<USS Avalon> "Road to Recovery"

Road to Recovery
Lieutenant Commander Elissabeth Marksbury 
and Lieutenant First Class Camdell Loyen



Stepping into the physical therapy section of sickbay, Elissabeth wasn't 
exactly happy to be back on this part of the ship this soon. "I'm looking for 
Lt. Loyell," she said softly. 

Cam was expecting the woman who had come in. She did have an appointment. "It?s 
Loyen, actually." He smiled. "You must be Lieutenant Marksbury. Please... come 
in and make yourself comfortable." He stood up and went around the small desk, 
his easy smile still there.

"Lieutenant Commander, actually," she corrected gently. Elissabeth was still 
moving stiffly and almost weakly, nothing like a security officer should move. 

"Forgive me," he said. He could tell that she was uncomfortable, not just 
because of the pain she was feeling, but because of something else as well. He 
wasn't able to read her well enough to tell what at this point. "I understand 
you've had a rough time of it lately. Let's see what we can do about that 
today." He showed her through a door to the therapy room. "What exactly are you 
looking to get help with?"

"Actually, Lieutenant, I'm fairly confident that I could work through all this 
on my own, but I'm here under the Captain's orders. I am very accustomed to 
physical activity and believe I have started a good physical regimen to get 
back in shape." 

He was watching her move. He could tell that she was not moving as well as she 
normally would or should. "I'm sure you are. I am only here to help, if I can," 
he offered. "How about we just get you loosened up a little bit today, hmm?" He 
indicated the therapy table. "Work some of the soreness out of those muscles 
you've been pushing so hard."

"Very well," she replied. "I have a strict workout twice a day, nothing 
rigorous, just for muscle tone and strength." 

Cam helped her up onto table before he went to get her a gown. Handing it to 
her he went to give her some privacy for a moment while she slipped out of her 
uniform and into the gown. He was gone a few minutes, but when he came back, 
she was face down on the table with the gown covering her. Stepping up to the 
table he warmed a bit of oil in the palm of his hand, so he wouldn't shock her 
system to badly. Finally, once he felt the oil was warmed enough, he started to 
work some of the muscles in her shoulders and upper back. "You are certainly 
tied into some good sized knots here, Commander." He said as his fingers worked 
her shoulders and neck.

She smiled slightly, trying not to feel too uncomfortable with the situation. 
The last time that she had gotten a massage like this, it was James... and... 
she cleared those thoughts away as quickly as possible. "I've been told that," 
her soft voice replied. 

Cam didn't want to invade her thoughts and she had cleared them from her mind 
so quickly, he didn't really get a chance to get more than just an impression. 
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard." He was working the muscles down her 
arms, pushing the knots out towards her hands. Cam worked the muscles hard, 
pushing and pulling them to relax away the tension and knots she had worked 
herself into. "What sort of work outs have you been putting your body through?" 
he asked, interested. 

"Just a Tai Chi based workout lately. I haven't... had the energy to make it to 
the gym just yet. The knots are most likely from lack of exercise more than 
anything, I would expect. My body has taken quite a beating as of late." 

"Hmmm," he mused. "I would imagine that would be the case. Dr. Roan mentioned 
how sick you had been." He continued to massage her muscles. He moved lower 
down her back, pushing deep into her muscles with the heal of his hands. "You 
don't want to push yourself too hard. You'll end up sick again and back in 
sickbay."

"I'm aware of that, Lt." The words came out a bit more harshly than she 
intended. "I apologise. I just," the force of his massage at some times made 
her stop and bite her lip slightly, "I assure you that I am doing just fine." 

Cam smiled, not taking any offense at her statement. "Commander, I would be 
happy to help you with your exercises. At least for a while." He stopped 
working her back, having cleared most of the knots away. He slid the gown back 
up so her back was covered and started to massage her hamstrings. The knots 
there seemed to be larger yet than those he had already encountered. "I may not 
put you through as vigorous a workout as you would prefer, but I think you will 
find that in the long run, your endurance will return." He was pushing deep 
into the muscles, working the knots out as he spoke, but his voice was calm, 
not showing the strain of the effort he was exerting. 

Elissabeth bit her lip slightly and tried not to tense as the Lt. kneaded her 
muscles. It felt good in ways, but incredibly painful in others. Funny, she 
thought, you go through radiation poisoning and you call this painful. "I 
will... agree to regular sessions as long as you don't ask me to cease my other 
work out. I haven't been pushing too hard, but I need those exercises to center 
my mind as well as my body. I'm sure you can understand that, Lt."

"All to well," he said. "But I would recommend that instead of Tai Chi, a more 
simple Yoga exercise. More stretching, and the breathing will help you center 
your mind and your body as well. We don't want to push too much. At least not 
right away." He smiled as he worked her legs some more.

"Understood, Lt." 

"Please, I am Cam. I have never particularly cared for titles. I use them when 
I have to, but..." He paused a moment as he found a particularly stubborn knot 
in her leg where her hamstring attached to the back of her knee. Once it was 
going down, he went on...."I've never been that concerned with rank."

"That is your... choice, Lt." 

"We're almost done here, Commander." He kept working. "Is it helping at all?" 

"Yes, I feel better, though my skin is quite sore," she laughed a little. 

He chuckled slightly. "Well a nice soak in the whirlpool will help restore your 
skin a little. Take off the massage oil as well." He smiled at her as he came 
back around. "I'll go set it up for you. You just stay and rest a moment. Let 
your muscles recover some."

"That's a ... bath, right?" 

"Yes. It will help warm your muscles some more. We want to work to help your 
body metabolize some of the lactic acid that your muscles are storing at the 
moment." He paused a moment. "It aids in the recovery process in the muscles. I 
can explain it further if you like, but it really isn't all that interesting," 
he chuckled.

"I... I believe I'll just shower in my quarters, but thank you, Lt." She sat up 
rather abruptly and looked at him, in hopes that he would leave so she could 
dress. 

He nodded. "If you prefer." Cam had a vague sense of her fear of water "I'll 
step out a moment. Let me know when you are ready and I will help you down off 
the table." His tone was such that it was clear that he meant it. "Don't get 
down with out help." But he had a sense that she would ignore it anyway. 

And she did. Elissabeth carefully lowered herself to the floor and moved to 
dress when the fatigue hit her and she scarcely caught herself on the edge of 
the table, knocking off the side tray of items with a very loud clatter. 

Cam came rushing back in at the clatter. He shook his head when he saw her in a 
near heap on the floor. "I warned you," he scolded gently. "Your muscles aren't 
in any shape to hold your weight at the moment." He gently scooped her up and 
set her back on the table. "They need to recover from what we just did to 
them." 

Feeling rather embarrassed, she looked at her hands, then at Cam. "I'm sorry. 
It's a character flaw. I always know that I'm right and I always know better 
than doctors do." She offered him a small but genuine smile. 

He shook his head. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I am not a doctor. 
I'm just a physical therapist," he said as he returned the smile.

"Ah, so I guess that buys you some credit then. I'll... uh, stay on the table 
this time, I promise." 

He nodded. "I'll hold you to that. I'll step out so you can dress." He smiled 
and left again. 

This time, awkward as it was, Elissabeth stayed put and dressed. She made a 
mental note to wear something besides her uniform next time. Lt. Loyen gave her 
ample time and she was ready when he stepped back into the room. 

He came in smiling still. "Alright Commander. You ready to try a few easy steps 
to the office?" he teased gently. "We can set up a schedule for you now, if you 
would like. Or, just another appointment for now....which ever you prefer."

"I'm glad I could be the source of your amusement for the day, Lt." she smiled, 
but nodded. 

He shook his head. "Not at all, Commander. Every one thinks they can handle 
their recovery. It just never ceases to amaze me that so many of them seem to 
handle it with far less dignity than they would want to." He smiled. "I mean no 
disrespect Commander, but you are not that different than most of the 
recovering patients I see. Even if I can't help treat all your injuries." He 
stressed the one word purposely, knowing she would take his meaning. He could 
tell, despite all her efforts to block out the pain she felt. He had known it 
was there.

Narrowing her eyes slightly at his annoying perceptions, Elissabeth nodded and 
was escorted out of the room to set up her next appointment. She had recovered 
well enough to walk on her own and said good-bye politely to Lt. Loyen. 

He watched her walk out of the office and out of sickbay as well. She still 
seemd to be moving slightly gingerly but she was defintely moving better than 
when she had come in. A sense of satisfaction washed over him as he retreated 
back into his office.


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