<snip>

After finishing her scan Alexis closed the tricorder and prepared a hypo of antibiotics and administered it. “Your kidney function is noticeably lower. You probably have protein building in your system and we are going to have to filter that out.”

Bonner

“Do I need to go back to sickbay?” He knew at least to get the filtering treatment he would. Effectively the same thing as dialysis, he’d need a machine to filter his blood for him. Then there were the blood tests and kidney tests that needed to be rerun. And then the new infection… He sighed.

~ Solal

“We have two options right now. We can give you diuretics to help force your body to flush the toxins out, but you are dehydrated so that would require extreme fluid intake on your part. We would have to start by getting your hydration levels up with a fluid infusion. The other option is to start you on a modified dialysis regimen. We can add the fluids you need as the machine filters your blood. Either way you need fluids faster than your body is taking them in. There is also a medication called Farxiga, it’s old, but it helps support and heal the kidneys from CKD. The problem is until we figure out why you aren’t responding 100% to the immunotherapy, it’s still just a stop gap.”

Bonner, AMO

Solal considered it and then nodded. “The first idea wouldn’t work. My kidneys are unable to filter things, all that would do is run water through my body. You’d have to hyperhydrate me to death before that did what we need it to. I think we should start the modified dialysis. As for the med…” He shrugged. “I can’t seem to recall much about it. That one is up to you.” He coughed again, turning away from Alexis. “I don’t like what the consequences will be if we can’t figure this out. Those symptoms already indicate permanent kidney damage.”

~ Solal

Alexis nodded. She was glad to see that Solal was still thinking clearly. “You will need to come to sickbay for that. We will monitor how fast the enzymes and protein are accumulating and set a schedule.” She sighed with a nod. “It doesn’t look good, Solal. On the bright side I can give you a white pill that will regrow your kidney. The bad news is if we can’t figure out what is causing your body to attack itself, your new kidney will fail as well.”

“The other bad news is, there are no white pills for brains.” Apparently he was more worried about the AIE than he let on. “And regrowing a kidney isn’t instant either. If it comes to that, it may buy us time, it may not. I would hope it can wait until we figure out how to make the body stop attacking the kidneys.”

“No it is not, but there are also artificial kidneys as well. We’re going to get you a solid diagnosis, Solal.” Alexis just hoped it was before it did any permanent damage to his brain.

Solal nodded, but sighed, and brought up a hand to his head. His headache was getting worse. “I hope so.”

Alexis noticed the movement, of course, “Is your head hurting? I will give you something for it. There is no need to make your body work under extra strain if we can relieves the discomfort.”

He nodded again, a slight movement to avoid further agitating the pain in his head. “I wasn’t going to mention it, but it’s getting worse.”

Alexis gave him a long look. “We have exhausted environmental, pathogen, and biological causes. We can continue to let this progress and hope new symptoms occur that help, or you can let me do a genetic study. I know you have been against it, and it may prove fruitless, but we are at the point where we must exhaust all avenues of diagnostics.”

Bonner, AMO

And there they were again. Back at the question of a genetic study. It was information Solal didn’t want to know and really didn’t want to exist, not in his file, not confidentially, not anywhere. As illogical as it was, it would even bother him if V’alura consented to the study. She already knew who her mother was but their shared father was where this illness must have come from. He wondered if she was as adverse to knowing anything about the man as Solal was.

It was however, the thought of V’alura that changed his mind. She had been sick longer, and not on autoimmune treatment. He knew that meant whatever the disease had decided to attack in her, was likely in worse shape than anything of his. If she died because he said no… He sighed. It was almost a huff, really. “For diagnostic purposes only.”

~ Solal

Alexis gave him a thoroughly perplexed look, “What other purpose could a genetic study possibly serve?”

Solal looked up at her and blinked, as if surprised. “To… See where I’m from? Genetic relations? Like ancestry? That’s what most people think I should want.” He looked pale and sickly, even in the dimmed lights of his quarters.

Alexis pursed her lips, “Well if you are interested in that, there are companies that specialize in such things. It is beyond my purview or interest to investigate your ancestry. I remember you mentioned once your fathers are doctors. If you were interested in such things, you have had ample opportunity to discover them. It is not my business.” He looked rather ill. “Do you feel up to walking or would you like me get a chair?” Movement was good, it kept the systems flowing, but too much could tire him out, overwork his system, or if he was dizzy or faint he could fall and get hurt.

“I am not, and I would appreciate it never brought up again.” His tone was firm and forceful. He shook his head to the chair, coughing harder this time. “I can still walk. Just not too far.”

She wasted no time taking an extra blood sample for the genetic study. “Let’s go ahead and get you to sickbay. I can set up a private room so it will be quieter and less exposure. You can finish your movie while the machine does its work.” She thought to ask if he would like to have V’alura join him. The procedure could take awhile, but if he wanted her to sit with him he would say so. She assumed.

Bonner, AMO

Solal begrudgingly let her take the sample. He nodded, grabbed his PaDD, tossed the empty water bottles in the trash, partly made his bed (he was tired and felt lazy), and then followed her to sickbay, turning the lights off on the way out. On the way he seemed distracted for several moments and then, quietly, “Let V’alura know?”

~ Solal

Alexis walked along at his pace, not wanting to rush him and exhaust him. She nodded, “Of course. I will have to come up with something so you both can spend time together but not keep reinfecting each other.” Once they reached sickbay, Bonner led Solal to one of the private treatment rooms. Nurse Kilak helped her set the machine up and calibrated to add the fluid infusion back into his blood stream while it removed the toxins. Alexis pulled a swing arm over with a computer console for him, and draped a blanket over him. The body often got cold during such procedures. She started the cycle and then turned to him. “It will take a couple of hours. I will inform V’alura for you.”

She left the room and grinned to herself as Frigga appeared, slipping into the room when Alexis opened the door. =/\=Bonner to V’alura. Could you come to my office please?=/\=

Bonner, AMO

It wasn’t too slow of a walk, but by the end of it Solal was winded and glad to be there. A specialized IV was used to take the blood and send it to the machine, as well as return the filtered blood, so Solal had to be careful not to move that arm too much. “Thank you.” He reached for the computer console as she left, until he heard the click of the dog’s claws. Then he left the console where it was, instead leaving his lap open.

~ Solal

Frigga padded her way over and looked up. Seeing an open lap she hopped up onto the foot of the bed. She sniffed toward his arm and then very carefully crawled her way onto his lap on the opposite side of the IV connections. She laid her head on her paws and looked up at him.

Frigga

His right arm had the IV connections. With another couple of hard coughs, Solal set his left hand on the dog and began scratching by her collar. It would be easy for the dog to tell by his scent that she was helping. He told himself he wanted her there because she kept him warm better than the blanket Alexis had put over him.

Alone and ensconced in the comfort of her dark room, V’alura was dramatic. Her favorite movies played on repeat from a screen nestled into the wall. She laid across her bed at an angle in her most comfortable lounge clothes with one arm draped devastatingly across her eyes. She foolishly told herself that if she stayed perfectly still then her terrible disease wouldn’t cause her any pain, discomfort and would blissfully fade into the back of her mind. It kind of worked, but she still needed to breathe and every breath felt like rubbing sandpaper across her lungs.

She suffered in silence because part of her couldn’t bare to get up, another part of her berated her for being weak and scared. The simple motions of getting out of bed, changing clothes, putting on make-up now felt like insurmountable challenges. Finding the energy and will to do as little as brush her teeth had to be carefully planned, excruciatingly executed and bared until she could collapse unto the nearest comfortable surface and recover. Pathetic. Thankfully, what little mental energy V’alura possessed directed towards worrying about Solal. Though her time with him in-person was precious little, she knew he was off-kilter.

/\=Bonner to V’alura. Could you come to my office please?=/\=

Go to Bonner’s office? No. Impossible. But what if it’s about Solal? If V’alura possessed just one more brain cell she would question the logic of such a leap. Bonner was not just Solal’s doctor but hers as well. The good doctor may very well want to talk about V’alura. But it could also be about Solal. Thus, V’alura found the strength to sit up and carefully crawl out of bed. ^=V’alura to Bonner=^ She sounded like a chainsmoking frog. =^Coming.=^ V’alura put one foot in front of the other and somehow made the way to Dr. Bonner’s office. Of course she looked rightful mess. Hair pulled back into a messy bun, her loose fitting clothes wrinkled and not a spot of make-up anywhere. “Solal?” She asked.

V’alura Belmont

Just from the sound of her voice, when V’alura entered Alexis’ office she had a breathing treatment ready to go. “Sit.” She slipped the mask over V’alura’s mouth and nose and clicked the canister to release the medication. It wasn’t an option. V’alura needed it, so she was getting it. Then Bonner sat in another chair, on the same side of the desk. “Solal is in a treatment room. He asked me to tell you. His kidney disease is progressing, and we have to help clean the toxins out of his system. He also has the same respiratory infection you have. So we will need to be cautious to make sure you two don’t keep passing it back and forth.”

“Before we go see him…Solal has agreed to a genetic study, to check for mutations or genetic incompatibility that may be causing his immunodeficiencies. Since your symptoms are so similar, would you consent to a study as well? It may not be genetic, but we have exhausted all other sources for Solal, at the moment. And if you are both suffering from the same root cause, it would be a good idea.”

Bonner, AMO

~ Solal

How easily V’alura submitted to treatment upon entering Dr. Bonner’s office was a testiment to how tired she felt. Still, V’alura breathed deeply, through the pain and tightness constricting her chest, to encourage the medicine to work faster. It coated her throat and worked down and through her lungs. Oh, what sweet bliss, V’alura thought. Her breaths eased into soft sighs of relief. It almost felt like normal breathing again. However, when Dr. Bonner began to speak, she had V’alura’s full attention.

Solal caught her infection? V’alura winced, and felt so incredibly stupid in that moment. She should have been more careful. In her haste to be closer to Solal she sacrificed his health. Then came the bomb shell. A genetic study. V’alura answered in a blink of an eye with zero hesitation, “Yes. To any study. Any test. What must I do?” If this could help Solal then V’alura will do it. It didn’t matter if it was a long-shot or a miniscule chance, if there was any chance it would help Solal then V’alura would do it.

V’alura

“I just need a small blood sample. It will take several days to map out the DNA and then the analysis can take a couple of weeks.” Bonner grabbed a blood draw hypo and when V’alura was ready took the sample and had it sent to the lab.

“Alright let’s go see Solal. The process can make him cold and also tired. He is very dehydrated so we are adding fluids back in as his blood is cleaned, but if he can drink as well that will help.” Bonner led the way to his room as she spoke. “We will run an aseptic sweep in his room every few minutes. Like what you go through to enter sickbay. It will help stop the spread of infection and you two won’t have to wear a breathing mask.”

Entering the room, Alexis grinned. Frigga lifted her head an inch and her tail swished back and forth. Then she laid her head back down. “Page me if you need anything.”

Bonner, AMO

Between Alexis leaving and returning with V’alura, Solal had leaned back and closed his eyes, the blanket tucked closer to him. His left hand still rested on the dog. Under the brighter, white lights of the sickbay room, he looked pale and tired, making him look worse than he had in his quarters.

When Frigga lifted her head, he gently grasped her fur in his hand, uttering a whiny sounding, “Stay.” He did not want her to go. Then he felt the weight of Frigga’s head return and his hand relaxed, giving her more scratch. It wasn’t until Alexis’ voice startled him that he realized why Frigga had moved. His eyes popped open and he saw Alexis and V’alura. “You-” his voice caught in a cough and he had a coughing fit before trying again, “You didn’t have to come. I just thought you’d want to know.”

~ Solal

V’alura offered Solal a small wave and smile, “I don’t have to. . . do anything,” She said, her voice as rough as gravel taking a spin in a dryer, but it was better than before. She carefully collapsed onto a chair beside his bed. Fatigue settled deep into her bones. “But I want to. . . so here I am.” V’alura found the strength to nod to Dr. Bonner as the good doc left them for the time being. For a moment V’alura was content with silence. Which was funny because the old, healthy her would be talking a mile a minute now. Ugh, just thinking about that made her feel even more exhausted.

The whirring of the machine on the other side of Solal’s bed filled the silence while V’alura regained enough energy to decide to say more. A green liquid the color of corroded copper filled the IV lines leading from his arm into the machine and from the machine back to his arm. “I have your infection. I could reinfect you.” Apparently he had forgotten about the disinfection system, the aseptic sweeps.

A nurse came back and was pushing a very comfortable looking chair that reclined complete with a pillow and a blanket. She smiled at V’alura, “For you, Lt.”

“Okay,” V’alura finally croaked, and leveled Solal with a stern look, “Be honest. . . how bad do you feel?” She slumped over the side of her chair, “‘cause I feel. . . like an energy vampire. . . -‘s been sucking. . . on my neck all day. And my voice. . . lost ten rounds. . . with a heavy. . . -weight champion.” Were there awards for putting so much effort into talking? Because V’alura at least earned bronze there.

V’alura

Solal shivered and pulled the blanket closer. He knew this process could make him feel cold, but he felt like he still hadn’t been prepared for it. He looked at her as she gave him a stern look that reminded him a little of his parents, but softer. A big sister look, he supposed. She was twenty-one years older than him, he knew, but she did not look that much older. The work of their Vulcan heritage. That look made him want to listen, to be honest.

But no… She was more human than he, at least in nature. She would feel guilty for passing on her illness. “I’m sorry you feel so poorly.” A phrase he used with patients. “I am alright.” He sounded tired. Like Alexis had said he might be. He pet Frigga gently and then looked up at V’alura, “The filtering process-” he had to pause to cough again, and then catch his breath, “tends to make one feel a little tired.”

In truth he felt like he’d been hit by a semi truck, with a million leeches sucking all his energy away. His body ached, his skin itched, he was cold, his head hurt, he was nauseous. His mind felt foggy. His throat hurt from the coughing. He felt miserable. He patted the dog gently again and then rested his hand against her. “Are you liking the ship?” Small talk was not his strong suit.

~ Solal

Frigga lifted her head and whined. Solal smelled like lies. Frigga didn’t like lies. This wasn’t like the man that hurt her mom though. This was like the patients in psychiatry that didn’t want to talk about things. She nudged his hand with her nose and then laid her head on his stomach and stared at him with her huge puppy eyes and whined again.

Frigga

While V’alura didn’t have Frigga’s nose, she knew a lie when she heard one. First things first. V’alura sucked in a deep breath, gave herself a mental pep talk then made about ten false starts before carefully leaning foward to grab hold of the new chair’s armrest. Two more deep breaths, a second pep talk, and five false starts until she could haul herself to her feet, and turn just enough that she call fall into the new chair and heave a sigh of relief. The new chair was far more comfortable. Oh so worth the effort.

For the time being Solal was safe with his lies. V’alura closed her eyes and dozed for a few minutes to let her body rest while her mind worked quietly in the background. Her eyes opened and she shifted so that she could face him. “That’s. . . such a load. . . of bull crap,” She said, her words starting to wheeze at the end. “You’re as right. . . as wings on a hog. Which. . . is to say, not alright. . . as all.” As for his last question, she’ll get around to that eventually.

V’alura