaps even worse incompetent. And if I were you, I would include something concerning the way he treats you if you’re not happy with it. I hate to cause trouble on our first meeting like this …but well the man is literally asking for it.”

It was clear that Joe was uncomfortable. But by the same token it was clear that he was doing something which he didn’t like but felt that he had to do. He sighed then and apologized. “Once again I’m sorry, but…well yes on with the medical. ” Once again, a broad smile appeared on Joe’s face as he shrugged and said, “Let me see you’ll find various mended bones. Nose twice, right ulna, one right knuckle, on my left leg there’s my fibula. Then there is visible scarring. From my left mid-section to under my breastbone. a scar from a rather nasty and very sharp Andorran knife. ” Joe paused for a second as he rubbed his chin in thought. “Aside from a few concussions that’s pretty much all I’m aware of. I mention all these because I’ve had many physicians begin to have way too many concerns over what they find.” Joe smiled sweetly and looked directly at Cross saying, “Other than a few dings here and there I’m fit as a fiddle .”

Lt. Cmdr. Joe Milligan XO

‘’Good’‘ Cross replied ‘’I’m more then happy to do a medical evaluation with no skeletons hiding in the closet’‘ at the mention of his scar she remembered her own running across the cheek ,the doctor touched it,perhaps in the hope it had disappeared some how on its own then went on with the scan.After finishing Cross read the data ‘’Well it looks like you have good memory of what you went through ‘’she told Joe ‘’Cmdr you can disappear from sickbay that is if you would take my offer to come to my office for some coffee ‘’ the CMO suggested.

Cross Dr.

Hearing the last of what Cross had to say Joe blushed. It was not a thing which normally happened to Joe who was a man of very colorful speech and often somewhat dubious manners. He knew that he had looked at the doctor for a bit longer than was appropriate. And he knew that his smiles were a bit over the top for him. But in his experience, he’d never met a female that had picked up on what was on his mind so quick! He wondered then if she weren’t an empath or something.

It occurred to him for a moment that she hadn’t answered him back about putting Hunter on report, but that thought left as fast as it had appeared. He then cleared his throat, more as a stalling tactic to capture his wits than anything. He then looked the doctor straight into those strange and somehow alluring eyes and said, “Well it’s been a long day. I can’t think of anything else to do that would be better than to have coffee with a pretty doctor so yes I think i would enjoy that coffee.”

Lt. Cmdr. Joe Milligan XO

‘’Good’‘ Cross said in a cheerful voice and once in her office she gestured for Joe to have a seat ‘’I arrived four days ago so sorry for the disorderliness,apparently the previous CMO disappeared’‘ clearing some Padds of the desk to make way for the coffee,sugar and milk ‘’‘There you go just make it to your preference ‘’ pouring coffee for herself half hot water, half cold........apparently the female doctor had skipped the etiquette classes .

She had some questions to ask but first thing first,on her desk was a monitor showing sickbay which Cross used to keep an eye on ‘’Cmdr after the surgery of a crew member I looked at the data going back months,apparently Hunter kept all the records ‘’ she turned the computer to face Joe ‘’The crew member who Hunter send back had visited sickbay fourteen times in a month,joint pain,headache and other trivial things ‘’ Cross paused to let Joe digest where this was heading ‘’Sir finding someone like him is not that rare, anything to skip work and Hunter had picked on that being the acting CMO before I came’‘ the female doctor took a sip from her now cold coffee.

‘’Hunter is also a surgeon,having in depth knowledge in cardiovascular,and respiratory system.I can understand why you came to the conclusion that he was not being responsible but it seem he had his reasons.Dr Kim’s shift is about to start and he’s also a plastic surgeon and Hunter knows that’‘ she stopped guessing maybe the Cmdr would come to the conclusion that she was rambling and maybe she was.

‘’He did my medical and if I had a pistol then I would have blown my brains or his! ‘’ Cross now said in a serious tone,she had been defending his actions and all of a sudden the CMO would have blown his brain! The truth was Hunter had picked on her medical before he even starting the scanning ‘’He sure doesn’t mince his words!’‘

Cross Dr.

Joe pulled the proffered coffee cup over and put two sugars into it before pouring the steaming hot coffee into it. He continued to stir slowly as he listened closely to what Lieutenant Cross was saying. Still paying attention he brought the cup to his lips and blowing across it he took a sip and set the cup down.

He sat back then and crossed his arms. He continued to listen to everything Cross was saying. His face stayed the same, no emotion showed on his face as he listened to Cross talk about Hunter. Well, this conversation was certainly not going the way he had hoped.

Joe took a sip of coffee and held onto the cup as he continued listening. As Cross finished speaking Joe leaned forward and placed his coffee cup on her desk. He then leaned back in the chair that he sat in and spread his arms out across the back as he crossed his legs. He took a deep breath before he began, and his words came out without a bit of anger or emotion of any kind. “Well, that’s one thing Mr. Hunter and I have something in common. Neither one of us mince words. “Joe paused for a second as he gathered his thoughts and then spoke saying, “Let me make a few things clear doctor. I don’t really care if Hunter has the ability to do five brain transplants while fixing dinner and playing blues on a guitar. If he’s cutting corners and being rude to the crew … any of the crew, then he’s not someone we can use. Everyone who walks in your door deserves respect and should not just expect but get the very best care imaginable when they enter. If you have slackers, then do your best with them and then report your issue to the captain or me. “

Joe lifted his cup from the desk and said.” As I said Hunter has disobeyed a direct order from myself. That was his first strike. He sent a man who was in bad shape and in pain back to work. Now if that man’s mind should stray from his job due to the pain or just the major annoyance of his condition then who will be responsible for the outcome? It could be anything from a warp core breach to the man hurting himself again. If this sickbay has not done the job to the best of its personnel’s ability and something happens doctor, then you are to blame because you are that man’s commanding officer and you know of his incompetence. “

“I am sorry doctor but as far as I can see you can either straighten Hunter up or we can transfer him somewhere and let him do surgery with some cleaning instruments cleaning outside hulls. As he is now though he is unacceptable. People deserve a doctor when they come here, not whatever Hunter is.” Joe paused, took a deep breath and then said,” Once again I’m sorry doctor. You act like a good person and a competent doctor. And this was not the conversation I was wanting to have with you. But when it’s all said and done, I’m sure that you can handle the issue. “Joe then finished his coffee, stood, and said to Cross.” You make a good cup of coffee doctor. I hope that we can share a cup another time and have a more pleasant conversation. But right now, I’m afraid I have a few other things I have to attend to. “He smiled then and said,” If you need help let me know. And I really do hope you’ll make some more coffee or let me make you some. Good evening doctor.”

Lt. Cmdr Joe Milligan XO