Keeping An Eye On Him Keeping An Eye On Her

Posted on 20 Sep 2015 @ 6:25am by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Ensign Jaana Voutilainen & Commander Andreus Kohl & Jynn

1,966 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 03 - 1330 hours

[ON]

One could argue that Andreus Kohl's head was off somewhere, in an asteroid belt. Although, taken literally, his eyes were preoccupied with the PADD he was holding up to shoulder level. He was reading over the science department's proposals for asteroid landing sites, in advance of the team briefing in a few hours. Kohl wanted to prepare himself, but that also meant making himself ready to MC the meeting itself. There was something else he had to look into before he stepped up onto that raised platform and spoke to the room. The conflict between competing priorities was what caused him to misjudge how quickly the doors to Sickbay were opening and he bashed his shoulders into them as he tried to enter through too narrow a gap.

Although Kohl didn't stumble or fall, he still grunted out a short Argelian curse. He used to know his way around Sickbay better than that.

"Lieutenant Commander Kohl," called out Tuula, jolted out of her fantasies by his entrance. "If you're here to see Jaana, she doesn't want to talk to anyone right now," said Tuula in a glum tone. While Tuula was hurt by Jaana's request to be alone and her desire to not even talk to her own sister, the least she could do for her was to respect that by keeping her colleagues away.

The smile that came to Kohl's lips at the sight of Tuula was quick to go cold. Kohl's own reasons for visiting Sickbay were forgotten in a heartbeat. His concerns for the wellbeing of Jaana Voutilainen certainly out-sized his fears about his own self. Slowly moving to approach Tuula, he gently asked, "Can you tell me more about why she's been relieved from active duty?" He chose his words carefully, painfully aware that Tuula's other patient was also her sister.

"I can't," replied Tuula, making a frumpy face to soften any disappointment on Kohl's part. "Doctor-patient confidentiality, you know how it is. But... Allyndra assures me she'll be okay." Tuula offered him a weak smile; it was clear that she was disturbed underneath. "Was there anything else I could help you with?"

"Hold on," Kohl said, as soon as Tuula tried to change the subject. "I'm her leader," Kohl said and then he lowered his voice. He looked around, and he moved towards a biobed that was further from the other medical officers in Sickbay. "I'm not asking for diagnosis or prognosis for recovery. What I need is some understanding of the functional restrictions and limitations that are keeping her from her duty."

"Well..." as Tuula hesitated to answer the question, she saw Kohl's eyes rise from her to a figure behind her.

"I'd like to return to duty," said Jaana in a strained voice. The past few hours had been incredibly painful for her, and staring out at the stars and burying herself in her research was her usual way of dealing with these sort of problems. It was what she had done since she was a small child.

"But Jaana--" started Tuula. She was surprised to see her sister not only up and about, but talking to someone. As she looked up into her sister's eyes, she could see the pain that was there. But as she tried to make eye contact, Jaana's eyes just darted away.

"I want to return to duty," Jaana repeated, in a slightly stronger voice. "Allyndra said I could return when I felt like it, and I want to return now."

Kohl looked to Jaana first and he put on a smile for her. The smile was reserved, cautious. He wanted to encourage her wishes, certainly, but he didn't know enough about what had put her in Sickbay in the first place. "That's heartening to hear," Kohl said, in a non-committal manner. It was perhaps something he would have said in his nursing days. Before he said more, he turned his gaze on Tuula. He looked to her with naked concern in his eyes.

Kohl asked, "Do you agree with Allyndra's assessment?" His intonation suggested he wanted an honest answer; he wasn't going to strong-arm his way in here just to get Jaana behind an LCARS console.

"I..." Tuula was flabbergasted at Jaana's insistence on returning to duty. "I suppose. I mean..." she turned towards her sister, "It's up to you, Jaana."

"Please," she replied, almost begging, "I just want to get back to work."

"What if," Kohl proposed, "we put together a plan to gradually return Jaana to her duty" --He looked to Jaana when he said that-- "and, and, we can make the plan conditional on a series of appointments with Sickbay" --He looked to Tuula when he said that part-- "to ensure Jaana's duty isn't interfering with her recovery."

"I want to get back to work now," replied Jaana, her voice still nervous but firm.

Tuula sighed. There was no arguing with her sister sometimes, though she feared that Jaana might be trying to replace one addiction with another in an effort to avoid dealing with her problems. "I suppose if Allyndra has her medically cleared, then there's nothing wrong with returning her to her full duties," said Tuula, looking up at Kohl. She glanced over at her sister for a moment, their eyes locking before Tuula looked back towards Kohl. "Just... try to keep an eye on her, okay?"

Kohl's sapphire eyes were resolute, when he told Tuula, "I will." He didn't say more than that, but that said it all. He nodded once, and then he turned back to face Jaana. Enthusiastically, he said, "Now get yourself ready for the department briefing, Jaana. Everyone's going to want to hear what our stellar cartographer thinks of the asteroid belt. ...I actually came up here for a check-up of my own."

"Oh?" asked Tuula, raising an eyebrow. "In that case, allow me to pull up your file; was there anything in particular that has been bothering you lately?"

"Nothing... bothering me... exactly," Kohl said in the most diffident of manners. His eyes scanned Sickbay as he spoke. He edged closer to the nearest free biobed, as he watched Jaana walk away. "It's more like a fear? Or a paranoia?" he said, his tone filled with uncertainty.

"Oh?" asked Tuula, bringing herself in closer. She lowered her voice, just in case there was anyone in sickbay within earshot. "Is it... your injury? Is it getting worse?"

"I haven't..." Kohl said, "felt any changes in my strength or my range of motion. I haven't noticed any loss of sensation, but I can't stop thinking about what Allyndra said about her gene therapy for my legs and spine. She doesn't know how permanent it will be. It could last ten year or it could last ten hours..." Kohl looked to Tuula helplessly, and he couldn't think of what else he meant to say, and so he shrugged.

"Spinal injuries are difficult," said Tuula, placing a hand on Kohl's knee. "The loss of mobility, of sensation, of control... I know how difficult that is. I can't guarantee you that Allyndra's gene therapy will work, but I know that these negative thoughts aren't helpful."

"But I formulate negative thoughts so well," Kohl said, his delivery of the joke was weak. He let it fall flat. "What would you suggest I do instead?" he asked, entirely earnestly.

"Our brains are funny things; there is no way to stop them from formulating thoughts, be they negative or positive," replied Tuula. She sighed deeply; she understood completely how Andreus felt. "But you can't dwell on them. Instead, what you need to do is take thoughtful, committed action to feel better about yourself, regardless of whether this gene therapy works or not." She paused for a moment. "How about we continue our little adventure in the holodeck as soon as this is over? I'm pretty sure there are some zombies in Victorian London who need to be dealt with."

"I would like that very, very much," Kohl said. He didn't sound excited, exactly, given his darkened mood, but he started to perk up. "I would hate to think those zombies have been given free reign because of the war games and our defective deflector. Think of all those innocent victims?"

Tuula smiled excitedly. "It's a date, Lieutenant."

Ooo! A date! Don't be rude now, girlfriend. Give him a kiss to seal the deal. On the cheek, mind you. No need to get serious! Tuula's thoughts sounded overly cheery. Perhaps too cheery, as though the thoughts weren't quite her own but still coming from within the confines of her own head.

Oblivious to the voice in Tuula's head, Kohl asked of her, "Where were you when the deflector malfunctioned?" --He felt rude for not asking after her sooner-- "Did you make it through unscathed?"

"I was in sickbay when we lost gravity..." replied Tuula, deciding not to go into the details of where she was or what she was doing with whom when the alert first sounded. "I wasn't hurt badly, but it was chaos down here... and I was floating through the air, helpless, without my chair..." She reached for Kohl's hand and held it in hers. "It was just so... scary."

Kohl lowered himself onto the edge of the nearest biobed. Reducing his height, he made an effort not to tower over Tuula. "Has it remained in your thoughts?" Kohl asked, concerned by the intensity of Tuula's fear days after the fact. He patted his free hand on the back of Tuula's.

"It has," admitted Tuula, looking into Kohl's eyes as she wrapped an arm around him as well. "I've never been in combat before, or on a ship where something went wrong like that. Except for that transport back home..." Tuula glanced down at her legs for a moment, just thinking about that ill-fated transport ride home that changed her life. "I thought we were all going to die..."

For a brief moment, there was an awkward silence as they stared into each other's eyes. Then, without warning, Tuula leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thank you for listening," she whispered, before her mind returned to reality and the embarrassment of having kissed her sister's boss washed over her.

Given the hedonistic displays of affection Kohl was accustomed to back on Argelius, the only thing that surprised him about Tuula kissing him what that Tuula was Human. Long ago, Andreus had trained himself to restrain his touchy-feelies around Humans. Perhaps that level of restraint would no longer be necessary around this Human in particular.

"Remember that you survived this," Kohl said in encouragement. He made no effort to recoil from Tuula's touch. "That should make you feel stronger. You made it through this trying experience; you can make it through another."

Tuula let out a nervous smile. He was right; she had been through worse and survived. Still, the feeling of helplessness as she floated through the air got to her. "I know," she said. "I just worry about Jaana... take care of my little sister, okay?"

"I promise," said Kohl, meeting Tuula's eyes when he did. Given her forwardness earlier, Kohl planted a gentle kiss on Tuula's forehead. It was a quick expression of fondness, and then he moved off the biobed to get on his feet. As soon as he was on his feet, Kohl was heading out of Sickbay.

Tuula sighed softly as Kohl left. He was so gentle and caring and...

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

AND

The voices in Tuula's head
(NPC Jynn)

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