<USS Avalon> Resuming Work - Cazook/Erridim

Resuming Work
by
Doctor Alexis Cazook (AMO, /USS Avalon/)
and
Ensign Talea Erridim (Chief/Ops, /USS Avalon/)

Psionically-Shielded Room, Sickbay
-----
Talea hoped to report to shift on time for her next shift and be able to stay throughout, but the way her luck had gone lately, it was rather unlikely, she thought. Of course, if Doctor Cazook or Doctor Mahler (the latter whom she had never met) decided to keep her in the specially-created room, there was little she could do. The night had been troubled, not simply because the nightmares had resurfaced again, but the lingering uncertainty about her status aboard was worrying her like a canine did a bone despite the assurances given by those who had power to make it otherwise, contributing to her restlessness.
She actually wondered when (or even if, at times of her lowest morale) the doctors would release her for duty. Putting that aside as unproductive, she opened a blank document and channel to Cialra's databanks, beginning to work on the briefing on her people's history and culture for the Admiral and Captain. Lords knew Walker had little time to do it, especially if the rumors she'd overheard were true, and she was otherwise idle, so it was a welcome distraction from the boredom, especially since she quickly realized the data would have to be heavily condensed, or it would be far too long a briefing!
Engrossed in her self-assigned work, she had little consciousness of time passing until she realized she was terribly hungry and thirsty, but found herself too weak to rise from the chair she was seated in. Tapping a channel open (that she fervently prayed was internal to Sickbay) at the console she was seated at, Talea stated calmly, "Could someone please bring me something to drink and eat? I'm afraid I've rather overdone and am finding it difficult to find the energy to move."
Sitting in her small office doing nothing but paperwork, Alexis heard the call for food and drink from Talea. Putting aside what she was doing, she stood, stretching her tired muscles and tapped her communit. "Talea, I am on my way." Walking out of her office, she noticed that everyone else seemed to be busy, which was unusual for this time of day.
Walking to the replicator, she punched in the code for the proper nourishment that Talea would need after going for so long without eating. She was going to have to have a word with the girl. She shouldn't be going so long without nourishment of any kind. It wasn't healthy for anyone, and less so for her, as her body recovered from the hand injury. With food and drink in hand, she made her way over to the psionically-shielded patient room.
Knocking on the door, she called out, "Talea, it is Dr. Cazook, and I have your nourishment. I am coming in. I just want to warn you, so you aren't startled." She waited a few moments before entering, and found Talea laying down on her bed. She walked over and placed the food and drink on the bedside table in easy reach. She also reached into her pocket, pulled out a tricorder and did a quick scan. On seeing the result, she commented, "Talea, you can't let yourself go this long without food or drink. How many times do I have to tell you this?"
Talea, not entirely certain how she'd gotten to the bed from the chair, moaned slightly in seeming response, then said, even her voice reflecting her weariness, "Lost track of time while doing necessary research for important briefing. Walker is so busy that he hasn't had time for it." The fact was that her head ached abominably and she felt terrible. The lack of nutrition plus her poor sleep the previous two nights due to the nightmares was taking a significant toll on her. From the way she felt, she suspected she'd been in overdrive for most of the day, too. Why had that happened? This wasn't life-threatening, just an ordinary briefing. Wasn't it?
Handing the drink to Talea, Alexis helped her to sit up to better drink it. Talea was apparently weaker than even she thought. "Drink this up, and see if that helps some." Reaching into her pocket, she found her hypospray and pressed the tip against Talea's neck. As she pressed it, she heard the normal hiss as the medication was injected into her bloodstream.
"I have given you something that should allow you to recover more quickly and to sleep, which is a commodity you can't go without. You will be of no use to anyone if you don't take care of yourself. You have to realize that you won't be spending all your time here in Sickbay. In fact, soon you should be able to resume your normal duties and only come here when you feel the need. Your quarters have been psionically shielded, and you seem to have most of your powers back, so there will soon be no need for you to reside here in Sickbay. Mind you, I am not kicking you out, Talea, but you need to learn how to cope with things. I will gladly help you with that, but we can do that on an out-patient status."
Talea smiled slightly. "Thank you, Doctor. I have the eerie feeling that if you scanned me for my chronological and physical age, they would be different by nearly three days, which is a concern for another day. Right now, I expect that I need to recover my strength and try to get some restful sleep, but with the nightmares I've had ever since the Ensign's attack . . . and that have only gotten worse since the fight in the Pit," she shook her head. "I have no idea how I can do it." Her expression showed her worry.
Her gaze flicked to the chronometer near the bed and her face paled. "Dear Havens!" She looked alarmed now. "No wonder I feel weak! I worked over twenty-nine hours straight!" She began shivering as the implications of that sort of obsessiveness began to make themselves known to her. Indeed, as she looked at the comm panel next to the computer console, she noticed it was blinking in a pattern indicating that several messages had been left, and she blushed furiously as she realized that she had been so absorbed in the work that she'd totally ignored the commsystem's attempts to alert her to incoming calls.
She knew that the document she'd written had over a hundred pages still, and needed to be cut even more, to at most ten percent of the current total, but she also conceded that she didn't have the strength or energy to complete the work as yet. She also realized she was feeling sleepier with every passing second, and this alarmed her even more. Had there been a sleep-agent in the shot or in the food? Without her intending it to, the alarm showed.
Seeing the alarm on Talea's face, Alexis felt a little guilty. "Talea, dear, the reason you are feeling sleepy is because I gave you a sleep aid along with your nutritional hypo. I believe that along with your already sleep-deprived body is why you are feeling the way you are. There is nothing to worry about, as I will be here making sure your vitals remain stable. Hopefully you will be able to sleep without the dreams."
Talea was reassured greatly by this, although she wound up using telepathy to confirm it. ~/Thank you, Doctor. And may you be right, and I sleep well. Truth be known, I've slept poorly ever since the attack by Ensign Jackson./~ Outwardly, she relaxed and fell asleep, but her last conscious act was to telekinetically hug the Doctor in an attempt to show her gratitude for the reassurance of safety.
Alexis watched as Talea closed her eyes and fell asleep. She felt the hug that Talea had given her, which in itself was a strange experience. Using her tricorder, she ran it over the sleeping woman, double checking to make sure she reached REM sleep without difficulty. Once she was sure, Alexis took the chair next to the bed and sat down. She wanted to make sure that Talea indeed did get a good night's sleep. Without the nightmares.

Other related posts: