Miraj and a Doctor

Posted on Thu Aug 10th, 2023 @ 8:28am by Lieutenant JG T'Kek [Naxea] & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani

Mission: Season 6: Episode 3: Far From Home
Location: Main Sickbay; USS Elysium
Timeline: MD01 2100
1475 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

Sickbay was far from perfect but it was slowly getting there through the efforts of the medical staff who juggled with tidying up Sickbay and caring for patients. T'Kek was making his rounds when he came to one that felt personal to him. The act had enraged him and a part of him wanted to strangle whoever had caused Ensign Derani her pain. He gave a polite knock as he entered her medical room. "Greetings," he stated.

Weeks in a coma, despite the stimulation to her nerves and muscles administered by the bio bed, had left Miraj weak and it took her a moment to roll over and see who it was. For a moment she hung between elation at a friendly face and utter mortification that the young doctor (the sweet, handsome doctor, part of her brain pointed out) was seeing her after nearly 3 weeks with out a proper bath, or brushed hair and in a hospital gown little better than a sheet with buttons.

"Er, hi." Hi Miraj, you're an idiot she scolded herself. "How have you been?"

"I am well," he replied as he looked at her, clasping his hands behind his back. "You are looking much better today. How are you feeling?"

"Tired." She admitted. "I've been asleep for a month. Why am I still tired?"

"Because of the head trauma you sustained," he replied, biting back the anger those words caused as he balled his hand into a fist tightly, causing his nails to dig into the palm of his hand. "Your brain is still healing and will take a few more treatments to fully repair the damage. Have you felt any nausea?"

"Not really, but I haven't felt like eating yet." she admitted, even though she'd been awake for hours. "I'm just too tired."

"I understand, but you should try to eat anyhow. Your body needs rest and food in order to heal faster. He moved to take a quick look at her vital signs on the monitor near her bed. All seemed within acceptable levels. "Do you require anything?" he asked, turning back to her. He wanted to comfort her but was uncertain how to do so with her ability to sense emotions through touch. The last thing he wanted was to cause her to have an anxiety attack.

"Just.." she trailed off. her brain still a bit foggy. Sthilg had promised that she would fly again, but he hadn't really discussed anything. "How bad was it?"

T'Kek paused for a moment as he debated whether or not to go into detail. He decided against it. "It was very bad. You had several internal traumas and brain hemorrhaging. However, you are expected to make a full recovery, provided that you take it easy for the next few weeks. Can you recall anything about who did this to you?" he asked softly.

"No.I can remember going out to the shuttles, and watching the stars for a bit. "but that was it." She gave a shrug. "After that its just a bit of a blur. Do you know?"

T'Kek let put a low sigh built of frustration and anger as his nails dig deeper into his palm. "No, Security is still investigating the incident," he stated but trust me when I say you are safe here. Access to your room is monitored constantly and visitors are verified.". His ears picked up the drop of green blood dripping from the wound inflicted by his nails digging into his palms and impacting the deck. He hoped Miraj wouldn't notice as he readjusted his hand to hide the blood.

Miraj heaved in a breath. Multiple trauma was something she normally associated with nasty crashes, where a body got thrown around like ragdoll, smashing into seats and bulkheads. She might be making a full recovery but it seemed so... little ... in the face that someone tried to ... She heaved in a breath again, and another. It wasn't enough. She couldn't breath again, there was a weight she couldn't shift, and she needed to breathe, but all she could get was small sharp panting breaths. Her fingers dug into the blanket as she gasped in short panicked breaths.

Noticing Miraj's short rapid breaths, T'Kek ignored the bleeding wounds on his palms, grabbing a nearby medical kit and opened it. With speed and precision, he loaded a hypospray with Improvoline to help calm her and pressed it against Miraj's neck, injecting her.

"Miraj, close your eyes and focus on breathing," he said, being sure to not touch her. He didn't want to cause her a reaction in such a vulnerable state. "Relax. Take slow, deep breaths," he said, watching her as he sat on the edge of the bed.

She fought to obey, the Improvaline making her mind start to float at the edge. But for each deeper breath she managed, there were still three fast ones. Her head swam as she tried to slow her breaths, and things were getting really bright. "gonna pass.." She reached for him, but reaching turned into tipping right over.

T'Kek was forced to catch Miraj to help keep her from hitting the deck as he pushed her back onto the bed gently. He had to try something he wasn't very good at, but Miraj needed to calm her breathing. Taking a deep breath, to calm his thoughts, he quickly pressed his fingers to her cheek and temple. "My mind to your mind, my thoughts..." He could only hope the mind meld would help calm her by transferring his calmness to her.

The roiling waves of her panic pounded against the wall of calm for a moment, wild and from all directions, and then, like a storm blowing out, began to calm, and the Improvaline started to work properly and it was like the sun coming out inside her, everything fluffy clouds and light sparkling on the waves.

The reality of what she had learned felt far away, and manageable, and of distinctively less importance than the fact that T'Kek had his fingers on her face, she could feel the pressure, barely there, and the heat of his skin, and steady thrum of his pulse in his thumb. That was nice. She leaned in, trying to press closer.

T'Kek fought against the onslaught of emotions--mostly fear. He could feel the emotions die down as Miraj was beginning to calm. He felt her lean towards him. Her warmth was welcoming. He wanted to embrace her, to protect her. Yet, he knew better with her fragile state. He opened his eyes and gently removed his fingers from her face. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly as he pushed the residue feelings of fear aside, taking a deep breath.

"Better. Thank you." She could feel a blush starting and quickly looked away, catching a glance at the smear of green on his palm. "You're hurt."

"I am fine," he said, trying to hide the wound, as the feelings of embarrassment began to start to set in. He fumbled in the medical kit for a dermal regenerator. "It is a result on me dealing with my anger at your condition." He took the dermal regenerator and activated it, producing a slight stinging sensation as the device began to repair the damaged tissue.

"I. I'm" Dammit, woman, get your head on straight "Don't hurt yourself for me. no more hurting. Please."

"I apologize," he replied softly as he set the dermal regenerator back into the medical kit. He looked up from the kit to her. "I couldn't help it. I...care about you and seeing you hurt, angered me. I'm not in full control over my emotions as most vulcans are."

Miraj's stomach flipflopped, and it was nothing to do with the fact she hadn't eaten, and she wanted to reach for his hand, but the imporvaline left her too floaty to manage it. "Well, you're not most vulcans, you're just you. That's enough, isn't it?"

T'Kek produced a lopsided grin. "Depends on who you ask. My father would disagree with you."

He had a nice smile. "He's 13 million light years away. He can disagree all he likes. I can't hear him."

"Consider yourself lucky then," T'Kek joked. He enjoyed her closeness and wanted to stay, but he knew he still had duties as he reluctantly stood up from the bed. "I should go and complete my rounds. I will be nearby should you need me for anything."

The young pilot nodded. "Think I'll just go to sleep." Just saying the words made her eyelids heavy. "Have a good night, doctor."

T'Kek nodded as he took a lingering look, watching her get settled into her bed. 'Damn the bastard who would ever hurt someone like her,' he thought. "Goodnight, Miraj." He turned and headed for the exit.