Posted by Commander Brad Walker (Chief Of Staff/Second Officer) in Primary Sickbay- Private Consultations
<snip>

John tapped his chin thoughtfully and nodded.
“That would be simpler. We’ll need to work out which of the symptoms is the main one.” He stated then turned to the Captain.
“Which symptom did you experience first Captain?” He asked.

Lt McCandless (Head Nurse)

She thought back and to be honest, the concentration and memory issues made that hard. “Fatigue, I’m pretty sure. It’s the one thing that never really goes away. Some days I have a bit more energy, but lately it’s like my body is working so very hard to just function. I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not in that terrible cycle of always being tired and then using caffiene to keep me going.”

Captain Myqian, CO

“How much sleep would you say you’re getting in a week?” Brad asked. “Is it more or less than 56 hours?”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira couldn’t help it and broke into a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve had eight hours of sleep consistently in almost a decade, every since I became the head of counselling on the Halcyon.” She shook her head. “But I would say that in the last few weeks, I’m averaging somewhere around forty hours of sleep. And yes I know that I should be getting higher as a telepath due to the extra energy requirements and recovery time needed.” She shrugged, trying to not sound too defensive. It was the life she was leading and the underlying issue that was getting worse. She was doing the best she could.

Captain Myqian, CO

“Stars preserve me,” Brad muttered, looking briefly towards the ceiling. “Please for the love of all that is holy do not make me do what I had to do to get Willow to get something resembling a proper sleep schedule. Not only would Commander Haven probably kill me, I don’t what the lower-decks rumour mill going into overdrive again.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira glanced briefly at Zoi and then back at the medical staff before dropping her head, she shoulders sagging. “I’m doing the best I can,” she said in a small voice, so contrary to the one the captain was used to using. She was just so tired but then had the insomnia, plus a ship to run. What did they expect her to do? “Besides, the rumour mill has been doing its thing ever since Williams Franks abducted me. I’m used to it,” she added, her voice now flat.

“Used to it and fueling it are two entirely different animals,” Brad replied, equally flat. “Just because I’m used to the fresh-out-of-the-Academy girls turning red and giggling every time they see me walk down the corridor doesn’t mean I like it.”

She drew her hands together in her lap, one thumb rubbing back and forth along the other. “We’ve established that we need to looks smaller. How small are we talking? We’ve been looking at systemic issues, but my symptoms aren’t relegated to one organ. My symptoms are systemic, even if the cause is not. How small should we start looking?”

Captain Myqian, CO

“I don’t want to be overly simplistic and suggest that one good night’s sleep will fix everything, but getting out of the cycle of fatigue and stimulants would, at the very least, cut down on some of the symptoms. It could give us a clearer picture if there’s something seriously wrong if our case board, so to speak, isn’t being cluttered by red herrings of issues that look related but actually aren’t, if you follow my meaning.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

John nodded along agreeing with Brad. He continued to listen, it wasn’t his place to chip in at the moment. He was taking notes so that he could add to Dira’s medical notes later.

McCandless (Head Nurse)

She understood what he was saying and there was logic to it, but damn if it wasn’t frustrating. “Well, you’ve taken me off duty, so I have plenty of time now, don’t I? How do you want to go about this extra sleep?” It was hard not to feel like everything was so precarious. She glanced at Zoi and tried to give her a small smile, but her heart wasn’t in it.

Captain Myqian, CO

“I’d prefer you go about it naturally,” Brad replied. “But understanding you may be a bit too worked up at the moment, I am prepared to offer you a carefully-dosed sedative that will put you out for twelve hours.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

bump

Did she like the idea? Not really. But Dira couldn’t really fault his logic. She wasn’t on duty adn would not be going back on duty until they had this more figured out and she wasn’t going to pass out unexpectedly. Somehow Dira was doubting that this would be over soon. But it had to be. She couldn’t keep going with these mystery symptoms without consequences for her quality of life, let alone her career.

“Fine, let’s do a sedative,” she said, before glancing at Zoi. “Do you think you could bring me some stuff from my quarters. Toiletries, night clothes. If I’m going to be here awhile, I might as well be comfortable.”

Captain Myqian, CO

Zoi tried to be as supportive as she could while her mind worried at the idea that something was seriously wrong with Dira. While she did not fear for Dira’s life in the same way as she had when William Franks had kidnapped her, Zoi did feel a sense of foreboding and worry. The Captain couldn’t be in better hands, she knew, but it still felt horrible with this unknown medical related assailant. Zoi could not fix this.

“I’ll go get it ready, then once you’re all situated, we’ll administer it,” Brad said, as Zoi departed to get the requested items. He was already running the dosage calculations on his PaDD for the Captain’s height, weight and physiology.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

She nodded to Dira and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, giving not a whit for anyone who might judge them for the rare public display of affection and care. Then she swiftly left the Sickbay, taking on her serene composure that she often had while on duty. The last thing the Chief of Security wanted to do was add to the scuttlebutt. If anyone saw her and made the connection to the fact the Captain was in Sickbay, they would have no way to guess what was going on based on Zoi’s normal looking behavior.

Waiting for Zoi, Dira was alone with John (and Solal if he was still there). She could take a great in stride, and so far she thought she had been doing an admirable job at keeping her composure. There were deep implications evolving for her life and her career and Dira knew that she could only avoid them for so long.

Sitting on the bed, it was hard to not want to be The Captain, but right now she was The Patient and it was harder to surrender to that than before. It probably helped that she wasn’t injured and about to pass out from pain after her abduction. She wasn’t even embarrassed about passing out earlier today (at least not entirely). Right now though, everything felt intensely fragile, as if it would all crumble through her fingers if she made the even the slightest wrong move. In some ways it was forcing her to be still, emotionally paralyzed even.

She wanted to feel more confident that they would figure this out. Yes they had something of a new direction to investigate, but it still seemed so very vague. There was nothing tangible to sink their investigatory teeth into and Dira knew that until they found the metaphorical smoking gun, she would not get better. How depressing.

Her gaze flicked up to John briefly before she lowered her eyes back to the bed. “Well, at least if I’m sedated you won’t have to worry about me passing out,” she said lightly.

Captain Myqian, CO

As soon as she got to their shared quarters though, Zoi let out a deep breath and pressed her hand to her chest as her eyes watered. Even though a light and fluffy and carefree life wasn’t for either the Captain or her girlfriend, Zoi couldnt help but hope for at least a little more peace and normality after Franks. For a few moments, she breathed slowly in and out, calming herself and reassuring herself. If anyone could find out what was going on with Dira, it was the staff here. She trusted them and she had to let them do their job. If anyone knew the struggles of the medical staff, it was her though she had never gone out of her way to connect with any of them. Feeling more stable, she stepped away from the door and began to arrange the requested items into an overnight bag for Dira.

Haven, CoS

OOC: Going to move this along. We’re going to have to carry on without Solal. And there’s still a clue to pursue that might yet yield results. :)
IC:
When Zoi returned, Dira gratefully accepted the bag and pulled out some pyjamas- soft bottoms and a sleeveless top. There was also a wrap sweater top she often wore. She changed as quickly as her fatigue would allow, pushing her swirling thoughts and fears down. They were not helpful right now. She took out a silk wrap and tied it around her head to protect her hair and turned to Zoi. “I’m going to be asleep for a long while and monitored. Once I’m under, you don’t have to stay. You need your rest too. One of us needs to be functional,” she said with a forced smile.

Slipping up onto the biobed, she lay lay and pulled the blanket up, waiting for Brad to return.

Captain Myqian, CO

Zoi idly tucked her girlfriend in and gave her a forced smile in return. “I will be functional. I am an old lady and I don’t need anyone telling me what to do with my time.” Her smile softened a little. “I love you dearest.”

It only took another couple of minutes for the Chief of Staff to reappear, hypospray in hand.

“You’re all ready, then?” he asked, noting the changed clothes and the tucked-in appearance.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

OOC: Tom is probably going to be away for awhile so for now I guess it’s up to Brad to continue investigating the mystery.
IC:
Dira nodded. “About as ready as I can be, I guess.” She knew her ship was in good hands, and yet the idea of being completely unavailable made her stomach twist. But she also couldn’t deny that really good sleep sounded amazing just now.

Captain Myqian, CO

“We’ll keep investigating to get to the bottom of this,” Brad promised, crossing the room to stand next to the biobed. “You’ll be back on the bridge before you know it.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira wanted to feel reassured, and she did trust Brad. “I’m holding you to that, Brad,” she said softly. Tilting her neck to give him easy access for the hypo, she tapped. the side with two fingers. “Alright, let’s do this. I’m looking forward to seeing if more sleep makes a difference.”

Captain Myqian, CO

Brad injected the sedative. “So do I,” he said. Probably for different reasons, but either way it would give them a direction to go in figuring out the root cause of the issue.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira reached out and took Zoi’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Moments later, her eyes slipped closed and she was asleep, leaving Zoi there besides her and Brad with a collection of symptoms and test results to try to sort out. They had a direction (to look at things from a smaller level), but what that meant practically, remained to be seen.

Captain Myqian, CO

She held on gently to the hand in her own with obvious care as her love fell asleep. Finally, when she knew Dira had gone into REM, she let out a long and slow breath. She never felt like Dira was larger than life as some on the ship felt. Perhaps it was because of their closeness and relationship. All she saw in this moment was the love of her life. Zoi gently tucked a fold of the wrap that kept Dira’s hair protected during her sleeping hours and stood. While she would give nearly anything to stay for the entire duration of Dira’s stay, she knew this could take a while and there was work to do in her department until she felt tired enough to sleep.

Brad stood back during the intimate moment, eyes glued to the monitors that assured him the sedative had taken effect with no side effects, and the Captain was now getting some much-needed rest. He let out a sigh of his own, wondering what it was about Command in general, and this ship in particular, that drove the four-pipped to perpetual overwork.

She knew Walker would get her if she was needed or if Dira woke up. She had to trust the people and the process here. This weirdly, was almost comfortable territory given how much she used to deal with this exact life when she was with her mother. Her eyes scanned the readouts above Dira’s bed. Some of it was very familiar, and some not. She took in one more long deep breath and let it out before she turned and left Dira to her rest.

Haven, CoS

“Commander,” Brad said quietly, following her out and letting the door to the suite close behind them. “A word, in my office, before you go?”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Perhaps she should not have been surprised that Dr. Walker wanted to talk further, but it had and her brows rose in response. “Of course Doctor.” She replied as she followed him to his office. She felt the tug of being away from Dira, the worry she felt for her partner weighing heavily on her heart. She seemed almost resigned to whatever he want to say, afterall, she had spent a great deal of time with doctors in her life. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Haven, CoS

“First of all, I want to make sure that you’re all right as well,” Brad said. “I won’t say not to worry, because it’s a natural reaction, but to be confident that we’re taking our best care of Dira.”

He then sighed. “I also want to know if you’ve seen anything in her actions or behavior lately that could help us figure this out.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Bump for Amber