<snip>

The nurse came in and set up a portable monitor for V’alura, as asked. Her heart rate read low, as compared to a human’s it would be resting in the low 50s. Her O2 saturation was low, in the high 80s. Mucous in her lungs accounted for the wheezing and to some extent the trouble breathing. She was running a fever. The viral flu she had given Solal was advancing in her as well, she was getting sicker.

Solal’s scans weren’t good either, but in different ways. His heart rate was high, his BP was low, his kidneys read the same as before, and his infection was advancing quickly, taking advantage of his weakened immune system. He was running a low fever, which with his immunosuppressant therapy he shouldn’t be running any fever. His breathing was labored but not as badly as V’alura’s. The dialysis cycle was about half finished. He looked a bit dazed, like he wasn’t quite focused.

Solal shook his head at V’alura. “If something were wrong I’d say so… Feeling ‘bad’ is expected.” He closed his eyes a moment and rested. He sighed softly. “My head still hurts. And my cough is getting worse.”

~ Solal

V’alura’s eyelids felt like lead. She was so tired. Without meaning to she closed her eyes, “Liar. . . ” She mumbled. Another wheeze forced itself from her throat, followed by a cough that kept going and going until she felt the mucus coat the inside of her mouth. Gross. She might have lifted her hand and asked for a tissue but she wasn’t sure. Thing was she didn’t feel hot, but she felt drained. And perhaps a bit light headed but that wasn’t so bad on her list of things to worry about. Another wheeze and she opened her eyes and turned her head to see Solal. He isn’t being honest about how he feels but at least he’s doing better than her. I have to be strong for him, she thought. “Expected doesn’t mean. . . tolerate. . . in silence.”

V’alura

A lab tech entered while Alexis was taking her scans, with the results of their latest blood tests. Bonner muttered quietly, with very little sound. The infection was viral. “J’ta bring me two doses of baloxavir marboxil.” Baloxavir marboxil was a strong anti-viral given as a single dosage. It had the side effect of upsetting the stomach and made the symptoms worse, but it wouldn’t affect their kidneys. “Also get me a dose of guaifenesin and dornase alfa with a nebulizer mask, and 500mg acetaminophen for them both.” Alexis turned to V’alura. “They are both expectorants. The guaifenesin will help long term to break up the mucus in your lungs. The dornase alfa is breathed in with steam and will help clear your mouth, sinuses and throat immediately.

V’alura hummed, “‘s the. . . good stuff. . . then.” The strong stuff always had the worst side-effects though.

Solal gave her another look, this one… Almost annoyed. “I feel tired, dizzy,” he paused to cough, “sick, itchy, cold, I have a headache…” A breath, then more coughing, “my body aches, and Baloxavir marboxil is going to make us both feel sicker.” The downside of being a doctor. He recognized the med when Alexis mentioned it. It was an antiviral that wouldn’t be hard on his already struggling kidneys. “There is no logical reason to tell you this, except perhaps, that you will stop wasting your breath calling me a liar.”

From her comfortable chair V’alura snorted. A sound that both conveyed her amusement at Solal and as a proclamation that she would do no such thing. It didn’t make her feel better to know that she was right about the good stuff having the worst consequences. Was it even possible to feel sicker than she already was?

J’ta returned with the requested items. Alexis quickly gave Solal the baloxavir marboxil and the acetaminophen, and then the same plus the guaifenesin to V’alura. Then she fit the mask over V’alura’s face and there was a click and hiss as the medication was dispensed and a soft hum as the mask mixed it with steam. Alexis adjusted the setting on the mask to give a higher O2 percentage. “V’alura we will leave the mask on after the medication is dispursed. Your O2 levels are very low so until they come up, you will need a higher concentration.”

Then she looked at Frigga, “Up.” Frigga immediately stood and dropped to the floor. Alexis lifted the blanket and motioned Frigga back on the bed underneath. She laid the blanket back over both of them and added a second blanket. “She should help raise your body temperature.” Then she fixed Solal with his own breathing treatment. “J’ta bring them both something hot to drink, non-caffeinated.”

Bonner, AMO

There was no fight from V’alura. Mostly because fight wasn’t even in her dictionary at the moment. The mask did it’s thing and V’alura began to breathe a little easier. She should be concerned about her lungs. Doctors always told her that they should be a little larger than they are. Which always seemed silly to her. They were proper lung size for a human and she was half-human. It always came back to Vulcan’s needing the larger lung size for their dumb Vulcan biology and it used to make her so angry. Maybe it should make her angry again.

Solal worried about V’alura. If she needed continuous oxygen support, her lungs must be in bad shape. He’d have to continue keeping an eye on her. Lucky, he supposed, that he couldn’t sleep anyway. He could lay there comfortable and exhausted, but sleep refused to come. He lifted his hand when Alexis told Frigga to move, assuming she must have other patients to see, but, with a flush of cold air, Alexis allowed the dog to jump back up on him, under the blanket. Then he was covered with two blankets, and a very friendly dog. “She won’t overheat,” he coughed. His throat was getting irritated enough talking made him cough more. “Will she?” Then he had his own mask, the medication making his breathing feel easier, the rush of air helping to relax him. He reached under the blanket to set his hand back against Frigga, keeping his right arm still.

~ Solal

Alexis shook her head, “It’s alright. She trained to for this, so if she does get overheated or needs water, she’ll come out. If you get worried or she’s too much you can order her to get down.” Frigga was very bright and was trained to care for others but also herself and not risk her own well being if it came to that.

“Why do you get the dog?” V’alura pouted, her words muted somewhat by the mask. She wasn’t jealous, but she did have to tease Solal about it. He needed Frigga more than her but he couldn’t admit that. Would be too human of him. “Say, can we watch something? . . . Maybe a movie? I’m not picky.” Any genre was fine by her.

V’alura

“To raise my body temperature.” Solal replied like that was an obvious, perfectly logical answer. The truth was, he just liked her. He liked her weight on his legs, he liked the warmth she was giving, and he liked her company. With the AIE knocking out his emotional control, it was clear the good effect she had on his mood. The mask muted his words, too, as the meds weren’t quite fully dispersed. Even breathing easier, his breathing remained slightly rapid, to go with his fast heart rate.

Alexis looked up where she was looking at the scans and making notes. “Oh that’s right. I apologize, Solal.” She finished on the console and unlocked the swing arm and positioned it where they could both see it. “There, now you can finish your Batman movie.” She had told him to bring it after all. This procedure was long enough he could watch at least one movie. Then finished with her scans and such she left them to it while she went on to other work.

Bonner

Solal glanced at V’alura, then Bonner, trying to recall his earlier excuse for watching such a movie. “I… I was…” He changed tactics, trying to think was making his head hurt more. “Whatever I was doing with it, it wasn’t important. If V’alura would prefer something else, that is fine.” Then he wouldn’t meet either of their gazes. He kept his eyes on the dog. He had already been nauseous today, but the antiviral med was already starting to make it worse. His stomach was starting to hurt.

~ Solal

A Batman movie? Did Solal like superhero movies? V’alura smiled as she spoke, “Actually, I’ve been wanting to re-watch the Batman movies.” There really wasn’t a genre of movie that V’alura didn’t like. Some were preferred over others but all movies had a purpose and value as entertainment. To hear that Solal liked superhero movies made her stupidly happy. Because it would mean that they shared something important. V’alura was thirteen years old when she saw the movie Legally Blonde. That movie changed her life, sparked her dream to be an actor and ultimately lead V’alura here. If Solal felt even a little inspired by those movies then, to V’alura, it made their sibling connection feel more. . . more real. More natural. That they shared something deeper than blood and that went far beyond a shared father.

V’alura

They had inspired Solal, in more ways than one. They were his parents’ favorite movies, and he had seen many of them many times, since he was very young. He nodded and pulled the disk with the movie from his PaDD and put it into the console instead, starting the movie where they could both see it. Then he lay back and watched. He seemed tired, like he might doze off, but he never did. Every time the movie was louder or the screen was bright he’d open his eyes again. When he coughed, he would take a while to settle back in. When the movie was over, Solal had his face turned away, partly covered. Was he… crying?

~ Solal

V’alura seemed to perk up. She kept her focus on the movie while breathing evenly into her mask. Normally V’alura could be a real chatterbox during movies. Especially during movies she knew really well or was apart of. Which, was kind of a terrible habit to have come to think of it, though V’alura wasn’t concerned about that at the moment. Instead, she directed a small portion of her big Vulcan brains towards cataloguing all the things she wanted to say for later. When V’alura can share all her movie trivia with Solal.

And every now and then she would sneak a glance at Solal, quietly gauging his condition and response to the movie. Especially during the emotional high points. To see what moments spoke to him and which fell flat. That’s how she noticed the tears. V’alura looked away, certain that wasn’t something he wanted to show. She made a half-hearted motion towards the screen. “Next one?”

V’alura

She could tell which parts of the movie moved him only because the AIE was breaking down his emotional control. About three quarters the way through must have been his favorite part because he seemed glued to the screen. Then when that part was over he went back to half-dozing. He’d pulled his mask off. He only needed to wear it long enough to disperse the medicine, and that was done. The masks were not very comfortable.

By the time the movie was over, his dialysis cycle was near over too. There was about twenty minutes left on it. “It’ll autoplay the next one.” His voice was as close to level as he could manage, but tiredness made his words slur together slightly. He rested his hands against Frigga. At least with the extra blanket and the dog there, he wasn’t cold. Being warm was making him sleepier.

~ Solal

She grinned underneath her mask, and resisted the great temptation to remove it. For now the mask stayed in place so it can do its work until a nurse or doctor decided she was well enough to breath on her own. Besides, with the movies to distract her it wasn’t so terrible. “Which one is your favorite?” She asked, curious to know more. As Solal said the next movie played automatically. The old fashioned title screen following a slideshow of obsolete production studios flashed across the screen. Oh, she recognized this one! This one took place in space with high-thrill space battles and fantastic aliens.

V’alura

Solal glanced over at her tiredly and and shrugged. “My parents liked them.” He wasn’t a fan of this one, but he was still attempting to maintain his control, not that it was going well. He could only hope the tears from earlier weren’t visible on his face. He wished he could sleep. He was so tired… “What about your favorite?”

~ Solal

So it wasn’t just the movies but the connection with his parents? That’s so sweet. V’alura hummed, “It’s called. . . Legally Blonde. . . You probably would hate it. But. . . it means so much to me.” V’alura could cry. She would never, ever confess this. . . But she used to envision this moment. Literally fantasize about how she would explain the most important movie in the universe to Solal. Later she’ll give him the full conversation. “But if we’re talking. . . favorite superhero movie? To be honest I liked the. . . tv shows better.”

V’alura

“Both my parents would call that sacrilege.” Solal commented. “Legally Blonde… I’ve heard of it. And no, I don’t like it.... But if you insist I’ll watch it,” he said, sighing. He remembered his classmates talking about how they had to watch whatever their little siblings liked. V’alura was older, but the idea was the same.

~ Solal

Despite everything V’alura found the strength and breath to chuckle. “Oh. . . I do insist. We’ll watch the remastered version with. . . commentary by a professor of early 21th century media.” Of course she preferred the classic version but the version with commentary was flawless in its analysis of the movie and the context it was made within. Though the Legally Blonde musical production was also fantastic. . . But then there’s the 22nd century remake which adapted the story in a novel way.

She breathed into her mask, and for a moment lost focus of the conversation. The exhaustion of the catching up with her compiled with the softness of her recliner and sounds of the movie playing in the background. She blinked back her grogginess, not realizing she had dozed for a moment, “Hmm? What was I talking about?”

V’alura

Solal nodded along, trying to listen, but not really listening. So when she asked what she was talking about, Solal simply shrugged. “You fell asleep.” The dialysis cycle beeped to indicate it was finished. Solal pressed the call button to let Doctor Bonner know it was done. “What are you going to do once we’re finished here?” It shouldn’t be much longer now before they could go. Unless they got worse they shouldn’t need to stay.

~ Solal

“I did? Oh, shoot.” This stupid disease. She’s never dozed off like that before! Not even after working a quadruple all-nighter. “I was thinking of visiting the lounge to stare out the windows. Something about. . .watching the stars fly by puts me at peace.” She chuckled, “Though, they might just put me to sleep.” Which, wouldn’t be so bad. Between the pain and her stupid lungs falling asleep took the whole night.

V’alura

Solal nodded. That would be nice… He hadn’t been able to fall asleep lately either. “If it relaxes, you, it’s worth doing, but be careful with going to the lounge. I think Doctor Bonner will put you on the same treatment as me, which will weaken your immune system.”

~ Solal

“I’ll take sanitizer with me and ask the lounge staff to thoroughly sanitize the table before I sit.” This was her life now. Taking every extra precaution in the book. “What about you? You look like you could use a nap.”

V’alura

Solal nodded. Those precautions seemed acceptable. “I am tired… But I have been unable to sleep.” He sounded tired. “I think it had to do with the cognitive symptoms of this disease.”

~ Solal

“Maybe you need to do some staring at the stars out a window. It sure beats counting sheep.” Or counting Pi. “Try playing some white noise while you’re trying to sleep or even while you’re trying to meditate. It may help you concentrate and clear out the excess thoughts.”

V’alura

“Do those things help you?” Solal asked. He would try the noise thing when he tried to meditate. He was exhausted and meditating was hard and that was frustrating. Not being able to sleep was also frustrating. “I’ll try that.”

~ Solal

“Sometimes, when my thoughts are really loud. I used white noise a lot when. . . well, when I was going through rehab on Earth.” She couldn’t help but tense at the memories. Rehab was the absolute worst. A period of time she never wanted to visit again, but she couldn’t deny that the techniques she was taught back then weren’t effective. “Back then. . . my head felt like battlefield. I was trapped in a war of attrition against my own intrusive thoughts. When I used the white noise those thoughts weren’t as loud as they were before. Once I realized I could hear me, my real thoughts, I began to sleep easier again.”

V’alura

When she tensed, Solal reached over and set his hand on the edge of her chair, his attempt to comfort her. “You don’t have to talk about that… Not if you don’t want to.” He took a long, tired breath, and then, “If it’ll help me sleep I’ll try anything. Can’t fall asleep anymore.”

~ Solal

She couldn’t help but smile, “I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t want to, but thank you for your concern.” She glanced his way, “Try it and if it doesn’t work we’ll think of something else. You’re not alone in this.”

V’alura