Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: The Reckoning

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in side-sim: The Reckoning

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: The Reckoning
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Rand settled into the chair and then Randy lifted it up so she could be more level with the bed and then helped her prop her foot up. She saw Roman’s hand twitch a little and she rubbed it gently before turning to look at Randy and fussing with the pillows that were making it harder to keep her ankle still than relax. “Randy? Can you tell me? Is everything going to be okay?” Rand never wanted him to break confidentiality, she just wanted to know Roman was going to live. Anything else she could find a way to deal with. Randy nodded, “He said earlier he wanted you to know. Everything that was so dangerous, Elbbirt was able to get rid of. It’s going to take time and the right type of stubbornness from him, but he’s going to be okay.” He didn’t have to tell her they would need to monitor him for post surgical complications, but so far everything was happening as expected. There was some increase in his heart rate, but the medication was keeping that stabalized.

A glance down told him that regardless of what his brain was detecting, he still had a leg there. Well bandaged and immobilized, it didn’t much look like his leg just then. Over the last three years Roman had become accustomed to his scar, what that part of his leg looked like. Seeing it bandaged like that again caused him to look around, alarmed, checking his surroundings.

No, the room looked nothing like the Ardent’s sickbay. Nor did it look like the sickbay he had spent an additional two months recovering and doing PT in three years ago after the rescue. And this felt too real to be another dream. But his mind was telling him that’s where he was. It was all too similar, save for the lack of pain. There was one person who hadn’t been there three years ago. “Rand? Rand! Miranda!” He called for her. His voice didn’t come out as loudly as he meant it to. It was quiet and slurred. The recovery room’s biobed would betray his momentary panic, showing the sudden increase in heart rate as his mind tried to tell him he was still aboard the Ardent, or in recovery in the year 2247.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Randy quickly silenced the alarms and tracked his vitals. He was watching Roman’s heart rate. It had to come down at least until the potasium levels were back to normal. Then Roman could panic all he wanted. After his fight with going under anesthesia Randy had considered ordering a mild anti-anxiety med after the surgery to help keep him relaxed, but there were already so many medications in his system he didn’t want to do it. He had a feeling Rand would be better medicine anyway. He stayed close, but out of their way for the moment.

It remained in the low 110’s - high, but not too dangerously so. He was okay, but he needed to calm down, to prevent it going higher. For a terrifying moment, he was afraid that Doctor Elliott, the primary physician on his case back then, would lean over him and ask him who he was looking for. His mind was still too foggy to break free of the memory on his own.

Rand turned quickly in her chair and grabbed Roman’s hand and squeezed. Her other hand rubbed his shoulder, creating more contact, to focus him in the present. She had a good idea of where he thought he was, but she wanted him to know he wasn’t. “Roman. I’m right here. I promised.” Her voice was soft but clear as she leaned toward him, so he could see her, but it was also weird having Randy there. Though she had to admit she was thankful it was him and not Shrine. And she knew a nurse had to be in the room right now. “The surgery’s over. You’re going to be okay.” She squeezed his hand and rubbed his shoulder and arm again. “I’m right here.” Calm, she had to be calm and quiet. He was fine she was just stressed from the long wait. He didn’t need to know she was so relieved she could cry. Not right now.

Rand

The familiar feeling of pressure on his hand brought him back. A comforting hand on his shoulder confirmed someone was there. Roman could hear her. She was there, like she’d promised. Then Rand leaned toward him and he relaxed considerably, recognition of her on his face. “Like you promised,” he said, his speech still pretty slurred, but less than before. He took another look around the room as if double checking it really, really didn’t look like another Sickbay in another year. Then he focused back on Rand. That was right, that’s why his leg was bandaged again. Why sensation from it was absent. The surgery, the neuro block. “The surgery went well?” He asked her, assuming someone would have told her. His mind was still foggy, but at least she’d successfully pulled him out of his memory. As he relaxed out of his panicked state, his heart rate dropped from the 110’s to the 90’s. A much safer range.

~ Roman

Rand nodded, “Just like I promised.” She smiled softly and brushed the hair at his temple with her finger tips. She glanced over at Randy who was checking on the regenerators. “It did. They didn’t tell me the details though.” Randy stepped closer, knowing the anesthesia would make Roman’s vision a bit blurry for a bit. “Rand isn’t listed in your file as being allowed to know, but since you told me you want her here, I can tell you, and if she over hears, well that was your decision.” It was a bit sassy but Randy watched Alden carefully. Depending on how much of that Alden followed depended on how detailed the information was he would tell Alden. At least until later.

Roman couldn’t yet see clearly enough to see what Randy was fiddling with. He could tell it was Randy though, before he stepped closer, by his height and hair colour. But stepping closer allowed Roman to see more detail. His vision was clearing, but it wasn’t completely normal just yet. He recognized Randy’s sassy tone but it took him a few minutes to decipher the meaning of his words. When Roman’s still tired mind figured it out, he smiled. “I haven’t updated that yet.” Last he remembered, that list of emergency contacts allowed to know was a short list of no one.

“It went well, your blood flow is back, the damaged tissue is healing already. You’re nerves also. You have a nerve block on your leg. You have a low dose pain medication to take the edge off where the clots were removed.” Rand glanced up quickly at Randy. Clots? Roman had mentioned clots but not anything else. She knew from her own ‘fake heart attack’ all about clots. If they had to be surgically removed....she took a deep, slow breath and turned her gaze back to Roman. Randy didn’t even miss a beat, “the toxins are dropping. Elbbirt will be in when you are fully awake and will give you the specific details.”

Rand

Again, it took a moment for Roman to process the meaning of the words. He did not miss Rand’s deep breath though, and he squeezed her hand. Quietly, he explained in more detail than before, that everything really dangerous had been removed but there were probably still small clots floating around in there. Occasionally he had to pause to remember a word. He blamed the pain meds. They always messed with his head. They explained the little bit of pain that was no where near his leg. The low dose was keeping the pain down while still letting him wake up. With how tired he still was, and his speech not quite perfect, he was using the less “posh” version of his accent, the relaxed one usually reserved for his quarters only. When he was sure he understood, he nodded. “Everything is to plan so far then.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“It is. We haven’t started blood thinners. Hopefully your body will clear the rest of the clots. The new scans are good. With the damaged tissue gone there are no new clots forming.” Randy set a hand on his shoulder in a somewhat brotherly fashion. “The surgery was long. It will take the anesthesia a few hours to wear off.” Randy took a small probe in hand and despite the bandages he started gently prodding at Alden’s leg at the upper thigh and moving down to his foot. “Now that you are a little more awake tell me if you can feel any of this.” It was important to make sure that everything was totally numb - that the nerve block was working.

Roman nodded. He hoped it would wear off sooner rather than later. He hated the heavy grogginess it caused. He could see Randy doing something near his leg and he bent his head to look as Randy explained what he was doing. The whole leg was a sensory black hole, he felt none of the gentle pokes. “No, nothing.” The one positive, at least for Randy and the medical staff, to him being so groggy was he lacked the energy to be difficult.

Randy made himself scarce by the nurses desk and left them alone. Rand seemed to be permanently attached to his hand at the moment, holding his hand in both of hers now. All she wanted to do was hug him, but she had to keep her foot still and she didn’t want to jostle him. She leaned over and kissed the back of his hand. Randy said things were going well, and she believed him, but she wanted to hear it from Elbbirt. “How are you feeling?” She knew physically he was probably groggy and sore and numb. She was more concerned with how he was emotionally and mentally.

Rand

His hand felt warm in both of hers and honestly he was glad she didn’t seem like she planned on going anywhere. Roman realized her question referred to mentally - she probably knew how he felt physically. Groggy, numb, sore. Still more out of it than he liked to be. He was about to give his normal answer: I’m fine. Then he remembered her telling him how they’d figure things out together back on Kelmao. The truth was he was still rattled by the earlier incident. He felt like the only thing tying him to the present was her touch. He was still nervous, but not panicked like he had been when he woke up.

Roman changed his answer. It was awkward for him, to tell the truth out loud. “I-I still don’t want to be here. I’m scared… When I first woke up, all I could see was-” he still wouldn’t speak the ship’s name. He knew she’d know what he meant. He took a quick breath. “It’s happened before, especially with the pain, but this time I couldn’t break myself out of it.” He was looking at her intently. Talking about it made it harder. When he insisted nothing was wrong he could ignore it. Putting it out in the open made him feel the nervousness more intensely.

~ Roman

Rand knew what he meant. It was like after they’d given her the pain meds for her foot and she’d woken up in sickbay thinking she was in St. Thomas’ in London again. She’d had quite the incident until Randy had arrived and convinced her she was on the Sentinel. She hadn’t told Roman about that. She was too ashamed of it and they hadn’t been dating at the time and she hadn’t told him about…any of that then. She leaned in as close as she could, her voice audible to him but soft. “I know,” a squeeze of her hand, “but you’re here, with me. I’ll try to help keep the memories away.” She laid a hand over his chest and just breathed with him for awhile.

Roman nodded. That was why he had called for her. If she was there, it didn’t matter where or when it was so much, it would be okay. Then she put her hand over his chest and they were just sitting there quietly, breathing together. At first, his were a little rapid, both because his heart rate was still heightened and because he was nervous, but after a few moments passed it slowed to a more normal rate. He shifted a little, laying in one place so long was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Then she grinned. “So Franks came in with his incident report, and Randy was amazing. He told Franks that he was just going to have to take care of the labs and make sure everything was done right. He told Franks he didn’t want you coming back yelling at Randy because it was done wrong. All because he insisted on making sure your leg and my ankle was okay. No one knows you had surgery, just that Randy is being a pain about our injuries.” She rubbed his arm a little again and leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Rand

Roman smiled and shook his head. Randy was good at keeping things secret. Then he looked up at her. “No one knows?” He sort of liked that no one knew. No one would be trying to see him or asking him questions about why and what happened. But it wouldn’t stay a secret. He was going to be recovering for too long for it to be a sprain or pulled muscle like they’d thought on Kelmao. And the amount of padding and bandages on it would be excessive for anything other than a major surgery on it. Not only that, but Captain Rogers was going to need to know why exactly her first officer was off duty for at least the next week.

“The medical staff involved in the surgery know, and of course Dr. Haadok, and I’m sure Cpt Rogers knows. Or she will when she gets the departmental report. But no one else.” She understood the need for privacy and keeping things quiet. “I…I thought…maybe you could say the muscle was torn instead of sprained. That would probably explain the extra time off and the dermal regenerator. I mean…Elbbirt was a bit excessive about my foot, people would believe it.” She was making up a lie for him, to make him feel better, and she’d sell it too. No one would doubt her when she told them - if she told them. Randy heard of course and thought it wasn’t a bad idea. It was amazing how much medical knowledge Rand retained from helping him study. What was also amazing was the calming effect she was having on Alden. Despite her own high strung tendencies she was good for his health apparently.

Roman nodded in approval to the idea. It sounded plausible, and then he wouldn’t have to tell anyone. He wouldn’t feel expected to talk about it when he didn’t want to. Anyone who knew him would wonder why he didn’t insist on recovering in his quarters but that was easy for two reasons. He had to be in Sickbay for the regenerator, and he could say he was ordered to stay. It wasn’t technically untrue. It also wasn’t technically true, he hadn’t pushed Elbbirt that far, but he might as well have.

He smiled as she kissed his cheek. “Franks will do fine managing the labs. I’ve been working with him, he’s to be temporary CSO if for some reason I can’t be.” Either because of his XO duties or something like this, something happened to him, Franks would be in charge. It made it easier, because then everyone knew who to go to if Roman wasn’t there. He was clearly more awake than he had been before. He sounded clearer, his responses taking less time. And he was moving around more, mostly just his arms and head but his movements didn’t look so sluggish.

~ Roman

“I’ll check on him and the paperwork, so you don’t have so much waiting.” She laid her forehead against his arm for a moment, just because. Maybe because her adrenaline was dropping now that he seemed better. Randy came over hearing Alden shifting around. “Let’s sit you up a bit. Slowly, we don’t want your blood pressure to drop going too fast. Might make Elbbirt keep you here longer. Let me lift you, we don’t want to shift your leg and the regenerators not be lined up correctly.” Randy lifted him carefully and then watched his vitals for a few minutes. Then repeat until Alden was inclined by 45°.

Rand

Roman slid his own head over a little so it was next to hers while she had her head on him. Another moment later, Randy was headed back over to them. He had been about to protest that he could sit himself up, and that would be evident from the look on his face, but the last thing he wanted was Elbbirt to decide he needed to stay even longer. Randy sat him up little by little, pausing every so often to look up at the biobed’s readings of his vitals for several minutes. Roman found it to be an irritatingly slow process. But when he tried to sit up more than Randy was moving him at a time, the soreness in his body protested and his heart rate went up. He decided to wait for Randy to sit him up after that. Finally, he was at a forty five degree angle and he had a better, more comfortable view of the room. “What happens if the regenerators aren’t lined up correctly?” He asked.

~ Roman