Chewing the fat - Part 1

Posted on Tuesday 2 April 2019 @ 19:41 by Commander Caroline Miller & Lieutenant Michael Ki MD
Edited on on Tuesday 2 April 2019 @ 19:44

Mission: The New Collective
Location: CMO's office
Timeline: After "the fallout begins" posts
1086 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Bayushi had gone back to her own quarters, O'Hara was in sickbay and being monitored. Dr Ki had checked her over very thoroughly. Caroline had caught up with her own reports on things. It felt like a moment they could break. Heaven knows she needed coffee. Ki had mouthed he wanted to speak to her earlier.

She didn't know how well this would go as whatever he told her, she had to inform him she wasn't behind the order to lie to the captain. But she had to be the voice of reason here and point out how bad an idea she really thought that was.

She pressed the chime to his office.

"Come on in..." Michael said without looking up from the mound of paperwork that had built on his desk. He hoped that this would be good news and not another potential crisis.

"I'm having a coffee break. Care to join me Doctor? Its been another long day." Caroline said as she entered the office.

"I could definitely use the break and a fresh cup." Michael said with a smile as he went to the replicator. "As for the length of the day it seems that is simply par for the course here on the Merlin. What can I do for you Caroline?"

"You said you wanted to talk later in O'Hara's quarters and sorry I'll have to be straight with you. I'm not happy with that order to lie to Captain about things. I think we need to talk about that." she told him straight.

Michael smiled at the forwardness of Caroline, yet something else he admired about her. He set the tray containing a coffee pot and all the trimmings down on his desk and sat down. "In any normal situation I would agree with you. However, I think in this case it is warranted. Stephanie O'Hara thinks she can save the world, and a starship Captain needs to believe that his engineer can save the world. You tell the Captain right now and she will not only be relieved of duty she will most likely be sent to a medical facility for help. I for one do not think that will serve anyone. My thought is to keep this under doctor, patient confidentiality. Then there would be no lie to the Captain. You and I will institute a rigorous treatment plan for O'hara. If our treatment plan does not work then we will go on the official record and tell the Captain." He paused in his speech as he tented his hands and leaned on them. "Caroline, you are going to have to trust me on this one. Lets not ruin a career if we do not have to." The usual stoic and detached Michael actually had a little emotion behind his speech.

Caroline considered his words and realized she was going to have to deal out a hard dose of reality to the man in front of her.

“We will talk about trust but later,” she stated.

Stephanie O’Hara “may” be able to save the world, depending on circumstances and the way she decides to conduct herself during said circumstances. But that does not make her unique. She is one of many good engineers who may have the skill to save the world. A fact too many choose to forget.

But she is flawed and allowing her to continue believing that she “can” save the world is dangerous. Stephanie rushes in thinking she knows best and doesn’t evaluate properly the dangers and consequences of everything, hence we end up with events like we have just all lived through. She also has what I would term a heightened sense of self worth bordering on a god complex.

Some of that may be a reaction to some of her deep seated issues and boy does she have some that need to be worked through and some of it is because she enjoys behaving provocatively and the reactions she can cause from it.

I disagree very deeply with your argument that a starship Captain needs to believe his engineer can save the world. The Captain needs to believe in his crew, his engineer, despite their flaws.

Michael could see that the Counselor was not going to agree with him. He had two options at this point the first was to order her to keep it as doctor patient confidentiality. That was something he did not want to do. The other option was to try to make her see it his way. Ki decided that would be the better course of action. "I concede all of your points, you will get no argument from me . However, in the short time that O'Hara and the rest of us have been here, we have become a family of sorts. I believe that all of the treatment she needs is best here on the Merlin. I am not suggesting or stating that Stephanie does not need help, I am stating that merely it is best to keep her here and give her the help here. That is best accomplished without the Captain having to think about the issue." Michael poured some coffee for the two of them and took a sip of his cup.

As the outsider coming in, it’s very apparent that a lot of senior staff have for a long time “turned a blind eye” to Stephanie O’Hara’s behaviour and this has allowed her to carry on the way she has. Perhaps out of amusement, perhaps fear to tackle it, or because they have a level of affection or in some's case, love for the woman,” she thought of the XO’s confession in the corridor, “and that’s not professional nor is it right to give her all this leniency to behave in the manner she does. Star fleet has a code of conduct that needs to be adhered too.

“You have a duty of care to her as a patient but also to the crew to ensure they are safe, and at present the state her head is in and the way she reacts is not safe to the crew. If someone is a danger to themselves and the crew, doctor patient confidentiality does not apply. What you are doing here is making an exception for someone who you have overlooked things for too long and protecting her from fondness.


TBC

Lt Michael Ki MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Merlin

Commander Caroline Miller
Chief Counselor
USS Merlin