.NOTE: As I mentioned earlier, I realize Dr. Puri was referred to as "he" in both the movie and book. However, since he didn't get much screen time :), I decided to make the character female because it worked better for my story. I apologize to the purists (no pun intended).

Rating: PG-13 for language

Disclaimer: Would love to own ST, but I just borrow the characters and return them intact

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Two hours later, Pike was breathing on his own, as if the emergency had been merely a bad dream. McCoy decided to let him sleep. He'd been through enough today; the least McCoy could do was give him additional energy – and time – to face the future.

He jotted down some notes for the afternoon medical staff meeting. Physical exams for incoming crew – himself included, he noted with irony – still needed to be completed. He had to check on where his staff stood in term of their Professional Qualification Standards. He probably should pull the ones for CMO – see how he was doing. There was required crew first aid training to organize, a simulated mass casualty drill to run. They'd already done the real thing but Starfleet had its rules.

He checked his chronometer. Twenty minutes until the department head meeting Jim had called. He hadn't more than glanced at the invite and hoped he hadn't been tasked with some presentation he hadn't prepared. The daily report on the status of all patients was two days behind. The duty schedule needed to be approved. And he should follow up with Jim from a medical stantpoint to make sure all the injuries really had healed.

And then there was Captain Pike. They'd be at Starbase 17 in four days and, for all his ministrations, the Captain's condition wasn't much changed. McCoy couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't something else he could have, should have, done.

"Need some help here!"

Through the glass walls of his office he saw Ensign Ngo brought into the medical bay supported by two colleagues from engineering. He still didn't know most of the crewmen aboard the Enterprise; Ngo he knew only too well.

He was at their side in an instant, guiding the group to the nearest exam room. "What happened?"

"Keeled over," one of the men replied. "Said her stomach hurt. We brought her right here."

He decided not to berate them for transporting an injured crewmember without first consulting medical; that would be topic one for the next first aid training. After dismissing the men, he focused his attention and his scanner on his patient. Nurse Collins entered the room as he started his examination.

"Lisa, when did the pain start?"

"I'm okay."

Yeah, that's why you were half-carried to the medical bay. What was it with folks on this ship? Why would no one admit to feeling ill? No fever, vital signs okay. Abdomen was normal. He continued scanning. It didn't take long to get an answer, one that neither he nor his patient was going to like. He clicked off the scanner.

"Lisa, it looks like you have an ovarian cyst." GYN issues were something he hadn't dealt with since internship other than a short course at the Academy. Shit, he was expected to be an expert on everything. "I need to do a more complete exam."

She didn't even look at him. "Forget it."

He did not have the energy for this. "Sorry, not an option."

"I don't want you examining me."

Of course she didn't and he had a pretty good idea why. He exchanged a quick look with Collins who seemed somewhat surprised at the development. "Nurse, could you give us a minute."

"Of course, Doctor."

The instant she left the room, Lisa was on him. "Leonard, I can't do this. I'll see a nurse or whatever, but not you."

This is why Starfleet assigned two physicians, usually of different genders, to each starship. It gave patients at least some choice. Fate in the form of Captain Nero had taken that choice away from Lisa Ngo.

Would you stop acting like a child and let me do my job? is what he wanted to say. What he did say was, "I understand. But you need to be diagnosed by a doctor and right now I'm the only doctor on this ship." Stay calm and understanding, he reminded himself. Bedside manner 101.

"Leonard, we're friends. We dated, for god's sake."

Platonically, McCoy reminded himself. "Lisa, I'm a doctor. My job is to take care of people when they're sick. That's all I'm trying to do here."

"I can't do this."

"You have to do this."

"We're almost to Starbase 17. Just dope me up until we get there."

"I can't just dope you up until I know what's wrong with you. If it's a cyst, I can take care of it in less than an hour. You'll be back in your room by bedtime."

"No."

McCoy took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Civilian patients had the right to refuse treatment. Not so in Starfleet. As CMO, his word in medical matters aboard ship was law. He hated himself for what he was about to say. Medically, he was spot on; as a human being, he was being a total jerk. "Lisa, I know you don't want me to be your doctor. But as CMO, you're my medical responsibility and I have to do what I think best for you. It'll be a lot easier for both of us if you cooperate."

In the end, he'd completed the exam, which revealed what he'd expected. The surgery was straightforward and effective. Lisa Ngo had been released from medical a few hours later, physically healed and still furious with the CMO.

McCoy sat in his office, dictating the surgical notes. Once he'd finished, and made rounds, he could return to his cabin and maybe get a full night's sleep for the first time since he'd taken over as CMO. The very thought of a darkened room, crisp sheets, and a warm blanket was intoxicating.

"Doctor McCoy?" Nurse Collins leaned against the doorframe.

He couldn't help but smile. "Come on in."

He looked her over critically. Collins had almost single-handedly cared for Captain Pike since he'd been brought into the medical bay and it was starting to take its toll. She looked exhausted. McCoy reminded himself to make sure she and the other members of his staff got the rest they all desperately needed.

"Doctor McCoy, Ensign Ngo is a friend of yours, isn't she?"

"Sit down, Collins." He gestured to an empty chair. "Yes, she is." Or, after the events of today, was. "Three years at the Academy. We studied together, even dated a few times."

"And you're friends with Captain Kirk."

He grinned. "Sometimes."

"Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Only if you stop calling me 'sir.'"

She favored him with a smile. "Sir – Doctor. You've only been onboard a few days. This is my third tour on a starship. Trust me, after a few weeks, you'll know all your patients. You'll eat with them, go on away missions with them, work out with them, drill with them. At some level, they'll all become your friends."

"And your point?"

"I know it was difficult for you to treat Ensign Ngo. With all due respect, get used to it. On this ship, you're their doctor, whether they like you, trust you, or couldn't give a shit. If they want a choice of doctors, they can go back to Earth."

"Patients have the right to choose—"

"Bullshit. Excuse me, sir – Doctor. On this ship, the only right they have is the right to first-rate medical care. You give them that and a heck of a lot more. The fact they don't want to undress for you, or show up for their appointments, or let you see their psych profiles is too damned bad. And if you let them get away with it, even a little bit, you'll be useless as the CMO." She smiled. "Sir."