Painkilling

Posted on 17 Apr 2013 @ 7:03pm by Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Verity Thorne

1,780 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 2, Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD05: 0400 hrs

[ON]

Lilou woke up feeling as though she'd spent a great deal of time licking a carpet. Her head ached, her muscles groaned, and she was... on a couch. She squinted. Not her own. There was stuff here. Plants and figurines. And... her head jutted forward as her narrow gaze found the little shuttle with the name Panne printed on its side. It made her want to smile. Except that her head was not fiercely protesting the movement that had allowed her to see it.

Gingerly, she sat up, massaging the back of her neck and looked around. There was a blanket folded neatly on a chair. The door to the bedroom was closed. Maenad. Lieutenant Panne's quarters. Lilou made a quiet whine in the back of her throat and pressed her palms against her eyes. What. Had. She. Done. Last. Night.

Wincing, the engineer folded the blanket she'd been snuggled under, laid it on top of the pillow, and tiptoed out of the quarters. The corridors were still mercifully dim - thank the spirits - so Lilou tugged on her sleeves to straighten her uniform and headed for the observation lounge. Roebark and lida in water, was all she could think. Something to make her head stop trying to beat its way out of her skull. It took her three tries to get her voice loud enough for the replicator to hear her, and when it finalyl registered she'd felt like she'd been yelling. Still. She gratefully accepted the water, ground bark and fruit, and huddled into a chair beside the observation window to sip.

Verity watched her from the nearby table, sipping his coffee with mild surprise. He tried not to stare, not wanting to be rude, but he couldn't help it. Poor girl really did look a sight. He hesitated before lifting his coffee, moving over to the table and sitting lightly on the edge of the chair opposite her. "Sorry, but - is everything alright?" he asked with poorly hidden concern.

Lilou's shoulders hitched with tension at the noise - so loud - and squinted at the man over the rim of her water. Why was he yelling? How had she not seen him in here? Or had he just come in? Ugh, it was like she'd eaten sandpaper. "Fine," she whispered in a much more reasonable tone of voice. Barely audible.

"Are you sure about that?" Verity asked, his frown of concern only deepening with the response. She seemed distanced and overwhelmed, and to be frank, she looked a bit of a mess. She looked as if she should be in Sickbay, not a lounge. "No offence, but you don't look too fine," he added with a soft, apologetic smile.

"Who are you?" she asked with a wince. She wasn't used to strangers approaching her unless they needed something and the fact that this one was commenting on anything about her this far before her shift start seemed entirely unreasonable.

Verity tilted his head a little at that, giving a slight grimace. He hoped he hadn't seemed too rude not introducing himself. On the plus side, maybe she wasn't too ill if she had thought to ask. "Verity. Verity Thorne, ship's Chaplain. And I was rather worried at the sight of you struggling for a drink and a chair," he admitted.

"Late night," she mumbled, gulping more of the holistic concoction. "We have a chaplain?"

"You do indeed, I've been here since the last mission," Verity shook his head with a small smile of amusement. "Goodness, I'm going to have to start a press campaign up to make sure the crew know they can come over and use the chaplaincy." He searched her features for a long moment, laughter threatening at the corner of his lips. Late night, was how she'd put it. The worry lifted and understanding came instead. "It looks like you either had a very bad night, or a very good one."

"Ugh," she drank deep of her water, peering at him myopically over the rim. "I'd let you know, but it's all a little foggy." She squeezed her eyes shut, drank more water, squinted at him again. "A chaplain's like a monk, isn't it? Births and deaths?"

"Well I hope it's not like a ~monk~ exactly, because I'm going to have no social life if that's the case," Verity laughed softly, shaking his head firmly. "But yes, I'm there for those two things, but more as well. People who are injured, people who just need an ear to listen but don't need or want a counsellor. I can be a discussion touchstone for all things spiritual if people feel the need, but I'm by no means limited to it. On the whole, I'm here to support. I guess that could even include hangovers," he teased lightly.

"You carry painkillers?" Lilou pressed her thumb knuckle against her eye. "We could have used you a couple weeks ago."

"Well I'm only ever a comm call away," Verity chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulling a strip of tabs out. "Pull one off, let it melt on your tongue. Just a basic painkiller, but it might take the edge off. Of course, you could go to Sickbay, but I'm not sure where they stand on alcohol lectures."

The sound that emerged from Lilou's throat sounded a bit like a drowning cat. "I'll just... take the tab." She did so, placing it on her tongue. As she waited for it to melt, she squinted one eye open, "Thank you."

Verity chuckled, shaking his head and waving it away with a delicate hand. "No need. I've been on the other end of health lectures before. And it's no fun with a hangover. At all."

"I don't usually get them," she whispered, rolling her tongue around her mouth. "Hangovers. Vulcan liquor is... potent."

Verity laughed, smiling at fond memories of his own over indulgence with Vulcan and Romulan treats. "One way of putting it. You must have been seriously celebrating or toasting something. I hope it was good news," he said softly. Of course, there was always the possibility that she'd been commiserating something too. But if that was the case, she'd talk about it if she wanted.

Drinking to celebrate. She'd done that at some point. She could remember it vaguely, like still pictures on a screen. Not for years, but still. "No one died yesterday on this ship," she offered. "That's good news, isn't it?"

Verity gave a gentle smile, searching her features for a long moment. "Indeed. Very good news. Sometimes, that's as good as we can hope for, no news," he tilted his head, frowning slightly. "Although, things have to become rather bad that to be the best to hope for."

"There you go, then." Lilou shut her eyes and drank deep of the water, then rested her forehead against the glass. "It's still early, isn't it? My PADD isn't malfunctioning?"

"No, I'm afraid not, it really is ridiculous-o-clock," he assured with a sigh, shaking his head. "I couldn't sleep. I can't even blame any luxury spirits. How sad is that. Has the painkiller helped at all?" he asked with a frown, shaking his head gently. "You don't have to be on shift soon, do you?"

"Alpha, or whenever we reach orbit for the next of the research vessels." She prodded her own head, wincing. "It's coming along. Thanks. Did I say thanks?"

Verity laughed softly, nodding reassuringly. "It's no problem at all. And you know, whenever things are so bad, that only no news is good news? Feel free to come and find the chaplaincy. I keep a good stash there, if nothing else," he winked.

"Stash?" she asked, confused.

"Painkillers," he winked with a warm smile. "Herbal calmers too, for those who prefer them. Good beverages too. I need something to draw the clients in after all," he teased lightly.

Herbal calmers? She had no idea why he was winking at her, but she felt uncomfortable with the sudden level of familiarity. Ducking her head, she cupped her glass closer to her and sipped it.

Verity could see the change in her; he'd worked with people and offering counsel to them for most of his adult life after all. He sat back, giving a small smile. "Anyway, I'll let you get on with your morning, whatever you choose to do with it. Don't be a stranger though, feel free to drop by the Chaplaincy if things feel like only no news is good," he said softly, standing up and straightening his uniform jacket. "Get better soon."

Lilou nodded vaguely as he stepped away. Distance was better. If things feel like only no news is good... that was every day, wasn't it? It was a marathon of staying a step ahead of her own blunders, her own past, and the needs of... whoever was demanding things of her. Personal things. Her work was the only thing she could keep up with these days - the only place she felt any sense of competence. There was something she wasn't going to go sharing with the Chaplain. Or with Delainey for that matter. Maybe that was why she felt such an unexpected kinship with Liyar and Kiri. They were all in similar boats, in a way. She dragged herself from her thoughts and pasted a weary smile on her face for the benefit of the man before her. "Better already," she lied in as cheerful a tone as she could muster.

Verity nodded gently. "I'm glad," he said quietly, but the falseness hadn't escaped him. Either way, he wouldn't stay where he was making someone uncomfortable. "Have a good day. Keep safe," he said gently, making his way out of the Lounge. His smile faded as soon as he was turned away. He had noticed how her demeanor to him towards the end of the conversation. The way she'd looked at him when he'd smiled and winked and shared a joke with her. As if he was getting ready to make a play or a move. He frowned, taking a breath. He didn't like how the reaction made him feel. That someone would view him like that, especially as the chaplain. Especially with his previous line of work. It affected him more than he liked, making him both saddened and uncomfortable as he made his way to the chaplaincy early in case anyone who would be on Alpha wanted to drop by before going to work.

[OFF]

ENS Lilou Peers
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

PO2 Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo
(PNPC: Lt JG Scarlet Blake)

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