Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Side sim: After-Shift Meetup

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Side sim: After-Shift Meetup

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Side sim: After-Shift Meetup
Posted by… suppressed (42) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
She lead the way to the lift and up to deck 4. Her quarters were past sickbay, almost on the other side of the deck. She pressed the controls and the doors slid open. Her quarters were standard. All one room. Her uniform was tossed at the end of her bed, a duffle sat open on her desk, and a crate was cracked open but not unpacked. On a side table by the couch was an actual coffee machine, with various insulated cups and paraphernalia beside it. “Come on in.” She stepped through and out of the way so he could enter and allow the door to shut.

Bethany

Aasrel stepped in behind her, looking around slowly, taking in the space. “Nice setup.” He commented. “Ah, the famous coffee maker. Maybe one day I’ll be up early enough to take advantage of it.” Probably not. He could barely drag himself out of bed. He stood politely near the door.

~ Aasrel

She shrugged, “Standard quarters. Though I am glad to not have to share the bathroom anymore. I haven’t really unpacked yet.” Bethany laughed. “Well, let’s fix that.” She tugged his hand, “You can sit down. Anywhere you want.” She moved over to the coffee machine. She dug into the crate and pulled out a mostly full container of coffee. She began scooping the dark rich grounds into a filter and placed it inside and then flipped it on. “Don’t worry, this one is decaf.” She sat down on the couch while it brewed.

Bethany

Aasrel sat down on the couch. “I was promoted to CMO recently. I’m still not used to department head quarters,” he commented. When she sat on the sofa, coffee maker on, he reached his hand over next to her for her to take. “Good. Caffeine will keep me up all night… More than I already am.”

~ Aasrel

“Same.” She turned so she was sitting sideways with one leg tucked under her. She folded her arm across the back of the couch and leaned her head on her hand. She smiled and took his hand when he set it next to hers. “When this all started, with my health, I thought I was drinking too much caffeine, so I stopped. Now, it works better to keep me awake. I have enough trouble sleeping, I don’t need to make it worse.”

Bethany

Aasrel nodded. “I used to run on caffeine, ever since Academy, anyway. Now I avoid it if I can. It makes me anxious, keeps me awake at night. I don’t need that.” He gave her a more serious look, giving her hand a little squeeze. “I hope we find the answer to your illness soon.”

~ Aasrel

Her fingers curled tightly around his. “Me too.” She nodded back toward the coffee pot, “I think we all learn to live on a pure infusion of caffeine at the Academy. It’s like a right of passage.” She huffed a sigh, “I never had a problem with it before. I thought it was causing my heart palpitations and insomnia. What do you use instead of caffeine when you are really tired but have to be awake?”

Bethany

Aasrel sighed, “I don’t. I just… power through it. I could exercise, but I never have the energy for it.” He nodded, “Considering you have those symptoms, it was a good idea to quit caffeine. It can make them worse.”

~ Aasrel

“Dr. Ryley told me since the symptoms only got worse, I could start having my coffee again, but to moderate the amount. So I only drink it in the morning. Honestly though, the last time I slept well was when he used the alpha wave inducers to put me to sleep in sickbay. Honestly, at this point I don’t know if it is stress, paranoia, or being sick that is keeping me awake.”

Bethany

“Could be a little of all three. Starting tomorrow I’m going to be studying your results, hopefully I’ll have some answers for you.” He shrugged, “Moderated is better than not, but not at all would be best. Heart palpitations could mean an irregular rhythm.” And he didn’t want to worry her but that could mean fainting or worse. He hadn’t slept well himself in months. Nightmares kept him up. Usually crying or terrified. “My offer for a sleep aid still stands if you decide you need it. Or another night on the alpha wave inducers.” He didn’t want her to be too tired to do her job.

~ Aasrel

“Well I guess decaf it is then. I don’t have as much of that.” She shrugged, “Water is best anyway, right? I may have to take you up on that offer. So, what keeps you up?” The smell of the brewing coffee was starting to fill the room.

Bethany

Aasrel smiled. “Water is best but who drinks water?” The smell of coffee was filling the room and it smelled good. Her question though seemed to make him really uncomfortable. He squeezed her hand and shook his head, looking away from her. “I… It’s… I don’t want to talk about that.” He said, voice a little shaky.

~ Aasrel

Her hand tightened on his, giving him an anchor. Her other hand reached out and cupped his cheek. “That’s okay. You don’t have to. I’m sorry the question made you uncomfortable. Why don’t you tell me abooooout, hmmm…” She got that mischievous smirk again, “Your favorite ex-girlfriend. I mean I’m assuming they are all ex’s by now. Otherwise this could get awkward.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled, taking a deep breath. “No, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” He grinned at her new question and thought a moment. “I had a girlfriend in school. Rava… We dated for three years. Broke up when I left for Academy. She didn’t like the idea of being a Starfleet wife, always waiting for me.”

~ Aasrel

“I can understand that. It isn’t a life for everyone, and it’s hard to be away from the people you care about. I suppose it was better to know that before though.” Her head tipped just slightly, “You said you dated a human before. How is it different? From dating another telepath?”

Bethany

“On one of my first ships. Kaylee.” Aasrel considered it. “She kept insisting everything was fine when I could tell it wasn’t. And I kept forgetting I had to tell her things, that she wouldn’t just know how I felt. It was… Difficult for us to connect with each other.” He looked at Bethany. “I think I’ve changed since then, though. I don’t want those same problems to happen with you.”

~ Aasrel

“Well even though I am usually quiet and keep to myself when I do talk, I am very blunt and very honest. That seems to be something I have retained from my childhood.” She smiled, “I don’t want them either. So we will work at it. Do those types of problems not happen with Betazoids?”

Bethany

“They can and certainly do.” Aasrel answered. “But it’s less common. Since we can all sense each other’s emotions and thoughts, feelings don’t really stay hidden that often. Sometimes the whys for those feelings don’t get talked about enough, though. Communication is still important for telepathic couples.” He smiled at her, “I hope you are always blunt and honest with me.”

~ Aasrel

“The why’s are often more important than the what. Especially when it comes to emotions. The circumstance can be more important than what was felt or said.” Bethany moved closer and leaned in. “I have confessions…” Her voice dropped but her eyes danced, “No one ever looks me in the eye like you do. It makes me ner ous and a little giddy. No one has ever kissed me like you do, and I really like it.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled, reaching around her to put his arm around her, meeting her gaze. “I love your eyes. They’re beautiful.” Then he added his own confession: “I love the way you look at me. Like… You don’t even notice how I look.” By that, he meant his implants. He hoped she’d understand his meaning.

~ Aasrel

She sighed as his arm slipped around her, “I like that too.” When he said her eyes were beautiful shadows crossed her gaze and she looked confused, like she wasn’t sure she heard him right. “I have made a life of learning how to read people. Their tone, word choice, behaviors, body language. It was necessary to survive in my career and be like I am. A Betazoid with no telepathy or empathy in Intel is a death sentence. I either had to get really good or hide what I am. I see you, Aasrel.” She set her hand over his chest. “The amazing man you are here expresses clearly on the outside. I find you extremely attractive.”

Bethany

Aasrel caught that something was wrong, but he had no idea what. He couldn’t tell. Did she not like him saying that? Had he done something wrong? “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Her brows drew together, “Wrong?” Then she relaxed. “No. I just… it surprised me when you said my eyes are beautiful. That isn’t something I’ve ever heard before, and you mean it. I was just surprised. No problem. Promise. Thank you for saying it.”

Aasrel relaxed and smiled. “Of course I mean it.” He squeezed her hand gently. “They’ll be beautiful whether you get them changed or not.”

She gave him that same curious look, but it was followed by a smile. She felt a strange determination to meet his gaze. She’d never not met someone’s gaze, but this felt different.

He gave a tiny sigh, “Maybe you can teach me a thing or two.” He met her gaze again when she said his name, looking at her with something akin to surprise, and then blushed. “Bethany, I…” He leaned in and hugged her. “Thank you.”

~ Aasrel

“I’d be happy to.” She could even think of a few ways to do so. She hugged him tightly. “No need to thank me, but you’re welcome.” She shifted around so she was sitting right beside him, leaning into him, almost cuddled together.

Bethany

Just as Aasrel was cuddling into her, the coffee maker beeped, signalling it was finished. Instead he leaned against her and smiled. “Coffee’s ready.”

~ Aasrel

Her head nodded against his shoulder, “So it is.” She leaned back into his arm that was around her, simply enjoying the genuine contact. She was in no hurry to move and the coffee would stay hot.

Bethany

Aasrel smiled and cuddled into her, keeping his arm around her. The coffee would be there later. He was content to sit in silence with her for a while.

~ Aasrel

True to her word, Bethany was not a chatter box. This was unlike how he would have seen her around the ship. She spoke with people in passing, willing engaged and even began conversations, and kept morale up. She felt it was part of her job, to be seen and known and trusted among the crew. She liked the peaceful quiet with him. His stillness and quiet presence. It was surprisingly comfortable. She hadn’t been able to sleep with another person in the room, even just a roommate, in years. She was too jumpy. She was far from close to sleep, but she thought she might could with him in the room.

Her fingers trailed up and down his arm and over his hand almost absently. She never went close to the implants, wanting him to not be reminded.

Bethany

The feeling of her fingers against his arm and his hand were pleasant. The peaceful quiet lulled him into a comfortable peaceful place as he sat there next to her. He hadn’t realized how tired he really was, how little he’d been sleeping till now. Eventually his head rested on her shoulder and he dozed off into a light sleep.

~ Aasrel

Bethany knew the moment he was asleep. His head was heavier as he relaxed and his breathing was deeper. She didn’t move, not wanting to disturb him, she continued the slow movements for awhile. Memories were too near the surface, still too raw after all those years. She needed to play through them for any hope of any restful sleep. Otherwise they would haunt her sleep and she would be worse off than if she hadn’t slept at all.

---

“Bethany, wake-up. Come on baby.”

“Daddy?” Bethany rubbed her eyes sleepily. “I’m tired, I don’t want to get up.”

Her father lifted her from the bed, resting her head in his shoulder, her little legs and arms wrapped around him as she slept.

“Edah, no. Come with us. Edah!”

“Take her,” he lifted a pack onto her mother’s shoulders and then unwound her arms from around his neck and placed her in her mother’s arms. “Mairin go. Hurry. I’ll be behind you. Take the boat. Stay in the shadow of the trees until you get to the forest.”

“We’ll wait at the boat for you. We won’t leave you.”

He hugged them both and pushed her mother out the back door. Bethany looked over her mother’s shoulders to see the fear and panic that gripped her father and it scared her. “DADDY!” He ran out the door as she reached fitfully for the man who always meant safety. “Hush, Bethany. Go with your mother. You’ll be safe. I’ll join you as soon as I can. Be good Princess.” He kissed Mairin wildly and then Bethany’s forehead. “Do not wait. They want us, the adults. They have no interest in non-Betazoids or the children. Go. I will find you. I promise. Go now.” He pushed them down the path. The last thing Bethany saw as they turned the path was 8 giant Jem’hadar soldiers blow the door down and her father’s body hit the glass of the back door and slide to the floor in a heap. She cried out, but her mother shushed her and ran for the lake…

---

Bethany made herself inhale slowly to ease the ache in her throat and prevent her breath from shuddering. She closed her eyes tightly against the sting of tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. She didn’t want to wake Aasrel. It wasn’t real anymore. They had all survived that night, though the consequences haunted them. At least her mother was at peace, she hoped.

Bethany

It was a tiny movement that woke Aasrel. His sleep had been light and the smallest thing was able to pull him out of it. With a little start his head lifted and he looked tiredly at Bethany and then the rest of the room. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.” How embarrassing was that? Then he noticed tears on her cheeks. “Hey.... You okay?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany shook her head. Her voice strained as she forced it to be steady. “It’s okay. It was nice, having you here.” She wiped at her cheeks and blew out a long unsteady breath. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” She shook her head again, “No, not really. I am, just not right this second. Talking about my parents… brought back memories. The night we ran away from the Jem’hadar.”

Bethany

Aasrel shrugged. “It’s okay.” He sat up a little bit and tightened his arm around her. It had still been there, just gone slack when he fell asleep. “Oh. Do you want to talk about it or just sit with me?”

~ Aasrel

“Umm…” She combed her hair back as she shifted, leaning in closer. “For a few weeks we were able to stay at home. We stopped going to school. It was like a holiday at first. We were away from the major cities, so they didn’t reach us at first. They started rounding up adults. They didn’t want anyone but full blooded Betazoids. And when they found out children didn’t have telepathy they didn’t want us either. My… my dad, he woke me up in the middle of the night and sent my mom and I away. He rushed us out the back door. He promised to follow us. He was scared. I’d never seen him scared before.” A noticeable tremor went through her. “When I looked back, I saw the front door explode. The blast knocked my dad into the glass door. He just laid there in a heap. I screamed, but my mom just kept going. Dad didn’t join us for almost 2 weeks. I don’t know how he got away.”

Bethany

Aasrel pulled her into a tight hug. “That must have been terrifying. It’s lucky he got away.” Even if he did turn into an awful person. He held her in silence for a few moments, just keeping her hugged tightly to him. “I’m glad you made it out.”

~ Aasrel

“It was.” Bethany seallowed, “He was.” She never knew how he managed it. As a child she didn’t care. She’d just wanted her daddy to come back. She leaned against him and breathed, allowing herself to accept the comfort he offered. “Me too. We had a boat. Just a small one. My mother and I took it and made our way around the lake. It took a few days because she didn’t want to be seen on the open water. After we made it to the forest, we eventually met with a few other families that had escaped.” She shook her head and went quiet.

Bethany

Aasrel nodded. He sat with her while she sat quietly, hugging her tightly. “I’m sorry talking about them brought all this up for you.” He said softly.

~ Aasrel

Bethany shook her head and suddenly kissed his cheek. The gesture surprised her a little. “It’s okay. You don’t need to be sorry. I don’t mind talking about it. It was nice to remember the good memories.” She sighed making a decision to share because she had said she would to make it waster for him. “Truthfully, I miss my dad. I miss who he was before my mom died, but I’m also glad she never saw the kind of man he really was or became. Missing him and wanting him back isn’t going to make it happen though.”

Bethany

Aasrel was surprised too, but it was a pleasant surprise. He nodded and smiled sadly. “Sadly no, but I am happy you’re enjoying the good memories you do have.” He squeezed her gently. “Would you ever want to visit him, or…?”

~ Aasrel

“Honestly, I don’t know. I know he is never going to accept me, for whatever his reasons. Part of me is always going to wish he would, to want an explanation, to have that connection with him.” She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the way he used to pick her up, kiss her forehead, he used to call her his princess. The way he would sit with her and sing when she had nightmares. That man was long gone, and it made her sad. “At the same time I don’t want to open old wounds. He’s never reached out to me since I left for the Academy. My uncles told me he moved away the day after I left. Even if I wanted to see him, I wouldn’t know where to find him.” There was a short ironic laugh, “I mean with my skills I am sure I could find him, but I don’t know if that would be a good thing to do.”

Bethany

Aasrel nodded, unable to imagine being in her shoes. He yawned tiredly. “I can’t imagine him not wanting to hear from you, but then… I can’t imagine treating someone that way because of the way they were born.”

~ Aasrel

It had hurt. Well if she was truthful with herself, it still hurt. Her father had been everything to her, and then when her mom died, it was just them. Well her Uncles too. They tried, but didn’t know what to do with a child, and certainly not a girl. His rejection was so complete it was like she had lost both parents. Sometimes she thought it would have been easier if she had. “I am glad that your family has not been that way with you. It’s not your fault either, and I am sure there is an answer for you.” She didn’t miss the yawn. “Go on back to sleep. I’ll stop gabbing.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled. “They won’t with you either. I can’t wait for you to meet my sister.” He shrugged. “If there was one, I’d have found it by now.” He’d obsessively read every medical journal in the federation, new or old, about psilosynine and paracortexes. Maybe something new would come out some day, maybe it wouldn’t. He rested his head against her. “If I sleep here, and I… have trouble sleeping, I might wake you.”

~ Aasrel

She lifted her head and raised a very Vulcan like brow at him. “Like I just did to you? I don’t sleep much anyway and I am a very light sleeper. People walking in the corridor wakes me up. It won’t bother me. If you stay, I might be able to help. I’m not going to make you though, but you are welcome to stay if you like.”

Bethany

Aasrel let himself relax into her. “I’ll stay, then. I’m a light sleeper, too. You shouldn’t feel too bad about waking me up.” He yawned again and rested his head more comfortable. It was a few moments before he spoke and then, “So much for the coffee, huh? Guess it’ll be there tomorrow.” He sounded tired.

~ Aasrel

“Don’t feel bad if you wake me, either.” She leaned back against him, head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and attempted to fall asleep. She grinned when he spoke again. “I promise to make fresh in the morning. Good night, Aasrel.” Even she sounded tired to herself.

Bethany

Aasrel was quickly asleep, his head nestled against her. For the first part of the night, he slept still and soundly. In the early hours of the morning though, he began to sweat, shifting restlessly in his sleep. After a while he woke in a full panic, bolting up and grabbing at his arm and his head. “No! Get away from me!”

~ Aasrel

Bethany had been awake off and on all night. Nothing new for her, but it was weird having someone in her room, but she liked having him there. She was awake when. He started shifting and she moved, at first thinking he was uncomfortable. Then she realized he was having a nightmare. She laid a hand on his arm, but that seemed to agitate him more. She wasn’t sure what to do, but wait.

He bolted upright, screaming. “Aasrel. Aasrel, you’re okay now. It’s a nightmare. It’s not real.” She was afraid to touch him and make him panic more. “Aasrel, listen to my voice. It’s Bethany. You’re safe now. You’re with me.” Finally she set her finger tips very very lightly on the back of his hand that had no implants, but that was it.

Bethany

Aasrel was shaking and hyperventilating and at first he didn’t seem to hear her. Then he looked at her with this panicked look in his eye, still pulling on his implants until she touched the back of his left hand. It took him several long moments to start to calm down and he took her hand and squeezed it as if checking that she was really there. His palm was clammy with sweat. Tears made their way down his cheeks. “Bethany… I’m sorry.” There was still an edge to his voice.

~ Aasrel

She was concerned he might hurt himself pulling on the implants, but she understood it was an instinctual reaction. The tears made her ache for him. She squeezed his hand tighter. “I’m right here.” Her other hand touched his face gently and wiped away the tears. “Whatever in the galaxy are you sorry for? That you had a nightmare? It’s normal and healthy for your psychie to process that way. That I saw it? Please don’t be sorry for that. You didn’t hurt me or frighten me. You didn’t wake me. I was already awake. That they did this to you? It is not your fault. None of it. You survived when others could not. If you hadn’t, I never would have met you. Please don’t be sorry for that.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him for as long as he needed.

Bethany

“I don’t know, I just… They aren’t usually this bad.” Aasrel was still shaking against her. He leaned into her and rested against her, still trying to calm himself. “They’re… Disorienting.” He said softly, looking up at her. “Because in the dreams, I have my telepathy and I can remember sensing my crewmates…” Not that that had been a good day for that. Everyone had been terrified or hurt. “And then I wake up scared and I can’t, and it feels like right after I was rescued all over again.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany rubbed his back slowly. “I can’t imagine. Dreams, our memories especially, are so very real it can be hard to find our equilibrium right after. What can I do? What do you need? Or want?” She knew he wanted his telepathy back. That was beyond her, but she would do anything she could to help him.

Bethany

Aasrel lay on her, trying to take deeper breaths. He wanted his telepathy back, yes, but that was impossible. He wanted to go back in time and make it not happen, but that was also impossible. “Water, maybe. But right now I just don’t want to move.” He said honestly, finally wrapping his own arms around her and hugging her back. “I’m glad I didn’t frighten you.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany hugged him tightly. “No, I’m pretty tough, or like to think I am.” A nightmare was way down on the list of things that would frighten her. “That’s a conversation for later. I’ll be right back.” She got up and went to the replicator and came back with a glass of water and a damp cloth. She handed him the glass and set the other on the coffee table. Then she took his hand again and held onto him.

Bethany

Aasrel didn’t want her to get up but before he could say so, she already had. When she returned he squeezed her hand again and leaned into her. “Thank you.” He drank about half the glass and then set it on the side table. Then he took the wet cloth and set it against his face, enjoying the coolness of it. “They started about two months after… everything happened.” He admitted, looking at her, still shaking but not as badly.

~ Aasrel

“Of course.” When he leaned in she wrapped an arm around him and leaned back against the couch. Trauma was like that. At first you were so focused on healing, surviving that the mind doesn’t process and then it hits you. She met his gaze steadily. “Does anything seem to make them worse or better?”

Bethany

Aasrel held her gaze. He looked tired and like he hadn’t fully calmed down yet. He thought about her question. “I think something affects them, but I’m not yet sure what it is.” He squeezed her hand again. “Sometimes they’re about my ship, sometimes they’re about…” He gestured to the implants.

~ Aasrel

She took the cloth and wiped his face and the back of his neck. Her fingers twinning in the hair at the nape of his neck. “Do you want to tell me what this one was about? Or try and get your mind off it?”

Bethany

“I think I want to get my mind off it, for now.” Aasrel said. He leaned against her and sighed softly. “I want to relax so maybe I can get a little more sleep.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany’s black eyes glittered in the dim light as she focused wholly on him. She took his hands and guided them to wrap around her. Their placement wasn’t quite suggestive, but at the same time slightly more intimate. “Then why don’t you put your mind on me for now?” She kissed him. A gentle brush of warm soft lips against his that lingered in a still moment. She pulled back enough to look at him to see his reaction. She wasn’t trying to make light of his stress and trauma, but to provide him something totally different, a 180. She wasn’t sure how he would respond though.

Bethany

Aasrel let his hands be guided and then rested them where she set them. Then she kissed him. When she pulled back just enough to see him he smiled at her. He still looked stressed but he was definitely receptive to this form of distraction. He smiled a little, “Good things come to those who have scary dreams?”

~ Aasrel

“I think you deserve it, and I am more than willing to provide the good things.” Her smile was slightly playful but genuine. Her arms went around his shoulders this time, pulling him closer as she kissed him. Long enough to distract them both and forget everything else for a moment.

Bethany