Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in A Glimpse at the Weekly Condition

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in A Glimpse at the Weekly Condition

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in A Glimpse at the Weekly Condition
Posted by… suppressed (11) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
He looked up at her as she spoke, and handed him two stacks of reports. One, neat and well done. And the other… well, they did look familiar. But were they really his? He tried to think back… But honestly he wasn’t sure what day it was, let alone when or if he wrote this crap. So it was true…

He had suspected, for some days, the reports he couldn’t remember writing, or that he could swear he remembered doing differently. He had been right. But Rand had been saving his backside, repeatedly. It only made the giant boulder he felt in his belly bigger.

Clearly, Rand already knew. Maybe she could help. Maybe… she knew what to do, in that one moment that he didn’t. Straightening his shirt the best he could, he exited his own quarters, took a deep breath, and knocked softly on the Farquharson door, hoping not to wake Randy.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand was pacing back and forth across her room, glad and disappointed that Randy wasn’t there. He was such a social person, and she was glad he was able to get out without his awkward ‘baby’ sister. She stopped and stared at the door at the soft knock. Oh he was going to be mad at her, never talk to her again. She knew she had to do it, it was her duty as an officer to report any situation that was dangerous to crew and ship, but…would he see it that way or see her as manipulative? She stared at the door for the longest time reminding herself to breath. She’d done the right thing, she’d followed protocol, she did her duty....but it felt so much more important than that.

Finally, with a shaky breath and shaking hands hidden behind her back she let the door open. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

Yeoman Rand

Roman looked quite outwardly distressed. For someone who preferred keeping his emotions in, it felt strange to him, wrong in a way, to be here. But if he didn’t do something Rand would have no choice but to report him. And he couldn’t let that happen. The moment the door opened he said, “You’re right. I don’t-” he didn’t know what to do. And he needed help. But he didn’t know how to ask.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand looked at him and she recognized that lost look, and needing help but not knowing who or how. She saw it in the mirror frequently. She looked around, Randy wasn’t there but he would be and Alden and Randy didn’t really like each other. She reached out and squeezed his hand. “Go…change.” she didn’t want to say he was a mess, but that uniform… “I’ll be right there.”

With a quick nod, Roman returned to his own quarters. He freshened up, switching his uniform for a new one and running his fingers through his hair to brush it into something resembling its normal shape.

A few minutes later Rand knocked on his door. She held two steaming glass mugs filled with Scotch Whiskey mixed with Hot black coffee (decaf), brown sugar, and warm milk. Then topped with whipped cream. She entered when he opened the door and gave him one of the mugs. “Scottish coffee.” It should help him relax.

Yeoman Rand

By the time Rand knocked, Roman was dressed, and looking more like himself made him feel a little better. He opened the door for her and let in, accepting the mug when it was offered. Pacing the room, he contemplated where to start, what to say. Finally, he just said, “I didn’t know who to go to.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand nodded, understanding. “I… don’t know what’s stopping you from sleeping. I’m not asking..I mean…you don’t have to tell me, unless…unless you want to.” She didn’t want him to think she was being nosey. “Sometimes talking helps. Sometimes I get so nervous it keeps me up at night. I can’t stop thinking about what happened…what might happen, and it keeps me awake.”

The idea of telling her was tempting. Roman had never talked to anyone about it, ever. His mouth felt glued shut. The words died in his throat, never making it out into the air. Thinking about it voluntarily was difficult.

She tried to think of something that would help. “I remember when I would help Randy study, it’s called circadian dysregulation. Without day and night time the body’s natural circadian rhythms get messed up. If I remember correctly a few days with a sleep aid helps.” She was still standing, not quite comfortable enough to be so informal, but she sipped her own coffee, a silent invitation for him to do the same.

Yeoman Rand

He knew that wasn’t it. Well, it could’ve played into it. But he didn’t think so. More likely some kind of psychological insomnia. He started sipping at the coffee, almost as imitating her. “It’s not that… I know it’s a problem,” he began, after a few silent minutes of sipping coffee. “But I just can’t. I can’t sleep.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand sipped quietly. “Is it falling asleep or staying asleep? Is there anything that helps?” Rand tried to think back to helping Randy study. It sounded, the way he said it, that there was something on his mind. They way he said he ‘just’ couldn’t. Rand knew that things allowed to fester in your mind just got worse. “Um, if you can’t, it might sound juvenile, but try writing it down? Put it somewhere that’s not in your head.”. Then suddenly, “Not the computer. That can be hacked.” And that prankster was about too.

Yeoman Rand

It didn’t just sound juvenile. It sounded like his sister’s diary when they were preteens. His knee-jerk reaction was to shoot down the idea. But if he didn’t have to go to Sickbay, who would certainly be pushier than Rand… Maybe he’d give it a go. “It’s staying asleep.” Talking about his problems didn’t come naturally to him, and even just admitting to the sleep issue felt like forcing forbidden words out.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“If it’s physical discomfort waking you up you could try some type of physical exercise that will stretch your muscles and help them relax.” She said remembering her leg cramp a few days before. “If it’s…mental discomfort,” that was a very broad way of putting it. “Maybe play an audiobook? Or music? Your brain listens even if you are asleep.”

Yeoman Rand

Mental discomfort was… probably the most interesting term Roman had ever heard for it. He wished he had more alcohol, that would loosen his lips. “Music… might help.” It was a subtle way of telling her ‘mental discomfort’ was the right track. “I didn’t want to ask Sickbay” he added. His avoidance of Sickbay was probably well known, he never went unless there was an emergency, or he was mandated to.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand nodded and sipped her drink. There were two full shots of whisky in the coffees. If he drank it might get him to relax. “What kind of music? I’m sure the computer library has plenty to choose from. Maybe epic ballads, musical but tells a story. It offers a different focus point for your brain. Did…did the tea help? I am happy to make it for you if you wake up, or I can give you some to make yourself.”.

Yeoman Rand

Roman sipped the coffee. The tea helped, yes, and he said, “It helped, if you could give me some, that would be best. I don’t want to wake you up when I am awake.” What helped more than the tea was her, Rand. Her soothing voice. With half the coffee down, he was beginning to feel more relaxed, and yet, any way he thought of to tell her so just sounded awkward to him. “I think you help, too. Your voice…” The music, offering something else for his mind to focus on, was probably also a good option to keep in mind.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Oh....Rand had to work really hard not to blush or show any sign that his comment struck a chord with her. She had a feeling if she did, even though she was immensely flattered by it, Alden would stop talking. She had shamelessly used the voice training she’d had the other night. She had learned to use her voice to move audiences, to make them feel what her characters did. And she had used it to try and help him relax. “I can give you the tea. I have plenty, and I’m sure more is coming. My grandmother grows and blends herbal teas. She’s always sending it and trying to catch up with our supply shipments.” Rand sat in the chair, sipping her coffee and then she began to tell him about her grandmother and helping her. She tried to make it seem that it was a natural progression of her comment about her grandmother. But it very slowly turned into a heartwarming tale about herself and the spry older woman. It was all true, but maybe embellished a bit to draw the story out. To let him listen to her voice and maybe allow him to sleep.

Yeoman Rand

Roman had to hope that something would work long-term, this sort of thing couldn’t continue forever, and Rand had shown him definitive proof of that. But as Rand started her story his worries fell to the back of his mind and he began to grow tired as he finished off the coffee and set the empty mug aside. By the end, he had fallen asleep once again, with the hope that he’d be able to manage better. Generally, he didn’t have this much of a problem, but lately, it had snowballed into something he couldn’t manage.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO