Deprivation of Good Dreams

Posted on Thu Aug 26th, 2021 @ 4:07am by Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh & Lieutenant Commander Emni t'Nai

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Corridor, Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 5 at 0830

Doctor Kennedy Ryan Walsh stepped off the Turbolift. He had walked down this same route for the past five days since coming on board the Sojourner. He leaned his hand to anchor himself against the corridor's bulkhead for a brief moment before slowly pulling himself together. He took in a deep breath before recognizing the seal of Starfleet Medical on the door. He approached, the door slid open, and he stepped through almost running into Lieutenant Lal. Kennedy blurted out quickly, "I'm so sorry."

Before Nurse Dogrov looked over from checking on Lieutenant Nir Giorgiou's status in stasis. The Doctor froze in his path as he saw Nir. He didn't dare close his eyes hoping that events from yesterday's memories wouldn't overload his senses.

"Doctor Ryan Walsh," the Tellarite spoke, "would you like a report on the Lieutenant's present status?"

The Doctor nodded his head very quickly 'yes' while looking down at his feet before the Nurse had approached him, "Lieutenant Giorgiou's condition remains stable in stasis."

Kennedy nodded his head quickly, "Th-th-thank you, Nurse Dogrov fo-fo-for the update." Kennedy shuffled about not to look at the stasis pod concealing most of Nir. He took in a deep breathe as his hands begun to shake.

---

Emni had been in Sickbay for two hours already and her coffee had long since failed her. The crimped nose of a Bajoran adorned the face on her screen--the man's features open and welcoming against his medical whites.

"We'll be at the coordinates your operations officer shared in 2 days," he was saying.

Emni inclined her head in acknowledgement, "We'll be three, but will be glad for you to be ready. I'm sending Commander Takomi and Lieutenant Giorgiou's files ahead of them, but will make sure they're updated when we drop out of warp as well."

The Bajoran nodded on her screen. "Thank you Dr. t'Nai. We'll be ready when you arrive. Yaris out." And the screen went blank.

Emni sat back in her chair, stretching her arms above her head and letting loose the yawn she had been holding in place. At least one thing was settled--they would rendezvous with the USS Miranda in 3 days to transfer their patients so they could get treatment at Starbase 22. She had kept her mental defenses high during the call, determined not to be distracted while the details were settled. Now that things were arranged, though, she allowed them to fall back and was immediately hit with a wash of anxiety. Frowning she stood and poked her head out of the office.

"Dr. Ryan Walsh?" she asked, seeing Kennedy standing awkwardly to to the side of Lieutenant Giorgiou's stasis pod. His face was white as a sheet. The anxiety continued to build so she stepped out into Sickbay proper, raising her voice slightly to get Kennedy's attention. "Join me in the office?" she inquired.

At first Kennedy didn't hear Doctor Emni t'Nai call him over to her office. He continued looking down at Nir as memories of yesterday resurfaced. He moved his hands into shift as Nurse Lal saw that he was in distress. She looked over at Dr. t'Nai as Dogrov grunted in concern for his colleague. She placed her hand lightly on Doctor Ryan Walsh's shoulder, "Let's go see Doctor t'Nai, Doctor Ryan Walsh." She guided him to Emni, "Here you go Doctors."

Lal helped Ryan Walsh into the office. Kennedy stood in the doorway as he walked into the office on his own. Nurse Lal looked to Emni. Gestured that she was nearby if she could help the two of them as she went back to attending her patients.

Emni met Lal's gaze with a frown and a nod--the silent acknowledgement of medical professionals who recognized an issue when they saw it and agreed not to make it worse by speaking about it within earshot of the person in question. Emni followed Kennedy in, gesturing to a chair in front of her desk. And then, when he didn't immediately take it, added. "Kennedy, sit down."

She waited for him to comply before coming around the back of the desk, resuming her seat, and setting her hands, clasped, in front of her on the desk.

"Dr. Ryan Walsh," she began, her frown deepening. "Did you sleep at all?"

Kennedy clasped his face in his hands after he had sat down across from her. He shook his head, "I tried to but the nightmares kept me awake almost all night. I didn't want to disturb my roommate so I got a solid few hours of sleep on the couch in the common area. Then, I had another nightmare. Luckily, Irynya was there to help me." He looked down into his palms that he had held out on his knees frowning, feeling like he's letting down his team.

Emni could feel the conflict, anxiety, and disappointment rolling off of her ACMO like waves against a rock face. Each one slapping against the harsh reality of what he had experienced the day prior. The Romulan's face softened.

"You can't work Kennedy," she said gently. "You've done nothing wrong, but you can barely look at Mr. Giorgiou without panicking." Emni sighed, her hand going to the back of her neck as she weighed the options. She knew how much her choice was likely to upset the younger man and yet she also knew how important sleep would be if he was going to get past the away mission in one piece.

"I am relieving you of duty," she said evenly, "just for today. You're on doctors orders to return to your quarters and sleep. I'll give you a hypo with a sleep aid that will help make sure you sleep without dreaming. I can administer it here or you can self administer in your quarters."

She sat back then. "You're a great doctor Kennedy, but you need a minute to process and to sleep. We can reassess tomorrow."

Kennedy lowered himself in the chair before her shamefully. He tilted his head and felt like he was letting the whole team down but he knew that in his present state, he wouldn't perform at the levels that Doctor t'Nai and the team had become accustomed to in his five days onboard. He took in a deep breath, "Yes Doctor."

He was conflicted on who should administer the medication that Doctor t'Nai was going to provide, "I think it is wise that you administer the shot, Doctor t'Nai."

Emni nodded unable to escape the crash of shame that her colleague felt at her decision. "This isn't a punishment," she said, her voice gentle, but firm. "If our roles were reversed I would hope you would make the same choice."

Standing, she came around the desk, ducking out of the office for only a moment before returning with a hypospray. Adjusting the device to ensure a dosage that would enable the type of sleep that was unharried by nightmares, she flicked at the controls. Finally, she settled into the chair next to him.

"Once I administer this you'll have about 30 minutes until it takes full effect." She met the younger man's eyes, making sure he was watching as she spoke. "You will come through this Kennedy. There is light on the other side."

Kennedy watched Emni sit down beside him. His hands clenched onto the armrests of the chair he sat on with nervousness. He knew this wasn't punishment but all these experiences were new to him in the past twenty-four hour period and more. He nodded his head slowly, "30 minutes. Understood."

"Whenever you're ready," she said.

Kennedy remembered what Irynya had said in he took in a long deep breathe to ease himself. The tension in his arms subsided and his hands dropped onto his lap waiting for her to administer the drug.

At a nod from Kennedy, she leaned forward, pressing the hypospray against his neck and releasing the medication with the telltale hiss of the device.

"Sleep well Doctor," said with an understanding smile. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Thank you, Doctor." Kennedy rose slowly to his feet. "See you tomorrow." He hung his head with a bit of disappointment and shame still as he left Sickbay for his quarters but only had one thing on his agenda: return to his quarters and sleep.