Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Side sim: Matters of the Heart

(snip)

“My stomach was upset after the surgery on my leg, it was fine by the second meal,” Roman said, waving him off. “Won’t strain anything.” He pushed the bedside table for his meal out of the way and shook his head. He’d has three ribs broken. It wasn’t all of them, no, but it wasn’t pleasant. And Roman had been stubborn then, more so than now. “If I can get up later today with that awful thing I can get up without it. It’s not pushing.” He was using that icy calm, even voice that meant he was controlling his tone very carefully.

And then he was shaking his head. “My discharge orders? Two weeks is already too long, I have work to get back to, animals to care for. I need out sooner, not later.” As he was talking, his heart was reacting to his stress. Unlike earlier, when Rand had first told him two weeks he was hiding his emotions, but the biobed was showing he was nearly as freaked out now as he’d been then. He looked at Elbbirt and then Rand desperately, as if for help. He was stubborn enough, he might try having a walk around the room approval or no.

That was right, Grat was the doctor who performed the surgery. But now Roman was too worked up and stressed to think properly, so no questions came to mind.

~ Roman

“Cmdr I am happy to try and shorten your stay. That is every doctor’s hope that their patients heal well and quickly. But you have to put the work in too. It is a delicate balance, and I am not willing to risk a relapse in your heart. You want to forgo the bone fuser, that’s fine, but it extends your recovery. Think about it and I’ll be back.” Grat started to say ‘another relapse’ but looking at the monitors Alden was stressed enough.

Rand moved back over to his side as Grat, Elbbirt, and Shrine left. Randy sat down on the edge of the other bed. He wanted to be supportive but not make Alden feel trapped. What Grat said was 100% correct, but it was going to be hard for Roman. Rand just sat with him and breathed. She didn’t know what to say.

Rand

Roman heard a slight pause between ‘a’ and ‘relapse’ and he got the feeling there was something he wasn’t being told, but he hadn’t any idea what. Shaking his head he sat up again, one arm holding his chest. Neither option was good for him. He already didn’t want to stay there as long as he had to. But he also hated the bone fuser. He felt trapped and he just wanted away. And that was where he was trying to go. “I need out of here. I can’t stay here.” He said, voice shaking slightly. Then he took Rand’s hand. “What do I do?”

~ Roman

Rand didn’t know what to do. She took a deep breath. “First you are going to lay back.” Rand brushed his hair back with her fingers of the hand that wasn’t holding his. “Why are you holding your arm over your chest? Are you hurting?”

Rand slipped onto the bed beside him, one arm drapped carefully along his waist. “I am not telling you to have the bone fuser treatment, but you only had 3 left.” It was information to help him be aware. “Your heart needs time to heal, but maybe your ribs will be healed at the same time? I don’t know. You will have to take it easy. It’s hard, Roman. I know, I do. You want to do something, anything, but at first you get tired easy, so you listen, and then one day you aren’t tired anymore, but everyone tells you to stay in bed, but you just want to get away and breathe. So you do…and you wake up in the hospital again.”

“I should tell you what happened, but..do…do you want to rest first?”

Rand