Log Date: 12/18/96 Log Cast: Kevlan, Bernadette, Tayden, Quinn Log Intro: Incensed at her husband for taking the Deputy Guildmaster job -- for it's taking him away from her, preventing him from staying in their suite where she can watch over him, or so she's telling herself -- Bernadette Sharr stalks out to the Ranges while Kevlan works away in the DGM's office. But without Kevlan, right now, the prospect of the Ranges terrifies her, and even more so when before she can even cut anything, she winds up breaking her arm. Kevlan in the meantime has found out from Jerrik where she's gone, and decided to encourage her initiative by radioing her, just to tell her he loves her. But in doing so, Kevlan discovers that his wife has injured herself, and finds he must coax her into deciding what to do about it. Bernadette returns to the JPF, and Kevlan hastens to the Hangar to meet her there. He must then coax her to the Infirmary to get a medic to look at her arm.... ---------- Tayden walks softly from the lift area. Tayden has arrived. Tayden crutches in. Tayden looks at Dr. Bear and his expression softens. Tayden frowns, stepping to the side. "Bad?" Kevlan is sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area, one arm curled protectively around the smaller form of Bernadette; he looks nervous, if attempting calm, and Bernadette Sharr is clearly in pain, one of her arms limp against her side. The swish of lift doors opening is audible, along with a soft whistling that is growing closer. Beneath that, soft footfalls can be heard, also growing closer. Kevlan glances up as people make their way through the infirmary, blue eyes anxiously seeking out anyone who looks like an available meditech. Tayden frowns, stepping to the side. "Bad?" Quinn walks softly from the lift area. Quinn has arrived. Kevlan sits up a bit, and drawls gravely to the newly arrived Singer, "Mah wife broke 'er arm." Tayden nods, "I see." Quinn comes in, whistling, hands in his pockets, looking rather like he just woke up (and had a bath) - in other words, quite clean. Bernadette sits, slumped dazedly against Kevlan. Quinn turns his head at Kevlan's words, and says, "Looks painful." Good choice of words, Quinn, oh yes. "Help her to a bed, so I can have a look?" Kevlan glances down at his wife; she's huddled into his side as though she's glued herself there, and the gaze _she_ peers out with is indeed dazed. Kevlan hugs her, and murmurs some quiet assurance to her, while glancing around the infirmary again. Quinn's arrival makes him suddenly brighten, and at the request, Kevlan is instantly on his feet, trying to encourage Bernadette to get up with him. "C'mon, honey...." Tayden waves a hand, "I'll wait." Quinn nods to Tayden, nodding, "Be right with you." Bernadette allows herself to be pulled onto her feet, but clutches at Kevlan with her good hand with a surprisingly strong grip. Despite his wife hanging onto him, apparently, for dear life, Kevlan gets her to the nearest examination bed without tripping over her feet or his. "Thankee," he breathes in palpable relief to Quinn, and then adds to Bernadette, "C'mon, honey, jes' siddown heah now..." "Don't leave me..." she hisses, the dazed glassiness still evident in her eyes, but it doesn't mask the terror you can see there. "Ah won't, darlin', Ah won't...." Kevlan Sharr flicks the medic a worried blue gaze; clearly, there's something more amiss here than a broken arm, though the Singer doesn't try to elaborate. As Bernadette is eventually coaxed onto the bed, Kevlan stays beside her -- and with her grip still on him, he is very close to being tugged sprawling across the thing, himself. Quinn crosses to a cabinet for supplies. Scanner. Air Hypo. Large round cast-like object. Bowl. Water. All sorts of other interesting implements of tor--- er, of the meditechs trade. He rolls the tray over towards the biobed where Kevlan and Bernadette are. His voice is quiet and professional, "You would be Bernadette Sharr then? A pleasure to meet you." He turns for the scanner. Tayden frowns, watching. "Broken arm?" Bernadette shrinks away from Quinn, staring at him with a look of abject fear and nods mutely, affirming her identity. Quinn flicks his gaze towards Kevlan, trying to express 'it's worse than I thought' by just that movement. He asks Bernadette, however, "Would you like to tell me what happened?" He lifts the scanner, an innocuous-looking cylindrical device, at the same time. Kevlan bobs his head to Tayden, even as he keeps most of his attention on his quite obviously panicked wife. "Darlin', this is Quinn Malloret, he fixed mah ribs for me when Ah busted 'em....." He keeps both his arms within ready grabbing distance of Bernadette's good one. Bernadette slowly moves her gaze to Kevlan as he speaks and nods again, before her eyes return to the medic. "I fell," she says simply, in response to his inquiry. Quinn's glance is met by Kevlan's clear blue regard, which flickers a moment with relief. Relief, perhaps, that Quinn comprehends the situation here. But as Bernadette glances up at him, Kevlan's features immediately return to broadcasting nothing except 'I'm here, it's alright, don't worry.' Quinn nods, lifting the scanner for a first pass over her arm, "From a tree? A rockface? A waterfall?" He smiles a bit wanly, "Those are the most common ones. Did you find anything good?" Standard policy for the medic when treating range injuries: make them think about the crystal so they aren't as frightened of you. Quinn slowly runs his medical scanner over Bernadette's body. You hear a slight hum and lights on the small, black gadget flicker. Two beeps sound, and a red light stabilizes, indicating a medical condition for Bernadette... Her arm sticks out at an odd angle and drags fairly uselessly at her side. Quinn cocks his head at the reading, commenting, "It's not as bad as it looks. Or feels, for that matter." Bernadette shakes her head, as she unconsciously tries to pull her arm away. "In a hole." Tayden watches quietly from near the wall, not intruding on another Singer's space. Kevlan lifts a hand to stroke Bernadette's hair, putting in softly, "It's okay, Berni honey. He's gotta check th' bones. It's okay." Bernadette looks up at Kevlan and relaxes her arm, nodding, though clearly not pleased with this situation. Quinn looks at Kevlan, and nods at his actions. Then he turns to the tray, setting down the scanner and lifting another device. This looks pretty much like the first one, except the top of the device has, rather than a readout, a concave hole in it. He asks, "Singer, do you have any difficulties with any pain blockers or anesthetics that you know of?" Bernadette narrows her eyes for a moment and asks "Will they make me sleepy?" Quinn shakes his head, "No, just a local. Otherwise, when I set the arm, it'll hurt like hell." Kevlan's features can be seen to tauten at his wife's question, though he keeps silent, remaining a presence that can be used for comfort, and letting Quinn command the situation. Bernadette shakes her head, "No, I'm not allergic," she says slowly, then asks "Will you give me painkillers after you set it?" Quinn replies, plainly, "Not if you don't require it, by my own definition. And if you heal at anywhere near the rate of Galahad here, you won't need it." He smiles then, almost casually teasing the other Singer, but only intending to try and ease Bernadette's tension. Bernadette retorts quickly, "I don't heal as quickly. I'm not black adapt." She looks at her arm for a moment then says, almost conversationally, "If you DO give me painkillers..." and she glances up at Kevlan fleetingly before looking back at her arm, "Would they cause drowsiness?" Kevlan grins lopsidedly and murmurs, "Aww, Ah got th' constitution of a horse." Kevlan's grin falters a bit, then, though he hides it before Bernadette can see. Quinn replies, promptly, "No." It's as simple as that, and his tone indicates he knows exactly why Bernadette is asking this. "You don't need them." Complete confidence in that tone. Kevlan pays intent attention to every word exchanged between Quinn and Berni, moving both his bigger hands to take Berni's small one between them, hold it firmly, and brush a thumb along her fingers. Quinn still holds the air hypo, watching Bernadette's reaction to his statement towards her not needing to be put to sleep. Some of the dazedness clears from Bernadette's face and is replaced by a brief flare of anger. Her grip on Kevlan's hand tightens and she presses her lips together for a moment before she replies hotly, "How do YOU know whether I'm in pain? How do YOU know whether I need a painkiller?" Kevlan leans in, and says, softly, "Berni.... darlin'.... he's a medic, it's his job. Take it easy, honey...." Bernadette swivels her head quickly to look at Kevlan with an expression akin to 'This doesn't concern you' before returning her hard gaze to the medic. She pulls her damaged arm in tight against her body and scoots backward away from him, but doesn't release or relax her grip on Kevlan. Quinn's eyes widen for just a moment, this being what he was looking for. He responds simply, "Nothing we have, Bernadette, is capable of taking away the anger than that pain, not without taking away all the good things too. This isn't the place to really talk about it, but the only person who can remove that pain, Bernadette, is you. We can help you, but not that way. No, not that way." Bernadette stiffens and releases Kevlan's hand now, swinging her legs over the otherside of the bed, "I'm getting out of here," she states angrily, "Damned quacks..." muttered under her breath as she attempts to make her way towards the lifts. Quinn shakes his head, but makes no move to stop the Singer, "I can't help you if you don't want to be helped, CS Sharr. Nor can your husband. Or any of the other people who care about you." Kevlan's face flickers with an 'Awww, hells' look, and indeed, he mutters that very oath under his breath. "Berni!" he yelps, then repeats more sternly, "Bern'dette, sit still!" Bernadette stops in her tracks and stares at Kevlan for a moment, anger replaced by mild surprise and she stands, looking uncertainly between the three men assembled. If either Quinn or the silently observing Tayden are paying attention, hints of strain might be noted at the corners of Kevlan's eyes; the most fleeting of shudders might be spotted, too, in his forearms, as Kevlan grips the side of the biobed for a moment, as if briefly relying on its support. But he gives Bernadette a steady look, and tells her gravely, "Bernadette, you need that arm fixed or else th' bones'll set wrong." Quinn supplies, "He's right. It's off, and I can see it from here. But I will not put you to sleep, Bernadette." Bernadette snaps "I didn't ASK you to put me to sleep," in a tone of voice that might be used if she were telling someone to shut up. She looks at Kevlan again, and you can almost see the wheels spinning as she tries to decide whether to listen to his stern command or not. A few moments pass and she grudgingly returns to the biobed, resuming her seat. "Fix it and let me out of here," she says sullenly to Quinn and promptly turns her her so she's staring a blank wall. Quinn replies by simply applying the air hypodermic to Bernadette's shoulder, which almost immediately begins numbing her entire arm off. He places the hypo back on the tray, waiting the thirty-or-so seconds it'll take for the chemical to take full affect. He comments, "The splint doesn't look too bad. You did a fairly good job." Kevlan, now that Bernadette is not looking at him, can be seen to press his eyes shut for a second or two, face twisting slightly as though he, too, is in physical pain. A few moments later his expression settles, though when he opens his eyes again, his gaze has gone darker, graver. He doesn't reach for his wife's hand, but he remains planted at the side of the bed, as though prepared to at the slightest sign that he should. Bernadette replies with a small snort, still staring stonily at the wall. Quinn, since he's not being looked at by Bernadette, actually takes the opportunity to look at Kevlan this time. He doesn't really look happy about the way things are going, but his gaze is approving. He mouths, "Good Job," but gives no voice to it. Then he turns back to Bernadette, and says, "You may want to close your eyes. You should feel a bit of tugging when I snap the bone back into place, but the pain blocker should take care of the rest. Then I'll put your arm in a cast. All told, you should be able to go out again within the week." Bernadette mutters "Don't tell me what to do," sullenly, but she does close her eyes. Kevlan once more meets Quinn's gaze. The answering expression from the acting deputy guildmaster is a wan glimmer of a smile that suggests if he knows he's doing the right thing, he is still not enjoying it in the slightest. Quinn, putting words to actions, sets Bernadette's arm, exactly as he said he would. A large plastic tube, shaped vaguely like a cast (but with a hole *way* too large in the center) is the next thing he picks up off the tray. Tayden looks from husband, to wife, to medic and back again. He opens his mouth, "Um. Just out of curiosity...Ah, there we go." He smiles, not having to say anything after all, seeing as the Medic finally got to it. Bernadette grabs Kevlan's hand again, wincing despite the fact that she isn't feeling any pain, as Quinn yanks on her arm. Kevlan's hands are there, of course, and he lets them be grabbed and clung to. Quinn asks, "If you would please lift your arm, and wiggle your fingers, CS Sharr?" Bernadette takes a moment to comply....is it because she didn't realize the medic was addressing her? Or because she's being obstinate?....but she does comply, without opening her eyes. Quinn replies, "Thank you, CS Sharr. Please bend your arm, slowly. If you feel it begin to tighten up, stop, and that's where we'll set the cast." Kevlan holds Bernadette's hand in his. His posture and heart-in-his-eyes expression imply he's cradling some rare and fragile artifact in his grasp, rather than living flesh. Tayden watches the procedure, since it is now underway at last, with detached interest. Bernadette again takes a moment or two to comply and does so, stopping when she feels the arm tighten. Quinn, once Bernadette stops moving her arm, slips the plastic cast onto her arm. He turns back to the tray, lifting another air hypo. Bernadette sits stiffly, not making a sound, her eyes closed. The only sign of her anxiety is the tight grip she keeps on Kevlan's hand. Quinn lifts the hypo, and presses it to... the cast! The hiss of air is obvious as he injects something into the plastic. Twenty seconds later, the size of the hole begins to decrease, molding around the arm in its center. If Bernadette is even interested, let alone aware, of the nifty little trick the medic is perfoming with the cast, she doesn't show it. She continues to sit stiffly and ignore the presence of the medic. The cast tightens around the arm in question, and hardens. On the skin, the inside feels slick, almost as if it was greased - clearly an agent intended to reduce itching. Quinn, for his part, doesn't say anything, only going to get a sling to place the arm in. Kevlan remains quiet as well, just hoping that Bernadette will get through this with the conclusion that she really had nothing to worry about. Quinn walks the sling over, slowly, and then considers, "Kevlan?" He offers the sling to him, to help Bernadette into it. Bernadette turns her head as she opens her eyes to see why the medic is addressing her husband, and watches with wary eyes. Kevlan straightens, looks from Quinn to the sling, then nods at it. To Bernadette, he offers earnestly, "Want me t' git this on you, honey?" Bernadette glances between Kevlan and Quinn and then nods, keeping an eye on Quinn. "Okay," she consents. Occasionally looking at Quinn as if to ask if he's doing it right, Kevlan moves to gently and carefully settle the tended arm into its sling. He keeps his motions steady and even and sure. Quinn, for his part, once he's given the sling to Kevlan, removes the tray and begins to put away his supplies. He watches Kevlan out of the corner of one eye, nodding, and murmurs quietly, "Figured you wouldn't mind an excuse to put your arms around her, Kevlan." Kevlan looks up, startled, then his face instantly softens. A shy smile curls one end of his mouth, and his gaze then settles tenderly on Bernadette. "How about it, honey?" Bernadette narrows her eyes at the murmured comment and, once her arm is settled in the sling, slides to the edge of the bed again. "Can I go now?" she asks, looking up at Kevlan as he asks his question. In response she gets off the bed and slips her own arm around his waist and promptly re-glues herself to his side. Quinn nods, "Feel free." He adds, over his shoulder, "I'm sorry if I frightened you, Bernadette. But try to remember that a lot of us *do* care about you." Kevlan hugs the smaller Singer gently, encirling her little frame with his arms. "You don't even KNOW me," is Bernadette's reply, as she turns with Kevlan towards the door and tugs him along with her as she hastens for the lifts. A quiet, "You might be surprised," is the comment Quinn makes as the Singers leave. Kevlan is tugged, but before he vanishes, he flicks Quinn an unmistakable look of gratitude. [With that, the two Sharrs retreat to their suite; end log.]