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 (34) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Aasrel kept holding her long after she fell asleep. It crossed his mind briefly that Th’rethiss had never gotten the chance to go over his scans. He didn’t really care though. He rested his head against her and drifted back to sleep himself.

~ Aasrel

Harkins came in, one brow raised. Bethany didn’t wake, which was unusual. Harkins smiled gently at Izei and gave Bethany a hypo to help her sleep. She gave him his next round of medication and then pulled out an extra blanket to cover Bethany with.

Really Harkins shouldn’t leave her there, but Bethany’s body needed as much rest as possible. She checked on them regularly. When she noticed Aasrel awake again she told Th’rethiss.

The doctor came in and scowled at the two of them. Bethany slept on. “I shouldn’t leave her there, but she needs the sleep.” He looked at Izei, “She shouldn’t work, it will accelerate the process, but given her … stubbornness it is better to give her something else to concentrate on.”

Th’rethiss

“Give her desk work,” Aasrel pleaded quietly. “Don’t let her do anything physical. I… I can’t lose her. I don’t want her accelerating the process.” He hugged her close, careful not to wake her. “Please.”

~ Aasrel

“Light duty, no bridge shifts, no trainings, light patrols. The movement is good for her. She can supervise but not participate in training. I am making her come here for her hypo twice a day.”

He pulled up Aasrel’s latest scans and placed them next to the previous. “Good progress here. The swelling is much reduced, your psilosynine levels have quadrupled again. You can see here in the paracortex the increased neural activity. This one shows the areas of damage, they are almost completely healed.”

Th’rethiss

Unlike last time, Aasrel didn’t need help understanding the scans, just a little time to study them. “So when should I see a reduction in symptoms? When do you think my telepathy will come fully back?”

~ Aasrel

Th’rethiss brows went up. “Fully? So you have already started getting some of the sense back then?” He nodded to himself and looked at the scans. “I had not expected anything for at least a week. For full recovery…based on scans… perhaps within the month? Your brain is healing incredibly fast. Probably sooner. We need to keep scanning every day. Possibly two weeks. The complications from the swelling, a week after we are able to replace the bone.”

Th’rethiss

Aasrel nodded. “Empathy, in flashes. Nothing permanent yet.” He rubbed Bethany’s back gently, wanting her to stay asleep. “When do you think we’ll be replacing the bone?” He knew that was another surgery. He wanted Bethany there when he went in and when he came back.

~ Aasrel

The small movement of Izei’s hand was telling. It made him miss his Ch’te, Sh’za, and Zh’yi. “Well I can tell you more after your next scan. Which means after she wakes up, or I can have her moved now.” It was his nostalgia that made him sound perhaps accommodating.

Th’rethiss

“No, don’t move her. She needs the sleep. She never sleeps like this.” Aasrel said. “We’ll do the scan as soon as she wakes. Promise.”

~ Aasrel

Th’rethiss nodded and left the room. Whatever Harkins had given Bethany kept her asleep. She had strange dreams. She slept for long hours before they started to disturb her. She murmured in her sleep, in Standard and Betzed, but it was mostly unintelligible. “Quinyi. (I’m sorry.)” She said over and over and then began to sob in her sleep.

Bethany

Aasrel had fallen asleep again. Her murmuring in her sleep woke him and he hugged her tightly. When she began to cry he shook her gently. “Bethany, wake up. Come on, wake up. It’s me, Bethany. Just me.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany turned closer to him. She pressed her face into his shoulder, her arm tightened over him as her hand bunched in the blanket. “Quinyi, Rel.” It was muffled and slurred. She began to sob, her shoulders shaking. Her heart was pounding and her head hurt slightly. Whatever she had been dreaming about had scared her, but more than that had filled her with grief, guilt, and regret.

Bethany

Aasrel hugged her tightly. “It’s okay. It was just a dream. I’m here.” He said, repeating the words quietly and gently. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

~ Aasrel

This nightmare had been just as bad as the one where Aasrel had died in an attack on the ship. This one had felt just as real. Bethany pressed closer which allowed his arms to tighten further. Eventually the sound of his voice sank in along with his warmth eased the tremors. It took longer for the tears to stop, but they did. She didn’t say anything, just held tightly to him.

Bethany

Aasrel kept whispering, “I’m here, it’s okay,” over and over as he hugged her tightly and rubbed her back. “It’s only a dream.” When she seemed like she’d stopped crying, he looked down at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

~ Aasrel

Her face rubbed back and forth where she was pressed against his chest. “No.” Bethany had to get herself under control. She was going back on duty, she needed to keep it to herself. She needed focus and calm. He could feel her take long deep breaths, forcing an easy rhythm. “I love you, Rel.”

Bethany

“Okay.” Aasrel said gently. “You can’t keep it in forever, you know. But for now, that’s okay.” He rested his head against her. “I love you, too.”

~ Aasrel

His statement made her smile ruefully. He never wanted to talk about his nightmares, but he wanted her to tell him. The smile quickly slipped away, as the sleep aid over rode the nightmare induced adrenaline. She felt heavy and lethargic. When she lifted her head, it swam and spun thickly. “Somethings wrong…” Bethany sounded scared and alarmed. She was unaware that Harkins had given her something to help her sleep.

Bethany

Aasrel didn’t notice the hypocricy there. He rubbed her back gently. “Harkins gave you a sleep aid. It may not have worn off yet.” He said to her. “Do you want me to call someone just in case it’s not that?”

~ Aasrel

“No.” Bethany didn’t want anyone else to see how upset she was. It was okay with Aasrel, but not anyone else. His hand on her back was soothing and after a few more minutes she fell asleep again.

Bethany woke up a couple of hours later. It took a few moments for everything to slide into place. Sleep aides did that to her. It annoyed her that she slept through Harkins coming in and giving it to her. She must have been more tired than she realized. That was dangerous. She didn’t want to get up. She wanted to stay there with Aasrel and forget for a bit longer.

Bethany

Aasrel was asleep when she woke up. When she started to move around he woke immediately and hugged her tightly. “Bethany. How do you feel?”

~ Aasrel

She smiled slightly. “I’m fine. How long have I been asleep?” It felt like forever, she was hungry and her throat felt dry.

Bethany

“Most of the day,” Aasrel replied. He rested his head against her. “Doctor Th’rethiss will be in soon and when he sees you’re awake he’s going to want to scan my head. I’m sure the nurse can bring you some food, too.”

~ Aasrel

Pushing herself up, Bethany looked at him. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep here. Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” She sat up fully, wishing she didn’t have to. “They should have gotten me up to do your tests.” She looked around, “All day?” She was supposed to go back on duty. That meant she missed at least two sessions with Jonan and Aasrel hadn’t gotten up either.

Bethany

“I’m fine. I liked having you here.” Aasrel tugged her, wanting her to stay. “I asked him not to. You needed that sleep.” Then he nodded. “Yeah, nearly all day. I’m glad you got that much rest.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany smiled, a slight color on her cheeks, and let him tug her back down beside him. “Did you order him to leave me alone? I don’t see him putting off your test so you can hold me while I sleep.” She laughed softly and the yawned. “I never sleep this much in one go, unless…” she stopped. Unless she was sick. She didn’t want to think about that anymore. “How are you feeling? Did you sleep at all?”

Bethany

Aasrel shrugged. “Even if I had ordered him I think he’d have used me being off duty and confused to ignore me.” He smiled and hugged her. “Because your body needs it. I’m glad you slept.” When she asked about him, he shrugged. “My head hurts a little. I think I’m doing better. I slept some. Not as much as you.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany moved her head back on his shoulder to look at him. “You sound better. Your conversation seems to be coming easier. How was your walk yesterday? I never asked, I’m sorry.”

“It was… Okay. Nurse Jonan seemed pleased, at least.” Aasrel replied with a shrug. “But they want me to keep trying. Just… You know, carefully.”

She grinned at the hint of frustration, “Now you know how I felt when you told me the same thing. You will be back to normal before you realize it.”

Aasrel sighed and shook his head at her. “Payback, huh?”

Bethany smirked and gave a little shrug.

“If I pretend to be asleep, do you think they will let us stay here for a bit longer?”

Bethany

Aasrel grinned and chuckled. “I don’t think you’ll fool Th’rethiss.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany sighed, “I suppose not. I brought your clothes. Do you want to change?”

Bethany

Aasrel frowned and shifted a little. He did need to change clothes, but… “I don’t know.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany set a hand on his cheek and turned his face to look at her. “Hey… it’s just me. I can leave if you’d rather. Whatever you need, okay.” She kissed him in a very long lingering way.

Bethany

Aasrel kissed her back, melting into her. “Okay, but just you.” He said softly when the kiss ended. “I need help.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany sat up and stood. Her body felt off balance, like her center if gravity was off. Slept too long she guessed. She tried not to be obvious about leaning against the bed as she raised it so he could sit up. Then she walked over to the door controls and shut it while grabbing his clothes off the far counter.

Bethany helped him, mostly to keep his balance if he got dizzy. She couldn’t help teasing and flirting with him just a little. Why couldn’t she have met him before she got sick? Why did she have to be sick at all?

Bethany

Aasrel needed her help mostly to change bottoms. He seemed to enjoy her teasing and flirting as she helped him. Soon he was changed and he looked like he felt better as they settled him back into bed. “Thanks.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany let her eyes slide over him slowly and back to his eyes. “Thank you for the show.” She winked at him with a mischievous grin. When she opened the door, Th’rethiss and Jonan were standing there. Jonan simply grunted and crooked a finger at her and pointed a finger at an empty biobed.

Aasrel flushed slightly and smiled. “Anytime, darling,” he said, in a mock up voice like a 1920’s gentleman.

Bethany tossed him a very private and warm look as she followed Jonan out for her own exam.

Th’rethiss entered and began lowering the bed flat, noting the change in clothes. “Your readings look good. How is the dizziness after changing?” He pulled out the scanners and began to set up for his scans.

Th’rethiss

“I’m pretty dizzy, but I think I’m okay. Bethany helped me change. We were careful.” Aasrel answered. He obediently lay back with the bed and held still while Th’rethiss got ready for the scans.

~ Aasrel

“Any nausea? That should be getting better, and you are regular meals. Jonan said you got much farther than he was expecting yesterday.”

“Some. Not as bad.” Aasrel answered. “If that’s ‘much farther’ he must have been expecting me not to make it out of bed.” He complained.

“We didn’t expect far considering you fell quite hard twice in 12 hours,” Th’rethiss told him.

As soon as the equipment was set up, “Alright, lay still,” and he started the scans.

Th’rethiss

Aasrel lay still and let the scans be taken, reaching for Bethany’s hand before remembering she had been led away for her own exam.

.~ Aasrel

The scans didn’t take long for either of them. Th’rethiss put the equipment away, “I need to review these, and then I will come back with the results.” He raised the bed slightly and then left.

Bethany came back in and grinned. “Well that didn’t take long. I overheard Jonan and Torvik. They are going to let us go walk together if you feel up to it.”

Bethany