[Paradise-IV] SD970129.20 JL - It Was Just A Dream ( Cmdr. T. Blake, XO; Cmdr. C. Blake, CMO; LtCmdr K. Wilkinson, MO)
Paradise-IV Logs
Cait had called Katerina to her office and introduced her to Dr. Anna Brody, then explained about the scans and Justin’s plan to this point. “We need to predict a time when no one is going to be affected by the particle flow or find a way to block them long enough for…” Her voice trailed off. An uneasiness was building in her. For a moment, she thought it was her counterpart gearing up for yet another battle of wills.
Looking with disgust at all the scans that covered the table, Anna scowled as she picked one up. “I can see the delta waves starting to spike as an….” She blinked and looked over at Cait in concern as her ‘twin’ trailed off.
Kat stepped into the office. "A pleasure to meet you doctor." she said shaking the woman's hand and then observed as information about the particle flow was discussed. She glanced between the women and then back at the scans.
Even before the call from Toby came through, the diminutive doctor was on her feet and moving for the door. That uneasiness had coalesced into extreme emotional trauma coming from her husband.
“C…commander B…Blake to me…medical. Ca… Cait… help!”
Cait tapped her combadge as she moved. “Toby, hang on, I’m coming.” She closed the com link for a moment. “Anna, stay here. Kat, please go get Ali and Jewel from our quarters and follow them to the Commander’s office. They can’t get out on their own and he’s going to need Ali.” Her own heart ached with loss even twice removed and at this distance. She wondered at that as she grabbed a medkit and sped out the door. Cait knew Katerina had treated Toby earlier and what meds he’d been given. Not because she was being nosey but because every bit of information was vital to finding a solution. As it happened, she agreed completely with Kat’s course of treatment. Opening the com channel back to Toby, Cait did a pretty good imitation of what might happen if a tornado merged with a hurricane, merging with a blizzard. “Toby, its Cait. Stay with me. I promise, everything will be alright.”
Kat gave a nod growing concerned for the commander, she was already thinking that the inhibitor would need to be re calibrated. "Yes ma'am.." she said turning on her heel and already making her way to the Blake's quarters to get Ali and Jewel. As quick as she could she returned with the fairy lizards, meeting up with Cait and going with her to assist her husband.
Over the com came Toby’s sobs and crying, maybe he said something but it was lost in the crying and hysteria. He continued to huddle under his desk curled up in as small a ball as a man who was 2 meters tall could manage, one corner of his mind wondered if removing the inhibitor would give him the means to get over this, but that same corner knew what was wrong and was struggling to overcome the dream on his own while the rest sobbed and cried and missed a cat he’d never had.
Tossing the kit to Kat, Cait beat Ali to Toby..just barely. She dropped to her knees and slid close enough to gently rest her hands on her husband. Her shields began to expand to encompass the man who was the other half of her being, locking out the emotions, the thoughts, the static that was every day life on this hell hole for those with the least tickle of telepathy or empathy. Necessity had broadened their abilities in both skill and power beyond what they had been told would be their limits. Cait called on that strength now as she pulled Toby into the protective shelter of her arms, giving him something physical to hold as she began the tricky business of soothing and reassuring the part of him that was out of control and supporting that other part that knew what the trouble was. Slowly, carefully, she built up layer after layer of shields around that little corner of control that remained to him so that he might have a chance to get hold of things himself.
Ali perched on the top of the desk, hanging upside down over the edge to trill softly and worriedly at her pet before sliding underneath the desk and curling up on his shoulder. Jewel quietly settled on Cait’s shoulder and both fairy lizards hummed softly projecting their love at the two humans.
As the shields went up, there was no relief from the emotions that had Toby in their grip. It was not coming from an outside source. He clung to her and cried, and as she soothed him, and the fairy lizards trilled, he calmed and sniffled. It wasn’t the shields that did it, but the comfort. The easing of the grief. He shivered and quaked in her arms like a leaf in the wind clinging desperately to its branch. “Not… not… from outside… A… dream… someone’s dream… while I napped… when… I woke… only me… but it was such a strong dream, the feelings so… strong, the emotions… I couldn’t… I couldn’t… get away from them. It hasn’t been… this bad since the Academy… this is why… I took so long getting through the Academy, I… almost failed, my… empathy was so sensitive when I sleep… I was getting caught in… other people’s dreams.” He was calming further, enough that he could reach up and pet Ali with one hand. “The inhibitor… works fine; except for… the sensitivity is back.”
“I could feel you all the way to my office.” Cait gently rubbed his back, finding all the little pressure points that she carefully worked away. Her tone was both soothing and matter of fact. The little dragons continued their humming, sounding like they were encouraging their pets. Jewel trilled at Kat, hoping to get the woman to share the toys in her bag with the other pets.
After catching the kit Kat reached in and grabbed a few instruments and moved over to the couple tricorder in hand kneeling next to them as well. She scanned over Toby while Cait seemed to bond with him to calm him just like the fairy lizards but more intently. The inhibitor was indeed working but in need of a little adjustment which Kat set about doing so. She reached for the inhibitor removing it from Toby's neck momentarily while she made the adjustment before replacing it. After it was back in place Kat grabbed her tricorder and scanned him again watching as his system began to respond even with the aid of the fairy lizards and his wife. "Okay that should work..." she said placing her hand on Cait's shoulder. "When you're ready try to slowly disengage and see if I've got it."
Toby just huddled and tried to deal with the grief. He couldn’t really explain that it wasn’t the inhibitor that was off, he was having enough problems getting the tears under control. It wasn’t any outside influences at the moment.
“Kat, the inhibitor is working fine. That’s not the problem. Its coming from the other Toby and I think that while link is gone for the moment, he got hit so hard with the other man’s emotion, he’s lost his own sense of self.” Grief was pain, Cait knew that first hand. The thought that came to mind rather scared her but Toby had never once hesitated when she needed him. He was always there and she could do no less in return.
Thankfully, the inhibitor would make sure he couldn’t resist and she could concentrate on the task. Slowly Cait slipped carefully into his mind, finding the knot of grief and loss that while not his, had latched onto a loss that was completely her husband’s…his mother. Everything was all tangled up now and overwhelmingly intense. Toby couldn’t find his balance so that he could deal with this on his own. Grief, loss, was just another form of pain, Cait told herself as she began to siphon off the grief that wasn’t his and she was good at dealing with that. Tears sprang to her eyes as the humming and crooning of their little winged friends increased, sending feelings of love to the couple.
Toby didn’t resist but not because of the inhibitor, though it did not take Cait long as he was already getting it under control and the grief passed, becoming something that didn’t control him. “You’re wrong Cait. Now stop. It isn’t the other Toby and you didn’t listen, either of you, to what I told you.” The grief was replaced by exasperation and anger, “Doctors really should learn to listen to their patients.” He shoved Cait out so he could get out from under his desk. “I told you, both, it was not the inhibitor, it’s a recurring problem I thought I had solved. It’s the reason I almost did not graduate the Academy. My own natural empathy becomes more sensitive when I sleep, I pick up the dreams of those around me. That is what happened today. Someone was dreaming about the dear feline they had lost, and I picked up on it while I slept and it grabbed me hard and wouldn’t let go. It’s not the inhibitor’s fault, it is not the other Toby’s fault it is an old problem that will require something other than inhibitors and getting rid of the rift.” He straightened his uniform, and his darker blue eyes, looked at his wife, “You’ll need to get a Betazoid specialist to help me through relearning how to control my empathy even in my sleep. It’s either that or else I end up losing my job because I can’t run around with an inhibitor completely blocking everything all the time so I can sleep safely, besides maybe the specialist can help with the rest of the problems I now have.”
Cait chewed her lip thinking. “Avarine’s already shipped out on the Tempest so I’ll make some calls. Hopefully there’s somebody else close by. Its going to take a few days no matter what and I know you can’t tolerate the inhibitor turned up that high.”
Toby shook his head, “Not can’t, won’t. And I said a specialist Cait, not just whomever you can find. Trust me in this, it has to be a specialist. It required a specialist the first time.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, “Cora… Cora… Lanae, she works with Betazoids who blossom early, and was who helped me the first time.”
(tbc)
____________________
Cmdr Tobias “Toby” Blake
XO
Cmdr Caitlin Blake
CMO
Lt Cmdr Katerina Wilkinson
MO