Posted by Chief Petty Officer Sam Nazarian (Host of Florence’s) in Main Sim- Deck 7

Posted by Lieutenant Dr. Mariah Lee Grayson (Chief of Psychiatry) in Main Sim- Deck 7

Posted by Chief Petty Officer Sam Nazarian (Host of Florence’s) in Main Sim- Deck 7
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Sam carried Eloise with the nimble grace down the corridor, tracking his path by following Grayson carefully.

Thankfully, the single entrance to the controlled wing was far away from the breach and thus they were able to cross through the aseptic entrance into the reception centre and waiting area. Sam noted that the staff were all on high alert, which made sense given their particular patients. But he and Mariah went to the right into the counselling portion of the deck that also housed the COP’s office. “You’re doing great,” he said softly to Eloise, who seemed to have calmed down but was still curled up and unresponsive.

They reached Grayson’s office, which was thankfully central in this area and not towards the aft area that seemed to be the cause of the ship’s issues. As they entered her office, he gave Mariah a questioning look, uncertain where to put Eloise just now, though carrying her was not an issue.

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Mariah was relieved they made it back to her office without incident. Of course, it didn’t stop her from wondering what was going on, and she felt guilty for not providing more information as they weaved their way past the staff, who clearly had questions, but they would have to wait for the time being. She wasn’t entirely convinced that Eloise’s condition was strictly psychological in nature.

Seeing Sam’s questioning look, Grayson gestured to a large couch. “Perhaps Eloise would be most comfortable here?” Mariah didn’t want to treat the distraught young woman as if she weren’t present, but she also wanted to make it clear she was addressing. “May I get you both something from the replicator? I believe they should still be functioning.”

~Doctor Mariah Grayson, CoP

Sam shook his head as he gently laid Eloise on the couch on her side. She was still curled up but seemed to take a deeper breath. “Non-essential power would include replicators and that were cut for now. Whatever has caused the power surges seems to be effecting all three of these lower decks in the saucer. They’ll be trying to sort that out. But we can always get some from a tap in a ‘fresher if we need to.” Sometimes it amazed him how easily his operational knowledge came back to him.

He sat on the floor next to the couch so that Eloise could see him, but not so close that he would interfere.

Eloise blinked and drew in a slow breath that was almost a sigh.

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Mariah felt silly for remembering replicators were classified as nonessential and would be off-line under the circumstances. Grayson had to admit, when she thought of replicators, the first things she thought of was food, and that certainly seemed essential.

“Good idea,” she offered, heading to her office’s fresher unit. When she emerged, her expression was apologetic. “I’m sorry, I only have one cup, which I figure we should give to Eloise.” Without wasting any time, Mariah headed over to the couch and offered gently, “How about some water, Eloise?”

~Doctor Mariah Grayson, CoP

At first it seemed like Eloise hadn’t heard Mariah and she just gazed blankly ahead. But then she blinked again and her arm snaked out to take the water.

The distraught woman held the cup but didn’t move further since it required sitting up. Sam gently guided the cup towards her mouth, allowing Eloise to take a sip without spilling it. “So Eloise and I were having a conversation in the Lounge. She was on her break at the time and was telling me how she was having a hard time adjusting after arriving on the Ogawa a few months ago. She seemed quite down, more than expected, and so we talked and I convinced her to come up here to chat with someone in counselling.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’

Bump

“I’m really glad the two of you decided to come see me, though I am sorry for the current circumstances,” Mariah replied, directing her attention to both of them. Though Eloise was currently in some sort of compromised emotional state, Grayson had no reason to think she was incapable of hearing or understanding them and she wasn’t about to treat her as if she wasn’t in the room.

Hearing Sam’s succinct recap of the most recent events, Grayson wondered if Eloise’s depression and seeming current anxiety reaction had to do with some sort of prior experience with the ship wide trauma or perhaps battle? She really didn’t have much evidence of anything in particular and until Eloise started talking, all Mariah could do was speculate, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.

“It’s never easy joining a new ship, especially if you formed close bonds with the people you had to leave behind. Sometimes close bonds can be formed following events that are really scary. I’m wondering, Eloise, did something like that happened to you? Perhaps something that you remember because of the loud noises you hurt here?”

~Doctor Mariah Grayson, CoP

Eloise immediately began breathing heavily and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her knuckles went white as she held the cup.

“You know, I was in some pretty rough situations myself. I was an Operations officer during the war, and oh boy was that a lot. I enlisted right before the war broke out actually. Wasn’t what I had had in mind for service, but I was proud to do what I could.” As he talked, Eloise, opened her eyes again. “But I retired after nine years. It was too much, you know? But I still wanted to serve in some capacity. So I became a bartender,” he said, flashing both women a smile. “It’s not what others would want, but it works for me and sometimes I can forget what those years were like. At least until right now.” He wasn’t upset but despite the smile, Sam was more somber than usual.

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Mariah truly appreciated Sam’s willingness to open up about his own experiences to attempt to get Eloise talking. Grayson had no idea if she was on to something by suggesting Eloise had been exposed to prior trauma and was now reliving it, but Eloise’s increased agitation was at least a change from before.

It was never easy, but Mariah knew she had to press forward and risk some additional amount of pain in an effort to understand which direction to go. Meeting Sam’s eyes, Grayson offered, “Those reactions are completely understandable. Our bodies and our brains remember the traumatic things we’ve experienced even when we think we’ve put it all behind us because a lot of time has passed or we’ve changed the locations. Sometimes all it takes is a thought, feeling, sound, or a smell, and it’s like we’re reliving the very traumatic things that have happened to us. That doesn’t make us crazy or weak, it makes us survivors.”

It did seem like Eloise was listening but there was no obvious reaction.

Mariah took a beat and then said, “Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we are safe and we aren’t back in the scary times and places. One way to do that is to focus on what we notice with our senses right here in the present. Sam? I wonder if you could help me with a little exercise?”

~Doctor Mariah Grayson, CoP

Nazarian nodded. “Sure, whatcha got in mind, Doc?”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

“Keep your eyes open for me and tell me five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can hear and one thing you can taste. It’s okay if you can’t think of the maximum number of items for all your senses, but try to focus on the present and list as many as you can, yeah? Then maybe Eloise can try?” The point of the simple grounding exercise was to help pull distressed people from their memories and to get them to focus on the present.

~Dr. Mariah Grayson, CoP

“Sure thing, Doc,” he said with an easy smile.

He looked around the room. “I can see Doctor Grayson’s desk, you Eloise, the red alert lighting, the replicator, the door. I can hear the resonance of my own voice, umm, the slight hum of the power systems that are having issues”-he looked over at Eloise-“and the deep breath you just took.” He frowned. “Yeah, can’t think of a fourth, but I’ll move on to touch.” He rubbed his fingers into the black trousers he wore. “I can feel the fabric of my clothes, the density of the carpet under my feet, and the slight soreness in my arm where I know I have a bruise forming when I banged my arm on the wall. I can smell, well, my own sweat,” Sam said with a laugh, “and the tinge in the air from the explosion. And I can taste the bit of garlic in my teeth from something I ate earlier.”

OOC: I am taking a guess that you meant taste for 2. If not, we can just gloss over it.

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

“Very good, Sam,” Mariah praised. Grayson was taking a chance, but she decided to risk it. “Eloise, it’s your turn.”

OOC: Whoops! Good catch.

~Dr. Mariah Grayson, CoP