The Doctor and the Nurse

[Sean Keane 0]

Sean opened his eyes slowly. The lights were dim and it took a while until his eyes would focus on anything. After a moment he understood that he must still be in sickbay. Then he suddenly remembered painfully why he was here. For a moment he didn't dare move. He was afraid that even the slightest movement would trigger more pain.

 

After a few minutes during which Sean only listened to the ambient noises of sickbay and tried to ignore the panic rising within him he realized that it must be night. The lights were always dimmed to allow patients to sleep. All he could hear was the deep breathing of someone lying in the bed next to him and a soft whisper, the source of which he could not quite identify.

 

Turning his head into the direction of the sound he saw two nurses standing together. They were obviously talking to eachother. One of them noticed that Sean was awake and came over to him.He had seen her before but he had never gotten around to actually learning her name. He was sure she had told him at one point but he must have forgotten. He was hopeless with names.

 

The nurse smiled at him before taking a quick glance at the monitor displaying his vital signs. “How do you feel, Doctor Keane?” she asked in a low voice, adjusting the settings on the plasma infusion unit on his bed.

 

Only now did Sean realize that he must have been in sickbay for a while. He hadn't noticed that he was wearing a sickbay gown. When he lifted his hand he was surprised at how easy it was. At his startled expression the nurse chuckled. “We have set an anti grav unit in place in order to relieve the pressure to your body. It obviously eased the pain a bit. You seem to be doing better than last time you woke up.”

 

Sean was confused. He couldn't remember waking up. “You mean,” he started speaking but had to cough right away. His throat was sore. The nurse helped him sit up slightly and then pushed him back onto his pillow gently. “You mean I was awake?” Sean asked in a hoarse whisper.

 

The nurse nodded and smiled. “It's not surprising that you don't remember what with the analgesics and sedatives you got. Are you still hurting?”

 

“A bit but it's definitely bearable. When can I leave sickbay?” Sean had actually planned to get up but after he had sat up to cough he had quickly dismissed the thought. His head felt like it would explode and he definitely needed some rest.

 

The nurse's smile widened. “You'll have to talk to one of the doctors about that but I wouldn't get my hopes up too high.”

 

Sean tried to reply something but the nurse interrupted him. “Don't worry about that now. I'll give you some more ambrazine so you'll be able to sleep again.”

 

Being too exhausted to argue Sean just let her administer the sedative and he fell asleep so quickly that he didn't even hear when the nurse told him she would be checking on him again later.

Edited November 7, 2006 by Sean Keane