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“Sickbay to Captain Picard.” Jean-Luc woke immediately at the sound of his communicator, alert and ready for whatever event needed him, no matter what the time.
“Picard here.”
“Sir, we need you in Sickbay at once.” Jean-Luc called out for the time and when the computer returned that it was past two in the morning, he glared, although it was unseen.
“At oh two hundred? This can’t wait until morning? Where’s Beverly?”
“Sir, it would be best if you came as soon as possible. And replicate a mask to wear before leaving your quarters.” Jean-Luc thought this was a very strange request, but perhaps something had been released into the air and he needed to protect himself...though if that were the case, why hadn’t Beverly informed him – or the bridge – to issue an alert?
“Where’s Bev – Doctor Crusher?”
“Sir, please just get here as soon as you can.” Jean-Luc sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
“I’m on my way.” He walked into his bathroom to splash water on his face in an attempt at waking himself up and he studied himself in the mirror. He had a few overnight whiskers, but he really didn’t have time to shave, so he left it and hurried into his uniform. His last act before leaving his quarters was replicating the face mask Alyssa Ogawa had asked him to wear.
He encountered not a single member of crew on his way to the turbolift or in the corridor near Sickbay. He entered with trepidation, afraid to find out what was going on and why Beverly hadn’t contacted him. Sickbay was empty of both patients and staff and Beverly’s office was dark. Nurse Ogawa, clad in a full decontamination suit, beckoned for him to follow her and she led him back toward the Quarantine and Decontamination room silently. She opened the outer door, and indicated for Jean-Luc to enter first. He did and as he was expecting her to follow, he found the door swung shut behind him and the inner door opening.
Beverly was there. She was in her full uniform, and she softly smiled when she saw him, but quickly looked down at his hands. He spoke through the mask.
“Beverly?” She sighed.
“Please take off your uniform and lay on the bed.” He gave her a puzzled look. “And you can take off the mask.”
“Alright. Beverly, what’s going on?”
“Well....it seems we have a small outbreak of Syclicomalova Virus.” He raised his eyebrows.
“How small?” She eyed him and waited for him to begin to remove his uniform.
“Three.” He nodded and stripped down to his undershirt and boxers and got up on the bed.
“And I assume you and I....?” She nodded.
“We’re two.”
“Who is the other person?”
“Lieutenant Barclay.” Jean-Luc groaned. Beverly pulled out her tricorder and began scanning. “I never would have guessed that for once he actually had a real disease. He’s always insisting he has this or that and I usually run a generic scan and send him on his way with a placebo. We’re lucky I drew blood this time.”
“So how did I get this?” Beverly pursed her lips.
“When I kissed you.” His eyebrows rose.
“You kissed Lieutenant Barclay?” Beverly snorted.
“No. But he sneezed on me this afternoon when he was in Sickbay. I’ve asked him for a list of anyone he interacted with, but you know how private he is. He went straight from Sickbay to the holodeck and claims he didn’t see anyone. I went straight from Sickbay to your quarters for dinner, so it looks like it’s only affected us.”
“I....I see. So....now what?”
“I tested positive. If you did, then it’s quarantine for us for five days.” Jean-Luc’s eyebrows rose.
“Five days? With Lieutenant Barclay?” Beverly snorted.
“No...just me. I put him in quarantine room two. I thought it’d be best to leave him on his own.” Jean-Luc nodded in relief. Reginald Barclay was a good engineer, but Jean-Luc hadn’t relished needing to be cooped up with him for five days. He turned his eyes towards Bevelry.
“Beverly, I can’t run the ship from Sickbay.”
“I know. I can’t run Sickbay from in here, either, but we’re both going to have to try because if this is allowed to run rampant through the ship...well, you remember what happened last time?” Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide.
“The....promiscuity?”
“Well, I don’t think it will lead to that, but we can’t have the entire ship ill.” Jean-Luc nodded. Beverly reached for the device that would draw blood and pressed it to the inside of his elbow. “Sorry,” she said when he winced. “Want me to kiss it and make it better?” Jean-Luc wiggled his eyebrows.
“Beverly, if all you needed was to draw blood, why did you have me take off my uniform?” She smirked.
“I just like you in your shorts.”
“I see.” Jean-Luc watched, amused, as Beverly brought his blood sample over to her microscope in the corner and began issuing commands to it. He strode over to the replicator in the corner and replicated a pair of pyjamas for himself and a set for Beverly while he watched her. She was concentrating on the viewscreen in front of her with her tongue between her teeth, and Jean-Luc thought she looked beautiful. Beverly looked up.
“It’s positive.”
“Brilliant.” He held out the pyjamas to Beverly and glanced around the room. “So, this is to be our home for five days?”
“Yep.” Beverly headed towards the screened off area in the corner to change . “At least the bed will be comfortable.” Jean-Luc glanced over at the beds in the corner. They were standard Starfleet beds, but not bio beds, which was a bit better. Not as comfortable as the bed in his quarters, but it would do. He noticed the beds had been pushed close together and were topped with a single double sized blanket to share. He grinned.
“Beverly, is the monitor turned on?”
“Yes,” she called from the corner. “It’s standard, but I suppose since you have a doctor with you, we could disable it.”
“I’d feel more comfortable.”
“I’ll deactivate it when I’m done here.” Beverly came out from behind the privacy screen with her hair tied back clad in the pyjamas Jean-Luc had replicated. She ordered the cameras to turn off and stop recording and Jean-Luc smiled at her.
“Thanks.”
“I’ve only ever turned that off once before.”
“Oh?”
“When you were recovering from the Borg. I didn’t want anyone else to see you like that or try to use it against you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Beverly glanced around the room. “I suppose I should have told you to bring a book along or something.”
“Plenty of books available to download onto a PADD. But thank you for thinking about me. I suppose I need to turn over the ship to Will Riker for a few days.”
“Probably for the best.” Beverly began scrolling through the media options for the large screen. “Want to watch a film?”
“Sure.” Jean-Luc sat on the small sofa next to Beverly and wrapped an arm around her as they began to watch the film flicker across the screen. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I suppose if I have to be in quarantine with anyone, I’m glad it’s you.”