I've never been to Washington State. In fact, I've not been to a lot of places on Earth. I was born in Copernicus City, which is one of the largest cities on the lunar colonies. From there my parents and I moved to Arveda 3. They were a part of one of the first set of colonists. I don't remember much about that point in my life.
I think I was around 3 years old at the time. I remember bits and fragments of my time on Arveda. I remember when the armed conflicts started and I remember hearing the phaser fire and being very afraid.
My mother and father were both physicians. When the fighting broke out they were directly in the line of fire. My Nana has always told me how brave my parents were. She told me that during the conflicts they risked their own safety and wellbeing to treat the injured on both sides of the conflict. That bravery, though, cost them their lives. I asked Nana how it happened since I was too young to remember. She's always been reluctant to speak about it. She was, and still is, so devastated at the loss of my mother who she always said was the joy of her life – her greatest pride and noblest accomplishment.
I don't remember my mother much at all. I have a photograph of my parents' wedding day. She was very beautiful. I have her hair and my father's eyes. In some ways, I see bits of her in Wes.
Nana has always told me what a brilliant doctor she was. She could do almost any procedure without a second thought. She's always been the ideal that I've tried to live up to – she's the elusive goal that I'm always trying to attain. I wish that I could have met her and my father. Sometimes I imagine the conversations that we would have. Sometimes I talk to her about Wes, or my patients, and for a while there most of our pretend conversations revolved around Jean Luc. I hope that wherever she is, she's proud of me and the woman that I've become.
It's summer in San Francisco – which means it's hot almost all the time. But, now as I leave transporter station in downtown Yakima, I realize that I am severely underdressed; it's chilly! But my fixation with the Goosebumps forming on my arms is short lived as I admire the beauty around me. The topography is like nothing I've ever seen before and the clear blue cloud-speckled sky only seems to enhance its majesty.
The town of Yakima itself is rather simple. Unlike San Francisco, which is so littered with skyscrapers that you can't see the skyline from the ground, Yakima is relatively simple. It's untainted by the rampant industrialization of larger cities. The buildings are low to the ground – 5 stories at the maximum. There are small, quaint shops and the people on the street look happy. It's very different from what I'm used to. But, it's the air here that strikes me. It's clean and smog free. It smells almost like the air on Caldos, crisp and warm.
"Beverly?" I turn my head. Hope said she would meet me in town and then she'd take me to her practice.
"Hope!" I always thought that Hope had a graceful sort of beauty. She's a small woman, much shorter than myself. Her hair is long, hanging well past her shoulders and she's gathered it into a plait. She looks carefree in a pair of blue jeans and a light long sleeve top.
"Beverly, you look absolutely stunning! I can't believe it, but you seems to have gotten even prettier with age!"
"Hope! You are very, very kind," I fold her small form into a hug. "I was just to say the same thing about you."
"Thank you. Well, what do you think of Yakima?" She gestures towards the skyline.
"It's beautiful!"
She gestures ahead of her and we begin walking, "well, I'm glad you like it. It is beautiful here. But it's easy to take it for granted when you see it every day. You should see it in the evening when there's a sunset. It's magnificent."
We walk in a brief silence until she stops in front of a ground car. My face must have revealed an expression of shock and I hear Hope laugh, "yeah, we're a little ol' fashion around here. This," she points at her car, "is a refurbished, energy converted, 1996 Buick Roadmaster with original wood siding! My husband, knowing my fixation with 20th century Americana, constructed it for me for my 40th Birthday."
I start to chuckle, "it certainly is unique!"
"Well climb on in and I'll take you for a little drive!" The inside of the car is like something I've only seen on a holodeck. In the 24th century we still have ground cars, but most people op to use hovercars and shuttles for long distances. But here in Yakima, I haven't seen any hovercars and I haven't seen one shuttle in the sky. In fact, when I think about it, there were almost all exclusively ground cars.
The inside of the car doesn't look that unfamiliar. In fact, it looks like the hover car that I learned to drive in – without the modern navigational accoutrements, or the auto navigation control, or any of the touch panels. It is quite simply guileless. Hope starts the ignition and the car rumbles to life.
"So," she turns to me as she steers the vehicle out into the street, "I have to say that I was quite surprised when I got your message."
More and more of this quaint little town is revealed to me as we slowly meander through the streets. She continues, "last time we spoke you were head of Starfleet Medical! And then I learned from Gary Neuschotz that you were CMO of the Enterprise!"
"Yes – it's been quite a ride." I know what's coming, but I'll let Hope ask anyway.
"So, I just have to ask – I mean you're a pretty important woman – why Yakima? I mean, Bev you were near the top in our class and I remember that you had offers coming at you left and right!"
"I know. But, I need a change."
She suddenly sounds concerned, "did something happen? I don't want to pry. I mean you don't have to tell me if it's too personal."
"No. Nothing happened. I was very happy on the Enterprise. It was good work. I was able to do research, treat patients, travel, and experience new cultures etcetera. But, then a month ago I got in an accident-"
"Oh my goodness! Beverly, are you alright?" Hope's voice is pained and full of concern and compassion.
"Yes, I'm fine now."
"What happened?"
"Well I was on an away mission on a planet called Keflotz 7 that had recently gone through a conflict. When we got there, fighting had broken out again. We were rushed into a building and it was there I noticed the wounded and the dead had been lined up along the walls."
"Oh, Beverly, that's horrible."
"Hope," I begin, almost reliving the moment, "you have no idea. Anyhow, I was treating this young woman and that's the last thing I remember before waking up in Sickbay on the Enterprise."
"What injuries did you sustain?"
"Well apparently, a bomb had been launched at the building, knocking down the wall in front of me and burying me under the rubble."
"Oh my goodness, Beverly…"
"Well when I woke up I found out that I had suffered a humeral fracture, femoral fracture, scapular fracture and spinal shock at the level of L4/L5."
"Wow, Beverly that's quite intense!"
"It was. I couldn't walk for a good two weeks until the shock wore off. And then I had to retrain myself to walk."
"And this was all recently?"
"Yes, within the last month and a half."
"And is that why you resigned?"
"No, actually. Uh well I don't know if you remember him – but did I ever introduce you to Jean Luc Picard when we were at the Academy?"
"Um YES. I remember Hottie McHotster! Didn't you two have a thing at one time? Wait, isn't he the Captain of the Enterprise?"
"No, remember I was with Jack. And yes." I'm smiling to myself, Hottie McHotster indeed.
"Oh that's right – I remember Crusher. He came in on one of our study sessions and waited for you until we were done."
"Yes, well Jack was Jean Luc's best friend and well it's a long story but the gist of it is that I married Jack even though I was covertly in love with Jean Luc. Then Jack died in an accident and Jean Luc and I lost contact for a while. Then I applied for the position of CMO on the Enterprise, after not having seen Jean Luc in about a decade. So, over my 6 or so years on the Enterprise, Jean Luc and I rekindled our friendship and then through this long and very convoluted series of events I found out that he was indeed in love with me. Then I got scared and turned him down. And then all of a sudden, after my injury, I came to my senses and now we're engaged."
Hope laughs, "well Beverly, let it be said that your life is anything but dull. That sounds like something out of a 20th century television series! So?"
"Oh right, so Jean Luc and I are engaged and we want to start a family. And before we do so, we want a change of pace and we want to set down some permanent roots."
"Well," Hope turns to car onto small side road. I still can't get over how beautiful it is here. It's so unfettered by modern technology and the frantic pace that I'm used to. "I think you will find that Yakima is certainly a place where you can set down some roots. But, it sounds like you and Jean Luc are used to living a bit of a wild, hectic life – are you sure that you're going to be happy in a place as quiet as Yakima?"
"That's exactly what we're going for."
"So, what is Jean Luc going to do now that he's not a Starfleet captain?"
"He's a bit of an expert in the field of archaeology. He made several very interesting discoveries while on our exploration and he wants to get published. And, he's always had somewhat of a secret passion for teaching. He's been offered professorships at a few universities including the University of Washington."
"Beverly, that's wonderful." She stops the car in front of a building. The front of it is quite quaint. Its construction is a mix of brick, glass, and stone. It's truly lovely. "This is where I work. It's not busy today because it's Sunday and on Sundays I usually only do emergencies. But, uh, the other 5 days a week, we are extremely busy. Since it's just me and my nurse Karla, I have work long 12 to 15 hour days. But, if you decide to come on board, we can both cut those hours down and take on more patients."
We start up the pathway. "I'll show you around the inside." She keys in the door code and we step in.
The inside is clean and airy. The windows bring in a lot of natural light and the view is absolutely breathtaking. The waiting area looks out on miles and miles of fields and you can see farmhouses in the distance. And then on the horizon, Hope points out, is Mount Rainier and Mount Adams. Jean Luc is going to love it here.
"Hope this is wonderful," I exclaim.
"Thanks. We have 4 patient treatment rooms and then one small procedure room where I do small elective and emergency procedures. We don't really do any major surgery. But, I have privileges at the hospital in the nearest city, which is 20 minutes from here by ground car. Sometimes I put myself on the surgical schedule in order to keep myself current and my skills up to par. Look into that if you plan on staying."
We walk through the procedure rooms one by one. They're all differently designed and I like that some are more suited for children and some more for adults. It's a good mix and I can see myself being happy here.
"We have one receptionist and, like I said, one nurse. It's enough some days, but at this point I'm overwhelmed. I have two young boys at home and it seems like I never get a chance to see them or my husband."
"Hope, this is truly impressive. Now, what's your patient flow on a daily basis?"
She looks almost sheepish about what she's going to say, "it can be as high as fifty."
"Fifty!" On the Enterprise I was seeing a maximum of 10 patients a day, and mostly for minor injuries and ailments. That number jumped, though, during a crisis situation.
"We service the rural areas of Yakima and the surrounding valleys and for most people, we're their first point of contact before going to a hospital or a specialist."
"Hope, that is incredible. How have you managed?"
"Barely. It's exhausting work, but it's very rewarding. In fact, it's funny, but I was going to put feelers out for an associate when I got your email. Is this something that you think that you'd like?"
"Yes. It truly is. It'll be a good change of pace – an faster one than what I'm used to, but I think I'll enjoy it."
Hope turns off the lights as we start to exit the building, "it will be. But I'm sure you'll love it, Beverly. You were always so great with patients on rounds I remember. But, the thing you'll have to remember is that out here we're really only treating human patients. I know you might be used to a broader panoply of species."
"Yes, I am. But, I'll have more time to explore other things and work on my research in my downtime."
"You certainly will. Well, how about we get some lunch and continue talking? I know you're probably going to want to talk to Jean Luc first before you commit to anything, but I'd love to catch up."
"Certainly. That sounds wonderful. I am sure that Jean Luc will like it here. And you won't have to wait for a decision for long. I'll probably let you know definitively by this evening."
"Oh? So soon?"
"Yes. Jean Luc is meeting with the head of the archaeology department at UW right now and if he's likes what he sees, then we'll commit."
"Wonderful. Well let's get some lunch. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I know this great little café in town that makes a mean burger and you can tell me about this new romance in your life. I want all the juicy details."
I laugh, "Sounds like a plan – and something that you'll learn about me is that I'm always hungry. Lead on."