#the Doc would be my favourite CMO

[incredibletales]

Star Trek: Voyager | Parallax | Not Just a Doctor

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Vital Signs, pt18

Word Count: 1908 Tags: @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 @outside-the-government, @jimfromsales, @donnaintx, @enterprisewriting @starmission @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @flirtswithdanger Note: OH MY GOD, I FORGOT TO POST THIS CHAPTER. AND IT IS MY FAVOURITE.

I’d just finished assessing Agent Barton when the curtain flew open. Dr. Carson stood there, red-faced. You could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. Clint was sitting there in his briefs, and reached over and flipped the curtain shut. Dr. Carson snatched it open again and shot Clint a wordless glare that I guessed was supposed to make him behave. Clint rolled his eyes, stood and grabbed the curtain.

“I’m sorry. Dr. Richmond isn’t finished my assessment yet, and I don’t need the whole infirmary staring at me.” He slowly pulled the curtain out of Dr. Carson’s hand and pulled it shut. Dr. Carson sighed deeply from the other side of the curtain, and shuffled his feet.

“Dr. Richmond, you can pass off the rest of this assessment to Derek. I need to speak to you.” His words were terse. I met Clint’s eyes and tried not to giggle.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Dr. Carson. You said the nurses weren’t able to do assessments. I couldn’t possibly neglect my responsibilities,” I replied. “I’ll be a bit. Why don’t you wait at the desk?”

I watched as Dr. Carson’s feet retreated out of view. Clint turned around and started pulling his clothes on. He sat back down on the cot and looked at his watch.

“What did you do?” Barton whispered. My smile was guilty.

“I may have told Director Fury that Dr. Carson wanted him down here for his assessment stat.” I am sure I looked completely guilty of mischief.

“And the doc didn’t want that?” He asked.

“Nope. He wanted me to take care of all the assessments, and he was kind of a jerk when I suggested that the nurses here have been doing the forever,” I explained.

“Is he the CMO?” Barton looked confused. Which was understandable, as I’d previously been in the post.

“Yeah, since before New York. So he was flexing his muscle, and being an ass about it. Don’t disrespect the nurses. Besides, turn about it fair play,” I smiled. Clint shook his head.

“Remind me not to piss you off,” he shuddered. “Between you and Tasha, who needs the rest of us?”

I laughed. Clint pulled the curtain back and gave me a little wave as he walked out of the infirmary. I looked over at the desk. Dr. Carson was seething. His arms were crossed over his chest and his jaw was so squared that I could practically hear him grinding his teeth. I smiled and walked toward him. He turned, grabbed a file and thrust it at me when I got to the desk.

“Would you care to explain why the director just gave me hell for asking for a physical on him?” He demanded. I flipped open the chart and glanced through the paperwork.

“He’s due for a physical,” I stated, pointing my finger at the date marked on the chart. Dr. Carson snatched the chart away from me and threw it down on the desk. He stared at me not saying a word. I think he was actually so angry he was scared to say anything. He pointed at a curtained assessment bay and then walked out of the infirmary. I sighed and headed over. I pulled open the curtain. Director Fury was sitting on the bed with a blue sheet over his lap. I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from giggling.

“Director,” I acknowledged him as I drew the curtain shut again.

“Where the hell did Dr. Carson go?”

“Not sure, sir,” I answered honestly. I started the assessment and worked through it quickly, leaving the blood draws until the end. Fury said nothing, other than to answer questions when I asked them. The contrast between his assessment and Barton’s was astonishing. Barton had bantered back and forth with me during the entire physical. The tension that Fury was throwing off was nerve-wracking. I excused myself to collect the phlebotomy tray, and when I came back, Fury was dressed. He rolled up his sleeve silently. I almost wished he would yell at me for involving him in my power struggle with the new CMO, but he said nothing. His stare was unsettling. I put a cotton ball over the draw site and taped it.

“That’s all, Director,” I offered and moved to open the curtain. He put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

“Sit.”

I sat.

“Stark came to me this morning after you spoke to him, and said that you were interested in the tech he is using in the lab.” It was a question. I nodded.

“The applications in a medical environment are countless. He was able to pull up an MRI of my concussion and blow it up so big that I was able to see exactly what part of my brain had been affected. It could be groundbreaking, particularly in the treatment of head and internal injuries. But honestly, it’s limitless. So cool. I looked at my brain, blown up in 3D. I could have stood inside it.” I admit, I was excited and talking a mile a minute. Fury looked intrigued. It was the first emotion I’d seen since I’d drawn the curtain.

“How do you feel about a lateral promotion?” He asked. I gave him a questioning look.

“Sir?”

“Stark says he needs a medical doctor to work on the project with him. You’re the one who saw the potential,” he acknowledged. I’m pretty sure my eyes did that cartoony thing where they pop completely out in surprise.

“I would love to work on it.” I would like to say I was speechless, but I’m not one of those people who is stunned into silence. I get stunned into excited babbling. I was doing my level best to restrain the urge.

“Excellent. Finish up the physicals I asked for, and report to the lab as soon as you’ve got them cleared away.” He pulled back the curtain and headed to the exit.

“Yes, sir,” I answered. He stopped and looked back when he was near the desk.

“Dr. Carson, can you explain to me why we are wasting a talented resource like Dr. Richmond on physicals when our nurses are trained for exactly such tasks?” He inquired. Dr. Carson blanched.

“I felt tha-“

“Familiarize yourself with the policies for medical personnel on the helicarrier. I’ve asked Dr. Richmond to finish the physicals I requested, as a favour to me. But I’m not giving you another opportunity to waste a talented resource like her.” Fury was short. I was used to the abrupt way he addressed people, but based on the flush creeping up Dr. Carson’s neck, he wasn’t.

“And congratulations on the promotion, Dr. Richmond.” He shot Dr. Carson a look of contempt and disappeared out the door. Carson came stalking toward me. I restrained the urge to roll my eyes and instead waited for the tirade I was sure was coming.

“You made me look like an ass. Fury came in here for a physical, said I was insisting. Do you have no self-preservation instinct?” He snapped. I didn’t say anything as I walked to the desk to begin charting on the assessment.

“And yet, had you just allowed the nurses to take care of this, as policy dictated, it wouldn’t have been an issue,” I replied. He made a noise that I thought might be a growl of frustration and stomped away.

Steve opened the door to my bunk and peeked in. I was sprawled across my bed, just reaching the climax of a singularly trashy romance novel and giggling at the description of the hero, and dropped the book in surprise. And maybe a little embarrassment. He picked it up and looked at the cover before handing back to me.

“Captivated by His Conquering Sword?” He asked. I blushed.

“It’s a trashy romance novel,” I dismissed.

“A what?” He grabbed it away from me again, and started reading. This was not going to end well. His eyes widened as he read on. He looked up at me in surprise and then back to the book, sucked in completely by what he was reading. I sat up and tried to grab the book back, without success.

“Basically, it’s like a-“

“This is pornography!” He exclaimed, “And this? This sounds incredibly uncomfortable.” He pointed to a passage in the book. I glanced at the passage and stifled a giggle. I could tell he was torn between continuing to read and interrogating me. I was pretty flattered that he put the book down, to be honest.

“There is a plot in there somewhere,” I excused weakly. He laughed.

“I’m going to have to ask Thor if the Vikings actually did that type of thing next time he’s around. I’ve gotta say, Lex, I’m a little surprised that you would read that type of book.” His grin reassured me he wasn’t offended. That was something. I figured it could have gone either way.

“I find the sex scenes a little far-fetched. And this one in particular was a bit too much,” I admitted. He just shook his head and flipped a few pages further. He read a few sentences and burst out laughing.

“The author just compared Olaf’s penis to Yggdrasil. Isn’t that the tree that binds all the realms together? Thor definitely needs to see this. That’s a scary penis.” Steve was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down his face. My embarrassment vanished and relief washed over me. He was actually okay with the book. It could have gone either way, really.

“Yeah, that kinda wrecked the mood for me, to be honest,” I giggled. Steve put the book down and kissed me. In a totally not-trashy romance novel way, thank god.

“Let’s go for a run.” He pulled me to my feet. I pulled him back toward me and ran my hands up his chest.

“I’d rather visit the nine realms with you,” I leered. He laughed and pulled me close.

“I’m not doing that uncomfortable thing,” he whispered as his lips met mine. I laughed again, breaking away from him. He nuzzled my neck, and started tugging at my scrub top.

“That’s fine, I’m not that flexible,” I admitted. He struggled with my scrub top for a couple more seconds and gave up, tearing it down the front and then down my arms and off. He dropped it on the floor and pulled his own shirt off and threw it in the same corner. He pushed me toward my bunk, unbuckling his belt and dropping his pants on the way. I shimmied out of my scrub pants and tugged him down onto the bed. He lost his balance on the way down and smacked his head into mine. I saw stars.

“Oh god, are you okay, Lex?” He cradled my head between his hands and looked down on me in concern. I nodded and pulled him back down to kiss him again. He tried to reposition his arm, and managed to scrape my arm against the wool blanket, tearing at some of the scabs from my burns. I shrieked and pulled away, and in the process, kneed him right in his Yggdrasil. He gasped and rolled off me.

“Shit, Steve, I’m so sorry!” I gasped.

“Maybe we should just go for a run,” he suggested. I cringed and kissed his forehead.

“I think you might be right.”