Posted Feb. 6, 2021, 7:11 p.m. by Civilian Runa Siff Edman (Education Specialist) (Jennifer Ward)
Runa walked Revna back to her quarters, fuming the whole way. She wasn’t really sure who she was mad at. The doctor for letting her personal emotions stop her from being a doctor or her sister for being…stupid. Runa palmed the control for the door and helped Revna inside and into bed. She propped her up the best she could to help take some of the pressure off her chest. One of the nurses had handed Runa a rebreather as she’d helped Revna out of sickbay. She told her it was already adjusted. She sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at her sister, but she didn’t say anything. Revna was pale and looked more angry than scared, like she had earlier. Lauren had done that much at least. Runa slipped the rebreather onto Revna and turned it on. “I’m going to go call Jameson.” She dimmed the lights and walked into the living area.
Jameson, an older, but still fit man, and starting to bald stared back at her through the LCARs screen. “I’m sorry Runa, I can’t help her. Centurion, we, I, the ship, we are just too far away. And even if we weren’t, I wouldn’t let her come here.” That surprised Runa, she figured Jameson would be willing. “She wants to come here because she thinks we’ll give in, let her keep having her way. And there is a good chance we might. We’re all like family. We’re too close to it. She needs someone who isn’t emotionally compromised. It’s one reason I had her transferred; to get her away from her comfort zone. If they’ve taken her off duty and put her on permanent bed rest and if they are sending her to a star base that means they don’t have the means on the ship. She’ll have to go.”
“She won’t go. She said she wanted you. She signed herself out of sickbay. She’s not talking to me.” Runa huffed, she, like Revna, had the patience of a saint and really no temper to speak of, but she was frustrated and scared. Revna never acted like this. “Well maybe she isn’t talking because it’s too hard, but this isn’t like her.”
Jameson sighed. “No it’s not, and she hasn’t been herself since she woke up in ICU after the attack. You know she was the senior counselor on staff here, under the COP. When I had her transferred out there she took a cut in position, not in rank, but position. Knocked down to a junior counselor, and all that that implies. She never made a peep about it. Not that Revna was ever one to stand on rank and position much. But she didn’t even balk at being transferred. Never fought it, never asked why. That told me more than anything that she wasn’t healing. Physically she was making some progress, but mentally. I tried, Runa, you know I did, but she refused the surgery. We couldn’t do it immediately, her body was too weak, she wasn’t stable enough, and once she was…she…” Jameson scrubbed a hand over his face. “She has to have the surgery. She’s known that from the moment she woke up. I told her, Xyniac told her. Whatever mental trauma she’s fighting with, she’s running from it, and you have to make her stop, or find someone else she’ll listen to. I’m sorry Runa, I wish I could be more help. I’ll write her a formal letter with my recommendation to go to the star base. She can read it herself.”
Runa nodded and sighed. “Thank you Cpt Jameson.” He shook his head, “Just Jameson. I wish I could do more. Good luck.” Runa sat in the chair for several minutes, head down resting against her crossed arms. Finally she got up and walked over to the replicator, “computer, two glasses of Edman file 23.” The replicator swirled in gold and two glasses of warmed spiced apple cider appeared. Runa took both and walked back into Revna’s bedroom. She set both on the side table and helped Revna sit up just a bit more. Then she sat down.
“Jameson said No. He won’t let you come and he won’t come get you. He said,” Runa paused and took a good long look at her sister. “Revna why didn’t you get the surgery earlier? Jameson said you knew you had to have it, they told you after you woke up.”
“10% Revna. He said a 10% chance it would work! And you weren’t fine. Better, but not fine! Why did you wait? Why are you doing this? If the doctors can help you….why did you refuse? What was that with Lauren?”
Runa knew that Revna had some high standards of medical professionals after her time on Centurion. Those high standards had sent her back to school on sabbatical from active duty. To become a better doctor, better counselor herself. She read over the PaDD and a slow smile crossed her face. Served Lauren right. All that high handedness. She didn’t even read the form. Revna had not refused treatment, she’d simply refused to stay in sickbay for the bed rest. Runa understood her sister. She, herself, had felt that Lauren had been more concerned with making judgements against other doctors than with Revna at that point. “Why did you refuse treatment? Jameson said you want to go back to Centurion because you hope they will give in to you, and I think he’s right. Why Revna? They can make you better.”
Runa knew panic, she’d seen it in others, but she had never seen it on her sister’s face. She wasn’t sure what to do with it. But it was Revna herself who told her, during some long forgotten conversation - ‘wait, give them time, and they will tell you.’ And so she held Revna’s hand and waited.
Runa had to stop herself from telling Revna it wasn’t the same thing. She was sure Revna knew that, in her head. But it probably didn’t feel like the same thing. Logic didn’t belong here. It had no bearing on emotions or trauma. She’d learned that from talking to Revna over the years. “Do you remember what Da used to tell us, when we were little, and afraid? Never run away from what scares you. If you run, it will just keep chasing you. Instead you turn and chase it down, and bludgeon it to death if need be, but never let your fear chase you.” She rubbed Revna’s hand a moment and then took one of the glasses and handed it to her, taking the rebreather off for a moment. “You won’t chase it alone, okay. Let’s go to the star base, Revna.”
Runa Edman, Civilian
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