Medical Non-Compliance

Posted on Sat Sep 28th, 2024 @ 11:02am by 1st Lieutenant Kes Th’relnal & Lieutenant JG T'Mara
Edited on on Sun Sep 29th, 2024 @ 12:31pm

2,705 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Year One: Strange Bedfellows
Location: Th'relnal's Quarters
Timeline: MD001 - 2100 hrs

"What do we have to do now to keep me together?" Kes asked, changing the subject once again. "Let's just focus on that for now and we can go from there."

T’Mara recalled the conversation she had in sickbay with First Lieutenant Kes Th’relnal. She distinctly recalled telling him he needed to return to sickbay every 24 hours for antibiotic dosing and reassessment. The Andorian had gone well beyond the proscribed return time. It now seemed that a ‘house call’ would be necessary.

“Computer. Location of First Lieutenant Kes Th’relnal.”

“First Lieutenant Th’relnal is currently located in his quarters.”

She gathered the appropriate supplies into a small medical bag and informed the on-duty medical officer of her destination and took off from sickbay heading towards the direction of Lieutenant Th’relnal’s quarters.

Within minutes, T’Mara found herself at the door of Th’relnal’s quarters. Reaching out, she pressed the ‘chime,’ and waited patiently for him to answer.

Kes glanced at the door and sighed before he finished pouring his drink. With a slow deliberate gait, he walked over to the door and pressed the screen to open it. He took a sip as the door slid open and he was looking down toward the doctor.

"Hey Doc, care for a drink?" He asked with a grin before he turned and walked back into his sparsely decorated quarters.

A...drink? This was not a social visit. T'Mara followed after Th'relnal as he retreated further into his quarters.

"Lieutenant." She began, her voice carrying just a hint of outright pique.
"I expect to have my orders adhered to when I give them. You failed to report to sickbay to receive your next antibiotic dosage and to have your site assessed. As you have not been cleared for duty by me, I cannot come up with any adequate explanation that would prove sufficient in excusing your failure to report as ordered." It wasn't often that T'Mara was given an opportunity to dress someone down...but the experience was...quite an interesting rush of sensation.

"Oh, that." Kes shrugged and pulled his shirt up and off over his head in one fluid movement. "Look away doc. And I feel fine, I really do. I just got distracted with... well..." He brought his drink up to his lips and took a sip. "Stuff."

"If I knew this was that important to you, I would have come by I swear." Kes said while trying to keep a grin off his face while dealing with the Vulcan doctor. "But since you're here, I'll pour you that drink and we can discuss my punishment."

She tilted her head and regarded the Andorian with an unblinking stare that lasted longer than was generally considered polite. His behavior was...incongruous.

"Important? Lieutenant, it was an order." T'Mara responded in a flat tone, but then furrowed her brows ever so slightly. "Th'relnal..are you intoxicated?"

"Not yet," Kes replied. "But well under way." He poured a drink from the intricately designed decanter and reached out to offer it to T'Mara. "The preferred stock of my family. Somewhere back along the lines there was some sort of bonding ceremony or something. It's pretty good, that's all I know."

Not knowing what to do, T'Mara took the offered glass and looked at it with an assessing expression. She was going to chide him for drinking intoxicants while receiving antibiotic treatment but what he said derailed her.

"Bonding ceremony?" She parroted back to the Andorian. That meant something rather significant to a Vulcan. A transient stomach dropping sensation rolled through her which she trampled down immediately. A conundrum. As he had now offered his hospitality, for her to refuse to drink the accepted beverage would be considered exceptionally rude in her culture. Seeing no other way out, T'Mara raised the glass and swallowed down the contents.

"Slor Surak!" She wheezed in Vulkahnsu, as her lungs attempted to seize up from the fumes of this rather questionable beverage. What a phenomenally bad idea this was.

Kes nearly spit the sip he'd had in his mouth back in the glass at the shock of watching the small Vulcan woman down the entire glass. "SIP! It's a sipping wine doc."

He motioned for her to sit down in the nearly chair as he took the empty glass from her hand. "I thought Vulcans were restrained doc. You're all full of surprises."

A fiendish grin came over his face as he took the last sip of his wine. "Another? You've already had the worst of it. All down hill now that your xixu has been officially thawed."

"Another? Is it considered appropriate to accept?" It was irrational behavior, as logically, she should immediately refuse. It was inappropriate to consume things that would alter one's perception, and yet...T'Mara had never consumed an intoxicant before. No one had ever offered her anything like this. Although here for a specific purpose--which had somehow fallen to the wayside--T'Mara found she was in no rush to seek an end to this novel interaction.

"More than appropriate." Kes replied as he pour her another glass. "Just remember to sip it this time." The doctor was a unique one for sure. He topped his own glass and held it up. "Cheers doc."

As he took another sip, his antenna weaved back and forth. Between the wine and the strange interaction he was playing things by ear a little more than usual.

T'Mara looked at the glass of liquid with distinct suspicion. "Lieutenant. You should not be consuming intoxicants while on an antibiotic regimen. It often affects efficacy. It would be most unfortunate to develop a systemic infection." She wanted to put the glass down, but she suddenly didn't trust her fine motor skills to do so successfully without spilling the beverage.

Instead she looked over at his bared chest and studied the still livid line running along the side of flank. Did it look more inflamed than when she first assessed him? Why did she feel hot? T'Mara looked down to the empty cup in her hand in suspicion.

"That's what you're here for isn't it doc?" Kes asked with a shrug. "Keep me fighting fit and all that." Taking another sip the Andorian grinned. "If it's any consolation I've been keeping it clean... and occasionally disinfected." The last time he'd accidentally spilled a couple of drops on the wound he'd sworn up a storm. "Besides, with enough alcohol, I'll pickle myself and won't get an infection anyways."

He looked around his quarters for a moment before continuing. "Where do you want to set up for this inspection?" As he spoke he walked over and topped up her drink once more. "I've already asked this probably, but you're a bit stiff even for a Vulcan. What's that about?"

Without even considering how his words could be interpreted, he took another sip and blinked twice as he looked at her.

T'Mara looked at him and then back down, her brows furrowing slightly in a subtle, indecipherable expression. "I am not certain what you mean. I do not suffer from muscle spasticity."

Her remark made a burst of air escape his lungs as he tried not to laugh. The alcohol burned a little as it went to the wrong pipe and Kes had to keep from spitting it back into the glass. After a second of sputtering he managed to swallow it and regain his composure without choking or drowning. "Exactly doc. Kinda. I'm saying that you're more Vulcan than what I'm used to seeing. Especially in someone as young as you."

Kes picked one of the more comfortable chairs in his quarters and claimed it as he sat down with a padded thud. He was an old pro so he'd managed to sit down without spilling a drop, which he was thankful for as he took another sip. "And if you don't want me drinking much you're going to have to keep up. I've got another two bottles after this one and anything you don't drink... I will."

"...what?" T'Mara replied unsure of where to look at this point. Her sole purpose was to make a 'house call,' to assess her rather non-compliant patient. However, whatever she had imbibed was starting to make her thoughts seem somewhat...sluggish.

"I...I was training to become a temple priestess. It...It was decided upon that this was not the best use of my skills. It is not my intent to be perceived as...stiff." She made a gesture to herself, and managed to slosh what was in her glass. Not knowing what else to do, she downed the second glass, and this time DID make an overt facial reaction. One eye may have involuntarily shut and there could have also been some shuddering and perhaps a small gag.

"You're in it to win it doc." Kes replied before downing the rest of the contents of his own glass. "I Guess I'm the one who has to keep up." Reaching over to the bottle on the table, Kes filled his glass once more and motioned with the bottle for T'Mara to come closer with her own glass as well.

"Have a seat and tell me what I did wrong and what I need to do to keep you as happy as a kid in a candy store." Kes smiled broadly and warmly, what had begun as simply offering the young doctor a drink had now turned into a challenge. "And I never figured you for the religious type, but I guess I don't know you that well either."

Sweet Surak...more??? T'Mara thought silently as he motioned for her to allow him to refill her glass yet again. Of course, she was uncertain if this was a form of Andorian hospitality so she, being a conscientious 'guest,' readily complied.

There was a lot to unpack in Th'relnal's latest statement. "I do not experience...happy, nor am I a child." T'Mara rebutted, maybe having a slight hint of salt in her tone. She was old enough to be a physician in Starfleet! It was adult enough and...

She barely stopped herself from going on a full-blown internal tirade. T'Mara forced a breath out through her nose and found re-centering herself to be more difficult than normal. She may have looked down at the blue-colored liquid in suspicion.

"I am not particularly...spiritual, either. I was not given an option. My fa--" T'Mara stopped herself before committing one of her own cardinal sins, Thou shalt not mention thy progenitors.

Not knowing what else to do, she took another 'sip' from her glass, and then cleared her throat. "You did not comply with my instructions. Your wound appears inflamed, Lieutenant."

"Alcohol kills most bacteria and sterilizes things." Kes replied with a grin before taking another swig. "I'm fighting it from the inside." When it became clear she wouldn't return the smile, he shifted in his seat to expose the wound more. "Alright, alright..."

"Take a look doc. Tell me what you want me to do and I'll take it under advisement." Looking over toward the massive windows and into the stars beyond, Kes took another drink. "Not sure how things are for a non-spiritual Vulcan doctor who was to be a priestess, but that sounds like you did exercise an option or three."

"Just like I am exercising my options to have you visit here and attend in the comfort of my quarters instead of parading all the way down to medical." Kes grinned and poured more from the bottle into his own glass. "Now, aside from the outside, being tender, how's that nerve thing? Did it heal at all? I get twinges of pain. The drink helps though."

T'Mara put the glass down on the table next to her with a 'thunk.' "Isopropyl alcohol can kill bacteria and viruses. However, this only works when applied directly to the pathogens. Ingesting this form of alcohol you are currently imbibing does nothing to improve internal infection, but it does cause a number of deleterious effects when ingested in excess." She looked at him with a subtly reproving expression.

Pushing herself off her seat, T'Mara positioned herself so that she was kneeling next to Th'relnal's sitting form. She reached over and pulled the small bag she brought with her within reach and sprayed her hands with a sealer that she kept in an outer pouch for easy access.

She leaned forward and gently palpated the inflamed laceration. It was still well approximated; her sutures were holding. Yet, the wound was livid and edematous indicated early cellulitis at bare minimum.

"Any worsening malaise, or fevers or chills?" T'Mara said as she tilted her head up and looked directly at Th'relnal. The thought of asking an Andorian if he had any 'chills' was somewhat...humorous?

"Aside from the occasional sharp pain and the usual dull numbness, I feel fine." Kes was serious for a moment. Only a moment as he reached around her to refill her glass and finish his own off. "I think what I hear you saying is that I shouldn't technically be drinking all of this." To prove a point, the tipsy Andorian tilted his glass so that some of the liquid quickly ran down over his side and onto the wound.

MISTAKE. PAINFUL MISTAKE.

Kes's whole body tensed as he sucked in a quick breath. "Nope doc. I disagree." He muttered. "I'll keep drinking it instead thank you very much." He brought the bottle up to his lips and took a large swig to take the edge off the burning pain he felt.

T'Mara leaned back on her heels and looked up to the grimacing Andorian and studied his flailing antennae as they gesticulated wildly in response to the pain from his wound.

"That would not have been my recommendation, Lieutenant." She said drolly while waiting for the pain--and his fidgeting--to subside before returning to her ministrations.

"It would appear infection has set in. This is less than ideal. Your nerve is in tenuous enough of a condition to add superimposed infection..." Her voice trailed off and her lips thinned slightly as she applied pressure to them.

"Th'relnal...Kes..." T'Mara's insides squirmed as she used his 'familiar' name. It was not appropriate to do--according to her upbringing, anyway--but she was highly motivated to make him understand.
"This could permanently incapacitate you. I cannot overstate how important it is to adhere to the regimen I set out to treat your injury."

Kes sighed heavily. "Fine. Salvage what parts of me you can and patch me together doc." He looked at the bottle in his hand and blinked twice before taking another swig. "Keep me fighting, that's all I ask."

The Andorian grinned a little. "That and help me finish this stock. If I'm doing to have you poking and prodding me, I'm going to be good and numb."

T'Mara raised a brow at the now refilled (again!) glass of burning liquid next to her and she outwardly sighed. The compromises one had to make at times. "Very well. However, if you fail to report for the next assessment, I will inform the captain and remove you from active duty."

"Very Well. However, if you don't keep up I will finish this stock myself and not be able to do my active duty." Kes grinned and brought his glass to clink against hers. "Skol!" And downed most of the glass in a single gulp.

T'Mara sighed. It was a most un-Vulcan-like thing to do, but then, she was wasn't fully Vulcan. It seemed like a reasonable excuse at the time. Watching Th'relnal clink his glass to hers and then down the drink, she resigned herself to her current fate, reciprocating.

Human alcohol did not affect Vulcan physiology, but whatever this Andorian stuff was, apparently did. Perhaps it was unorthodox, but T'Mara would continue to drink the stuff, if only to keep less of the substance from going down Th'relnal's throat.

The things she did for her patients...

 

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