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 (50) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Aasrel hugged her tightly and shook his head. “No, not at all.” He rested his head against her, relieved and happy. “I just… I don’t know. I didn’t want you to feel pressured to say it.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany shook her head against his shoulder. “I don’t.” In fact there was some almost giddy relief that he had said it first. She rested against him just breathing the moment in for a bit. If there were gods, they were cruel. Why now? Why this mission? When she was quite literally killing herself? It wasn’t fair to Aasrel. She was long years past ever expecting or wanting something fair for herself.

She kissed him, hugging him tightly, before disappearing into the bathroom.

Bethany

Aasrel kissed her back, holding her tightly. Then she slipped away and disappeared into the bathroom. Aasrel followed her in with a little smile, drying his eyes one more time.

~ Aasrel

---

Bethany pressed the button to open one of the vanity drawers, and she pulled out a medium sized tub of lotion. Her skin felt overly dry and itchy. She massaged it into her arms, shoulders and down her legs. Her skin looked red, but she attributed that to using a higher sonic setting than she was used to.

She slipped her robe up over her shoulders and tied the belt. She brushed her hair, but decided it was too much effort to try and braid it. She suddenly felt very tired and shaky. She turned into Aasrel, dropping her arms over his shoulders and giving him a long lingering kiss. “How about lunch?”

Bethany

Aasrel kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her. “Lunch sounds good.” He still wasn’t that hungry, but he wanted to encourage her to eat and not worry her. He smiled, pulling away just long enough to pull his shirt on, then pulled her back into him. He still looked upset, but better than before.

~ Aasrel

Bethany grinned when he pulled her back in. She still didn’t feel hungry but she hadn’t really eaten since breakfast the day before. She figured that’s why she felt funny. “We’ll watch something more fun after.” She liked being held close to him, sharing the same space. “Do you want to eat at the mess or bring it back here?”

Bethany

“Let’s bring it back here.” Aasrel replied. He didn’t feel like eating at the mess. He smiled at her. “Want to watch a Betazoid movie? They’re spoken since, you know, telepathy doesn’t work over a recording.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany nodded and grinned. “I’d like that. Let me put on something other than my robe.” She slipped away and padded into the main room. There was a soft thump that didn’t sound like the closet door sliding open. Then a distressed and weak, “Aasrel!” Followed by a loud crash as Bethany collapsed and took a chair with her and hit the coffee table.

Bethany

“Okay,” Aasrel said, letting her go so she could get up. At the thump, he looked towards the noise. At his name and the crash, he leapt out of his chair in record time and rushed to her side, kneeling beside her with a medical scanner. “Bethany! What’s wrong? What happened?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany was unconscious. The tricorder registered a large spike in her fever that was causing a febrile seizure and large amounts of histamines in her blood. It was a good bet her white cell count was up as well.

Bethany

“Emergency medical situation, Gadi’s quarters.” Aasrel said into his comm. When they arrived in sickbay, he got her situated and ordered a blood test to check the white count and antibody load, then a seizure med and a fever reducer/antihistamine at a prescription strength. Then he sat by her bed and waited for test results or a response to the meds.

~ Aasrel

The labbtests came back with a WBC of 19782 cells per microliter. Her IgG was 1500 mg/100 ml. Her histamine level came back as 4 ng/mL. Most disturbing was despite the cocktail Bethany had been taking the amount of psilosynine in her blood was 50% more than it had been.

A neurological scan would show both hthe psilosynine gland and the El-Aurian one were both producing more hormones than before. To Aasrel it would look similar to the steady increased readings as a Betazoid child matured at adolescence and their telepathy activated.

The anti-seizure med worked, but it seemed to take forever to take effect. What Bethany had thought was redness from the sonic shower was actually a rash forming. It got worse before the antihistamine kicked in and then faded. The fever reducer took effect quickly, but given the blood test results, it would go back up again when the medication wore off.

Bethany

Aasrel put in an order to keep her on the fever reducer. Her paracortex was apparently going into a very late betazoid ‘puberty’ and her body was reacting to the increased amount of psilosynine. She was maxed out on her dose of the drug cocktail that kept her numbers down. It wouldn’t be safe to give her more, but if he did nothing, her body was going to kill itself. He didn’t yet know how to reroute the El-Aurian chemical. He needed to buy time, and quickly. He waited for her to wake up, hoping it would be soon. If she didn’t in a few hours, he’d consult with Th’rethiss.

~ Aasrel

Bethany showed no signs of waking. She was deeply unconscious. Luckily she had not hit her head when she fell though her arm and side were bruised from falling into the table.

However, as Aasrel decided to wait and see if she would wake, the bio-monitors began to alarm. Her brain was showing swelling as the hormone levels circulated through her system, back to her brain and caused unsafe levels there. If it continued she could fall into a coma.

Bethany

Aasrel called Th’rethiss immediately after checking the alarm cause. “Her psilosynine levels are spiking similar to what happens during betazoid puberty. Her fever spiked, she had a febrile seizure and passed out. No head trauma, but the spike in hormones is causing her brain to swell.” He said, filling in the other doctor. “She can’t tolerate any more of the meds that lower her psilosynine level.”

Th’rethiss did his own scans with a frown. “Then we’ll have to do a psilosynine extraction, remove the hormone ourselves. We should also do a psiloectomy. Remove the gland, remove the thing her body is attacking.”

Aasrel stared for a moment. “I… I agree that’s the best course of action, but I don’t know if she’d want that.” He argued. “She did previously, but she’s been changing her mind. I don’t feel comfortable doing it without consulting her.” He frowned in thought. “I know it’s safer to do them both as one procedure, but let’s do the extraction first. Lowering the level of psilosynine will stop the brain swelling, should allow her to wake. Then we can ask her.”

Th’rethiss shook his head. “You know what she’ll say, Lt Izei, she will insist on keeping it if it kills her. It’s not what’s best for her.”

Aasrel crossed his arms. “No, it’s not, but she’s of sound mind. You can’t decide for her because you don’t like her choice. That would be an insult to patient consent. There’s a way to get her opinion, it would be wrong of any doctor, in any case, to not do their best to consult the patient first. Especially in a case like this!”

Th’rethiss gave a long, suffering sigh. “I will do the psilosynine extraction, but if she dies, it’s on you, doctor Izei.”

~ Aasrel | Th’rethiss

The surgery was long, delicate, and dangerous. Th’rethiss was a skilled surgeon and with modern technology was able to extract the psilosynine from her system. Without all the excess the medication helped clean her blood stream. The gland continued to produce, but without the excess build up her immune system was much calmer though it still continued to attack the left over in her blood stream. It would be a few hours before the swelling would go down, but her fever seemed to be easing in its own as well. Her heart rate went down as well.

Bethany felt like she’d been run over by a ground slider. She felt like she had actually slept for the first time in a while and calm. He mouth felt dry and she felt muddled, confused. She grunted trying to get up.

Bethany

“No, no.” Aasrel put a hand gently against her chest. “You’re not going anywhere for a while.” He said, leaning over her with a concerned look. “Bethany, you passed out and had a seizure.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany squinted and then blinked as his form blocked the overhead light. His hand was gentle but felt like a 2 ton weight. She couldn’t find the energy to move despite his hand. His words didn’t make any sense. “Wh… what?”

Bethany

“Rest. Please rest.” Aasrel said, staying over her. “You’re going to be okay. How do you feel?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany stopped pushing against his hand. Her eyes darted about before coming back to rest on him. “Confused.” What was going on? She would be okay? Why was she in sickbay? “Umm… stiff, sore… my stomach…”

Bethany

Aasrel prepared and gave her a hypo. “That’ll help with the stomach and the soreness.” He sat by her and took her hand. “Give yourself some time.”

~ Aasrel

She looked as confused as she sounded. Bethany was trying to get her bearings but nothing would stick or made sense. Between the anti-seizure meds, the anesthesia for the surgery, the fever, the surgery, and the actual seizure it wasn’t surprising she was out of it.

When he took her hand she gripped it hard, her fingers, where normally she was quite careful to avoid his implants, sought them out, tracing them as if she knew them intimately. Their presence seemed to calm her. His involuntary flinch to avoid her touching them reassured her more so, and she relaxed. No one was trying to trick her, and if she was dreaming, it was very detailed. It was Aasrel, and he was alive unlike in her nightmare.

Aasrel flinched slightly like he always did, catching his breath and tensing. Not because it hurt. Despite her tight grip, her fingers were gentle. It was just a very unwelcome reminder for him, especially after his own nightmare the night before. But she seemed to relax, her fingers gently tracing the metallic implements. He tried to make himself relax. Anything that would help her be calm was good.

“What,” she tried to swallow and cleared her throat, “what happened?”

Bethany

“You had a seizure.” He tried again, calmly and patiently. It was no surprise after all her brain had been through, and her medications, that she was very out of it and confused. Before saying more he looked down at her and waited to see if she was following this time.

~ Aasrel

Her forehead furrowed as her brows drew together. “Seizure? Why?” She stared at him a moment. She understood what he meant by seizure but she had never had one, ever. “H… how?” Bethany suddenly felt very sick and it had nothing to do with the after affects of surgery.

Bethany

“Because of your fever. It spiked.” Aasrel said, giving her another moment to process as he squeezed her hand. “You collapsed. I was so worried for you.”

~ Aasrel

She shook her head slowly. She didn’t remember that. “Why? I… you,” her brow furrowed more, “you gave me my hypo.”

Bethany

Aasrel rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Yeah. There was a spike in your psilosynine levels so the meds weren’t enough anymore.”

~ Aasrel

The meds weren’t enough anymore. It took her tired mind several minutes to process the implication. She seemed to doze off, except that her heart rate went up as her stress level rose as her mind finally processed the meaning of his words.

Without the meds there was nothing to stop her body from killing itself. When she opened her eyes there was a feeble attempt at that signature sassy grin, but she was simply too sick to pull it off. She licked her lips and swallowed as she tiredly met his gaze. “Aasrel, am I dying?”

Bethany

“No.” Aasrel stated stubbornly. “You’re not, and you don’t forget your promise either.” He squeezed her hand again. “I talked Th’rethiss into a psilosynine extraction. He wants to excise the gland.”

~ Aasrel

She wasn’t sure he was being honest with himself or her. Excise? “What?” She was saying that a lot and it was making her frustrated. “I don’t understand.”

Bethany

“Remember how we were talking before?” He asked gently. “About removing the psilo-gland? He wants to do that.”

~ Aasrel

She was quiet a moment, but not as ling this time. She was starting to wake up more. She nodded, “I remember. Is … it that bad now? I thought that was a last resort?” She squeezed his hand suddenly. “You said a psilosynine extraction?” She tried to sit up a bit, but gave up and stayed laying down. “Did he take the donation?” She seemed all too hopeful.

Bethany

“We’re waiting to see how the extraction works. It might slow this down enough we don’t have to. But… th’rethiss wants to just do it.” Aasrel nodded and squeezed her hand back. “An extraction is the process for the donation. I’m pretty sure Th’rethiss stored it properly… I think he’s deciding whether to let me do it.”

~ Aasrel

“What?” She blinked and then really tried to sit up. “No. If he has it, he has to use it. It only last a short time.” She looked at him, “You didn’t let him take out did you?” She was breathing hard as she forced herself up. She had to find Th’rethiss and convince him, make him understand. Or get the sample and take Aasrel to someone else.

Bethany

“Bethany, please, lay back.” Aasrel insisted, supporting her with a hand behind her back. “Let your body rest. You need it.” He looked at her. “No. I didn’t let him remove it. I couldn’t let him do it without your consent. It’s fine. It’s good for seventy two hours from extraction. We have time. Don’t work yourself up, please.”

~ Aasrel

She grabbed his other arm trying to pull herself up rather than lay back like he wanted. “No… we don’t.” She could feel it. Her body couldn’t take the strain. This was the line. She had never felt so helpless, so out of control of her life. Not … not since … since she was a kid.

She couldn’t fail him too. She couldn’t. “We don’t have time if the extraction doesn’t work.” That carefully controlled emotional dam cracked. Even as her body swayed from the strain, tears pooled and one slipped down her cheek.

Bethany

“Bethany please!” Aasrel cried desperately. “I want you to live. If the donation doesn’t work, no donation will. It won’t matter. Please, rest, Bethany.” He was watching her biomonitor. “You are going to hurt yourself.”

~ Aasrel

“I want it too.” Especially after that morning. She wasn’t giving up. She would try any treatment they suggested, but she couldn’t give up helping him either. What would be the point of surviving if she failed him anyway? If she was a disappointment to him? There would be no point.

She didn’t feel well. It was an over whelming sense of malaise. Aasrel was insistent and so Bethany was forced to lay back on the biobed. Her extreme distress and agitation could be justified by the seizure and surgery, but it was also deeply buried feelings that were bubbling over. “I won’t. I promised.” She closed her eyes, but that just forced more tears to slip out.

Bethany

Aasrel squeezed her hand again. It was then that Th’rethiss chose to come over and check on her himself. “Lieutenant Gadi. How are you feeling?”

~ Aasrel | Th’rethiss

Hearing approaching foot steps she quickly wiped her face. His question forced Bethany to evaluate her physical state. “Disoriented. Oddly rested for the first time in awhile, but I generally just don’t feel well. My stomach was upset, but Dr Izei gave me something and it helped.”

Bethany

Aasrel told Th’rethiss the name of the medication and Th’rethiss nodded. He turned back to Bethany, “Let us know if the disorientation gets worse. I need to draw new blood tests to see how your body is responding to the drop in psilosynine levels.”

~ Aasrel

“I will.” It was already better, she just felt slow to process. She nodded, “Whatever you need ro do doctor.” Moments ago she wanted to find him and make him agree to give Aasrel the procedure. Now she just didn’t feel up to fighting him. She just wanted to slip back to sleep, escape and avoid whatever news his blood test would bring.

Bethany

Th’rethiss took blood samples and ran scans and then left. “You look tired.” Aasrel commented. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand again. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

~ Aasrel

“I am,” her voice conveyed the depths of his statement. It was so much more than just sleepy or exhausted. Her hand tightened around his as his thumb moved over her hand. “I don’t feel okay.”

Bethany

“You will.” He was being hopeful, but he refused to acknowledge that might not be true. Aasrel smiled at her, a look of caring concern. “Try to sleep. It’ll help.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany nodded slightly. “Okay.” She closed her eyes, but kept hold of his hand. She wanted Uncle Cayden. He always sat with her when she was scared. He always seemed larger than life. Nothing could happen when he was around. She might never see him again…

Aasrel knew the moment she fell asleep because her hand relaxed in his. She slept for a few hours. Her vitals steadied out more while she slept, though they still weren’t completely normal.

Bethany

Aasrel kept hold of her hand even after she fell asleep. After a little while, he fell asleep himself in the chair he was sitting in. It wasn’t a peaceful sleep. He woke when his nightmare caused him to nearly roll out of the chair. After that, he read quietly on a PaDD.

~ Aasrel

Bethany was semi-awake for a bit, just listening to the sounds around her as she dozed in and out. When she opened her eyes, she glanced around, hoping it had all been a horrible nightmare. It wasn’t. She watched Aasrel read quietly beside the biobed. Just like her father had sat beside her mother as she inevitably slipped away from them. Was that why her father became so twisted? Losing her mother like that?

She didn’t want that for Aasrel. Why couldn’t she have just stayed away from him?

Bethany

Aasrel had lost himself anyway. The way he saw it, he was living on borrowed time already in his own way, and Bethany was only making that time longer by being in his life. Eventually Th’rethiss returned with her blood results. It was a good sign that he did not have that stern grouchy “bad news” look, only his usual grouchy look. “Your numbers are starting to fall back in line and your psilosynine isn’t immediately rebounding to such high levels. These are good things, it means we’ve bought time. I still, however, recommend getting a psiloectomy, removing the gland responsible for psilosynine production.”

~ Aasrel

If Th’rethiss had given Aasrel the donation, if he was preparing Aasrel for surgery, then Bethany would have agreed. Well probably. There was still the unknown of what would happen when the El-Aurian hormone had free reign in her head. Bethany shook her head, meeting his grouchy gaze. “No. You both said a psiloectomy was a last resort. That it was too dangerous otherwise.” She meet his grouchy gaze with a steady (or as steady as someone who’d been neurologically kicked around) gaze. “Is it that bad? Am I going to die if you don’t do it?”

Bethany

“Not… today.” Sighed Th’rethiss exasperatedly. “It depends on if your psilosynine spikes like that again. You had a seizure, Lieutenant. If we hadn’t done the extraction you would already be in a coma. I can’t tell you when it’ll spike like that.”

Aasrel looked concerned and worried and stressed, not to mention tired. “It shouldn’t right away. Our psilosynine jumps during puberty like hers did but hers will need time to replenish.”

~ Aasrel

Puberty? Oh that was just great. She’d already done her time as an awkward youth. No way. Her mind traveled down that road for a moment before focusing back on Th’rethiss. “Are you telling me, that even though you’ve lowered the levels of psilosynine, the hypo I’ve been taking every day won’t work anymore?”

“It’ll still work,” Aasrel and Th’rethiss said at the same time. Then Th’rethiss continued, “The levels in your blood were too high for the medication to neutralize. Doctor Izei maxed your dosage. But now that the levels are down, your meds will be sufficient.”

“So, I can go back to the lower dosage? Then when I have to go back up, we know you need to siphon off the psilosynine again.” She said it like it was fact and not a question.

She glanced at Aasrel, “What about that other hormone? The El-Aurian one you said was disrupting everything? If it was gone would that correct the psilosynine problem?”

“From what I’ve read the oaralynine gland can’t be removed without causing deafness.” Aasrel said with a shake of the head. “If it was gone, it probably would, but we can’t do that.”

Deafness? There were worse things, like dying, and there were all kinds of implants. Then she could still let her body make the psilosynine that Aasrel needed. And if she had telepathy did she really need to hear?

“What will happen with the other hormone if you do the psiloectomy? Is it going to cause issues later on? Will I just be back here again dealing with some crazy battle my body is waging on itself?” she asked Th’rethiss.

Bethany

“We don’t think so.” Aasrel said with a little shrug, “It has somewhere to go, even if it’s not the right somewhere, so it shouldn’t leak into your bloodstream the way your psilosynine does.”

~ Aasrel

That one took a moment for her to process and form her concern. “But the oaralynine doesn’t belong in my paracortex and can’t be used. What if it is causing problems, but right now I don’t notice because the other problems are more noticeable?”

Bethany

Th’rethiss shook his head. “We don’t know. Honestly, it’s a ‘keep you from dying in the near future’ measure, not a for sure cure.”

~ Th’rethiss

Bethany looked between them both, back and forth like she was watching a tennis match. “So risk brain damage for something that might not make a difference? No thanks.”

Bethany