Nightshift

[Nicolas Lepage 0]

Thanks to Isabeau for playing Head Nurse Mary-Alice

 

Nick was sitting in his office staring at a PADD in his hand without even reading it. He had been sitting like that for about 15 minutes. It was 2:30 in the morning. He had been to his quarters and even in bed but when he couldn't sleep he had dressed again and come down to sickbay to write some reports. Now he was sitting here at his desk. The only light in the room was the desk lamp which illuminated only a small part of his desk. The rest of the room was left in semi darkness.

 

Mary-Alice Schaeffer had received a call that the usual Night Supervisor for Gamma shift had taken ill and could she cover for him. She was scheduled to be off the next day, so she didn't mind covering for a few hours and truth to tell, there was something about Gamma that she liked. Being Nursing Supervisor for Alpha shift was a wonderful position and it sure as heck meant she was never bored but the hours before dawn were often the most critical in a patient's care and she recalled sitting through those dark hours and how satisfying it was to greet a new day after a long night. She was very surprised to see the light on in the CMO's office. She paused at the door, quietly calling, "Doctor Lepage?"

 

Nick startled at the sound. Of course he knew people were still working in sickbay but he had hoped no one had noticed he was here. He looked up to see who wanted to see him. "Ah, Mary-Alice, come in. Everything alright?" He was surprised to see his head nurse. Usually she worked on alpha shift but it wasn't unusual for nurses to cover for each other in case someone got sick.

 

She smiled and walked into his office, "Everything's all right, Doctor. Michael Briggs isn't feeling too well and I said I'd cover for him. Mary-Alice had worked with Nick Lepage a long time and she was concerned to find him in so late. "Is everything all right?"

 

"Yeah, I'm ok. I just couldn't sleep so I figured I might as well get some paperwork done." Nick didn't want to admit the Admiral's little speech bothered him as much as it did.

 

She'd known him ever since he'd come aboard as a midshipman fresh from doing a two year stint in the Academy after med school. She was very proud of how the young midshipman had grown as a doctor and now, as a Lieutenant Commander, he was one of the best department chiefs she'd ever worked under. She also knew that though Nick Lepage preferred the direct approach, he rarely spoke about the things that bothered him. That required a more roundabout method. "Admiral Goran didn't seem too happy when he stopped in."

 

Nick grinned despite himself. Mary-Alice knew him quite well and sometimes it could be quite scary. Again, she had guessed quite well what the problem was. "I don't think he's ever been happy in his life, Mary-Alice. Did he say anything to anyone else?"

 

Mary-Alice smiled back and then made a big show of thinking. "Hmm...he was very polite to Doctor McKinny, as well he should be!" Mary-Alice had also worked under DJ and was very pleased with how close these two favorite doctors of hers had become. "I don't think he spoke with anyone else, although it did look like he was giving the Captain a hard time of it."

 

Nick sighed. "I'm glad he didn't come down hard on anyone else. It was difficult not to say or do anything stupid while he was rambling on." Nick shook his head as he remembered the scene. He knew he should just have sat there and let Goran talk and forget about it as soon as he was out his office. He really didn't like how this bothered him.

 

Obviously the Admiral had upset Nick very much. Mary-Alice couldn't imagine what he could have said--Nick did an excellent job running the department. "May I ask what his issues with Medical are?"

 

"Hmmm...let me think.....have we taken care of the issues with the Cardassian hemorrhagic fever? Have we taken care of any issues that might come up because we're leaving, yadda,yadda, yadda. Problem is, he did indirectly tell me I didn't do a good job. Tell me, how the heck am I supposed to take care of Cardassia with a fleet of Ferengi ships threatening to blow up the station?" Nick was talking himself into a rage. He was tempted to punch the bulkhead.

 

He normally had good control over his emotions but Mary-Alice had seen him angry before and always with a good reason. "You don't know what his mood was before he came in here. Maybe he was just blowing off steam. I don't know, but I do know that millions of Cardassians owe their lives to this facility and the work Science and Medical did on that fever."

 

He turned around suddenly and faced her. "It's just...you know, I haven't been spoken to like that since my first year in the Academy."

 

"I suppose the Admiral must have a few things in common with a first year Academy instructor," Mary-Alice, answered dryly. "If what he said was that much off the mark, and I'm sure it was, why don't you speak with Captain Quark about it?"

 

Nick shook his head and returned to his chair. "Captain Quark probably knows pretty much what went on in here. Why do I feel like I need to justify my actions just because some guy who spends most of his time behind some desk in a secure facility questions my ability to run a department?"

 

"I don't know, why do you?"

 

"I wish I knew. This place will drive me nuts one of these days." Nick shook his head and leaned back in his chair.

 

"Well, if it hasn't already..." Mary-Alice's smile made it clear she was teasing. "How long will the other doctors be down on Cardassia?" She thought maybe it was time to change the subject.

 

"Just a couple of days. While they check on Cardassia we will transfer sickbay over to the Mercury. I hope it'll all go smoothly." Nick relaxed a little and he felt exhausted. Rambling about his frustration actually did make him feel better.

 

"Will we be working from the Mercury until the station arrives at its new location?" The Mercury was a beauty and sickbay was set up but it was smaller than Aegis' facilities. Of course, there weren't any civilians to treat right now so they didn't need as much space as they normally used.

 

He nodded. "Yeah, that's what we'll do. We now have only a little more than 500 people on the station. The sickbay on Mercury will be more than enough." Nick stifled a yawn. "I'm so tired I'm not sure I'll make it back to my quarters."

 

"I think you know what sleeping in that chair will do to your neck, Doctor Lepage."

 

"Yeah, last time that happened I had a stiff neck for 4 days."

 

"Then I think you should somehow find the strength and drag yourself off to bed, Doctor." She thought he seemed more relaxed; at least he was nowhere near as angry as he was when she came in.

 

Nick smiled and got up. "I'm sorry to appear rude but you're right. I need some sleep. Thank you, Mary-Alice"

 

"Goodnight, Doctor." She smiled fondly as Nick got to his feet and went back to Main Sickbay and the watch before dawn, made much easier and rather anti-climatic since they had no patients.