SIM:Lael Rosek - A Family Reunion of Sorts Part I (Gorkon)

Previous sim "I Have Something to Tell You, Part II"	Lieutenant Lael Rosek HCO Officer Starbase 118 USS Gorkon NCC 82293	Next sim "A Family Reunion of Sorts, Part II"
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OOC: Takes place after Lael’s “*That* Conversation, Part III”
OOC2: For CD in order: The News > Depressive Rage > Making Progress >*That* Conversation > Reflections > Now

((Holodeck 2, USS Gorkon))

:: Lael’s family and friends had arrived fairly late yesterday afternoon and Adelynn had insisted that they all get together for dinner before Lael’s surgery. Lael grinned wryly. Only her mother would throw a party the night before her daughter was to go under the knife. The woman had even insisted on making a home cooked meal. Her mother had been forced to concede on using fresh ingredients, however, as the ship’s chef had threatened her with a kitchen knife if she so much as tried to take a carrot. ::

:: Lael smiled. It really did look just like home. Beautiful green grass with the edge of the forest in the distance. A long table was laid out with an extensive feast containing everything from ham to pies and cakes. ::

:: Chythar arrived appropriately attired for a meeting of the family: a button-down long sleeve shirt over a tank top and black pants, wearing boots as opposed to sandals. He’d even taken a few minutes to shave down some of the scruffiness that lended credence to the smuggler look he had adopted. He looked very professional, and yet very casual at the same time. He put his hand in his pocket to make sure the rock was still present as he strengthened his shields. Once he’d taken a breath and was sure he wouldn’t let anything slip mentally during dinner, he entered the holodeck and smiled to those within. ::

Skyfire: ‘Allo!

:: Lael and Dassa grinned as Chythar entered. Lael moved toward him embracing him tightly. ::

L. Rosek: I’m glad you could make it.

A. Rosek: :: approaches and smiles offering her hand :: Hello. I’m Adelynn, Lael’s mother.

Skyfire: :: taking her hand and kissing it, offering a small bow of greeting. :: Dr. Chythar Skyfire, CMO. A pleasure tae make yer acquaintance.

:: Noting the new arrival, Kellan headed in the man’s directions with Liam on his shoulders. ::

K. Rosek: ::extends a hand:: Kellan, Lael’s brother. She’s told me a lot about you.

:: His brow furrowed as he took the offered hand, confusion briefly flashing across his face for only a moment. ::

Skyfire: All positive, ah hope.

K. Rosek: ::smirks:: Mostly.

:: Lael laughed, elbowing him in the ribs. ::

L. Rosek: Liar!

K. Rosek: :: feigns protest :: Hey! Kid on board!

L. Rosek: :: snorts :: Convenient. Use your son as a shield.

K. Rosek: :: smirks :: I could whoop you, sis, if I really wanted.

L. Rosek: :: arches an eyebrow :: Put the kid down and we’ll see.

Skyfire: Can it, the lot of you. We’re here for dinner, not so Dassa and ah can work, aye?

:: He cast a knowing glance to Dassa, as though to silently ask if she knew where the medkits were. ::

:: Not one to be left out, Rebecca joined the group. ::

Hollendale: :: to Chythar :: :: grins :: I see you’re the shiny new toy. Rebecca Hollendale.

:: Chythar blinked a few times as he heard the phrase “shiny new toy,” confusion once again covering his chiseled features. ::

Skyfire: Ah’m not familiar with the phrase, nonetheless, ‘tis a pleasure to make yer acquaintance. :: and kissed her hand with a bow in a similar fashion as he had to Lael’s mom. ::

Hollendale: :: laughs :: If I wasn’t married, I’d be sorely tempted. :: waggles her eyebrows ::

Kincade: :: gruffly :: Th’ mon had best keep his lips an’ his hands tae himself. ::grasps her waist possessively::

:: CD smirked as he released her hand, then to Elina offered a bow of greeting instead as he’d been asked to keep his hands and lips to himself. ::

Skyfire: :: to Becky :: Sorry, lass. Yeh’d have to talk with Alex. oO Who isn’t here… Oo :: to Kincade :: A pleasure tae meet yeh as well. Ms. Kincade, ah presume. Yer reputation precedes yeh.

Hollendale: :: arches an eyebrow :: Alex?

:: Matthew nudged his way into the group with Tarrah, a half Andorian girl, close behind. ::

Matthew: Hi. I’m Matthew.

Kincade: An’ this is mah daughter ::indicates the girl:: Tarrah.

:: He offered handshakes to the children, then turned his attention to Becky once again as he decided on the short answer rather than the longer one. ::

Skyfire: :: to Becky :: My other half couldn’t make it tonight, ah’m afraid.

:: He wanted to reach into his shirt for the tags, but decided against it. Instead, he stuck a hand in his pocket and rubbed the rock, which was less conspicuous. He needed to be calm, and this was a lot more people than he was used to. It was like the holodeck party in the manor all over again: lots of people, minimal amount of preparation mentally. ::

:: Dassa reached forward, grasping his free hand and squeezing reassuringly, attempting to radiate a sense of calm and comfort to him. ::

:: He managed not to tense at the touch, taking a slow breath to focus. He felt the calm, and tried to relax his shields enough to absorb the positive emotions. It was difficult for him, because he hadn’t had any practice at that. Another letter to home was needed, and he hoped none of his empathic friends knew that he didn’t know how to absorb their efforts to comfort him. That’d be an embarrassing weakness to admit at dinner. ::

:: Noting Chythar’s expression, Lael brushed her hand briefly against his in a gesture of support, a look of sympathy crossing her features. ::

:: Suddenly, Maddy shoved her way through, grinning as she caught sight of Chythar. ::

Maddy: Uncle Chythar! You came! ::She moved to throw her arms around him, pausing.:: Is it okay if I hug you?

Skyfire: :: smiling at Maddy. :: Of course, lass. C’mere. :: He knelt down and hugged his adopted niece. ::

:: Grinning widely, she hugged him tightly. ::

Hollendale: ::arches an eyebrow:: You must have a way with kids. When I tried to hug her, she ran to hide behind Lael.

:: Lael brought a hand to her mouth to conceal a grin. She suspected that their abilities played a big role in their bond. The little girl felt safe with both Chythar and Dassa. ::

:: Chythar gave a somewhat clueless shrug. He didn’t know if he had a way with kids or not. He didn’t want them now, but perhaps in the future. ::

:: Elina’s other two children soon joined the group. ::

Thiri: Is this your friend, Aunt Lael?

L. Rosek: ::smiles:: Yes, honey. ::to Chythar:: Chythar, this is Elina’s son, Thiri.

:: The young half Andorian lad stepped forward, extending his hand.::

Thiri: It’s nice to meet you, Doctor Skyfire.

:: He stood up and extended his hand to the lad. ::

Skyfire: A pleasure, lad. Ah ken of you only through Dassa’s paper.

Thiri: ::nods:: I did a report on your article about the Skyfire Cure for school. It’s a solid piece of work.

:: When wasn’t the Skyfire Cure an inspiration? Oh, right, when it was still a test tube project and in Walker’s veins. Then again, he didn’t have time to prepare it in a test tube. ::

Skyfire: Ah’m not all that surprised. It was the first breakthrough of my career.

Kincade: ::smiles and lays a hand on Thiri’s shoulder:: He’s ahead o’ most o’ his classmates in science.

:: Ah, science. That brought back a few memories. While he didn’t take any medical courses other than what was required by xenobiology, he was a PCP for a couple years before joining up with Starfleet. ::

Skyfire: Ah was a science major myself back at SFA. Xenobiologist with an emphasis in medicine.

Thiri: ::grins:: I’d like to major in Science at the Academy. I want to serve on a starship...like mom used to...and like my dad does.

:: He nodded faintly, but couldn’t offer any further words. The crowd was getting to him, and the invitation neglected to mention it would be filled with this many people. He absently rubbed the rock in his pocket, wishing he could feel the reassuring vibes. ::

:: As the crowd dispersed to ready themselves with preparing their plates, Lael kissed his cheek and whispered into his ear.::

L. Rosek: I know it’s overwhelming, but Dassa and I are here. Think of us as your safety net. You can relax. It’s all good vibes here.

Skyfire: :: whispering :: So ah can drop the shields, and the emotions will just absorb. Right?

:: He wasn’t sure about how far he could actually drop his shields because he didn’t know anyone besides Dassa and Lael well enough. In addition, there was an exuberant five year old who didn’t have a leash on her abilities. It was going to be a rough dinner, to say the least. ::

Alexander: We talked to Maddy before we got here. She knows she has to be mindful of physical contact with you. You shouldn’t catch too much residual otherwise. Even I can’t tell what a person is feeling without physical contact.

Skyfire: Din nae answer my question. Ah drop the shields, and be able to feel everything. Right? Ah’m weird. T4/E6, hon.

Alexander: ::nods:: I forget sometimes, I suppose. It’s only really stronger with other Lumerians. ::pauses:: And you’ll only feel everything if you drop them completely. You have good enough control that you can lower them, but not drop them completely, right? Wouldn’t want to overwhelm you your first time out.

:: He nodded faintly and wished his abilities were still only T2/E4. That was a simpler time. Heck, when he was a T/E0 it was a simpler time because he was normal. Now, it was very complicated and he didn’t know how to absorb. He swallowed hard and made his confession, as embarrassed as he was to admit it. ::

Skyfire: Ah have nae learned how to absorb positive stuff…

Rosek: ::nods and squeezes his hand:: That’s what Dassa and I are for. A filter of sorts. We’ll reduce the strength of what you’re exposed to so you can ease into it gradually. You’ll need to stay in physical contact with one of us, though, for it to be most effective.

:: He felt extremely uncomfortable with that prospect. After all, it was a crowded holodeck and Alex wasn’t here. With a bit of reluctance, he lowered his defenses a bit. Not completely. His pulse spiked a little as he started to feel the room’s emotions, and he had to take a couple breaths to remain calm. ::

:: Dassa and Lael each reached for a hand, absorbing some of what he was feeling until they felt him start to relax.::

Rosek: Better?

Skyfire: Just so yeh ken, ah’m so far nae a fan of this method… :: He took another breath and started moving toward the table with the food as his stomach growled. ::

Alexander: :: murmurs :: What? :: grins :: Holding hands?

Skyfire: How am ah supposed to eat with each of you distracting my hands?

Alexander: ::smiles:: We just have to be touching. It can be shoulder to shoulder...any physical contact.

Rosek: ::murmurs:: I saved you a seat at the end of the table in case you need to make a quick exit. It’ll be less conspicuous that way.

:: He shook his head, trying to get a grip on the pulse of the room. The physical contact at the table would be a challenge, and not one he welcomed. As they headed to the table, he raised his shields a bit. Crowd was definitely not helping. ::

Alexander: :: murmurs :: Are you going to be okay or do you need to take a walk?

:: Did he need a walk? Or just to eat? He hadn’t eaten anything in nearly five hours. Granted, the longest he’d gone without food was twelve. He was hungry, had been invited to dinner for some reason which he still didn’t understand why. It’d seem rude to just walk out now and not partake in the festivities. Yet, it seemed like a good idea at the time because he did not have enough of a handle on the dropped shields thing to be able to sit through however long this would take. ::

Skyfire: Ah’m just hungry…

Rosek: ::squeezes his hand:: I know it’s overwhelming, Chythar. But you’re safe here. You’re among friends.

:: He stayed silent, not wanting to put his foot in his mouth. He managed to stay relaxed despite the burning desire to tense, and kept a hand in his pocket for the rock to stay calm. As he sat down at the table, he grabbed whatever there was to eat and was silent unless spoken to. ::

:: Lael glanced at Dassa, smiling sadly. She’d had the best of intentions in inviting Chythar to join them. He was one of her dearest friends and it bothered her to see him alone. With Alex gone, he was even more vulnerable to the pressures weighing him down. For all her empathic abilities, she still wasn’t able to relieve the pain he was experiencing. She’d hoped that by opening him to positive energy and emotions, that he would begin to let go of the burdens. But it was clear that she had only added to them. It was a painful realization. It hurt her deeply to know that she couldn’t help him.::

:: He watched the silent looks exchanged between Dassa and Lael. Since his knowledge of absorption of emotions was so weak, he had another bite of pasta and raised his shields back to where they were when he walked in. He couldn’t drop shields in this crowd with this many people. There just wasn’t a way to make it happen. ::

:: Lael felt it when Chythar’s shield slammed all the way back up and a lump formed in her throat. She felt the tears ready to break. ::

L. Rosek: ::stands and murmurs:: Excuse me.

:: Before anyone could respond, she strode off in the direction of the nearby forest. ::

TBC
===
Lieutenant Lael Rosek
Engineering Officer
USS Gorkon
I238110RH0

&

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dassa Alexander, PD, PDS
Medical Officer
USS Gorkon
I238110RH0

&

Lieutenant Chythar Skyfire
Chief Medical Officer
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
O239002CS0