New 'Father'

Posted on 15 Jan 2013 @ 1:47am by Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D.

4,344 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Medical
Timeline: MD -02, 1230

[ON]

Jeremy kicked at the door trying to get it to open quicker. He shifted to keep Sidi from falling from his arms. As soon as the door opened far enough, he rushed in. "Doctor?" he called out, heading straight for a bio bed.

"Doctor!" he called again, looking around as he lay Sidi on the bed. He kept a hand on the dog, trying to comfort him as he looked around the room. He ignored anyone that didn't look to be Dr. Dhuinn. He rubbed his head, trying to remember that he needed to be calm. He couldn't let this visit go like his last visit because...

He turned to Sidi. "It's okay, boy, we're in Medical. They'll take care of you right quick. Just hang in there." He stroked the dog's head to his shoulders, doing his best to calm him. He couldn't afford a delay in care so Dr. Dhuinn had to believe Jeremy wasn't going to be like the previous time - she couldn't spend time locking him in the room and then negotiating with him.

He saw the looks of some of the staff but did his best to ignore them as he turned to Sidi. "It's okay," he said, trying hard not to panic.

Pola could hear a voice out in sickbay continuously calling for a Doctor, she thought Jessica was on duty but figured she'd go check. The new pip on her collar still weighted heavily but her hair was back in a plait so as they were covered. Despite being honoured, she knew the news was still trickling through the crew and when in sickbay, she wanted people to concentrate on getting better, not worrying about the rank she held.

Moving her chair back from the desk, she almost stopped as she spotted who stood outside. She watched him for a brief moment, trying to judge his emotions at the moment to ensure he was stable. It was only when she spotted a furry head bob into her vision she realised that she wasn't alone.

"Jeremy? Who is this you've brought to see us?" An honest smile alit Pola's lips as her heart melted somewhat at the dog on one of her bio beds. The commander had given her a heads up that a canine was due to join the crew but she hasn't expected to meet him so soon.

Jeremy turned, a bit of his anxiousness disappearing when he saw Dr. Dhuinn rather than that insufferable child. "Doctor, I promise I'll be good. Just fix him," he frowned, "Please, fix him."

Sidi lifted his head, rolling to lay on his paws instead of his side. He sniffed at the newcomer and sneezed not liking the medicine-smell of her. However, Man-smell seemed to be more nervous around the medicine-smell. He whined just a little bit, in the back of his throat, becoming nervous because of how anxious Man-smell was.

"He's sick!" Jeremy said, turning back to Sidi. "Please help him."

Not a vet, Pola worked on instinct as she very carefully moved her hand to rub the dog's head. "Well lets start by being calm, your just going to upset the poor guy if you get worked up. I assume your looking after him so he'll be in tune to how your feeling."

Sidi shook his head, as medicine-smell reached out to touch him. She stank of medicine-smell. But she also had a good-smell.

"No, Doctor, stop!" Jeremy said, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from Sidi. "He's exhibited some aggressive behaviour and he's sick, I don't want him to bite you." Jeremy released her hand and rubbed his head. "I'm sorry. I just don't want anybody to get hurt, especially him."

Sidi looked between the two, wondering why alpha Man-smell stopped medicine-smell from rubbing him. It felt good. He liked good. Though Man-smell was still anxious and that worried him. He whined again, unsure what to do.

Pola watched Jeremy carefully, not reacting to how he had grabbed her hand. Infact, instead she kept it held out as she watched his eyes. "I'll tell you what, I can't help if I can't touch him. Why don't you take my hand and brush it against his head, show him that you approve of me and its ok, there's nothing for him to be worried about."

Jeremy nodded, as he took her hand again. "Sidi, this is Dr. Dhuinn," he said, swallowing. "She's a good person. She's okay. She's going to help make you better. Okay, boy?" he looked back at Pola. Sidi seemed calm, staring at him and cocking his head while his eyes lidded.

Jeremy let go of Pola's hand, hoping that would do it. Sidi didn't seem to be hurting. He looked at the PADD on his wrist. Singing low and soft:

I long to fly in total freedom
and yet these chains keep dragging me down
I want to be an angel or the devil himself,
but I'm nothing but a creature,
longing for things I can't have

his voice was shaky but also clear and rich. He rubbed his head again, breaking on the last line. Only a day and a half. He had Sidi for only a day and a half and already he was sick, maybe dying. He shouldn't have done this. He should have told Holliday no. He shouldn't have accepted Sidi. Anybody else would have been a better choice.

Smiling as she watched how the song seemed to somewhat calm both man and dog, Pola continued the gentle stroke of the dog's head as she worked to get him used to her. "Jeremy...what's his name and can you tell me what in particular has caused you concern that he's not well?" Pola wasn't a vet but she'd researched what she could to be prepared in the event that something did happen.

"It's Sidi," Jeremy said and frowned. What had happened? "I don't know. I took him for exercise in the arboretum and he seemed fine. We were doing command work and I gave him a treat for being so good. Then he saw the ducks and started chasing after them. When I got him back he acted funny and got sick, then he started sneezing. Feel his nose, it's warm and dry...he's sick and I dont' know what I did! I gave him the proper nutrition as recommended, I only used the approved treats for him. His stool was a little loose, but not runny - I was cautioned to watch for that as he adjusted to a new environment. Is there something in the pond water?" Jeremy started to get worked up again, rubbing his head fiercely. "Mister Darwisch may have sneaked him some bacon yesterday morning but he's not had anything to eat or drink that's not approved -" he stopped and flicked his PADD. "No," he said closing his eyes and covering his face. "I wasn't thinking! I gave him some sausage from the Mess Hall. I...he was being so good and the ship is so new and he..." Jeremy stopped as he went around to the other side of the bed. "I've poisoned him haven't I? Why did I do that! He shouldn't have had sausage, it's not even good for humans! I..." He looked up, his jaw trembling. "Doctor, please fix him. I promise I won't give him anymore sausage or bacon or anything that's not approved ever again. I'll make sure no one else does also." He placed his hands on the bed. "I've tried to kill him, it wasn't a good idea...nobody should have given me a dog! I shouldn't be around anything living! This was a horrible mistake!" He started to reach to pet Sidi but then pulled back. "Doctor, I don't want him to die."

Blinking, Pola found herself still trying to catch up with everything Jeremy had just said. Picking out the essential parts, she established that the symptoms where dry nose, sneezing, vomiting and possible diarrhoea. She needed to analyse each as they may mean nothing if each symptom was independent to the other.

Scratching Sidi's ear, Pola moved down to look into my eyes, "Silly question Sidi...how do you feel?" Pola was trying to gauge the dog's response to see if he seemed under stress.

Sidi lifted himself to his haunches and barked once, then licked his chops. He wondered what was going on. Alpha Man-smell smelled of worry and fear while medicine-smell was smelling better. She had good hands, finding a good spot right behind the ear. He barked again, looking at Man-smell and reached over to nuzzle him with his snout. Why all the worry? Why'd Stone-smell stop him from chasing ducks. Chasing ducks was fun! They wer so scared and flapped their wings and shouted at him from the air! He liked running after them and shouting back! Because they were ducks. And stupid, silly ducks at that. Living in fake-water inside metal-can.

Jeremy absently rubbed Sidi's back knowing that he'd have to find someone else for the dog. Someone who wouldn't break down and give him things that were bad for him. Someone who wouldn't poison him. But so far the Doctor wasn't doing anything to help him. Jeremy told her everything he knew. Didn't he? Was there...did he leave something out?

Scratching her head, Pola realised that Sidi wasn't acting like something was wrong. Picking up her tricorder, she reconfigured it to run the canine scan which she had uploaded to the medical systems. Moving it down across the dog's body, she smiled as she watched the readouts. "I want you to give me a hand here Jeremy. Do you mind giving me your hand for a moment?"

"Will it help?" he asked, holding it out. "What'd I do? Will he be okay? I swear, Doctor, once you fix him better, I'll find someone who can take care of him, who won't try to kill him with sausages."

Taking Jeremy's hand, she placed it gently against Sidi's side, just below his rib cage. "I want you to count the amount of time in which Sidi's chest expands in 10 seconds. I promise, all of this is relevant. And we'll deal after about who's going to look after him going forward."

Jeremy ignored everything else as he focused - really focused, to make sure he didn't screw this up - on counting both the time and expansions. "Four," he said pushing Sidi's nose away from Pola's tricorder.

Sidi couldn't help roll his eyes. It was a thing to sniff. It was offered to him so it was his! That was the rule. Whatever was offered to him became his to eat, chase, chew or play with. Though it had an odd burn-smell to it. Like one of them...electrical things that man-smell people liked. He reached out again to try to take his new toy from Medicine-smells hand.

Multipling the number by six, Pola satisfied herself that Sidi's breaths per minute were within normal range, it was the higher end of the scale but still normal. Laughing softly as she moved the tricorder out of Sidi's range, she smiled as she looked up at Jeremy. "Is this curiosity his normal behaviour? Are you seeing him acting differently since you brought him in here?" Pola was trying to keep Jeremy occupied so as not to transfer his stress onto the animal.

Jeremy thought hard. He carried Sidi in, but, he was lying good, and sitting up. His bark sounded normal and...Jeremy didn't like that he kept trying to snatch the tricorder from the doctor. "He sneezed, just after we came in. But...he was acting fine right before left sick all over the ground. He..." Jeremy frowned. "No, right now he seems good." Jeremy crossed his arms to keep from reaching out, to stop from petting Sidi even though he kept looking at him between trying to take the tricorder. Jeremy realized he didn't deserve to do that, not after trying to kill him. Or letting someone else try to kill him. Or not paying enough attention while something tried to kill him. "What'd I do to him?"

As she read the readout on the tricorder, Pola found Sidi's heartbeat to be 102 beats per minutes which was normal. Taking Jeremy's hand again, this time not asking, she placed it his finger's gently between Sidi's 4th and 5th rib. "Feel his heartbeat? Tell me what you think of it."

Again, concentrating hard, "It's...fast? We gotta slow it down. How do we do that?"

Biting her lip, Pola shook her head before she allowed a smile to form. "No...that's fast if Sidi was a human, but as a dog that is 106 beats per minute. Anything above 140 beats per minutes or below 60 beats per minute and you would need to start worrying." Scratching Sidi behind his ear once again, Pola diverted her attention back to the readout on her tricorder.

Jeremy scowled. "Then what's wrong with him?"

Taking note of Sidi's body temperature being at 100.6 degrees, Pola finally put the tricorder down as she placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head to look at Sidi's face. "One more check and then I should have a diagnosis...do you think you might be able to pry back the sides of his mouth so as I can check his gums. It won't hurt him in anyway, I promise."

"Okay, Doctor, but don't get any closer than you have to. He hates this. He gets upset when I do it to brush his teeth, even though the doggie toothpaste is supposed to be chicken flavored." Jeremy grabbed Sidi's snout and held onto it as Sidi tried to pull away. "down" Jeremy commanded, knowing it would only have limited effectiveness. He pulled up the lips as Pola directed, letting her look at him as much as she needed. He was starting to worry again that there was something very wrong with him. "His gums or teeth don't bleed at all when I brush them," Jeremy said, not sure if that was something she needed to know. "And the toothpaste tastes terrible."

Keeping her distance, Pola studied the colour of the gums and noticed them to be a pinkish colour and she could see the gleam indicating that they were moist. Stepping back, she looked over at Jeremy and smiled. "You can let go of him now. How precisely do you know that the toothpaste tastes terrible?"

Jeremy let go of Sidi's snout. He 'retaliated' by pawing Jeremy on the shoulder and butting his head into Jeremy's chin. Absently Jeremy ruffled his neck fur. He didn't want to answer the doctor, but to make sure Sidi would be okay, if there was anything that could be mildly relevant to his medical condition - like rancid toothpaste, it would be better for Sidi. He sighed. "I had his toothpaste and mine on the counter and..." he frowned as he looked at Sidi. "My schedule was off all day yesterday and I was rushed this morning and...I grabbed the wrong container by mistake."

Hiding a laugh behind a cough, Pola watched the pair for the moment. "Well the good news is that he is perfectly fine. The saying that a dry nose indicates a dog is sick is actually a myth, it's only a concern when combined with other issues. His sneezing is normal, all dogs sneeze, like us, to clear out his respiratory system. You mentioned that you had him in the arboretum so the pollen count may have been high. By any chance, did you sneeze?"

Jeremy turned away at the words "perfectly fine" and only barely heard what else she said. He kept turned away as he answered, his voice tight and shaky. "No, I..."

Jeremy turned back and grabbed Sidi, pulling him to him and burying his face into his fur. Sidi rolled his eyes and allowed it for several seconds before he put a paw on Jeremy's shoulder and pushed away. The dog looked at Pola as if to say new humans, whatcha gonna do?

"I'm sorry, boy. I'm such an idiot!" He looked back at Pola, blinking rapidly. "Sorry, Doctor, but no. I was...I felt fine." He turned back to Sidi. "Hear that? You're perfectly okay, you's a good, healthy doggy with chicken breath! Bad, nasty, terrible chicken breath! Yes, you are!"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Pola suppressed the laugh at the sight as she didn't wish to hurt Jeremy's feelings. Scratching Sidi behind his ear, she looked once again at Jeremy. "I will suggest one thing. I suspect the vomiting might have been as a result of Sidi taking a drink from the pond which may have slightly acidic water from the surrounding flora. Speak to the ship's scientists and see if something can be added to the water to neutralise it and make it easier on Sidi's stomach."

"Okay, Doctor. I'll find..." he flicked his wrist and searched the manifest. "Warrant Petrov and ask him about it before I let Sidi into the pond again." he stepped back, realizing he made a promise. Blinking several more times he spoke slowly. "Or, I'll make sure his handler does." He ruffled Sidi's fur, drawing back as Sidi turned and nipped at him, his ears perked and tail wagging madly.

Raising an eyebrow, Pola balanced her hip against the biobed edge as she watched dog and handler. "The statement seemed to upset Sidi quite abit...seems he's decided your his handler whether you like it or not."

Jeremy sighed as he played a form of keep away - the game was to keep the flesh of his hands and arms away from Sidi's fangs. "He's kind of grumpy about being touched at times. So far he hasn't let any of the other security personnel near him and I nearly had to tackle Mister Darwisch to keep her from getting bit. But..." Jeremy said, glancing at Pola and missing a timing cue. Sidi bit onto his arm and shook it, mildly. "loose" Jeremy said, pushing his arm forward until Sidi let go. He noticed the bite didn't even penetrate his uniform so didn't worry about it. Though, he did need to find a volunteer to put on the bite suit so Sidi could continue working on that part of his function.

He thought of Quinn's prosthetic arm for several moments then let it go. The bastard would definitely run to Holliday about it, no matter how many times he would agree to do it. "He's a good dog though," Jeremy said, then seeming to back up emotionally. "Mostly follows orders. Performs well in the assigned tasks. He's a good security officer."

Sidi, deciding the game was over sat back down on the bed and barked once, staring at Jeremy. It was treat time. He allowed all this foolishness to go on and he deserved a reward. He wanted his ball but a beef-treat would be acceptable as well. Well, four beef-treats.

"He's really okay, Doctor?" Jeremy asked again. "You're not just trying to spare my feelings? I'm told that I don't have feelings to hurt, so that's not necessary."

Surprised by Jeremy's last comment, Pola was stuck for words for a moment. "Jeremy...whoever said that to you should be ashamed of themselves. You've a full range of emotions which I've even borne witness to today. I promise he is ok. I've shown you have to check his important vitals so you can go away and do the research yourself if you'd like. Even recheck them yourself when you wish to reassure yourself. If ever you're worried, please just give me a shout at anytime."

Jeremy shrugged off the comments about hurt feelings. It's not like he usually remembered what people said anyway. He took up Sidi's lead. "Thank you doctor and..." he sighed. "Chief Kiwoski said I should wait longer just to make sure you're not mad anymore...and you should know I don't remember exactly what happened in here the other day but..." He played with the lead. "I did go back and watch the security feed. I'm very ashamed of what I did and how I acted toward you and the rest of your staff. Even..." he frowned again, "Doctor Wilson. You should know that I did report my actions to both my superiors and..." he blinked as he thought. "The counselor I saw. Sunset? Sunrise? Dusk?" He shook his head. "I told her about it as well. So, people know. Chief Kiwoski wasn't much help because I thought of flowers or something to let you know that I am sorry. Because I don't apologize well." He checked his chrono, realizing he should be returning to finish his bridge shift.

Pola's facial expression softened as she watched the man infront of her. "Believe it or not, this was far more effective than any flowers could have been. Words work better with me. I can't pretend that I wasn't hurt by what happened but things happen and the main thing is that noone was hurt. I'm glad to hear that you spoke with Dawn, she's a good woman. I've met her already for her medical and she's someone a person can truly trust."

Jeremy nodded. He wasn't so sure about the counselor yet. Her trick of singing to soothe him didn't work so well today and he did feel...stressed...over thinking he allowed Sidi to come to harm. But, she also didn't immediately judge he needed to be sent away for yet another FFDE "If it's okay, Sidi and I have to return to duty," Jeremy said, recounting the things she told him about taking his vitals and checking his overall health. He would make sure to add copious notes to his handler manual and Sidi's training log to make sure he had the information at all times. "And congratulations?" he ventured, not sure that he had seen the third pip previously but he wasn't in much of a temper then to really notice things. "On your recent promotion?"

That caused Pola's cheek to flood with a red flushed colour as she leaned over to rub Sidi's head once more. "Thank you Jeremy. It only happened extremely early this morning so I'm still trying to readjust to it myself."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. It's just slightly more work than what you were used to for no extra pay. When you do your bridge officer test, consider me already volunteered to be there. And Sidi." Jeremy looked the dog, not frowning or scowling or glaring. "For treats, he may even give you the answers."

Watching at Sidi jumped down onto the floor, Pola couldn't resist scratching behind his ear. "Hey...for what it's worth. If ever you're looking for a dog sitter, I'd be delighted to offer. You've got a good dog in Sidi and I will ensure we keep a jar of doggie treats beside the kiddies lollipops."

Jeremy stopped dead and looked up, his face showing his horror. "There are children aboard this ship?" He hadn't considered that. He hadn't seen any, but much of the crew had been on their shore leave when he came and he didn't check the ages of everyone who needed the transporter realignment. The idea of being on this small a ship with children filled him with sudden dread.

Dodging slightly around the question as she realised that Jeremy seemed to be getting aggrevated, Pola smiled softly. "Jeremy...have you ever known a Doctor to not not have a jar of kiddies lollipops? We sometimes even give them to adults when we are trying for a smile. Would you like one?"

Jeremy frowned as he quickly answered. "Yes. I've known many. Though, to be fair, they were mostly psychiatrists who were very unhappy I was challenging the foundation of their profession." He sighed. "And, if you use "adults" as an euphemism for Marines or Security personnel, then I accept the custom without understanding the reference. And it would explain where Officer Smoak got the lollipops he's been munching on at briefing last night."

Pushing the back of her hand against her lips, Pola suppressed the laughter which bubbled up inside before she was able to speak. "I'll attach a lock to the supply so as he keeps his mitts out of it from here on in." Reaching into the pocket of her overcoat, Pola pulled out a lollipop which she always kept stashed there for emergencies and offered it to Jeremy. "Here. You can throw it away if you decide you don't like it."

Frowning, Jeremy considered that she wasn't just the CMO (who 'fixed' his dog) but also a Lt. Commander. It would be very impolitic of him to refuse an offered confectionery at this time. Jeremy took the lollipop and pushed Sidi's nose away from it before stashing it into a breast pocket. "This is mine, it's not good for you. You need to learn that not everything is yours. I'm allowed to have things too." He sighed. "Thank you, Doctor, we'll be returning to duty now. And I wouldn't worry about Smoak too much, I overheard Senior Davis mention something about Tabasco sauce flavoured lollipops coming his way soon. Though, I don't understand why anyone would want that." He shrugged as he walked toward the doors.

Finally unable to resist it, a small laugh erupted from Pola's chest as she sent a small wave after Sidi and Jeremy. "I'll ensure he's placed under 24/7 watch and forced to share when they do turn up." Smiling, she placed both hands in the pockets of her overcoat. "Take care, Jeremy."

[OFF]

LT. Cmdr Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LTjg Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer/K9
USS Galileo

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