Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Peaceful Night’s Rest?

Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Chief Mental Health Officer) in Peaceful Night’s Rest?

Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Peaceful Night’s Rest?
Posted by… suppressed (14) by the Post Ghost! 👻
At a peaceful one o’clock in the morning a certain counselor was sprawled out under the covers of his bed just snoozing away. It had been a long day of work with a myriad of patients to see. The current tensions with the Vren, the murder, and ongoing diplomatic proceedings had shown an uptick in people needing to talk. Most of the counseling staff had been putting in longer hours and of that Séan was no exception.

Counselor Iven

Mika was still not seeing patients. It was too soon after her ordeal. She desperately wanted to, to help lessen the load on other mental health staff. But she just wasn’t ready.

Tonight was proof of that. Mika woke drenched in sweat, hyperventilating, in terror. It had been like this every night since she was released from the hospital and the lack of sleep was only making things worse.

So tonight, she slipped on her pajamas and slippers and stepped out into the hall. She headed down a familiar direction, armed with a can of pepper spray and her head on a swivel.

At last she reached Séan’s door and knocked softly. When there was no reply, she knocked a little harder. “Séan?”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan isn’t exactly a heavy sleeper but he totally didn’t hear the first knock on his door. The second knock to his door roused him however he wasn’t sure if he imagined it or if someone was really there. After a handful of heartbeats of indecision, he sighed to himself before he crawled out of his warm covers and got some pants on.

He padded his way to the door and opened it to discover much to his surprise that Mika was standing there. “Tandra?” He asked quietly as sleep still fogged his brain.

Counselor Iven

Mika sighed a deep sigh. “I woke you up, didn’t I?” She asked softly. “I’m sorry, Séan, I know how busy everything’s been. I should’ve let you sleep.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan leaned against the door frame and used a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes. “Well you’re here and I’ve told you before day or night that I’ll be here for you.” He stepped out of the doorway and beckoned for her to follow him in.

“Do you want some tea or coffee?” He asked as he made his way to the replicator.

Counselor Iven

“No- actually, chamomile, if you could. Sorry,” she said again as she stepped in and let the door close. She locked it behind herself. Then her eyes began to fill with tears and she said, “I’m so tired, and I couldn’t sleep.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan was halfway to the replicator when Mika’s tearful words struck him like a blow to the heart. It was surprising how a big guy like him could move when he needed to and at this moment in time he was back in front of her and gently pulling her into as encompassing of a hug as he could while still letting her breathe.

Counselor Iven

Mika melted into him, his presence making her feel safer. She cried quietly against his chest. “I haven’t slept a full night since Sharah released me.”

~ Mika, CMHO

“Didn’t she give you something to help with sleep?” Séan asked softly. He was fairly certain Sharah had but there could be any number of reasons why Mika wasn’t using them. It was better to ease into that topic though.

Counselor Iven

Mika nodded, “She did, but…” She sniffed against him and shifted so she could look up at him. “The dose isn’t high enough.” The drug Sharah had given her was designed to help with trauma nightmares and aid sleep. But when the dose wasn’t tuned right, the nightmares still happened. “And I can’t prescribe it to myself.”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan used one of his hands to slowly rub her back. “That’s fair. We should see about getting her to revise the prescription.” He said as he knew he was too personally involved to change it for Mika himself.

Counselor Iven

“Can you go with me?” Mika asked. “I… I trust her, but I just…” She shrugged. It was then that she noticed the warm, soft yet firm texture against her skin and she reassessed the situation.

“Of course I’ll go with you.” He said as he smiled down to her encouragingly. “Whatever you need I’ll be there when you need it.”

She’d intruded, and he… Well, he was shirtless. She shouldn’t be surprised by how toned he looked, but somehow she was. She flushed, but didn’t stop herself from looking. “I um… Sorry. I really must’ve woken you, huh?”

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan looked down at Mika blushing as she just realized he was without a shirt. He grinned and made no effort to release her from the hug, he would if she asked though. “You did indeed. It is a bit after one after all. It’s a lucky thing I even remembered to put pants on. That would have shocked us both.”

Counselor Iven

She didn’t want to. “I… I think I would’ve fainted on the spot.” Was that a joke? It had been since before the ordeal he’d really heard her joke. “I mean, not really, but I’ve never… You know, seen that. For real.”

~ Mika, CMHO

“Well…” Séan was at a loss at how to respond to that. Brush it off? Ask her what she meant by “for real”? Offer himself as a teaching aid? It was too early for him to give a witty and flirty comeback. So instead he leaned down and gave Mika a light kiss to the forehead by way of response.

Counselor Iven

She giggled lightly and looked up at him. “Thank you. I’m sorry I woke you,” she said quietly, reaching (and for her, it really was a reach) up to put a hand on his shoulder.

~ Mika, CMHO

Séan smiled as Mika reached for his shoulder while he still held her in his embrace. This was nice even if the reason why she was here wasn’t. Still he was happy that they were spending time together even if it was at an ungodly hour.

He shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Your being here is a very good reason for me to wake up. I’m happy that you sought me out when you needed me.”

Counselor Iven

Mika leaned her head against him and looked up at him. “I didn’t feel safe, Séan.” She said softly.

~ Mika, CMHO