Another Day, Another Drink

T'Pren would show that creepy feelings-less doctor what she did when she was stressed. Oh, yeah. She would show them real good. By sitting at the bar, scowling down at her PADD as she worked in her civilian clothing (coral tunic, black leggings), and sipping her Saurian brandy with Attitude.

As if traveling through multidimensional rifts weren't enough of a reason to go through her hyposprays that quickly.

"What do they know about stress anyway," she grumbled at the countertop. Stupid countertop. Stupid PADD. Stupid everything.

Rai hardly ever left his uniform now what with his promotion. The day had worn him out, as it always had-- the stuff of meetings and briefings and reports, crew rosters and task schedules, transmissions to Starfleet, and he wanted to enjoy his bar one more time before his ship's crew arrived.
He didn't even recognize Pren in her civilian clothes.

The totally incognito T'Pren made a disgruntled sound in her throat at something on her PADD and scrubbed her hands over her face and back into her hair. She looped it all up to reveal the back of her slender neck and then pulled it over one shoulder to give her skin the chance to breathe. She knocked back her Saurian brandy and put the glass out for Falten. "May I have another please?" Maybe she was developing a drinking problem. Or maybe she was picking it up from Rai.

Rai cleared his throat. "Lieutenant," he said. "What are you having tonight?"

Oh, right. That's what that familiar tickle at the back of her mind was. T'Pren looked up in surprise originally but it quickly dissolved into a pleased smile. Was she angry a moment before? She'd forgotten.

"Anything but Romulan Ale," she said with a grin before adding, "Saurian brandy right now."

"Saurian Brandy for me too, Falten," he added over the bar. "You seem a little green in the face," he said.

T'Pren pulled a face at Rai's comment and patted the seat beside her at the bar as their Saurian brandies were provided them. "Well," she explained in an overly simplistic manner, like she was talking to a very young child, "my blood is green."

"And all this time I thought it was the lighting," he said. He sat beside her with a tired groan. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing," the half-Vulcan grumped almost petulantly. She managed to keep it inside for an admirable five seconds (approx.). And then, with a deep breath and lowering her voice so that she could talk animatedly without too many people overhearing, "That new doctor. Are they supposed to be good?"

"They came to me with glowing recommendations from three different Admirals. They might take some getting used to, but you'll find you learn to adapt out here," he said. He had no interest in trashing on the new robot, even if they did give him the creeps.

"Oh, good," T'Pren groaned, taking a very big drink of her Saurian brandy. "Well, I'm pretty sure a very highly recommended doctor just told Starfleet that I have an addiction to my hyposprays." She smiled thinly and lifted her cup. "Cheers."

He perked an eyebrow and swallowed a gulp of brandy. "What was his reasoning for that?" he asked.

"I don't know!" T'Pren exclaimed, tossing her hands up helplessly. "I didn't even think they were addictive!"

She tilted her head. "Well, okay, I went through my last batch pretty quickly." She immediately jumped on the defensive, one finger up to keep Rai from making any kind of judgment. "But that's because going through the multidimensional rift four times triggered the damage and I haven't really had a chance to rest. I've slept maybe eighteen hours total since I arrived here, which is fine because I'm Vulcan, but it doesn't really give my body the chance to heal. And things have been...very difficult, emotionally." She rolled her eyes. "So I told the new doctor I'd been stressed and now I think they think my tremors are psychosomatic and that I'm getting some kind of relaxation out of the sprays, which, other than the relief of being able to control my hands, is definitely not the case." She lifted her cup again. "Otherwise why would I be here?"

"You still have access to your treatment, correct? I'll talk to them. In the meantime, I want you to increase your appointments with Akhil so we can find a way to mitigate your stress levels," he said. "Be patient with them in the meantime. Androids are learning systems. Don't think of them as a malfunctioning system, think of them as a developing person."

"I was just thinking of them as an annoying person," T'Pren replied with a wry, lopsided smile. "I have access to my treatment. But I'm limited to a certain amount within a certain time period." Her smile faded and she huffed out a breath through her nose. "It's actually a completely acceptable amount. I don't expect to go through it quite so quickly this time, now that I'm managing to get bigger chunks of sleep." She looked helplessly at Rai to see if he understood, "But it's the principle of the thing!"

As for Akhil, T'Pren scrubbed her hands over her face. "Akhil's already making me join his group class on Sundays. Though I can't really imagine we'll find a way to mitigate my stress levels until after our away mission. And until this entire station is covered in flowering vines."

No, wait. T'Pren's brain and body had a talk and reminded her that she had, in fact, found one surefire way to mitigate her stress levels. The heat started in her pelvis and burned slowly upward into her green cheeks.

"I know its difficult, but we all need to find ways to cope. I know I have," he said, raising his glass in a half-hearted toast.
"Like I said, I'll talk to him, but you need to find other ways to manage."

"Manage my tremors?" T'Pren asked a little testily, her slanted brows raised high.

"Manage what triggers your tremors," he said. "Since you're as tired as you are, you're taking tomorrow off for a mandatory rest day. Da-an will be sent to your quarters first thing in the morning, but you won't be there, instead, you'll be spending time with Akhil and Lorelei." Rai had turned a little cooler now, and operating only in the realm of Captain.

"Manage my Cardassian-gifted neurological damage," T'Pren agreed with a sharp edge to her sarcasm. She tossed back the rest of her Saurian brandy and, for a moment, looked like she might start crying. But that was also the exact moment when Rai pulled away, so it could just as easily have been the sudden distance. Regardless, it was absolutely the distance that drained the ire out of her and left her apologetic and soft. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I...please don't pull away." She scrubbed at her face again with both hands.

"It's alright, Lieutenant," he said quietly. "You're still taking tomorrow off, though," he added with a small smirk.

T'Pren dropped her head back to make a noise of protest up at the ceiling. "What do you imagine are the odds the new doctor would be willing to give me a sedative? Completely unlikely or never-going-to-happen?"

"If he doesn't, I'll order him to," he added, resting his chin in his palm and side eyeing Pren as she whined. "I can't have a science officer falling apart. You have to take better care of yourself," he said.

"Look who's talking," she tossed off in a dry reply.

But when T'Pren returned her gaze to Rai, it was deeply earnest and vulnerable. "I am trying," she replied quietly. "Are you?"

"Don't deflect this, Lieutenant," he said. "I always survive. I need you to do the same."