CHAPTER 39 B

Sick Bay was quiet when they arrived. The staff on duty had gathered around one of the beds and were discussing patient files. The staff looked up as Kate and Kacey entered.

Dr. McCloud stood up and walked towards them.

"Colonel, you are not due for your next scan until next week. Or are you here as a patient?"

"Neither, Doctor," Kate stated. "We would like to talk to you are Kacey's health."

"Certainly, Captain. Go into my office while I collect the Colonel's file."

They walked into the office and waited for the Doctor to arrive. Kacey paced for what seemed like an hour, but in reality it was only for a few minutes.

"Before you wear out my carpet, Colonel, why don't you take a seat?" The Doctor sat behind her desk and opened the chart in her hands. "What is on you mind?"

"I have been finding there are gaps in my memory. When I try to remember, I get headaches, but no memory."

"Can you give me a time frame for these gaps?"

"Mostly from my distant past. I am not sure if the recent past is affected. The ones I have noticed are things like what was my best friend's name and what happened to her? I tried to tell Natalia about her last week, but could not remember her name."

"How old were you?" "I was a teenager. But there are other gaps also. My graduation from the Academy. I know I graduated, the diploma is hanging on my wall, but I can not remember the actual event. Or things like, did I have pets when I was a child?" Kate laughed. "I can tell by Kate's reaction that I did, but I can not remember. Did I get into trouble? Then there is this one gap that is very dark. Something bad happened, the feelings are dark and depressing. I do not know when it happened. "

"Colonel with all your brain has gone through in the last six months, some gaps are to be expected. First the concussion, then the scrambling it took from the EM field. You try to force yourself to remember, which stresses you out and causes the headaches."

"What can I do?"

"Just what you are doing. Dr. DiMarco sent me a copy of her report. I agree with her plan to use hypnosis. It is a proactive approach on your part, which is good."

"Kate will be coming with me for the session."

"For verification that what you are remembering are true memories. If you go through with this, I ask to be present also to monitor your heart and brain activity."

"Is that really necessary?" Kate asked.

"Yes Captain it is very. I will be able to watch for any signs of increased activity and stop the session if necessary."

"What to those scans tell you Doc?" Kacey asked.

"They tell me that your brain is working within parameters."

"What the Hell does within parameters mean." Kacey asked angrily. "Why can't Doctors ever give a straight answer?"

"Easy Kacey." Kate said as she placed her hand on Kacey's arm.

"Colonel, every living creature has brain activity. Every creature is different. Human brain activity is different from say a lion's. And every human is different from each other. Some like yours are very active, others not as active. Before you were approved for this journey you were given a very rigorous physical. They hooked you up to a brain activity monitor and took readings. That is what we call your base line. It is what we compare every scan we take, to. Except for the time you were unconscious, and your brain activity off the charts, all your scans are very close to that base line."

"You don't think there is anything wrong with Kacey's brain?"

"Not in the least." She laid out copies of all the scans they took. "Here is your first one. These next few we took when you had the concussion. There is some decrease, but not a whole lot. Nothing to be concerned about. Now these are the scans when you were unconscious. As you can see, the brain waves are way out of the normal. The activity was out of sight. You can also see when the activity started to diminish until it returned to the base line. These next few are the ones I have been doing since then. They are very close to that base line."

"So she should not worry?" Kate asked.

"A little worry is a good thing Captain. But you should not let it get out of control. You have to find the balance between being proactive and becoming a hypochondriac. From what I have been told about you Colonel, you do not ever go to a Doctor voluntarily."

"That is very true, Doctor. Even as a child Kacey hated going to the Doctor. Luckily she was and is healthy. Kate told her."

"Yet you are voluntarily seeing Dr. DiMarco and you came here today with out a direct order. Why do you think that is?"

"Kate said it earlier. For answers and information."

"Exactly. You need answers and information so you came here. Colonel that is not what a crazy person would do. You are completely sane. If you want to go through with the hypnosis, I will have Dr. Dimarco set it up. It would be better to do it here where we have access to all the machines needed. It will probably take several hours. Is Saturday good for both of you?"

"I am free Saturday. With my wings clipped, I only have paperwork to do." Kacey stated.

"I have nothing planned either. Why so long Doctor?"

"As active as the Colonel's brain is, she may not be readily hypnotized. It make take a combination of relaxing drugs, massage as well as Dr. DiMarco's talents for her to go completely under. If I may ask, why, as you put it, are your wings clipped and who did the clipping?"

"Kate is the only person with the authority to take away my flying privileges. She said my head was not in the game and until it was she grounded me."

"Was she right? Was your head elsewhere?"

Kacey cleared her throat and hesitated before answering. She looked at Kate, who waited to hear her answer. "For the most part, yes she was right. But she was wrong when she accused me of playing chicken with those rocks."

"That sounds like something I would like to hear about."

"No you wouldn't, Doc." Kacey said quickly.

"All right Colonel. I will coordinate things and let you know the time. We will use your home away from home, room four. Take the next two days off and relax. Not just your body but your mind as well. I can give you something to help you relax."

"No thanks, Doc. I have my own way of relaxing." Kacey told her.

"Anything she should avoid?"

"Stressful situations and cut down on the caffeine. None at all on Saturday. Most of all try not to worry."

"Might as well tell me not to breathe." Kacey told her. "Can anyone be allowed to observe this?"

"Do you want to allow that? You can choose to do so. They just will not be allowed to be in the same room. They will still be able to see and hear what is going on."

"My first thought would be no, but then I would have two people pissed off at me, and that would be very stressful."

"All right, I will set up room three for them. Wear comfortable clothes."

"You had better say comfortable and legal clothes. Her comfortable clothes could get her arrested, outside her quarters."