EPISODES FEATURING CHEZ SANDRINE - illustrated episode excerpt

LIFESIGNS

The crew answers a distress call from a small alien spacecraft and beams its occupant into Sickbay. The deathly-ill and unconscious Vidiian female is suffering from the phage, a virulent disease which has ravaged her people for millennia. She has an implant in her parietal lobe which stores and processes her synaptic patterns, and transmits neural-electrical impulses to the rest of her body's systems supplementing the higher brain functions. The implant itself is functioning but is connected to mostly dead nerve cells which, if left untreated, will leave her brain-dead in minutes. To postpone her oncoming death, the Doctor puts her decaying body into stasis and transfers her synaptic patterns into Sickbay's holobuffer before they degrade. He uses the undamaged chromosomes in her cerebellum to re-create her original DNA code then has the computer create a holographic body that reflects the way she would look if she were healthy and not afflicted by the phage, in order to aid him when he comes to treating the real body. Finally he uses transporter records to re-create her clothing. When she revives, she is astonished and grateful for his creativity, even though the Doctor explains that this is just a temporary measure until he can stabilise her real body as she cannot survive long in holographic form. She introduces herself as Dr Danara Pel, a haematologist. She was helping to treat an outbreak of the phage on Fina Prime and was on her way home. Voyager is travelling to Danara's home planet, a journey that will take 22 days. Torres agrees to donate a gramme of her brain tissue to be grafted onto Danara's brain, for the Vidiians discovered during Torres' imprisonment (in [#14 Faces]) that Klingon DNA is more resistant to the phage than that of other species.

It will take several days before they know if the graft works, so the Doctor suggests shutting down Danara's program, but she objects. Danara: "But I have so much energy!" Excited: "I don't know, maybe it's the excitement of the surgery or, or maybe it's this new body. What I'd really like to do is take a walk and see the rest of your ship." Danara: "Alright. Thank you." Doctor: "On second thought, there is some place else we could go."

In the Chez Sandrine holoprogram Neelix is playing pool with Paris. There are numerous holo-characters there. An accordion-player plays dance music.

Danara and the Doctor are seated at a table. Danara: "It's wonderful. If I had a place like this to go to, I'd be there every day." Doctor: "Don't your people have recreational facilities?" Danara: "Congregation in groups is strictly regulated. It's considered to be a threat to public health." Doctor: "A wise policy." Danara: "I suppose. Sometimes I think my people spend so much time trying to save lives, they don't know how to live any more."

Neelix comes up to the table. "Doctor! Aren't you going to introduce me to your date?"

Doctor: "She's not my date. She's my patient." Neelix: "I'm sorry. I didn't realise." Doctor: "Mr Neelix, this is Dr Danara Pel." Neelix to Danara: "As chief morale officer, may I be the first to welcome you to Voyager."

The Gigolo comes up. "Madame, your loveliness illuminates our dark little cavern. May I have the pleasure of this next dance?"

He reaches for Danara's hand, but she automatically pulls away, shocked by the fact that he was going to touch her.

Doctor, understanding Danara reaction: "Go away, immediately, both of you. You're disturbing my patient."
Gigolo to the Doctor: "You are just jealous because you cannot dance!"
Neelix to the Gigolo: "Let's go. You're making the lady nervous." To Danara: "Nice to meet you."
They leave.
Doctor: "I apologise."
Danara: "No. They were just being nice."
Doctor: "Irritating, isn't it?"
Danara: "I guess I'm just not used to so much attention. Where I come from, when you're as sick as I am, people, healthy people, stay away from you. I guess I forgot for a second that I don't look like that any more."
Doctor: "It's a natural response."

Danara: "All this talk about me. There's still so much I'd like to know about you." Doctor: "There's not much to tell really. My program was developed by Dr Lewis Zimmerman in a lab on Jupiter Station. I was activated on stardate 48308. Since that time I've performed 347 medical exams, healed 11 compound fractures, performed 3 appendectomies, and in my greatest feat of medical prowess I once cured Mr Neelix of an acute case of the hiccups." Danara laughs. "You're very funny." Doctor: "I am? Well, several clinical studies have shown humour to be very therapeutic. Consider it part of your treatment. What is it?" Danara: "It's, er, just that I, I haven't laughed in a very long time. Thank you."

There is an awkward silence between them. "Well, what did that man mean when he said you can't dance?" Doctor: "That's dancing."

Danara: "And you can't do it?" Doctor: "It's not part of my programming." Danara: "Oh. I see."

Doctor: "Well, Dr Pel-" Danara: "Please, call me Danara." Doctor: "As you wish, Danara." Danara: "And what about you? What should I call you?" Doctor: "Well, as I said-" Danara: "I know. You don't have a name. Would it be alright if I gave you one?" Doctor: "Well, I-" Danara: "How about - Shmullus?"

Doctor: "Shmullus." Danara: "It was my uncle's name. He used to make me laugh too." Doctor: "Dr Shmullus. I think I like the sound of that."

After their enjoyable evening together, they transfer back to Sickbay where the Doctor feels it best that her program be deactivated for at least eight hours.
Doctor: "Alright. Computer-"
Danara: "Shmullus."
Doctor: "Yes?"
Danara: "I had a wonderful time."
Doctor: "I'm pleased."
Danara: "Thank you, for everything."
Doctor: "Thank you for giving me a name." Embarrassed without knowing why, he falls back on: "Er, well, good night, Danara."
Danara: "Good night, Shmullus."

The Doctor confides in Kes who reveals a fact that startles him.
Doctor: "I've been experiencing periodic lapses in concentration and difficulty handing objects. There may be a malfunction in my tactile acuity subroutine."
Kes: "How long has this been going on?"
Doctor: "About two or three days."
Kes: "Since Danara came aboard."
Doctor: "What's your point?"
Kes: "Maybe she's the reason you're feeling this way."
Doctor: "I fail to see a connection."
Kes: "Maybe you're attracted to her."
Doctor: "I told you, my program's malfunctioning."
Kes is amused. "Romance is not a malfunction!"
Doctor: "Romance is not part of my programming."
Kes: "Your programming's adaptive, isn't it?"
Doctor: "Yes."
Kes: "Then I'd say it's adapting."
Doctor: "What if I don't want it to adapt right now?"
Kes: "Why wouldn't you?"
Doctor: "Because I don't like what's happening to me. I'm used to being in control of my faculties, confident of my decisions. But lately, whenever Danara's program is deactivated and I should be concentrating on my work, I find myself thinking of nothing but her."
Kes: "Why don't you reactivate her?"
Doctor: "Because whenever I do that, I suddenly feel unsettled, unsure of myself, and I have no idea what to say. Why would people seek out situations which induce such unpleasant symptoms?"
Kes: "Because when the other person feels the same way you do, it's the most wonderful thing in life."
Doctor: "Suppose, hypothetically, of course-"
Kes: "Of course."
Doctor: "I wanted to pursue that possibility. How would I proceed?"
Kes: "You'd have to tell her how you feel."
Doctor: "That's it? Just tell her how I feel?"
Kes: "Otherwise you may never know how she feels."

The Doctor is performing treatment on Danara's real body, assisted by Kes and observed by Danara. Doctor: "I'm going to try stimulating your motor neurons. Well, the nucleus cuneatus appears to be functioning normally. And now for the anterior thalamic pathway. Excellent. By the way, Danara, I've been meaning to tell you." Danara: "Yes?" Doctor: "I'm romantically attracted to you and wanted to know if you felt the same way."

Danara is stunned by the sudden impact of his words. Kes is stunned in a different way - by the bluntness. The Doctor asks Danara: "Is something wrong?" Danara: "No, I-" Doctor: "Did you understand what I said?" Danara: "Yes." Doctor: "Well?"

Kes: "Doctor, maybe now isn't the time to..." Doctor: "Excuse me, Kes. I was speaking to Danara."

Danara, having to think quickly: "I think it's best if we keep our relationship professional."

Doctor: "Oh."

He tries to hide his upset by pressing on with the treatment. "I'm going to try simulating the posterior sciatic nerve."

In the Chez Sandrine holoprogram, Paris is at a table on his own, drinking. The Doctor enters, sees him and comes up to him. Paris: "Doc, what brings you here? Is somebody sick?" Doctor: "Actually, Mr Paris, I was looking for you." Paris: "Oh. Well, pull up a chair." But the Doctor remains standing. Doctor: "Mr Paris, I assume you've had a great deal of experience of being rejected women." Paris: "Oh, thanks a lot, Doc." Doctor: "What I'd like to know is, what does one do to recover from the unpleasant symptoms of romantic rejection?"

Paris: "Why the sudden interest in romance?" Doctor: "I can't tell you. It's a matter of doctor-patient confidentiality."

Paris: "Ah. Alright." Thinking: "Well, let's see." He explains: "Sometimes there's not a lot you can do to get over a woman you really care about."

He goes up to the bar to get another drink. "I remember when Susie Crabtree dumped me back in my first year at the Academy. I broke out in hives. Couldn't get out of bed for a week. I almost failed Stellar Cartography. I walked around in a daze for the rest of that year. Of course, the first one is always the hardest to get over."

Doctor: "I see." He sinks into a chair.

Paris: "But eventually you start thinking about her less and less, until finally, without realising it, she's not on your mind any more." Doctor: "So, the symptoms do subside over time." Paris: "For the most part. But every now and then, even years later, something reminds you of her. A certain smell, a few notes of a song, and suddenly you feel just as bad as the day she told you she never wanted to see you again. If you want to know the honest truth, Doc, you never completely get over a woman you really cared about."

The Doctor closes his eyes and rests his head in his hand. "Wait a minute, Doc. We're not talking about you, are we?"

Doctor: "I told you, it was confidential." The Doctor's reaction confirms Paris' suspicion. "Oh! Boy, you've got it bad. Look, Doc, I don't mean to intrude, but if you tell me what's going on, maybe I can help."

Meanwhile, in Sickbay, Kes gets Danara to admit to her that she really does like the Doctor.

Kes: "You really like him, don't you?" Danara's reaction gives the answer.

Kes: "Then why didn't you tell him that you felt the same way when he told you that he was attracted to you?"
Danara: "I don't know. It all happened so fast. He just blurted it out."
Kes: "He's very blunt. You shouldn't take it personally."
Danara: "How could he possibly have those kinds of feelings about me?"
Kes: "Maybe because you're compassionate person, a brilliant doctor, you appreciate his humour. Shall I go on?"
Danara: "Please don't."
Kes: "One thing you're not very good at is accepting a compliment. The next time someone has something nice to say about you, maybe you should just take them at their word and feel good about yourself."
Danara: "It's not easy to feel good about yourself when you're used to living your life," looking at her real body, "like that."
Kes: "Danara, I can't pretend to know what your life's been like. But I do know there's nothing sadder than a missed opportunity. Maybe what you and the Doctor need is to spend some time together, alone."

Chez Sandrine holoprogram. Paris: "Sounds to me like she might just be shy. I think you scared her off." Doctor: "I did?" Paris: "Your approach is all wrong."

Doctor: "Well, what would be the right approach?" Paris: "Women like romance. They want men to make an effort, take them some place special." Doctor: "Where would I take her?" Paris: "Come with me, Doc. I've got an idea."

Doctor: "Doctor's personal log, stardate 49504.3, inaugural entry. Kes and Mr Paris have conspired to get Danara and me alone together in a place Paris considers romantic. I've never felt more uneasy."

The Doctor is on the Holodeck. The holo-environment is that of the surface of Mars, he is sitting in a Chevy and above him are the stars - a very romantic setting. Danara beams in. He showers her with presents and they talk for a while.

The Doctor puts the radio on and a romantic song plays: 'I Only Have Eyes For You'. Doctor: "I downloaded a new dancing subroutine program into my program this morning. Would you like to get out and try it?" Danara: "Actually, I wouldn't mind just sitting here for a while." Doctor: "You wouldn't?"

Danara: "Those moons and star formations are so different from anything I've ever seen before."
Doctor: "Well, if you're interested, I could point out a few astronomical highlights. You see that bluish planet there? That's called Earth." He points out other stars.

As he talks, she moves closer. At first he is nervous about it.

Then he realises that the time is right - what they most want to do is kiss.

Afterwards she snuggles up to him and he puts his arm around her tenderly.

He closes his eyes, enjoying being with her, and feeling very happy and content.

Their romantic time together continues.

However, later, in Sickbay, the Doctor is shocked to discover that Danara's brain is rejecting the graft due to elevated levels of nytoxinol in her body. He does not understand what could have gone wrong and is on the verge of calling Tuvok to report sabotage, when Danara admits to injecting her (real) body with nytoxinol. She sabotaged the treatment because she does not want to return to her diseased body even though the alternative will be death within days.

Doctor: "Danara, do you think if you go back into your own body, I'll feel different about you?" Danara: "Won't you?" Doctor: "Listen to me. Nothing could ever change the way I feel about you, not a few scars, not some diseased skin, nothing." Danara: "You have given me the most extraordinary gift that anyone has ever given me. You, you brought me to this ship where no one is sick and, and people are friendly. You've made me healthy and beautiful. I don't want to go back to the way things were!" Doctor: "You said before you knew me that you were just a disease. Well, before you, I was just a projection of photons held together by forcefields. A computerised physician doing a job, doing it exceptionally well of course, but still it was just a profession, not a life. But now that you are here and my programming has adapted, I'm not just working any more. I'm living, learning what it means to be with someone, to love someone. I don't think I can go back to the way things were either. Danara, please. Don't die." Danara: "I want us to be together." Doctor: "So do I." Danara: "But if you put me back in that body, I'll have to go home and help my people." Doctor: "I know. But we'd still have two weeks together before we reached your colony. Danara, please, be with me for as long as you can." Danara: "Yes."

The Doctor is in the Chez Sandrine holoprogram, alone, waiting for Danara. She enters - in her real body. He is pleased to see her.

Doctor: "Computer, play music program Doctor Alpha." Slow accordion dance music plays.