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Chapter Fourteen

Will ran down the corridor and rushed into Sickbay, coming to a breathless halt in front of Beverley at exactly five-thirty. Beverley smiled at him,

'Hello, Will. Sorry to drag you out of bed so early.'

'No problem,' said Will, trying to look alert. He hadn't had time to eat anything and although he'd gulped down a glass of water, he still felt badly dehydrated. Still, he'd have a chance to wake up during the endurance test that always started the physical.

Beverley smiled brightly and said,

'Let's get started.'

She led Will into the side ward used for annual medicals but when he went to get on the treadmill, she stopped him saying,

'Have you forgotten, Will? Starfleet Medical have changed the testing procedure, you have to do the tests in a random order now. Hmm, let's see what the computer has chosen for you.'

Beverley pressed a button on her padd, ostensibly to generate a random test order, but in fact bringing up the order that she had specially selected for Will. She had given it careful thought and believed that she had chosen the worst possible combination for him. Without hesitation she turned Will to face the wall and said,

'Reflex test, human male, Landing Party Officer, begin.'

Will blinked and tried to focus as lights flickered on and off, trying to tap them before they went out. By the time the test finished he was swearing with frustration, as he missed light after light by the smallest of margins. Beverley ignored his frustration and directed him to the fine motor co-ordination test, never one of Will's favourites. This time, exhausted and full of adrenaline from the reflex test, it went abysmally. Needles refused to be threaded, wires touched each other and blocks refused to balance. Gritting his teeth Will forced himself to concentrate on the physical agility test. Naturally gifted at sport, he always found this test easy but today he found himself lagging at the end, too tired to move quickly enough. The next few tests passed in a blur as too little sleep and no food left him working on automatic. Finally, he came to the endurance test and Will forced his leaden legs to move as the computer moved the treadmill up and down to simulate different types of terrain.
By the time that the endurance test had finished, Will was shaking and covered in sweat. Beverley handed him a glass of rehydration fluid and Will gulped it down gratefully, submitting cheerfully to twenty minutes of routine scans, slowly starting to feel human again. He was about to suggest that they grab a coffee in Ten Forward, when the doors to Sickbay opened and a man in Medical Department uniform came in, accompanied by Data, who said,

'Doctor Crusher, this is Doctor Rivers.'

Data waited whilst the two doctors shook hands, before continuing,

'Doctor Rivers has completed the required orientation and emergency drills. He can therefore begin work in the Medical Department at your discretion.'

'Thank you, Data.'

'You are welcome.'

Will got off the diagnostic bed and shook hands with Doctor Rivers,

'Commander Riker, First Officer. Welcome aboard.'

'Thank you, Sir.'

Will turned to Beverley and said,

'Have you finished, Doctor?'

'Yes, Commander. I'll let you have the results later.'

Will left with Data and Beverley turned to her newest member of staff who was looking round nervously,

'I'll show you around.'

Beverley walked around Sickbay, chatting cheerfully whilst performing a rapid assessment of Doctor Dean Rivers. She'd read his personnel file and knew that he came from Zydi VI and was the youngest of a large family. He had graduated tenth in his class at Starfleet Medical and had been unlucky to miss out on a starship assignment. He had spent the eight months since graduating on Starbase 90 and was well thought of by the CMO there. All good but would he be able to fit in with her and Selar? With only three fully qualified doctors on board, personality conflicts could cause real problems, as they all had to be able to work together. Half an hour later, she was feeling cautiously optimistic; Dean Rivers was understandably nervous but he had a good sense of humour and was enthusiastic about his work. They had breakfast together and then began treating patients.

An hour later, Beverley left him performing routine tests and went into her office to analyse the results of Will's physical. A few minutes later she swore under her breath; she had accidentally achieved the ultimate revenge. If she entered these results into the Sickbay computer, Will would no longer be able to lead landing parties and his future as an officer in Starfleet would be jeopardised. He had failed his annual physical, not just the Landing Party Officer's qualification, but the entire thing. Gnawing her lip, Beverley wracked her brain, looking for a way out. She wanted to punish Will, not ruin his life. She was about to call Data, so that she could use his encyclopaedic knowledge of Starfleet regulations, when she remembered a rarely used medical regulation. Heaving a sigh of relief, she picked up her padd and left her office. Finding Doctor Rivers, she said,

'I have to go up to the Bridge. Call me if you need me.'

Doctor Rivers swallowed but nodded, reinforcing her favourable first impression.

Jean-Luc looked up as the turbolift doors opened and Beverley stepped on to the Bridge. He opened his mouth to ask if she needed anything, but she beat him to it, saying,

'Captain, may I see you and Commander Riker in your Ready Room, please.'

Her tone was serious and Jean-Luc and Will got to their feet immediately, following her into the Ready Room. Jean-Luc led them to the seating area and they sat down. Beverley handed Jean-Luc the padd containing Will's results and said,

'Commander Riker had his annual physical this morning. The results were disappointing.'

Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows at Beverley's phraseology,

'Disappointing?'

'He failed.'

'What?'

'I what?'

Will and Jean-Luc stared at her in stunned disbelief.

'He failed his annual physical. Quite badly, in fact.'

'But, how? He's always sailed through before,' asked Jean-Luc.

'I don't know. Perhaps Commander Riker can answer that question.'

The frost in her voice made Jean-Luc wince inwardly but Will seemed unaffected, saying casually,

'Hell, Beverley, you know I'm not a morning person. I'll come and take it again now. What did I fail? The Fine Motor Co-ordination test?'

'And the Reflex test, the Spatial Orientation test and the Endurance test.'

'What? That can't be right,' said Will, horrified.

'See for yourself,' said Beverley, taking the padd from Jean-Luc and passing it to Will.

Dumbstruck, Will ran his eyes down the results, shaking his head in disbelief at the awful scores he'd recorded in just about everything.

'Will, what happened this morning?' asked Beverley.

'I forgot I had my physical today and I didn't get to sleep until about oh-two-hundred.'

'If you were working late, why didn't you say?'

'I…um…wasn't working.'

Jean-Luc watched as Beverley's temper rose. Normally, he would have tried to intervene but since it was clear that Will had chosen to have sex rather than get some sleep the night before his physical, he deserved what he was about to get.

Beverley started with sarcasm,

'Let me guess, Geordi needed you to read him a bedtime story.'

Will winced, then gritted his teeth, saying,

'I forgot, all right? So, I went to Ten Forward, got chatting to Elise Merron, we had a few drinks and ended up in bed together. We're both single and unattached, so what's the big deal?'

'What's the big deal? You're a senior officer but instead of behaving like a professional, you forget about your physical, despite having been sent a reminder just three days ago. So, instead of getting some sleep, you have sex until the early hours of the morning. And then, when you wake up feeling like death, do you cancel your physical? No, you come and get the sort of results I would expect from an elderly admiral. You failed, Will! If I enter those results into the Sickbay computer, you will no longer be able to lead landing parties and you'll be on Medical Report, for allowing your fitness levels to fall below minimum acceptable levels.'

Will went white as the seriousness of the situation hit him,

'My career's over.'

'Not necessarily,' said Jean-Luc, 'Beverley, you said, 'If I enter those results into the Sickbay computer'. Is there a way you can avoid it?'

'There is, but only if you agree, Jean-Luc. And Will would have to follow the outlined procedure.'

'Go on,' said Jean-Luc.

'Starfleet Regulation M107, paragraph 3, sub-section 2, allows an officer to come in for an assessment prior to his annual physical, if he is concerned about his fitness levels. If his fitness levels are deemed inadequate, he can follow a diet and exercise regime devised by the Chief Medical Officer to improve areas of concern. His annual physical can then be delayed by a maximum of thirty-two days past it's due date.'

Jean-Luc nodded,

'And you think this could apply?'

'Yes. Luckily, Will's annual physical isn't actually due for eight days, so as long as I alter the Sickbay records to show that Will came for a pre-assessment today, I think we can get away with it. However, it does mean that I would have to give Will a diet and exercise regime and he would have to follow it.'

'Anything,' said Will fervently, 'You're a lifesaver, Beverley.'

'Captain?'

'Make it so.'

Beverley returned to Sickbay leaving Jean-Luc looking at Will in concern,

'Will, make sure you pass next time. I really don't want to have to break in a new First Officer.'

'I will, Sir. I wouldn't want to put you to all that trouble.'

The two men smiled wryly at each other and got back to work.

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