Chapter One
"Beverly... Beverly? Can you hear me?" Picard asked, shaking her shoulder slightly for any response. He waited for a second, hoping that there would be some sign of recognition but nothing came. He stepped back from the bio-bed and moved over to where Data was standing. He looked back over towards Crusher, lying there, as still as anything he had seen, and with a blue space blanket pulled up to her chest. He spoke to Data who also had turned to look at Crusher. "Commander, I want a full report of what happened down on that planet. I want a full investigation, leave no stone unturned, and I want it as soon as possible. She needs our help." He said gesturing towards his Chief Medical Officer.
"Aye, sir. I will beam down to the planet with an investigation team." Data caught sight of Lieutenant Jones, one of the ships' medical technicians who possessed skills in exotic viruses, and stepped over to where he was working, near Dr. Crusher's bio-bed and where she lay motionless, inert and unresponsive. "Lieutenant. You are required to accompany me on an away mission." He said catching Jones's attention.
"Shhh!" Data looked at the lieutenant puzzled as he held one finger over his lips and made a noise. "Commander, please keep your voice down." Jones said in a hushed voice.
"Why?" Data whispered back. Jones immediately regretted saying anything at all.
"Just because it's the right thing to do, that's all, Commander." Data nodded but by the slightly puzzled expression on his face, he clearly did not understand.
"Why is it the right thing to do, Mr. Jones?"
"Because Dr. Crusher is seriously ill and has fallen into a coma, and it's a sign of respect." The lieutenant said keeping his voice low and getting slightly annoyed at having to explain everything to a so-called 'advanced life form'. Commander Data frequently engaged him in such frivolous conversation in his quest to understand humans better, and it annoyed Jones.
"Perhaps you are confused, Lieutenant. A coma is a state of deep unconsciousness in which the subject is unrousable and does not respond to stimuli such as pain or voices in a room such as this." Data said trying to explain to the lieutenant. Lieutenant Jones sighed and folded his arms in an impatient manner as the android droned on. "Perhaps you are mistaking being in a coma with simply falling asleep. Sleep is a naturally occurring state of unconsciousness..."
"Yes, Commander. I know." Jones said trying to cut in and end the lecture, but Data continued unperturbed.
"... Which is comprised of four stages. Those being Orthodox, where activity of the brain continues but is more rhythmical than when awake and reacts less to outside stimuli, but more than if the patient is in a coma; as in Dr. Crusher's case. Paradoxical sleep is next, where REM and...."
"Mr. Data." Picard interrupted sharply to Jones's relief.
"Yes, sir?" Data said stopping in mid sentence and turning to give the captain his full attention as he moved closer to the android.
"Commander. I'm sure that Lieutenant Jones knows all of what you are lecturing him on..."
Jones nodded.
"Lecturing, sir? I was not aware that I was lecturing anyone. I was simply stating that a coma and sleep are..."
"Data, you're doing it again." Picard cut in slightly annoyed.
"Doing what, sir?" Data asked with a slightly puzzled expression on his face.
"Going off on a side track. Stop. Now, you're supposed to be going down to the planet to carry out an investigation. Please do so now, with no further delay. I need some answers."
"Yes, sir." He turned to Lieutenant Jones. "Lieutenant, you are with me." He said turning back to Picard. "Excuse me, Captain." Data moved off out of sickbay with Jones in tow.
"Gladly." Picard sighed as the sickbay doors closed behind them.
Captain Picard moved over to Dr. Selar, a Vulcan doctor that had transferred to the Enterprise from the Lexington, when the Enterprise had first been commissioned. She was a fine doctor that was a true Vulcan in every respect, perfectly logical all of the time. "Dr. Selar. May I have a word with you in private please?" Picard asked as he approached her.
"Of course, Captain." She replied as he moved off into Dr. Crusher's vacant office, Selar followed immediately behind, and waited patiently for him to begin.
"Doctor. I want to know if Beverly is going to survive. I want to know exactly what is wrong with her and if there is a way to cure whatever it is." Picard sat down in Crusher's chair and faced Selar who remained standing in the middle of the office with her hands draped behind her back.
"Dr. Crusher, as you already know, is in a coma. We don't know how deep a coma she is in at this time and are not likely to find out any time soon either. The brain is such a complex organ of the body and even with twenty- fourth century medicine, it still is not fully understood. I believe Commander Data is gathering information from the planet as to how this may have happened, is he not?" She raised an eyebrow at Picard expecting an answer.
"Yes he is." Picard hated it when Vulcan's did that; it always made him feel inferior somehow.
"Then would it not be logical to wait for his report before I attempt to evaluate the situation any further, and tell you if she will recover?" Selar asked in her infuriating Vulcan way.
"It would be prudent of you to tell me everything you can, so that I can pass it onto Mr. Data, Doctor." Picard said a little impatiently; he was upset and didn't need to be discussing logic with a Vulcan right now.
"That would also be logical, Captain." Selar said turning to the computer console that lay on Dr. Crusher's desk. She flicked a switch and tapped a few buttons and soon Crusher's bio readings were visible to the both of them. "All of Dr. Crusher's readings are quite within the parameters they should be, Captain. Apart from this one," she pointed to a particular wave pattern on the screen. It was quite small and didn't seem to be doing much at all. "This is Dr. Crusher's memory engram pattern, it tells us what is going on in her mind." She traced the pattern with her finger while continuing to explain to Picard. "It is rather suppressed at this time, as you can see but it has spiked three times since she has been unconscious. Each time it does that, her bio readings become very erratic and unstable." She stood up straight again and began pacing back and forth with her hands still draped behind her back.
"The type of pattern is what one might expect from someone suffering with amnesia but this would not result in her being in a coma. It is strange though that this type of engram wave pattern should be seen only at certain times. All of the research done on comas over the past few centuries suggest that the memories are the only active part of the brain when a patient is in a coma, and so the pattern should be much more pronounced than this. Without it, there may be no hope of recovery." She paused, letting it sink in before continuing. "Dr. Crusher is in with a chance if the patterns keep re-surfacing but as I said, when it happens she becomes unstable."
"You can't live with certain memories and you can't live without them." Picard stated more to himself than Selar. "Is there any way to tell how deep a coma she is in at all?"
"No, Captain there is not. Maybe Counsellor Troi would be of more help to you at this time. There is one other doctor that I would recommend who is an expert on neurology though." Selar said, stopping in the middle of the room and facing Picard once more.
"And that is?" Picard asked expectant.
"Dr. Julian Bashir. I believe he is stationed on Deep space Nine at present."
"Yes he is." Picard sighed for the hundredth time that day. "Is there anything else you can do for her?"
"Captain we are doing all we can at this time. Treatment for a coma is for the underlying condition and then complete rest until the patient comes out of it. At this time we don't know what the underlying condition is though." She paused for a second. "I believe Dr. Bashir has been working on some sort of theory on how to bring someone out of a coma but I have no idea as to how far he is with it. I suggest that Counsellor Troi try to help and that you contact DS9, there is nothing more we can do, Captain."
Picard nodded to her. "Thank you, Doctor. I will do as you suggest immediately." He got up and exited the office with a new purpose in mind.
A/N: Please leave a review. Thanks
"Beverly... Beverly? Can you hear me?" Picard asked, shaking her shoulder slightly for any response. He waited for a second, hoping that there would be some sign of recognition but nothing came. He stepped back from the bio-bed and moved over to where Data was standing. He looked back over towards Crusher, lying there, as still as anything he had seen, and with a blue space blanket pulled up to her chest. He spoke to Data who also had turned to look at Crusher. "Commander, I want a full report of what happened down on that planet. I want a full investigation, leave no stone unturned, and I want it as soon as possible. She needs our help." He said gesturing towards his Chief Medical Officer.
"Aye, sir. I will beam down to the planet with an investigation team." Data caught sight of Lieutenant Jones, one of the ships' medical technicians who possessed skills in exotic viruses, and stepped over to where he was working, near Dr. Crusher's bio-bed and where she lay motionless, inert and unresponsive. "Lieutenant. You are required to accompany me on an away mission." He said catching Jones's attention.
"Shhh!" Data looked at the lieutenant puzzled as he held one finger over his lips and made a noise. "Commander, please keep your voice down." Jones said in a hushed voice.
"Why?" Data whispered back. Jones immediately regretted saying anything at all.
"Just because it's the right thing to do, that's all, Commander." Data nodded but by the slightly puzzled expression on his face, he clearly did not understand.
"Why is it the right thing to do, Mr. Jones?"
"Because Dr. Crusher is seriously ill and has fallen into a coma, and it's a sign of respect." The lieutenant said keeping his voice low and getting slightly annoyed at having to explain everything to a so-called 'advanced life form'. Commander Data frequently engaged him in such frivolous conversation in his quest to understand humans better, and it annoyed Jones.
"Perhaps you are confused, Lieutenant. A coma is a state of deep unconsciousness in which the subject is unrousable and does not respond to stimuli such as pain or voices in a room such as this." Data said trying to explain to the lieutenant. Lieutenant Jones sighed and folded his arms in an impatient manner as the android droned on. "Perhaps you are mistaking being in a coma with simply falling asleep. Sleep is a naturally occurring state of unconsciousness..."
"Yes, Commander. I know." Jones said trying to cut in and end the lecture, but Data continued unperturbed.
"... Which is comprised of four stages. Those being Orthodox, where activity of the brain continues but is more rhythmical than when awake and reacts less to outside stimuli, but more than if the patient is in a coma; as in Dr. Crusher's case. Paradoxical sleep is next, where REM and...."
"Mr. Data." Picard interrupted sharply to Jones's relief.
"Yes, sir?" Data said stopping in mid sentence and turning to give the captain his full attention as he moved closer to the android.
"Commander. I'm sure that Lieutenant Jones knows all of what you are lecturing him on..."
Jones nodded.
"Lecturing, sir? I was not aware that I was lecturing anyone. I was simply stating that a coma and sleep are..."
"Data, you're doing it again." Picard cut in slightly annoyed.
"Doing what, sir?" Data asked with a slightly puzzled expression on his face.
"Going off on a side track. Stop. Now, you're supposed to be going down to the planet to carry out an investigation. Please do so now, with no further delay. I need some answers."
"Yes, sir." He turned to Lieutenant Jones. "Lieutenant, you are with me." He said turning back to Picard. "Excuse me, Captain." Data moved off out of sickbay with Jones in tow.
"Gladly." Picard sighed as the sickbay doors closed behind them.
Captain Picard moved over to Dr. Selar, a Vulcan doctor that had transferred to the Enterprise from the Lexington, when the Enterprise had first been commissioned. She was a fine doctor that was a true Vulcan in every respect, perfectly logical all of the time. "Dr. Selar. May I have a word with you in private please?" Picard asked as he approached her.
"Of course, Captain." She replied as he moved off into Dr. Crusher's vacant office, Selar followed immediately behind, and waited patiently for him to begin.
"Doctor. I want to know if Beverly is going to survive. I want to know exactly what is wrong with her and if there is a way to cure whatever it is." Picard sat down in Crusher's chair and faced Selar who remained standing in the middle of the office with her hands draped behind her back.
"Dr. Crusher, as you already know, is in a coma. We don't know how deep a coma she is in at this time and are not likely to find out any time soon either. The brain is such a complex organ of the body and even with twenty- fourth century medicine, it still is not fully understood. I believe Commander Data is gathering information from the planet as to how this may have happened, is he not?" She raised an eyebrow at Picard expecting an answer.
"Yes he is." Picard hated it when Vulcan's did that; it always made him feel inferior somehow.
"Then would it not be logical to wait for his report before I attempt to evaluate the situation any further, and tell you if she will recover?" Selar asked in her infuriating Vulcan way.
"It would be prudent of you to tell me everything you can, so that I can pass it onto Mr. Data, Doctor." Picard said a little impatiently; he was upset and didn't need to be discussing logic with a Vulcan right now.
"That would also be logical, Captain." Selar said turning to the computer console that lay on Dr. Crusher's desk. She flicked a switch and tapped a few buttons and soon Crusher's bio readings were visible to the both of them. "All of Dr. Crusher's readings are quite within the parameters they should be, Captain. Apart from this one," she pointed to a particular wave pattern on the screen. It was quite small and didn't seem to be doing much at all. "This is Dr. Crusher's memory engram pattern, it tells us what is going on in her mind." She traced the pattern with her finger while continuing to explain to Picard. "It is rather suppressed at this time, as you can see but it has spiked three times since she has been unconscious. Each time it does that, her bio readings become very erratic and unstable." She stood up straight again and began pacing back and forth with her hands still draped behind her back.
"The type of pattern is what one might expect from someone suffering with amnesia but this would not result in her being in a coma. It is strange though that this type of engram wave pattern should be seen only at certain times. All of the research done on comas over the past few centuries suggest that the memories are the only active part of the brain when a patient is in a coma, and so the pattern should be much more pronounced than this. Without it, there may be no hope of recovery." She paused, letting it sink in before continuing. "Dr. Crusher is in with a chance if the patterns keep re-surfacing but as I said, when it happens she becomes unstable."
"You can't live with certain memories and you can't live without them." Picard stated more to himself than Selar. "Is there any way to tell how deep a coma she is in at all?"
"No, Captain there is not. Maybe Counsellor Troi would be of more help to you at this time. There is one other doctor that I would recommend who is an expert on neurology though." Selar said, stopping in the middle of the room and facing Picard once more.
"And that is?" Picard asked expectant.
"Dr. Julian Bashir. I believe he is stationed on Deep space Nine at present."
"Yes he is." Picard sighed for the hundredth time that day. "Is there anything else you can do for her?"
"Captain we are doing all we can at this time. Treatment for a coma is for the underlying condition and then complete rest until the patient comes out of it. At this time we don't know what the underlying condition is though." She paused for a second. "I believe Dr. Bashir has been working on some sort of theory on how to bring someone out of a coma but I have no idea as to how far he is with it. I suggest that Counsellor Troi try to help and that you contact DS9, there is nothing more we can do, Captain."
Picard nodded to her. "Thank you, Doctor. I will do as you suggest immediately." He got up and exited the office with a new purpose in mind.
A/N: Please leave a review. Thanks