Posted by Lieutenant Solal Segal (Oncology and Immunology) in Side sim: Guilty Pleasures

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Bonner (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in Side sim: Guilty Pleasures

Posted by Lieutenant Solal Segal (Oncology and Immunology) in Side sim: Guilty Pleasures
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
V’alura had arrived about three days ago. It was still weird for Solal, it made her feel like more of a person to have her there in person, and made the fact he had a sister feel more real. Emotions he was still avoiding. He had slept most of yesterday, he hadn’t felt well. It felt like the fatigue was getting worse again. It was something he should expect, and yet, still didn’t. He kept hoping he’d simply get better. What a human idea that was.

Of course, as it became more and more difficult to meditate he was becoming more human in his behaviors as his emotions became more difficult to control. It was visually evident as such upon a quick look around his quarters: the noticeable dent in his work desk, the candles he used for meditation slammed forcefully on the counter, instead of set in the drawer in which they belonged, and his blankets and sheets, instead of being neatly made, were tossed haphazardly into the corner of the bed. A combination of his meds and his illness left his appetite lacking, and that meant the small area for prepping food or drinks in his quarters, looked untouched in the last few days, though he had been seen in the galley, so he must have been at least trying.

Today was another off day. He felt like he’d slept too much lately, yet at the same time felt drained of every bit of energy. So he had decided to use some of his seemingly endless free time on something he had not done in a very long time. He sat curled up on the edge of the bed, one of the blankets from his bed wrapped around him, facing the screen of a PaDD as though it were a TV, a movie playing on the screen. Solal gave a little cough as he watched. He didn’t expect anyone. No one typically visited his quarters, and it was only 1400, well before he’d have to try and eat again. At present, the movie’s main character appeared across the screen, instantly recognizeable to most from the planet Earth: Batman.

~ Lt Solal

One of the things that Alexis had insisted on was a continuous monitor. Especially for heart rate and respiration. If Solal should enter respiratory distress he would be unable to call for help. So it was through this that she knew Solal had slept most of the previous day. It didn’t track his location or activity, just his bio-functions. Alexis was also not adverse to house calls. A habit she had learned from Dr. Malbeck when she had been working under him in San Francisco. Location was fluid, it was about the comfort and safety of the patient. She had time and since GALEN said Solal was in his quarters she decided not to make him walk to sickbay for his appointment. She rang the chime and waited.

Bonner

Solal had not been thrilled with the idea, but the logic in Bonner’s statement about one not being able to call for help when one cannot breathe, won him out. He wore it cooperatively despite the slight discomfort of feeling it there.

There was a knock at his door and he fumbled to pause the playing video. It paused on a perfect frame of Christian Bale’s face, center in the screen, unmistakeably Batman. Who was knocking? And why? Maybe it was only V’alura. Regardless, he did not feel presentable. He had forgotten entirely about the appointment today. In his haste, he forgot to turn the screen off, leaving the screen with Batman’s face within view of the door. He pressed the control to open the door with another slight cough.

He looked remarkably human, save for the paled green tones to his skin and pointed ears. Dressed in casual Earth clothes, a plain T-shirt plaid pajama pants, and wearing nothing on his feet, he looked tired, surprised, and embarrassed all in one. A lot of emotion for Solal’s usually Vulcan-levels-of-neutral blank expression. “Doctor Bonner. Is something wrong?”

~ Solal

“Dr. Solal,” she spoke in way of greeting. “No, nothing is wrong. You have an appointment today, and since I had the time, I thought I would come to you, rather than the other way around. How are your symptoms today?” If she noticed ‘Batman,’ and she did, Alexis didn’t show it. Of course people would find equally interesting shows in her own screen.

Bonner

“Unchanged.” Solal commented about his symptoms. After his stay in sickbay, Bonner had put him on immune suppressants that had been helping his symptoms, which he had reported at his last appointment. He was saying they had not changed since that previous appointment. That wasn’t quite true though, his fatigue had worsened and he had begun coughing again early that day. It was still a light cough and he had written it off as his throat being too dry.

Alexis nodded, there was no rhyme or reason to how his symptoms progressed, and so far there had not been any forward improvement, even with the meds.

He stepped aside to invite Bonner in, and then, noticing the screen still on, hastily reached to shut it off. Then he stood, near the bed, and composed himself. “I apologize, my appointment time must have slipped my mind. I hope I have caused you no trouble.” Missing the appointment could be explained by the AIE. His symptoms of that had seemed a little better, though Solal would disagree because he still could not meditate.

~ Solal

“Well I am a bit early, but it is no inconvenience.” She stepped into his quarters and the door slid shut. She didn’t seem to notice the apparent disarray. His office certainly was always neat and orderly, but that was work. And it wasn’t as if she was privy to his private life. “I have brought new canisters for your breathing treatments as well.” She set the box containing the canisters on the nearest surface. In an attempt to improve her bedside manner, she asked, “Was that Batman? I had a roommate that liked super heroes.”

Bonner

Solal looked like she had caught him in the act of the most shameful thing one could imagine. “It was an attempt to study themes and tropes in early 21st century cinema. Movies deeply reflect issues and common sentiments in society. Even the ones that don’t take place in reality.” It was easy to come up with an answer but with his failing ability to control his emotions his expression wasn’t exactly ambiguous.

~ Solal

Alexis nodded, “Literature, in all forms, is a reflection of the society it comes from. I have been told that the 20th and 21st centuries produced great cinema and productions. I have been studying when I have time.” She considered his explanation probable and didn’t press. If he enjoyed it she certainly couldn’t judge. Despite her better judgement she was enjoying Lucy and would never admit that to anyone.

“Shall we get started?”

Bonner