Though she still felt unsettled by the end of her two-day "weekend" leave, Chakra had decided not to report the incident with Dr. McCoy to higher. While his method had been inexcusable, the first-hand medical inspection was the most accurate when presented with a medical anomaly-- even if that anomaly was a single sentient being who would never have given permission for such an intrusive test. Still, denying him the knowledge he thought would be necessary for him to obtain to predict any future emergencies concerning her might be more disastrous. At least that was the conclusion further reflection of the incident led her to. Besides, she wasn't one to hold grudges.

However, she gritted her teeth while exiting the turbo lift, if he were to pull another stunt like that, she would have his medical license revoked and punch out a few of his teeth! She nodded to a few of her co-workers as she entered the scheduling room. She stepped gracefully over to the left wall and pulled the folder marked with her name out of a numbered slot. She opened it to reveal a single assignment sheet, and almost as soon as her eyes recognized the crisply typed letters, the folder slipped from her hands.

"Whoa!" a slender hand darted to catch the folder, and she recognized the voice of the blonde girl who, three days prior, had given her the reassignment that led to that embarrassing scenario. "That's not like you Ms. Q'eil... I don't think I've ever seen you drop anything."

"What is this?" Chakra squeaked, unable to comprehend the order she'd just read.

The blonde took the sheet of paper from Chakra and her eyes skimmed over the order. "It's a week-long assignment in Medical. Wow! What are the odds of that?"

What were the odds indeed?

"Stacey," her eyes fluttered shut as her brain tried to grasp this turn of events. "Aside from the fact that I have requested at least a hundred times since we graduated that you either refer to me as lieutenant or be completely informal and call me Chakra, as opposed to the formal address of 'Ms. Q'eil' because we are in fact the same age-- What do you know about this... this.... I can't even think of a word for this abominable situation."

Stacey raised both of her eyebrows. "I don't know anything about this, besides what's here." Her green eyes widened as a thought passed behind them. "Is Dr. McCoy really that bad? Y'know... I've heard stories-"

"Stories?"

"Well, yes, from other staff who've had to work shifts in Medical. They say he's cranky and moody; He lost his temper at the engineer sent to fix one of the bio beds and Dr. McCoy threw a screen at him! True story! Then I overheard one of the nurses talking about requesting for a transfer, 'cause he's a slave driver... Perfectionist through and through-"

Chakra had to laugh. "Perfectionist? I don't believe that for a minute after what I saw." She placed the folder back into the slot, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"What?" Stacey gasped.

"Data pads and paperwork," Chakra lowered her hand down to thigh level, "this high."

"No!" Stacey exclaimed, appalled.

"Oh, yes. The office is buried." Chakra gave her a wink. "True story."

"I guess you'll need a full week, then, to get through it all." Stacey giggled. "Oh, I gotta go- catch you at lunch?"

"If I last that long," Chakra mumbled in reply as she headed toward the door and turned headed for the turbo lift. The door slid open, and she was unnerved by the sight of the person within.

"Good morning, Lt. Q'eil."

"First Officer Spock, hi." She nodded and stepped inside next to the tall Vulcan, pressing the button for Deck 6.

"To which departments are you reporting this week?" he asked mildly, hands clasped behind him at the small of his back.

"I'm in Medical Bay all week."

"I would venture to make a speculation."

"Of course, sir."

"I believe Dr. McCoy could not be more fortuitous for the chance that you would be his Operations Assistant during the first run of Ship-wide physical examinations," he quirked an eyebrow. "Especially with the currently diminished number of medical staff."

Chakra's eyes narrowed, "Chance, Mr. Spock?"

He matched her defiant, quizzical gaze with his stoic dark eyes until the turbo lift stopped and the door slid open. "I do believe this is your floor Lieutenant."

She knew that meant her dismissal, question lingering, and she stepped out of the turbo lift; but if he thought for a moment this topic was closed, he was sorely mistaken. While she knew her cadet-based acquaintance with him was little leverage, it may just enough to get him to help her to figure out why exactly she'd been assigned to what she was sure was going to be a week from Hell....

-------------------

She spent the entire first-day running errands; Dr. McCoy wouldn't even let her into the office to start on the paperwork or filing. She ran to the lab collecting or dropping off samples more times than she could count, not to mention the 42 trips to the Mess Hall to collect various snacks and a particular peach-flavored tea that Dr. McCoy claimed reminded him of home. That sparse sentimentality aside, he was a wretched man who spent every available moment ignoring her existence or barking orders for her to get out of the way, run and get him tea, go find Ensign Ricky because he was about to miss his appointment; or to go back to the lab because he needed the second vial a nurse accidently sent instead of the fifth vial... or any other errand he could make up.

The second day didn't seem to be going any better than the first, except that after lunch Dr. McCoy had an Officer meeting he had to attend, so Chakra settled into the office and began the arduous task of sorting out the paperwork and logging the data pads. She was nearly finished with sorting when Dr. McCoy strolled into the room, demolished a large stack of papers while complaining he couldn't find anything with the way she had things, and then knocked another stack down while attempting to pull out the slip he was looking for. He left her fuming in a mess larger than it had been originally, seriously contemplating that if she were inclined to believe in supernatural superstitions, she might believe Dr. Leonard McCoy to be the devil.

By the end of the third day she had all the data pads logged, all the paperwork sorted and had only been to the cafeteria 18 times, a vast improvement from day one. Sighing, she took a moment to stretch; and when she turned to grab the stack of data pads she had laid on the desk to take back to the Server Unit, she was startled to see Dr. McCoy watching her, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded.

"Before you go," he said sullenly, "I need to confirm your internal scan appointment."

"Doctor," she replied as calmly as she could, "it's not the time to discuss that." Plus, I really, really want to hurt you right now... and the week's only half over.

"Look, you can pick a time, or I can order a time; your choice."

"Order away, doctor," she picked up the data pads. "My shift is over, I'm dropping off these data pads, and then I'm going to try to get some rest before tomorrow." 

She headed toward the doorway. "Now if you'll excuse me!" She stepped past him and walked as briskly as she could to the turbo lift.

Most of the fourth day was spent with Dr. McCoy ignoring her; which suited Chakra perfectly since it allowed her to get through most of the paperwork. Aside from a few papers she came across that needed his signature; she did her best to avoid him in turn. At about 0300 hours, however, the quiet but busy rhythm of the Medical Bay was interrupted by an emergency alarm. Chakra looked up surprised from some forms she was reviewing as Nurse Chapel rushed into the office, "Lieutenant, come quickly! We need an extra set of hands!"

She saw as soon as she cleared the partition that several members of the engineering staff were being ushered into Medical Bay with injuries ranging from mild to severe, mostly burns and cuts, a few were in appalling shape.

"What happened?' she gasped as Nurse Chapel handed her a first aid kit.

"Some explosion in the engine room; We're short on the details, but here, dear- treat the minor injuries, the nurses and I will see to the more severe, and the doctors are working on the critical."

The next hour was spent on bandaging up hands, arms, and faces, applying burn salve for those that needed it and documenting each injury and treatment on the data pad assigned to each patient. She looked up from her last finger-splint to see Dr. McCoy glancing her way from the doorway of the medical bay where he was talking to Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock, and Nurse Chapel, who waved her over. She joined the group, saluting the senior officers.

"Nurse Chapel was just bragging about your performance today, Lieutenant," Captain Kirk extended a hand to her, and Chakra shook it.

"Thank you, sir. I was properly trained in medical first aid at the academy."

"So I've heard," he grinned, blue eyes sparkling with amusement. 

"Even Bones has been impressed by your tenacious bandaging skills, Right Bones?"

Dr. McCoy lifted an eyebrow, and after a pause replied, "It was standard, at least."

An awkward moment passed, and all though she saw a quizzical glance pass between Captain and First officer, she couldn't read into what was behind it.

"Excuse me, Captain," she turned to return to the office to resume her paperwork, but she still managed to overhear him demand, "Damn it Bones, what is wrong with you?"

She couldn't help but smirk.

At the start of the fifth day she entered the medical bay with a single joyous thought parading through her mind: This is my last day in Hell. It only took a few hours to finish up the paperwork leftover from the day before, during which she neither heard nor saw any of the glowering doctor. The oddity of his absence didn't occur to her until Nurse Chapel strolled into the office and looked surprised to see her.

"Dear, what are you doing here?"

"Just finishing up my assignment," Chakra smiled. "There are a few forms here that need Dr. McCoy's signature... but I haven't seen him yet."

"Oh well, you know... he's been feeling under the weather since all the excitement yesterday. The Captain said he could delay the last of the physicals and get some rest."

Chakra couldn't help the exasperated sigh that came. She looked down at the folder she had compiled and then set it down on the desk. 

"Well, that's the last of it, then."

Nurse Chapel tapped her chin with her index and middle finger. "Now wait a moment dear," she said as Chakra walked around the table. 

"I was going to take some vitamin powder to Dr. McCoy after checking on the patients, but- well, if you need him to sign some papers I don't see why you can't get it to him quicker and save me a trip."

Chakra took a moment to process the request. "You want me to go to Dr. McCoy's quarters to deliver these papers and administer medicine to him?"

"Well, I will call him and let him know you're coming, of course."

".... Of course...."

"Excellent! Then you'll do it for me, oh thank you so much! Let me grab-"

"Wai-" she had responded too slowly; the friendly head nurse was already chatting away with another nurse about the contents of the cabinet.

Damn, Damn, Damn. I'd rather not have to see him at all today. That short-tempered, overbearing, irksome-

"Now, here you are dear, I wrote down his room number. I'll go ahead and give him a buzz. Now shoo! Shoo! The sooner you're done with this, the sooner you start your weekend, right?" She practically shoved Chakra into the hallway.