Approaching Understanding

Posted on Wed Sep 5th, 2012 @ 3:04pm by Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D. & Cassidy Wilde

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Piper Memorial Medical Center

* * * Piper Medical Center * * *


Harding left his office following his meeting with Oz and paused as Kiere approached.

“Dr. Harding. Cassidy Wilde is here.”

Harding reached for the padd she held out to him and nodded. “Thanks, take her to 203.” as she moved off, he glanced at the padd, reading as he moved on down the corridor.

When the nurse, who ironically did seem to be that cheerful all the time, came out to get her, Cassidy followed her down the hall and into the exam room. Eschewing the biobed for now, she sat down in a chair across the room from the door with her back to the wall. Pushing the long sleeves of her black cashmere sweater up, she smiled politely at Kiere. “Thank you.”

“He’ll be right in.” She left and the doors closed behind her with a muted whoosh.

A few minutes later Harding entered, having shed his blood scrubs and now back in uniform with a blue lab coat over it.

“Good morning Cassidy, how are you? Thanks for letting us reschedule, things were a little hairy yesterday.”

“Mornin’ Dr. Harding.” She took a good look at him, reminding herself that he had taken such good care of Jackson once they had returned. “I’m here, so that must mean somethin’ is botherin’ me.”

“Very well.” He leaned his hip against the biobed and laid the padd aside. “Tell me and we’ll get it fixed up for you.”

Cassidy remained quiet, wondering why she let Vic talk her into coming here. She hated complaining about things that bothered her. “I’ve been havin’ headaches since I came back from Archadia. Migraines.”

That got a concerned frown from the doctor. “This day and age, those are rare outside injuries and certain telepathy-related issues. Come.” He moved away from the biobed she she could get to it. “LIe back and let’s see what’s happening here.”

“Oh, and I suppose stress doesn’t have a factor in the cause for headaches anymore? Empathy can do a number on someone’s head as well.” she groused and reluctantly stretched out on the uncomfortable surface. “And I have had injuries...it’s just been a while, until now. I’ve had my brain rattled ‘round in my head a few times.”

“And that is far more likely to be at issue here.” He opened his medical tricorder and ran it over her full-length, then focused on moving it around her head. “Anything specific trigger them? Certain movements perhaps? Or overwhelming your telepathic abilities?”

“Well...my life has been a bit stressful as of late, as I’m sure ya might of heard ‘bout already, but even before a goon tossed me against a wall a few times, I was havin’ some issues. I pick up on others’ emotions and when they’re strong enough, their thoughts...but it’s the emotions that knock me for a loop most of of the time. I don’t just sense ‘em and know what they are...I feel ‘em.”

Hearing that she’d been knocked against a wall didn’t please Will at all. He turned off the tricorder and turned back to a cabinet on the wall. “I am showing minor structural damage along the traces of that old injury. While we can repair serious things these days, when it comes to cranial issues and the brain sometimes the repairs are not as good as new. Also, it’s been some years since then has it not? We’ve made plenty of advances since then.” He opened the door of the cabinet and pulled out a small, circular silver device.

“It’s been two years since the transport crash. They were amazed I survived at all, though I was broken all to hell.” Staring up at the ceiling, a shiver raced down her spine thinking about that time in her life. Letting her head roll to the side, Cassidy frowned at the object in Harding’s hand. “Two questions. First, what is that and second, how much of my medical files were ya able to get a hold of?”

“Would you believe me if I said just about all?” He smiled for a moment. “Aside from some dental visits when you were ten.” He smiled, obviously joking with her to put her more at ease. “And this is a neurocortical monitor. it attaches to your scalp under your hair and will stay there for a few days. It monitors brain activity and sends it back to me so we can see where anything out of the ordinary is happening. It’s painless, I promise.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Where under my hair? Will I need to remove it when I take a shower and wash my hair?”

“Yes. Here, Sit up and I’ll show you where to put it.” He held out his hand to help her up.

Looking at his hand, she almost ignored it to sit up on her own, but that wouldn’t be polite. Taking the offered hand, she kept the touch light and brief, letting go as soon as she was up.

“Now then. Hold your hair up and let me have your other hand.”

Gathering up the long blonde tresses, Cassidy twisted them into a loose knot at the top of her head, then held her hand out to the doctor.

He placed the small disc in her hand, then guided it to the base of her skull behind her ear. “Now, press it in place, good. That’s it. We’ll monitor the output from here, and you and I can meet day after tomorrow. That will tell me if there’s anything additional other than some repercussions from the physical blows while you were down on the planet. At that point we’ll decide the next step. In the meantime, if another hits, come see one of the nurses and they can take care of the headaches.”

The disc felt strange at the back of her neck; uncomfortable. It reminded her of the monitor leads that had been used when she was in the hospital after the accident. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head this way and that, trying to adjust to the odd sensation. “I’ve been taking painkillers to deal with them on my own.”

“Not any more. I am serious about that. I want the staff here monitoring this and what we have here is more effective and less taxing on your system. And, once we get this read out in, we can take care of the problem and be done with it.” He checked the disc and, satisfied, stepped back. “That will do it for today. I want to see you in two days.”

Arching a delicate eyebrow at him, her expression was a mix of disbelief and ‘you’ve got to be fucking kidding me’. Belatedly, that made her think about how much her cursing had increased lately. It was probably nothing. Just tired of dealing with too much bullshit and losing her filter.

“And if I get a headache while I’m at work, what am I supposed to do then? Wait until we close and hope my head doesn’t explode before then?” Sighing, she slid down off the biobed. “Brilliant. I guess I’ll see ya in two days, Dr. Harding.”

“Would you rather stay here for the next two days? It would be more convenient, and certainly better than your self-medicating. Otherwise, please trust that I know what I’m doing.” That said, he sat in one of the chairs and motioned to the other. “Now please have a seat, there’s one other thing I want to discuss with you.”

Not liking the idea of being made to stay in Sickbay, even if he was just saying it to make a point, Cassidy did as Harding requested and sat down. Folding her hands in her lap, she looked over at him. “I didn’t have a chance to thank you for what you did for Jackson. I know it’s your job...anyway, thank you.”

“It was a bit tricky, I won’t lie. As I said to you earlier, I’ve known Jackson a long time and have seen him through some rough times. A little extra added incentive I suppose.” Will shrugged. “I should’ve watched closer but she had done nothing suspicious. I’m sorry for that and even more sorry that you got dragged into it.”

“Why should you be sorry? Natalia was the one responsible for what happened.” She watched him closely. “Though she wasn’t in it alone.” Harding’s emotions and thoughts didn’t match those of the man that had been at the warehouse or the Nexus last night. “You were watchin’ her before any of this happened?”

“She is why I first came, yes. An old score between us you might say. That’s why I was so dismayed when you arrived. I know how Natalia is, or was. You needed to be out of the line of fire.”

“Maybe ya shoulda tried bein’ more honest instead of vague with yer warnin’.” Cass shrugged. “It’s too late to worry about it now.”

“I never thought she’d be that desperate and stupid. It makes me wonder if perhaps there wasn’t some deeper issues that had developed? It’s hard to say now. And even if Bren recalls what she was up to, it will be impossible to tell what caused it.” He smiled back at her now. “At least you and Jackson came through and that is what matters. Thanks to you, I might add. He told me what happened. Well done, I must say.”

It was odd to see what appeared to be a true smile on Harding’s face. “I doubt Bren has trouble recallin’ things...at least where I’m concerned. Ian showed up at The Nexus Club last night. When he saw me, Bren recognized me. He...it...the symbiont remembered what had happened and as result, Ian flipped out and screamed. I thought my ears were gonna bleed. He was terrified of me.” Closing her eyes, Cass fought to keep the way last night’s events had made her feel from creeping back in. Too many emotions and thoughts had hit her at once. “There was a flood of emotions and stress from so many people at once...and bein’ reminded of what happened, it triggered one of my headaches.”

“Interesting. How would you feel about a day off from that? To give your senses a rest?”

She looked a little skeptical and wary. “Do ya mean medication that would block it?”

“Yes, once we finish with the monitoring. A little down time might be indicated, depending on what we find.” Harding reached for his padd and glanced over it. “But let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Reaching up, Cassidy touched the neurocortical monitor under her hair again and frowned. “I can’t allow you to do that. Remember what I said about Natalia not workin’ alone? Whoever it is was at the warehouse and then again at The Nexus last night.” Holding Harding’s gaze steadily, she watched him carefully. “You wouldn’t happen to know who that is, would you?”

“Unless I was there, it would be impossible. She could be working with any number of people, but your sensing him there narrows it down somewhat. At least Security can begin to check those in attendance last night.” He nodded. “But I see your point. Hopefully, this will wrap up soon and looking for that needle in the haystack won’t be necessary.”

“It’s a big fu...” Cutting the curse short, she took a breath. “My apologies. I lost my filter durin’ this ordeal,” she admitted with a small shrug. “As I was sayin’, it’s a big station, so the idea of someone hidin’ on it is rather daunting.” Out of habit, Cass rubbed at the dull ache near her temple. With the headache she’d had the night before, the residual ache this morning was something she called a ‘headache hangover’.

Harding noted the gesture and nodded. “Over six hundred decks. Luckily the Nexus has a limited capacity. I’ll have Ophelia give you something for that, and I’ll see you in two days.” He stood to go. “But come see us if you need to before then.”

She was about to say she didn’t need anything for her head since it wasn’t that bad, but the chance that it could be in a few hours changed her mind. “Thank you, Dr. Harding.” She hesitated a moment, then spoke again. “I’m sorry we were at odds before. It seems I was wrong about you. Though you were kind of an ass when I first met you.”

Finally, he laughed. “I am generally a strong-willed man on a mission. I know what I am capable of and what needs doing in most situations. It comes with the profession I suppose, so yes there are times. My apologies as well.” He started out of the exam room but stopped. “And Cassidy, please be careful. If whoever this is suspects what you are, he or she may need to cover their asses.”

“It looks like you and I have a few things in common, then...except for the bein’ an ass part,” she smiled finally. “Apology accepted. I appreciate yer concern for my safety, but I’m not exactly alone anymore and almost no one knows about my Betazoid heritage since I don’t have the tell-tale characteristic black eye color. I’ll be careful though. As usual, I know more than I should.”

“Fair enough. See you in two days.” Harding smiled once more, then hurried out. He had a shuttle to catch.

******************

Dr. William Harding, CMO
Smoothing The Waters

Cassidy Wilde
Just A Little Unwell
The Nexus Club