Brain Re-Therapy

Posted on Thu Dec 4th, 2014 @ 1:24am by Aewia Larani & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi

Mission: Devotion of Time
Location: Nexi/Aewia's Quarters

Aewia had just had another bout of reconstructive surgery, this time with gene therapy included. Instead of the normal wakeup in sickbay with Nexi there to take her back to their quarters, she woke up in her bed. This was unusual. She could recognize that that wasn't normal. Had her sister already brought her back and she forgot about it? It wouldn't be the first thing she had forgotten. This felt different though. Her mind didn't feel so clouded. If this was one of her lucid moments, it was a lot better than most. She could even rationalize a bit.

Suddenly her belly rumbled, startling her out of her musing. She was... what was that word again? Hungry? What would she eat? Was her sister in the other room? Groaning a bit, Aewia rolled out of bed, a bit woozy on her feet. "Nexi? Are you there? I feel... something... I don't know the word." Aewia stumbled towards the bedroom doorway, feeling more stable after a few steps.

Nexi was not what anyone would call a morning person. She got up when she damn well felt like it and not on anyone else's timetable, but she was quick to wake at the sound of Aewia calling for her. "I'm here!" she called out from her bed, pulling her self from the warmth and comfort it offered and staggered out. Not one to be able to function until she had a cup of coffee, she ordered a mug, took a sip, then went to find out what Aewia wanted. "What's the matter?" she asked her sister.

Aewia was looking around their quarters, somewhat confused. "I had that surgery last night, right? Did they say anything about it? I feel more..." She trailed off, looking down at her hands. Suddenly a sharp pain stabbed into her brain, one hand pressing to her temple and wincing at the sudden pain. After a few seconds it started to subside. "I don't know the words, but I feel something. Less fuzzy in my head. Does that make sense?"

Nexi almost choked on her coffee when she became aware of Aewia's discomfort. She set her mug aside and rushed to her sister's side. "Hey, you okay?" she asked. "Should I call Sickbay?"

"The pain is passing. I'll be ok for now but I think I understand a little. I get these headaches when I try to remember something I can't." Aewia looked up at Nexi somewhat amazed. "I just thought of that."

"That's good," Nexi said, glad that the doctor's prognosis was coming true. This was a good start, they could build on this! "Doc said you'd be more lucid now. You might still have foggy moments, but it should be easier for you to hold on to the clarity. Just don't try to force anything, alright." Nexi led Aewia to the dining table. "You're hungry, right? what would you like to eat?"

Aewia nodded at the medical stuff. She didn't completely understand it but Nexi was right, she was hungry. Sitting at the table, she thought a moment about what she wanted but couldn't think of anything. "Something warm and spicy... What's that big yellow thing with salsa, cheese, eggs..."

"An omelet?" Nexi asked, the browsed through the replicator patterns for an omelet.

"No, I..." Aewia looked confused for a moment. "I just described an omelet? I'll try that then."

"Don't force it, if you remember something then you remember it, if you don't then we keep trying," Nexi said, getting a large loaded omelet with some sour cream and salsa and a side of hash browns for Aewia and setting it before her. "Is that what you want?" she asked.

"Yeah, it looks familiar..." Aewia poked her finger into the sour cream and tasted it. "What's that? and that brown mesh stuff? I don't remember what they're called."

"Dunno, I think it's a human thing," Nexi said with a shrug. "I'm trying to find a Betazoid version, but it's nothing but human food in here. They even got Japanese omelets! Do you know what miso is?" Actually, that got her curious and she ordered it just to try something new.

"Miso? I think it makes people horny?" Aewia said with a giggle. "I don't even know what japasneeze is."

Nexi laughed and put her Japanese breakfast on the table, then got some juice for them both and then sat down to eat. "Fuck, I don't know if I want something that makes me horny, I don't think anyone on this ship could give a decent hump."

"A decent hump?" Aewia asked thoughtfully. "Like a humpback... large sea creature?"

"No, not a sea creature..." Fuck... "I was being vulgar, I meant... you know what, never mind..."

"Vulger..." Aewia thought about that a moment before shrugging and picking up her spoon, digging into the omelet. Amazingly, she only got a little on herself as she ate, her motor skills seeming to have improved a bit as well.

Nexi watched Aewia as she ate. She was still making a mess, but it was an improvement over past meals they'd shared. 'Little victories...' Nexi thought as she ate her own breakfast, which was weird but she might actually eat it again. "So, feeling less fuzzy today?" Nexi asked, trying to engage Aewia in conversation.

Aewia nodded, setting her spoon down for a moment to get a drink. "Yeah, I think I might feel more normal. I hope it lasts. I don't like being furry." Pausing in her eating, she drank some more of her juice. "What is this? It tastes like... sunshine?"

"Well, then it's sunshine," Nexi said teasingly. "Actually, it's orange juice. And don't worry if you start feeling fuzzy again, we'll work through it."

"That's good. Thank you." Aewia picked up her spoon and started getting another bite but zoned out, the shininess of the spoon distracting her.

"Is it pretty?" Nexi asked.

"Is what pretty?" Aewia asked absentmindedly, still looking at her shiny spoon.

"The spoon, is it pretty?"

"Spoon?" Aewia looked up confused, a faraway look in her eyes. "There is a spoon, right? It's not in my mind?"

"Yep, it's there," Nexi said. She reached out to touch the end of the spoon and allowed a gentle current to flow from her fingertip, just enough to tickle Aewia's hand.

Startled, Aewia dropped the spoon and stared wide eyed at it like it had bit her. "Bad spoon. Must be Romulan. It felt like it bit me like them."

"I'm fairly certain the spoon ain't Romulan," Nexi said with a chuckle, pressing her palm to Aewia's letting the current flow, kinda like the fuzzy feeling of static cling.

Aewia didn't know how to handle this. It felt familiar but she wasn't sure if it was a good feeling or not. Then she remembered something... strings of numbers... Furrowing her brow, she waved her free hand. "I have numbers. Why do I have numbers in my head?"

"Computer begin recording audio," Nexi said, then looked at Aewia. "Tell me the numbers."

Aewia nodded, reciting them. "Three four nine nine mark two seven four alpha three mark delta orionis nine eight seven mark four one three."

"Okay, good," Nexi said, discontinuing the current. She took Aewia's hand and rubbed it in an attempt to be comforting. "I didn't mean to do anything to upset you. I've been told that what I did feels nice, I thought it would make you laugh," she tried to explain, hoping this hadn't upset Aewia.

"I don't know how it felt. I just felt it." Aewia shook her head to try to clear it. "I'm not upset. Are numbers laughing?"

"No, numbers aren't laughing," Nexi said. "I'll figure out what the number mean." She let go of Aewia's hand and moved across the room to a desk terminal where she discontinued the audio recording and transcribed the numbers. It looked like coordinates... But there was something wrong with it. Maybe two coordinates? But that last bearing was really long... She began searching through the computer for anything those coordinates could go to.

"They mean they're numbers. Numbers mean not laughing." Aewia said, nodding seriously.

"I think they're coordinates," Nexi said. "that means they're numbers that can take you places. See, 349-mark-274, or it could be 349-mark-2 and 74-Alpha could mean something else. Same with the other numbers." There were a lot of variations, this could take a while...

"It's obviously just 27. For is... Not a number and not laughing. What is it then?" Amelia looked down at her half eaten omelet, poking it with a finger absentmindedly.

"Well, obviously," Nexi replied with a chuckle and modified her search. "If you're done with your omelet, you don't have to eat the rest of it. Why don't you go get cleaned up. Or do you need help?"

"Is this an omelet? Did I enjoy it? I think I did." Picking up her spoon, she started eating some more of it, making a bit of a mess. "Mmhmm, I enjoy this."

"Yes, that is an omelet," Nexi said as she kept searching for anything those coordinates and other numbers could mean. So far, she wasn't finding anything. She might have to just hand this over to the 'Fleeters. "I'm glad you like the omelet. What else do you like?"

"I like you and hasperat. I also like spicy things and Tassa'Akai. I had a black belt in it once but it wasn't very stylish." Aewia was rambling now, listing almost random things.

Nexi saved the information she had gathered so far and put it on a PaDD to give to Angelica later, then she just looked over at Aewia with a smile and listened to her rambled. She didn't know why, but she liked listening to her sister just ramble on and on. She was remembering things, which was good.

Aewia nodded, pausing in her rambling long enough to notice she was all messy. "I think I need to clean up."

"Okay," Nexi said with another chuckle. "Do you need some help?"

"Yeah, I think I do..."Aewia said, not sure what to do.

"It's alright, kiddo," Nexi said as she rejoined Aewia at the table and helped her pick bits of egg off her nightgown and put it back on the plate. "Alright, then we take the plate back to the replicator, and if you hit this button then it recycles the leftovers," Nexi explained, showing Aewia what to do. As the plate disappeared into the replicator, Nexi herded Aewia back to her bedroom to get some clean clothes. Something felt familiar to Nexi as she took care of Aewia. It took her a while to realize that this reminded her of her faint memories with her mother. She was so little when her mother died, so she didn't have many memories, but the few she had really stuck with her, how caring she had been... It made Nexi smile.