text ► un: girl on top

[unas]

( if you'd have taken a bet as to which starfleet officer ended up in the brig first you wouldn't have come out with this one. the fact that she's now back in the brig-- she's starting to really hate superstition )

Anyone that's allowed on deck want to tell me which direction the ship's pointing? Or what you see up there?
I'll even trade a story, something from your home for one of mine.

( she'd even take a story about the things that people have seen here but she's info seeking, find out where people are from, maybe when... she can't help the pirates but she can still be busy.

you could also potentially assume that she's a little bored )

Comments

[unas]

( she scoots closer to the bars, taking the cloth from him though resting it on her knee for a minute. though her hair had already been tied up she pulls it loose, redoing it into a messier than she'd like bun. needs must and she needs her hair off her neck, which is absolutely the first place that cloth goes, resting for a moment, soothing her slightly )

Two days?

( she's pretty sure, anyway. she'd kept very quiet about her stay here and being sequestered away in the women's area made it easier for her to be a little less noticed in her absence )

I didn't plan on having it known.

[biomed]

Two days? Commander--

( McCoy stops his peeling of an orange to gape at her, and shift toward the bars, his knee pressed against the cross-brace of iron. )

That's inhumane! That's-- I'll go speak with Captain Kreil, he can't just leave you in here like this.

( Unhygienic, unsanitary, cruel and barbaric, expecting anyone to suffer like this. He's already making a fresh list of items to bring her, scowling at the injustice. )

[unas]

He won't listen to you.

( she pulls the cloth from her neck to clean her face up a little, freshening up not just for the conditions in this cell )

Women are bad omens for them. A woman that offers to help? They'd rather lock me here and forget I exist than risk me even being amongst the other women.

( and being the damn good pilot she was she had offered to help, knowing the stars, or at least stars generally... and then had requested to see the captain. none of it went over well )

[biomed]

Superstitious, misogynistic idiots--

( Leonard McCoy declares Yes All Men with boiling anger, and hands over the orange by the remainder of its peel, trading for the cloth so he can rinse it for her. It's either anger or despair, and despair gets fuck-all accomplished, so. )

They are feeding you, at least? Giving you water?

[unas]

I don't know that I'd consider it food but it's something.

( and nothing compared to this orange. which in the light of her situation really does taste like the best orange that she's ever had )

Cadet, don't do anything that'll get you here. ( she hears the anger, giving only a gentle warning ) Otherwise who will I have to bring me oranges?

( she doesn't want to admit this to kirk or spock either. even if she's not asking him not to tell them. if they find out from him she won't be mad )

[biomed]

( Already started on another orange for her, he sighs, glaring at the bowl between his feet. )

I've no intention of ending up in here, Commander. Even if the crew wasn't half-drugged, I don't trust any of 'em to take care of themselves properly.

Is there anything else I can get you?

[unas]

They're drugged?

( this was new, though not surprising that he's the one to notice that over anything else.

and she might gently be using this new nugget to avoid his question even if it's definitely more important (to her) than her own state )

Do you know what with?

[biomed]

( Bones spares a glance over his shoulder. They're alone, at least; the First Mate has the keys, he's pretty sure, and none of the crew would care to hang around here for any longer than necessary, he'd bet his career on that.

Still, he lowers his voice anyway, as he tucks the orange peel into the canvas bag at his side, to save for later, and passes her the fruit. )

Opioid of some kind. Laudanum, if I had to take a guess, or something like it. I don't think they're all taking it recreationally, either.

[unas]

Is it possible they don't know what it is?

( especially if it was the captain that was giving it to them.

she pops the last piece of orange into her mouth, putting the last bit of the peel beside her and holding her hand out for the new one. they were really helping with how terrible she felt )

[biomed]

No, no, they're... uneducated, not ignorant. Not about that, anyway. I think the calming effect is specifically what they're chasing. The captain of the Pariah's dosing at a pretty alarming rate "for his nerves".

( In lieu of reaching back to peel a new orange, he closes his fingers to his palm and opens them again, come here. )

Give me your wrist, please.

( Gonna start checking you out, ma'am. )

[unas]

( wow, you're not her doctor.

but she wants that orange and the other things she saw him bring. so she hands it over.

what he'll feel is a shockingly high temperature. her natural temperature is already above human levels (not suspiciously so) and with a fever, it only makes it higher )

Anything about the situation we could use to our advantage?

[biomed]

( Where his two fingers had slid initially over her pulse point, now his hand covers hers, alarmed. The topic of sailors swilling drugs is immediately forgotten. )

You're practically boiling. ( Cursing the awful light, as he should have normally seen the signs, he lifts his hand gently to her temple, the back of his cool knuckles brushing her heated skin. )

Why didn't you tell me you were feeling feverish? Do you have any other symptoms?

[unas]

( she'll be embarrassed later about the sound that catches in her throat at the feeling of his cool hand against her head. she really does consider playing it off but he's felt her temperature. and her fever is worse this time than before.

not that she's going to admit that part )

Fever, exhaustion. Light headaches, a little dehydration.

( the pirates were not giving her as much water as they could be. poor hosts. she skips mentioning the muscle ache but that could be due to how she's had to sit/sleep and not the fever )

[biomed]

( Careful not to dislodge the contents of his lap, he sticks his other hand between the bars, lightly palpating beneath her ears and down either side of her neck with the careful, pressing sweep of those cool fingers.

His eyes narrow. )

...your lymph nodes are a little swollen, too.

( Thoughts of raging at the Captain go quashed. If there's one thing these sailors seemed to mistrust more than women, it's the ill and infirm. Arguing for her release will likely garner the opposite results. McCoy goes back for the washcloth, the water tepid now, and gives it several flicks aside between his fingers, cooling it further in the musty air before he offers it again. )

We need to get you cooled down.

[unas]

I think that'll take more than your water to do.

( the ironic thing about this situation was that if her immune system were functional as it should there'd be more heat, her body literally burning out whatever had gotten into her. but no matter how high her fever spikes it's not going to produce the same effect, not whilst she's in here.

and that's the other terrible thing, though even if admitting it to him, getting him to believe it would get her out of the brig he's right: the ill and infirm were mistrusted more than women. and maybe that's the new reason why they've just abandoned her to the brig. locked up for being a loud woman, kept there for being ill )

Hand me the shirt.

( maybe the new shirt would be a little cooler. she pulls off her command jumper, leaving her in the undershirt. she probably should take that off too, leaving her just in the new shirt her had )

[biomed]

A lukewarm standing wash is better than a cold bath in bringing down a fever, ( he points out, but hands over the shirt-- it's linen, of a simple make with a collar that ties, the kind of thing the sailors wear under everything and also sleep in, too.

In any case, he doesn't stare, just tips his gaze aside until she's ready for him, following up with the blanket. )

[unas]

( she considers joking that he's not getting her naked but realistically she knows he's right. and rather than suffering quite as much, rather than just hoping that she'll get out of here when two days have already passed... she agrees. she needs to try and get her fever down even if slightly.

so she pulls off her undershirt, putting the two in a pile and then the clean shirt on top so she doesn't get it wet )

Alright. Give me the cloth.

( she'll have to keep handing it back for fresh water since the bowl won't pass through the bars but they'll make it work )

[biomed]

( McCoy brings the bowl up for her so she won't have to stoop, its mouth tipped so she can reach between the bars herself. If it drips across his pants, he says nothing, just lets her get on with the cooling ablution, keeping one eye out for any unwelcome visitors. )

I'll come back with water, and something more fortifying than the slop these fools make.

[unas]

( it's a slow and steady process and even if it takes time to affect any of her fever at all the feeling of the cooler water against her really is soothing and just nice.

she nods when he speaks, wishing he didn't have to leave but he is out of water, even if his company had been nice briefly )

Thank you.

( she's not expecting much in terms of food on these boats but he'd already done well with the oranges )

Maybe they'll have to stop again somewhere.

[biomed]

You're welcome.

( There's one last orange for her, and a gentle touch to her wrist. With all the dire talk about this Crossing, he wouldn't get his hopes up for stopping. But there are still chickens in the hold, and enough vegetables the crew's wasting by virtue of not eating, so he intends to do something, at least. )

Maybe. ( He withdraws his hand, cradling his small stack of empty bowls. )

In the meantime I think you should focus on getting some rest. I'll try to be back soon.

[unas]

I'll do my best, Doctor.

( and she's a woman of her word. resting is usually the thing that una is worse at but illness is different to injury, illness is something that she's never really felt before nor the kind of physical weakness that's accompanying it.

she takes the last bits from him, offering a smile before pulling the shirt on because she's not taking a nap in just her bra. the orange gets eaten as he leaves before the blanket she originally had is laid out, the one he brought her on top with her settling to lay on them and rest, attempting to nap a little.

which is exactly how kirk finds her before her breakout. and other shenanigans occur.

it's only after the captain has finally left her does she message mccoy, not wanting him to return to the brig and find her not there. she'd convinced kirk after everything that she was fine, that she'd stay in the women's area, asking him to go look on deck and find out more information for her. it gives her a little peace, a little time to sort out what had happened and what he now knows. and what she might have to again confess )

Your Captain broke me out of the brig. Don't worry, I'm staying below decks and out of sight where the rest of the women are.

( if only because she didn't want to know how sick she'd get for spending a third time in that cell. the second had been a lot worse than the first, again? )

[biomed]

( He doesn't reply, just simply changes course. McCoy glares daggers at a sailor lingering outside the few cabins assigned to the women, shooing him away at last and knocking on the door.

He announces himself before he enters, another pilfered blanket under his arm, a bag full of oranges for all of the women, and a steaming mug he takes right to Una. )

Should have figured he'd spring you. How are you feeling?

[unas]

( unlike before when he'd seen her there's better lighting in the 'cabin'. she's sat up, cross-legged on the makeshift bunk, reading over the names in the notebook that five had given her, her copy of the names from the floor of the cell.

and she looks good. no signs of fever visually, stronger again )

Doctor. ( and she sounds better, a genuine smile at seeing him ) I'm good. Really.

( she'll move her notebook aside to free her hands to take the mug from him )

Are all of your patients so spoiled by you?

[biomed]

Always.

( His look of skepticism can probably be seen from space, but after he passes her the mug of broth, he lifts his wrist to her temple. Then, the back of his hand, confusion and relief commingling on his face. )

When did your fever break?

( Out comes the tricorder this time, near the end of its charge but still useful, a clean bill of health chirping up at him from the screen. The how is less important than the fact that she's well, especially here, where medicine is limited and disease rampant. Thank God. )

How's the headache?

[unas]

Gone. The fever, headache, all of it.

( not just broken but as if she'd never been sick. as she assumes his tricorder just told him )

But you can do more tests if you need to.

( which she doesn't normally invite )