Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Nightmares Tell Us What to Pray Against

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Nightmares Tell Us What to Pray Against

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Nightmares Tell Us What to Pray Against
Posted by… suppressed (46) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Bethany winked and kissed him quickly. “I’ll hold you to it.” She slipped out the door and back to work. The rest of her shift went by even slower than the morning. Bethany left the bridge after the end. The layout of the security/tactical station was intuitive and high tech But there was nothing going on and very quiet. However, she felt like she hadn’t paused all day and was exhausted. Stopping by sickbay on the way to her quarters, she barely contained her yawn.

Bethany

Aasrel was coming out as Bethany was headed in. He stopped and hugged her. “Bethany. How was the rest of your day?” He said, leading her back out of Sickbay.

~ Aasrel

Bethany hugged him and waved dismissively at the question. “Long and uneventful, which is good. I feel like it’s been a 120 hour day.” She didn’t manage to stifle the yawn that time. “How was yours?”

Bethany

Aasrel hugged her back. “Long and mostly uneventful. There was a little accident in engineering.” He rested an arm around her. “Want to eat or go to your or my quarters?”

~ Aasrel

“I don’t have much of an apatite, but you shouldn’t skip it for me.” She hadn’t eaten lunch either. She had tried, but in the end she had tried to catch a nap instead. That hadn’t worked either. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms briskly. “You hungry?”

Bethany

Aasrel nodded. “I am.” He said, turning toward the galley. “Have you eaten at all today?” He may not be telepathic anymore, but he was starting to see patterns in her behavior and he guessed if she didn’t have an appetite now, she might not have earlier either.

~ Aasrel

“I had breakfast, and no not just coffee.” She shrugged, hiding a cold chill. “I ate a few bites at lunch. I was more tired than hungry. Went to my quarters to rest instead.” She didn’t say that she didn’t sleep. She honestly didn’t think much of how tired she was. She hadn’t slept well or at all after that nightmare. She just assumed it had upset her enough to mess with her appetite. Entering the mess she headed toward a table and sat. She covered a yawn with her hand and then shook her head at herself.

Bethany

Aasrel got them both food and then sat down, setting a tray in front of her, then himself. Her tray had some lighter foods on it. “Hopefully you sleep better tonight.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany looked at the food. That perpetual grin crossing her face. The idea of food just made her exhausted. “I’m sure I will.” She ‘ate’. It looked like she was eating and drinking, food moved around her plate and even seemed to disappear. She really did try to eat, though. It was a waste of rations if she didn’t. She was quiet, which was nothing new, but she looked tired today.

Bethany

She fooled him into thinking she ate a little, but he wasn’t satisfied. “Eat a little more, please.” He said, looking at her plate, and then her. He looked worried for her. She looked really tired. Hopefully better sleep would help. “Maybe I should get you something to help you sleep.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany shook her head and smirked. “What would you do if I caught a stomach flu and couldn’t eat for a couple of days?” She speared another bite with her fork and ate it. She really didn’t want to, but there was no reason to make him worry over nothing. She didn’t even argue or weigh whether or not she should take a sleep aid. She just focused on eating a few more bites so she could go to bed. She would happily curl into the chair right there if she thought people would leave her be.

Bethany

“Worry endlessly,” Aasrel said, giving her a look. He finished his own food, then gave her a few more minutes to eat. Then he collected their trays, put them away, and returned to the table. “My quarters or yours?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany shrugged as she stood. “Ei…ah…ther,” she yawned around the word and shook her head. “Sorry.” He was worrying too much. It was perfectly normal to be tired. Unless this was the fatigue he said the medicine could cause, but that was supposed to be long term. Once in the corridor she bumped his hip and grinned, “But mine are closer.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled and put an arm around her. “Yours it is.” He worried because he cared. A lot. He didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t save her from this illness. He turned towards her quarters. “So.... Exactly how tired are you?” He asked, giving her a mischievous, playful look.

~ Aasrel

Bethany laughed quietly. “Tired, but my doctor told me about this really great before bed routine. Swears it will help me sleep better.” The man getting off the lift as they approached gave them a huge grin and walked off down the corridor. Bethany was quite tempted to really kiss Aasrel right in front of the man, give him something to actually talk about later. She wasn’t up for such antics though. Instead she leaned her head on his shoulder for the short one deck ride to the next floor.

Bethany

He stepped off the lift, one arm around her, and guided her to her quarters. Once the door to her quarters closed, he kissed her as he guided her to the bed. “That before bed routine? It’ll definitely help you sleep better.” He said softly.

~ Aasrel

Bethany grinned against his lips, her arms wrapped around him as she moved with him. “Oh? You’ve tried it? Well if you recommend it, we will have to try it together.” She laughed softly before turning gently serious. She kissed him deeply. She rested her forehead against his. “You help me sleep better.”

Bethany

Aasrel pressed close to her, pulling her into him. He so wanted this to keep going. But Bethany needed sleep. He kissed her back, letting the kiss go on. Then a hand slipped into his pocket and a hypo pressed gently against her neck. “I’m glad. You need all the sleep you can get.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany sighed, tension draining out of her as he pulled her closer. Yeah, being with him made a difference. It made everything not so bad…

She pulled back slightly, eyes wide with surprise. Did he just use all those crammed in lessons on her? “Sneaky Rel. Very…sneak…” She blinked rapidly as whatever he gave her worked very quickly. Her whole body relaxed against him, and she shook her head taking a deep breath. But the attempt did nothing to keep her awake as her body sank onto the bed.

Aasrel helped lower her gently onto the bed. He smiled when she spoke. “I learn fast.”

Everything felt heavy and lethargic. She looked at him before the sleep claimed her. Her expression was exhausted and bemused as she fell asleep.

Bethany

Aasrel lay down next to her, pulling her into him. He could tell she was asleep. The sedative he’d given her wasn’t all that strong but her body needed rest. For him the night was long and tiring more than exhausting. It took him a long time to fall asleep. Then about halfway through the night he woke from a nightmare, clinging to Bethany desperately. After that he drifted into a not very restful light sleep.

~ Aasrel

The sedative may not have been that strong but given her medical state and her fast heart heart it spread quickly. Bethany slept heavily. If nightmares plagued her, she had no idea. When Aasrel woke and hugged her tightly, she curled closer into him. She was still asleep when it was time to get up. She shivered slightly and pressed closer to him for the warmth. It wasn’t enough to wake her. It seemed her body had its own ideas about what it needed. Waking up early wasn’t it.

Bethany

Thankfully, it was their day off. It was why he’d chosen tonight to try dosing her. He’d turned the alarm off. He slept until another nightmare woke him, then lay quietly next to her, waiting for her to wake on her own.

~ Aasrel

When he woke the second time, the movement roused her slightly. “Oh’veen jiq(Don’t go),” her arms tightened around him. She shivered again and pressed closer sighing at the warmth.

Bethany

Aasrel hugged her. He was surprised she spoke in Betazoid and suddenly wondered if she was dreaming again too. “Iv oh’veen jiq navaah” (I’m not going anywhere)

~ Aasrel

Betzed was Bethany’s first language. When she was younger and as a teenager, and she was scared, stressed or had a nightmare, she would always speak Betazed. Her Uncles had thought she was delirious the first time. Kian had learned the language so they would know what she was saying. Right now she wasn’t dreaming, but she was stressed and scared. Since she was mostly asleep she wasn’t aware she was doing it.

His words seemed to reassure her and she relaxed again, but as he hugged her, her skin would feel warm.

Bethany

Her skin felt warm, but Aasrel wasn’t sure if that was unusual. He set a wrist gently against her forehead. She wasn’t having a fever, was she?

~ Aasrel

Her skin was slightly clammy and she did feel slightly feverish.

Bethany

Reaching carefully to the side table, he grabbed his medical scanner and started quietly, carefully scanning her.

~ Aasrel

These days Bethany always had a low grade fever, but it was higher than her base line. The meds she took were doing their job. Helping mitigate the worst of the symptoms and clear the psilosynine from her system. Sleep seemed to be good for her. The body healed itself in sleep. Now that she had it, it seemed her body too advantage to renew its attack on the supposed virus of the psilosynine intruder. That effort seemed to be what triggered the higher fever.

Bethany

Aasrel would keep an eye on it but he tried not to be too worried about it now. He set the scanner back down and then settled back in next to her, hugging her.

~ Aasrel

Bethany slept for awhile longer before finally stirring. She felt disoriented and lethargic. Sleep held on tightly making her groggy and made her eyelids feel heavy. She rubbed her face against his chest as she snuggled into him. She murmured something that was probably good morning.

Bethany

Aasrel hugged her tightly, pressing her into him. “Morning. How do you feel?” He asked softly. He looked exhausted. Like he’d barely slept at all. But he was looking at her with concern.

~ Aasrel

“Sleepy.” Her arms tightened around him and she inhaled deeply, followed by a yawn and a very cat like stretch. “Mmm..uh… and stiff. Feel like I did… oh aaaahhhh,” she yawned again, “hand to hand without stretching first.” She moved her head to look at him. Her eyes crinkled in a wince. “My head hurts.” She really looked at him after blinking in the dim light. “You didn’t stay up all night watching me did you?”

Bethany

Aasrel chuckled a little. “No, not watching you.” He rubbed her back gently, then ran his fingers through her hair. “You have a fever. Higher than usual. It’s our day off… I know we were going to do some of your training with me today but I think you should take it easy.”

~ Aasrel

She rubbed her face against his shoulder as his fingers ran through her hair. “We can still do it. I can sit in a chair and watch.” As worried as he was about her health, she was equally worried about his safety. “But it can wait till later.” Which was unlike her. Bethany wasn’t a work-a-holic, but she seemed to have a need to prove she was fine. “So what does taking it easy entail?”

Bethany

“Okay. Sitting and watching should be okay.” He looked at her and smiled. “Staying here, with me, doing low impact activities. Whatever you want that to mean.”

~ Aasrel

“Staying here with you is the best idea I’ve heard this whole mission.” Bethany kissed his chin then his neck, “My ideas are not low impact.” She laughed, but she still sounded tired and curled up against him again.

“Uhhh, first something for this headache.”

Bethany

He tiredly rested his head against her. “None of them? Not one low impact idea?” He kissed her, long and slow and gentle, and then, “That’s low impact.” Then he reached for his med kit. “I can help with that.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany nodded and laid back on the pillow. “I thought we cured headaches. Is this because of all the crazy hormones?” She sounded worried. That curious devil-may-care lilt absent from her question.

She rolled on her side watching him. “How do you feel about really old early 20th century Earth movies?”

Bethany

“Yeah. You’ll be okay, promise.” Aasrel said, rifling through the med kit. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen one. What’s your favourite?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany knew he was sure of it, but she could tell the medicine wasn’t working as well. Just small things. She didn’t want to worry him. Or maybe she was imagining things being worse because she was worried. “Metropolis. It’s an early science fiction film about advancements and how it doesn’t create a utopia. I find it a little comical, knowing where the future is now. If you want romance, Casablanca. Comedy, you can’t beat anything by Charles Chapman and his silent movies. The Kid is my favorite.”

Bethany

“Let’s watch Metropolis, then. I’m curious how pre space travel humans would have painted it.” Aasrel was worried but trying not to show it. The meds weren’t working as well. He wasn’t sure what else they could do to slow it down.

~ Aasrel

“Well fair warning, it’s a silent film and also in black and white. So no lines or talking or color. I find it fascinating the special effects and pure storytelling through body language.” Bethany got up and moved over to her desk and keyed up the movie from an isochip that she had all her movies saved on. It was so old that the computers didn’t have it unless specifically requested. She pushed her hair out of her face as she made her way back to the bed. She picked up the hypo for her morning dose. She looked over at him by the medkit and waited till he looked at her. “Do I need a higher dose?” She wanted him to say no, but that wouldn’t make the problem go away.

Bethany

Aasrel let out a soft sigh. “Yeah.” It was that there wasn’t much higher of a safe dose to give, and that worried him. He prepared a hypo with a higher dose and something for the headache and gave it to her. Then he redialed her regular hypo to the new dose.

~ Aasrel

Bethany didn’t ask as he pressed the hypo to her neck. She couldn’t think about it. She had to focus on the assignment before her. There could be no room for fear or regret. It could make her hesitate or make foolish decisions. There either would or would not be time to worry later. She made room for him beside her. She felt cold and pulled the blanket over her. She reached over to dim the lights, and when she sat up, she swayed noticeably as the lightheadedness made her dizzy. More so than usual from the higher dose.

Bethany

Aasrel sat down beside her. When she sat up and swayed, he put his arms around her and steadied her. “The lightheadedness getting worse?” He asked gently, concern to his voice.

~ Aasrel

“Maybe from the higher dose?” Bethany leaned against his arm. It was only then she realized she was cold. He felt soorhingly warm against her. Of course she would feel normal or a little warmer than normal from the fever. “Maybe the fever or exhaustion. It always passes after 20 minutes like you said.” She let out a heavy breath and settled in beside him. She was still tired too. “Computer begin play back.” The large screen over her desk flashed as the movie began.

Aasrel hugged her against him. “Good.” He said, settling in with her.

Metropolis was an influential German science-fiction film from 1927. It presented a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia existed above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) discovered the grim scene under the city, he became intent on helping the workers. He befriended the rebellious teacher Maria (Brigitte Helm), but this put him at odds with his authoritative father, leading to greater conflict.

Bethany

The movie interested Aasrel but he had a lot of trouble following along with the plot, even with the exaggerated body language used in silent movies. By the end he had most of what happened, but was confused more than anything.

~ Aasrel

The lightheadedness did pass as usual, but Bethany actually dosed some. Aasrel would correctly assume it was because her body was sick and exhausted from fighting. The rest was good for her though. Despite being tired, Bethany did her best to stay alert so she could explain some of the underlying political, social, and historical concepts and the current events of the time that influenced the movie. By the end of the movie she had dozed off again.

The picture of course was grainy and the intertitles blurred from such an old film. There were of course restored and remastered versions of the film, but Bethany loved the old ones. Much like a music enthusiasts loves vinyl over digital.

Bethany

It wasn’t just the political and social motives behind the movie, but also trying to grasp the body language when he was used to telepathy. He was getting better, but he still struggled to understand things, especially without verbal words. He sat with her, keeping his arm around her as she dozed. The sleep was good for her. Her body needed it. He was worried she was getting worse, and there might not be anything he could do about it.

~ Aasrel

Bethany was getting worse. The medicine for the most part combated the symptoms, but she was so used to a lack of sleep, jitteriness, and the constant feel of having finished and intense workout she didn’t notice the changes. If the hypo hadn’t had a fever reducer, it would be much more apparent. Sleep and rest was allowing her body to not just keep functioning but renew it’s attack on her system.

The computer started playing the next movie on the disk, Saharah. The movie was about master explorer Dirk Pitt. He goes seeking a lost Civil War battleship known as the “Ship of Death” in the deserts of West Africa while helping a WHO doctor being hounded by a ruthless dictator. This movie was in color with plenty of dialogue, action, and a good plot.

She slept for another hour before she woke again. She stretched slightly and lifted her head. “Oh…I’m sorry, Aasrel.” She put her head back down. “Maybe we should go for a walk so I’ll stay awake.”

Bethany

Aasrel ignored the movie mostly. He started to doze, but a nightmare woke him pretty quickly. After that he couldn’t sleep anymore, so he just cuddled into Bethany, focusing on her. When she woke, he shook his head. “I’m glad you’re getting some sleep. You need it.”

~ Aasrel

She didn’t argue, much. “Aren’t you hungry? It’s lunch time, or almost isn’t it?” Bethany wasn’t hungry at all. Just really tired and thirsty, but not enough to get up. “You don’t want to sit here and watch me sleep all day.”

Bethany

“Almost.” Aasrel said, checking a clock. He wasn’t really hungry, mostly because he was too busy being worried about her. “I’ll get something for you if you’re hungry. Otherwise I am perfectly happy to lay by you while you sleep.” He said and then yawned. He hadn’t slept that much last night himself.

~ Aasrel

“Are you going to exs…” she was interrupted by a huge yawn, “excessively worry if I say I’m not hungry?” She was, a little, but really she just wanted to sleep. She felt like when she’d caught the flu right after they moved back to Earth. Chilled, body aches, lethargic, and exhausted. She settled back onto her pillow. Then it occured to her he said he wasn’thungry and he was yawning. “Did you get any sleep? Are you okay?” She pushed herself up a little to look at him. “Did we catch something on the station?”

Bethany