The Start of Rehab [Backpost]

Posted on Tue Sep 1st, 2015 @ 2:58am by Lieutenant Lhravitelim th'Endirhc & Commander William Carver M.D.

Mission: The Belle of Bellatrix
Location: USS Farragut, Sickbay
Timeline: 2278.51 0700hrs

Telim had made an effort this morning, after his talk with the captain after his last shift. He had put on a completely clean uniform, and had made sure it was regulation-neat and the jacket was properly buttoned up. As he had promised the captain, before he reported for his shift on the bridge, he was making his way towards the sickbay for treatment. He had stayed away from the drink last night, even sending the bottles he had stashed in his quarters down to one of the cargobays for storage. He didn't feel overly different from staying away from the ale, aside from a headache which felt only slightly different to the hangover that had become his regular companion of late, but he knew that symptoms of withdrawal don't always present themselves immediately.

As he stepped into sickbay, he looked around somewhat sheepishly, before walking over to one of the nursing staff. "Excuse me, is Doctor Carver in yet?"

Nurse Moreno was the closest to the door. "Yes, sir. He's in his office." She sat down the instrument that she was calibrating. "If you'd like to follow me, I can take you there."

"Thanks," Telim mumbled, before following the nurse through.

Moreno led the andorian around to the Carver's office. It was like any medical office; a single desk with a computer workstation, with handful of datapads containing medical records scattered on the surface. Carver sat with with a datapad in his hand, reading over some sort of report. Moreno coughed at opening to get the doctor's attention. "Excuse me, Doctor. I have a Lieutenant..." She looked over at Telim.

"Lhravi..." he caught himself, remembering that most non-Andorians really struggled with the pronunciation of their names, and corrected with the shortened version he had taken on for their ease. "Telim."

"Thank you, Nurse." Carver nodded to let her know that he could handle it from here, and gestured for the andorian to take a seat. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"The captain ordered me here to, erm... seek treatment for alcohol rehabilitation," Telim slowly said, once he was sure the nurse was out of earshot.

Carver leaned back in his chair as he thought for a moment. "I see. Is this because of withdrawal, or abuse? I suppose another way to word the question is 'how long have you been sober'?"

"Since last night," Telim admitted. After the captain had come to him, he had poured his glass down the sink, along with the rest of the already-open bottle. The rest of his stock of ale was still in the cargo bay, sealed in its crate.

Carver nodded. "I see. I'm afraid I don't really have an easy cure all. There's nothing that I can put in a hypospray that will just make alcoholism go away. Your best bet is just going to have to be getting off the sauce. Some starbases have counseling sessions that you could attend, but I'm afraid our resources are a bit more limited out here. The best that I can do is offer you medicinally is something to take the edge off, to ween you away from the withdrawal symptoms. Other than that, my door is always open. I'm no counselor, and by myself I'm not much of a support group, but I'll do what I can. Do you have anything left in your quarters?"

"No," Telim shook his head. "There are a few bottles in a crate in cargo bay two, but I tipped everything I had in my quarters away last night." He wasn't surprised that the doctor said there was no easy fix. He'd even hesitated at pouring the drink away when he thought about the withdrawal symptoms he would likely have to face, but he knew that he had to get through that.

"That's good, at least. Limiting your access is a good first step. How easily can you get to that crate in cargo bay two?" the doctor asked. "I want to make sure you don't go looking for it in a moment of weakness. I'd rather you came to me."

"Um, well I can get in pretty easily," Telim answered, scratching at the back of his head absently as he spoke. All of the ship's senior staff had pretty much free reign to go in and out of most areas of the ship, and the cargo holds were no exception. There were security officers posted nearby that patrolled the area, but they wouldn't be likely to stop him. "The crates are locked, but obviously I know the code." Although he did want to deal with his problem, he still felt reluctant at getting rid of so much andorian ale. "Do you think it would be best if they were sealed somewhere I don't have the code for?"

William nodded slowly. "I know it's hard, but I think that would be best. I can lock them up if you were prefer. We could give them to Lieutenant Harper, but I'm guessing that you would rather keep security out of this. Whatever you have in your crate will be safe with me. I know it will be hard, but this is the best way."

"Thank you," Telim said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the small duotronic chip that served as the key to unlock his crate. The ID of the crate was stencilled on the side of it. Passing it over, he turned his thoughts to his next few hours. "I'm due on duty shortly. Is there anything that you can do to help me get through my shift?"

"I could give you a slight anesthetic. It won't be enough to affect your duties, but if you find yourself operating any heavy equipment you might want to be careful," Will replied, not sure of the humor would resonate with the andorian. "It will probably help take the edge off, but I wouldn't advise against relying on it too heavily. Today, maybe tomorrow, but we need you focused without the aid of any medication." Carver rose from his his seat. "If you'll follow me, I'll cook you up something."

Telim nodded silently and stood to follow the doctor. He still felt a little daunted at the prospect of what he was going to have to face, but the doc at least seemed to be a reliable type; what he said all made a lot of sense to him, even if it did mean things wouldn't be easy, and the promise of confidentiality was even better.