Protection

By Mary Elliott

“Damn!”

“What the hell did you do now, Riley?” Sharkey yelled as the rate wiggled out of the vent, holding his bleeding hand.

“Caught it on a jagged piece of metal, Chief. It's not too bad, I can finish the job.”

“Belay that, knucklehead. You're going to Sick Bay. I don't need you bleeding all over the ductwork.” Wrapping a clean rag around the injury, the chief asked in a concerned voice seeing the young surfer growing pale, “Can you make it okay? And why weren't you wearing your gloves for protection?”

Riley’s face reflected both pain and justification. “Too difficult to handle the tools in such tight spot. It's just a scratch. Doc will put a Band-Aid on it and kick me out in five minutes.”

Before Riley left he explained where the damage metal was so it could be repaired and hurried off to get his hand taken care of.

He was a little surprised to see the privacy screen around one of the two exam tables and even more shocked to recognize whom Dr. Jamison was speaking to – the XO. What was he doing here? There haven't been any collision or turbulence, or any rocking 'n rolling of the boat to cause an injury. Like the captain, the exec hated Sick Bay and went to extreme lengths to avoid a visit; usually it took being carried in unconscious. Their attempts, successful or not, were legendary.

The corpsman told him to get on the table so he could examine the injured hand.

“It needs to be cleaned up. Looks like you’re getting a couple stitches.” Wheeling over a cart, John placed the injured hand in a basin filled with light purplish liquid. “There's a lot of grease and dirt. Just let it soak in the antiseptic while I get the suture tray. I think you’ll be more comfortable if you lay down.”

Stu readily agreed since he was feeling a little light headed. He hated to admit it, but the sight of his own blood always affected him this way. In high school, he passed out when a knife slipped while he was mincing an onion in home ec class. Shuddering to think how Ski and the rest would rag on him if they knew about his weakness, Riley averted his eyes, refusing to look at the now more red than purple liquid.

Trying to distract himself, he looked over at the nearby screen, wondering why Mr. Morton was there. He didn’t want to eavesdrop on the private conversation but it was difficult not to considering the closeness of the two gurneys.

“I'm really disappointed in you, Chip. Coming to me with a problem like this. You're no wet behind the ear kid. You knew the dangers. Why didn't you use protection?”

“Come on, Jamie, don't be mad. I'm always careful, but, welllll, this time she looked at me with those big blue eyes. Then she smiled at me. We were having such a good time; I didn't want to disappoint her.”

Riley was getting an earful. There was plenty of scuttlebutt on board the boat about both senior officers’ many conquests, but he couldn't believe someone so experienced was so – well – stupid in this day and age.

“This still doesn't explain why you didn’t use protection.”

“I did put it on, but it was too small and very uncomfortable. I took it off. Anyway, everything was over in a couple minutes.”

Stu about fell off the gurney – too small! Glancing over he saw John was still busy, so he continued to pay attention to the increasingly interesting conversation.

“It only takes a second to become infected. Now, turn on your side. This injection goes in the buttock. It might sting a little.” There was a muffled grunt and Dr. Jamieson spoke again. “Okay, you can zip up now. Remember Commander Morton, you're the executive officer of Seaview, the greatest submarine in the world. What would the crew think if they knew about this?”

“I'm more worried about what Lee would say. I'll never live it down. You don't have to tell him, do you? I promise, next time I'll use protection.”

“No, of course not. Your medical files are confidential. Now get out of here.”

As the screen was pushed aside, it gave Stu a chance to shift his position, facing the other direction pretending to be half-asleep. The doctor, seeing another patient hurried over, closely followed by Chip.

“What happened, Riley?”

Stu feigned a yawn. “Not much, Mr. Morton. Just tangled with a piece of metal. Couple stitches and I'll be fine.”

“Thank you, Dr. Riley. Mind if I offer a second opinion?”

The man’s chagrin was genuine. “Sorry, Doc. John told me it wasn't much. He's getting the equipment to stitch me up.”

Dr. Jamison finished the exam, assured the XO that Riley would return to duty tomorrow and sent Chip on his way. The cut was quickly closed and bandaged. The young man was released to his quarters. Riley stopped off at the crew’s mess for a cup of coffee. Sitting down next to Burke and Simpson he brought up parts of what he’d overheard in Sick Bay. He would never divulge the reason for Mr. Morton's visit. But the mysterious blue-eyed girl who had the XO dancing to her tune was something to discuss. Who was the new lady in Mr. Morton’s life?

"And just how do you know about this woman? Did you see them together?"

"No, Burke, but my source is very reliable. She's a blue eyed beauty with a killer smile and has the XO wrapped around her little finger.”

"I'd paid to see someone bossing him around."

"Knock off that kind of talk, Burke. You're just po'd you got extra duty because he caught you slacking off."

"Speaking of slacking off, I'm on duty in fifteen minutes."

"And I'm going to hit the rack, Simpson. The pain pills are kicking in."

Riley was the first to exit the mess and ran into the captain and exec in the corridor.

"I heard about the accident, Riley. How's the hand?"

"Not too bad, Captain. Doc gave me something for the pain. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"Good, so it won't interfere with your surfing next week when we reach Pearl."

"Speaking of surfing, Riley. Do you give lessons?"

"Lessons, Mr. Morton?"

Lee shook his head knowing where this was going. "Jenny really has you under her control, doesn't she? One look from those baby blues of hers and she gets what she wants."

"Hey, I just thought it would be a nice present for her ninth birthday. At least let her learn the fundamentals."

The skipper laughed and walked away. Chip unconsciously rubbed his butt and Stu heard him muttering under his breath, "Anything to get her mind on something new."

Suddenly realizing his big blunder, Riley assured Mr. Morton he would be happy to show the birthday girl how to surf. After Chip left, Riley felt a presence behind him and cringed, knowing it was Simpson.

"So the XO has a new girlfriend? I think you better check with your source again, Riley."

Stu didn't say anything, just hurried away to his quarters, grateful he had kept his big mouth shut about the rest he thought he’d overheard.

Back in his office, Dr. Jamison was making notes in Chip Morton's medical file. Jamie knew he shouldn't have been so upset with Chip, but his medical history of having problems with antibiotics worried the doctor. Both Lee's and Chip’s dislike of all things medical made the problem worse. If Chip had come to Jamie right away, today's visit would have been unnecessary.

Finishing off his notes, Jamie tossed the file back into the first desk drawer, right on top of Lee's. The doctor liked to keep them both close at hand considering the numerous times he needed them. He had to laugh at Chip's anxiety that his best friend would find out about this latest escapade. Chip didn't know that Lee had sought Jamie’s medical help three months ago when he engaged in similar activity with the same blue-eyed beauty. When Seaview docked, Dr. Jamison was going to place a call and have a serious discussion with the young lady in question and her mother. Chip’s niece was going to have to stop using her eight-year-old charm to bend the two men to her will. Lee’s sprained wrist and Chip’s badly infected leg from two separate skate boarding accidents was just too much – if only they would have used the proper protection.