Something about Chains and Beds...

[MisterSmith 0]

"Where is he?" snapped Debbie as she hurried into Sickbay. Nobody had to ask who she was talking about.

Rocco Studly pointed toward the isolation unit. "He just got back."

"What I want to know is, how did he get out of here without anyone noticing?"

Dr. Studly's shoulders slumped. "We noticed....about two minutes after he escaped. We tracked him to the conference room but decided not to interrupt the meeting. Merina is with him now. I was just on my way over there to make sure she didn't hit him or anything."

"I hope she doesn't," quipped Debbie as she quickly made her way across Sickbay to the isolation units. "At least not until I've gotten my licks in."

A moment later, Debbie and Studly joined Merina at Brian's bedside. The Chief Science Officer looked absolutely terrible....even worse than he had during the senior staff meeting. Debbie glared at him, doing her best to maintain her angry demeanor. She started to speak but hesitated, took a deep breath and counted to ten.

 

"Would you give us a moment," said Debbie, glancing at Merina and Studly. The two physicians nodded silently and departed leaving the CMO alone with her former assistant.

 

"Brian," Debbie shook her head searching for the right words. "What in blue blazes were you thinking? In case you haven't noticed, you're sick! You're supposed to remain isolated....you know what that means, don't you?" She paced back and forth in front of the bed. "Why, Brian? Why did you sneak out of here?"

 

"I had to go," began Lieutenant Commander Brian Smith in between coughs. "It was about the Cairo."

 

He knew Doctor Matthews was extremely upset with him. Smith was a senior officer, and disobeying a direct order to stay in isolation was not a smart idea. But at the same time, Matthews must know just how important it was to Brian that he be at that meeting.

 

Four years ago, when Smith set foot on Reaent, he was an Ensign, brand new to Starfleet and the ship. Sickbay was his home, and not too long after he arrived, he was thrown into a mission on a ship that had exploded just after leaving a starbase. It was the Cairo. Brian had the unfortunate role of mapping the dead. He had literally gone floor by floor cataloguing everyone before they were carted away. He and Matthews felt it was the best thing for each family to know that their relative had died doing what they loved. It was a painful job, but it was also important and Brian was willing to do it.

 

He had placed Lt. Davies from Stellar Cartography in charge of Science, but had also installed a console in his room in Sickbay, so that he could keep track of the mission. Whatever had caused him to be stuck in Sickbay surely would not keep him away from the mission.

 

"I'm curious about this whole mission," he began again. "And even this little cold isn't gonna keep me from doing my job."

 

Brian knew that it was more than just a cold. When was transported to the then-unidentified ship, he had been checked out by the medical staff and been given a temporary seal of approval, but he and Matthews both suspected that something could be harboring itself inside Smith, and that one day it would come out.

 

Whatever the case, Smith was hurting. It had been nearly 12 hours since he had kept anything down besides water, so he decided not to eat at all. He had been placed in a highly protective area of sickbay in case whatever he had was contagious. Matthews, Merina, Rocko and Grace had all come in once an hour to check on their former colleague regularly.

 

It would suffice to say that it would've killed Smith, had he not adapted a rolling medical cart into a science console. Here, he could monitor the science station as well as the main viewer. It would have to work, for now.

 

"You know darn well you don't have a cold," snapped Debbie. "We're still trying to figure out exactly what's wrong. And you sneak out of here and expose who knows how many people to your nasty little bug."

 

The CMO shook her head and drew a deep breath. Smith just looked at her with the most pathetic face he could muster. "Don't leave here again, Brian," warned Debbie, wagging her finger at him. "And that's a direct order. I know how you feel about the Cairo. Believe me, I understand that. But you can't risk the well being of this entire crew just because this mission involves the Cairo. The only reason I'm not turning you over to the JAG is because I don't think you're all that contagious."

 

She started to walk away but turned to again glare at the very pale Brian Smith. "You seem to have a penchant for disobeying orders. So, I'm giving you fair warning. If you leave this Sickbay without my permission, I will turn you over to the JAG." Debbie turned away and proceeded to leave the isolation unit. "And disregard that notice from the Commander that you're on the away team. You're not going anywhere!"

 

 

Brian was frustrated, but he agreed. He was in NO position to be going anywhere.