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[Ritah Lowen 0]

It was another "routine" day aboard the USS Manticore. Sickbay was a little busier than usual. Nothing dramatic but a steady stream of potential patients, most complaining of headaches or nausea or a combination of both. Ritah was the physician on call. She was only three hours into her shift and she'd personally examined all thirty-eight individuals who'd stepped through the door. They were scanned for every known virus, bacteria, fungus and mold known to man with a few alien bugs thrown in for good luck. So far, she'd been unable to determine exactly why so many of the crew were troubled by such similar problems. But, she strongly suspected the ship's latest encounter with an ion storm had a lot to do with it.

 

On the positive side, there were a plethora of medications to handle these relatively minor symptoms. Everyone who was treated left Sickbay feeling much better....and no one had returned complaining the drugs had "worn off." Unfortunately, new patients kept straggling in, all presenting with the same symptoms without any signs of disease. It simply had to be the ion storm. There was no other possible explanation aside from some form of mass hysteria and that was highly unlikely.

 

Dr. Lowen was busy updating her notes on the Manticore's most recent medical phenomenon when she heard the main doors swish open once again. She glanced in their direction, expecting to see yet another crewman either holding his head or stomach. But not this time....

 

Several of the medical staff actually giggled as an attractive young man hesitated in the open doorway, cradling his right arm while he anxiously looked around the room. He was a sight to behold but Ritah resisted the urge to laugh. That would have been very unprofessional. Especially when it was obvious this guy was in terrible pain.

 

He was also quite wet....and wearing the tiniest bathing suit she'd ever seen on a human male's body....or on any male's body for that matter. The towel tossed around his neck did little to prevent the steady flow of water dripping from his dark hair...not to mention the rest of him.

 

Ritah stepped forward and his gaze locked onto her like a torpedo tracking it's target. He walked briskly toward her leaving a trail of droplets behind him. As he drew closer, she noticed the pain reflected in his deep green eyes. She also took note of how pale he was as well as the blood oozing between the fingers he had tightly clamped around his elbow. Others in Sickbay picked up on it as well. The giggling stopped and a couple of the medical assistants were now hurrying to his side.

 

"Doctor," he wheezed through gritted teeth. "My elbow...."

 

Ritah was already trying to pry his hand away from the injured elbow. He was cold and clammy and shivering. "Just relax," she said soothingly. "And tell me what happened."

 

"I fell," came the clipped reply.

 

That much was obvious. He'd fallen okay.....and hard. He'd literally shattered his elbow. Ritah looked at the two assistants who had joined them and nodded for them to lead their new patient to a nearby bed. "Help the Lieutenant to a biobed," she ordered, briskly walking toward the med locker. "And bring a couple of towels....dry him off....and get a warm blanket on him as well."

 

It was during her brief walk to the med cabinet that she realized what she'd just done. She'd referred to her new, scantily clad patient as "lieutenant." How did she know he was a lieutenant? Ritah racked her brain trying to figure out why she'd made such an assumption. She'd never laid eyes on the man until a few minutes ago. Maybe she was mistaken but she didn't think so. She was almost certain he was a full lieutenant. Besides, when she referred to him as such, he said nothing to contradict her.

 

Ritah put the irritating thought our of her mind and hurried back. They were still drying him off when she returned and pressed a hypo against his right shoulder. A moment later, he sighed in relief as his arm went numb.

 

"Thanks," he breathed softly, finally able to relax. He looked up at her anxiously. "Can you fix it?"

 

"Of course," answered Ritah confidently. She was already scanning the injury to determine just how much damage there was. "But first of all, how did this happen? I know you fell, but where? You had to hit the ground hard to shatter bone like this?"

 

The Lieutenant frowned and shook his head slightly. "It was stupid," he began, his tone indicating he was annoyed with himself. "We were playing water polo....the ball went out of the pool and it was my turn to fetch it."

 

"Well," thought Ritah silently. "That explains the itsy bitsy bathing suit." She allowed him to keep talking while she reviewed the scan data, including his name, rank and serial number. Less than a minute later, she stepped back and looked down at her handsome patient who was indeed, a full lieutenant.

 

"This will require a surgical repair," she stated matter of factly. She couldn't help smiling at the terrified expression on his face. "And there will be some rehab needed afterward. But don't worry, you won't feel a thing and you should be as good as new in a couple of weeks."

 

"When are you going to do it?" he asked hesitantly.

 

"Right now," replied Ritah with a slight smile. "The bones are fragmented. I have to go in and gather up all the little pieces and.....put them back together again. It will only take a few minutes."

 

She almost told him it was no big deal. But one thing she learned early on was that all patients considered it a "big deal" when it was one of their body parts you were working on. That's how she would have felt had it been her elbow so, even though it was true, she kept that particular remark to herself.

 

"We'll do it here," she said to the assistants. "Get Mr. Reid prepped and be sure that arm won't wake up for at least 24 hours. I'll be right back."

 

Stefan Reid watched her curiously as she walked away. For some, inexplicable reason, he was relieved she was going to repair his damaged elbow. But why did he feel that way? She was young and definitely not as experienced as Dr. Mele or some of the other, long time members of the Manticore's medical staff. So why did he....trust her, for lack of a better word. He didn't know her from Adam's house cat. He was certain he'd never even seen her until ten minutes ago. And that was another thing. When he first staggered into Sickbay, he'd been downright relieved when he saw her. What was that all about?

Thirty minutes later, it was all over. Lieutenant Reid's elbow had been reassembled and tightly bandaged. It would remain that way for at least a day to insure he didn't dislodge any of the newly knitted bone fragments. He'd been very quiet during the surgery. Ritah assumed he was nervous or maybe he was afraid conversation would distract her. For her part, she'd been far less talkative than usual, considering it was such a simple procedure.

 

What was it about this guy? She'd never met him until an hour ago yet something about him seemed familiar. For one thing, she knew his name. Granted, the biobed's scanners automatically identified each patient. But somehow, she knew who he was before he went anywhere near a biobed. It was very puzzling and the more she thought about it, the closer she came to developing one of those headaches so many of the crew had been complaining about all day.

 

Stefan Reid was sitting up, his right arm in a sling, his left hand rubbing his forehead. She was about to allow him to leave Sickbay with orders to report back the following afternoon.

 

"Are you okay?" asked Ritah.

 

He quickly dropped his hand to his lap and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little headache."

 

"Could be side effect from the pain killer I gave you, replied Ritah and that was true. The drugs used to numb his arm had been quite potent. They sometimes caused mild headaches."I'll give you something for it. Then you can go to your quarters and rest. I'll see you back here tomorrow."

 

He looked directly at her as he slung his towel over his shoulder. He started to say something but changed his mind at the last moment. Ritah gave him a mild analgesic designed specifically for headaches and helped him off the biobed. As they made their way toward the lobby area, he was greeted by several of his water polo buddies who promised to see to it he went directly to his quarters. Lieutenant Reid again looked at her as though he wanted to ask her something. Instead, he offered her a silly grin, thanked her and left with his friends.

 

Stefan filed out of the Sickbay with his teammates, taking one last look over his shoulder as the big doors closed behind them. He was vaguely aware of his buddies questioning him about the injury....how long he'd be out of action and so on. He answered instinctively without much thought to what he was saying.

They all piled into the nearest turbolift with Stefan entering first. He ended up wedged into a rear corner of the lift trying to protect his bandaged elbow from banging against the back wall of the car. The ride took no more than two minutes. When they arrived at their destination, the crowd poured out of the lift finally allowing Stefan a little breathing room. As he was moving toward the door, he made a quick decision. Instead of exiting the lift, he hit the override to manually close the doors and ordered it back to Sickbay. He had to laugh as leaned against the side wall. His buddies didn't even notice he was still on the lift.

Five minutes later, Lieutenant Reid was back....still wearing the itsy bitsy bathing suit. She didn't notice him until he was almost to the work station where she was updating his medical file.

 

"Dr. Lowen," he said softly, glancing around the room as though he was concerned about someone overhearing him.

 

Ritah looked up but before she could answer, he cut her off. "I know this may be a strange question but.... I was wondering....." He lowered his voice even further. "I know we just met but you seem....familiar to me. I know it sounds crazy, but in a way, I feel like I've known you for a long time. Is it possible we bumped into each other somewhere....before?"

 

"I don't think so," answered Ritah, a little too quickly. She'd been asking herself the same question for over an hour. But she was confident she would have remembered him had they met before...she would have remembered even if she'd only caught a glimpse of him.

 

He cradled the injured elbow as he stepped a bit closer. "Then," he stammered. "How did you know I was a Lieutenant?"

 

"Uh oh," thought Ritah silently. She shrugged her shoulders. "The biobed," she replied nonchalantly, hoping he would buy it. "The scanners identify the patients."

 

"You knew my rank before I got onto that biobed, " he whispered, his tone a bit more intense.

 

She swallowed hard before looking up at him. She was a little embarrassed by her attraction to this familiar stranger. His deep, emerald eyes stared back at her, framed by a profusion of soft, dark brown curls. He really was quite a specimen, especially in that little bathing suit. Nope, there was no way she would have forgotten had they met earlier. But they hadn't. So, how did she know he was a lieutenant?

 

To her horror, she felt a warm blush crawling up her neck. She looked away just about the time it reached her cheeks, hoping he hadn't noticed. "I must have guessed," she quipped, pretending to focus on the report sitting on the desk in front of her.

 

A moment later, Reid was actually kneeling beside her. Suddenly, she found herself face to face with an extremely handsome, bare chested man wearing a tiny bathing suit that revealed more than it covered...and there was no way she could ignore him.

 

"Since I first came in here," he whispered, nodding toward the main doors, "I never heard anyone call you anything but Dr. Lowen. Isn't that right?" Ritah considered the question for half a second then nodded in agreement.

 

"And you're not wearing any type of name badge....are you?" She never wore such a thing but instinctively checked her lab coat lapel anyway before silently shaking her head.

 

"Then how do I know your first name is Ritah....spelled R i t a h?" he asked with a slight smile.

 

She bit her lip and stared into his questioning eyes for a long moment. "I don't know," she whispered. "I honestly don't know."

"Nor do I," came the immediate reply. "But I think we need to talk about this."

"I'll bet you do."

"Have dinner with me."

"I'll be finished here around 1900 hours."

"I'll be here. Do you want me to wait in the corridor?"

"No, come on in."

 

Stefan stood up and nodded. "Then I'll see you later...and thanks."

"Thank you," she replied dumbly.

 

He turned and walked toward the main doors with Ritah watching every step he took. He glanced over his shoulder as the doors opened and smiled warmly. She grinned impishly and waved at him as he stepped into the corridor and the doors closed behind him.

 

Leaning back in the chair, Ritah dropped her hand into her lap. "What the hell just happened?" she whispered to the console in front of her. Never in her life had she experienced anything like this. And now she had a dinner date with a total stranger....who somehow, felt familiar.

 

Ritah shook her head slightly and rubbed her temples, quietly wondering when the analgesic would kick in.

Edited May 12, 2008 by Ritah Lowen