Shaken

Posted on Thu Jan 5th, 2023 @ 7:57pm by Lieutenant Michael Amato & Ensign Tobias "Toby" Dienstag
Edited on on Mon Jan 16th, 2023 @ 8:32am

567 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Fool’s Errand
Location: Deck 5: Ensigns Dienstag and Delton's Quarters
Timeline: M1 MD08 (2268.23.05) 1500

Four hours had passed since Ensign Dienstag had been cleared for duty, but he didn’t feel right. After meeting with that crackpot psychiatrist all he felt was screwed up. It was though Meddows knew his weakness and knew how to destroy him.The door chimed and he groaned, "Come in," he croaked.

Dr. Amato stepped into the room. He calmly walked over to Toby's bed and sat down. "Hi," he said softly.

“Hello,” Toby responded in a low tone. His eyes were clenched shut.

“You ran past me in sickbay earlier,” Mike commented as he tried to examine the young man’s face in the semi-darkness, “You were cleared for duty but Sciences said you decided to take the time. What’s going on? You looked like hell.”

“That doctor has no business seeing patients,” Toby said.

“Dr. Meddows?” Mike asked.

The name sent a shudder down Toby’s spine, “Yes,” he said. He rolled over and opened his eyes.

The swelling had gone down greatly but Mike could tell he wasn’t right. He laid down next to Toby and put his arm around him and kissed him gently on the lips. “You tell me about it, if you want to,” Mike said.

“First called me Toby which was unsettling,” Toby explained, “Before we began he said that he was ok and I was ok. A weird but innocent comment but it was the way he said it. It made it sound like he was saying the opposite. Then he laid down on the couch. After awhile he said no one could hear us in the room and that no one could listen in. and wanted me to ask him questions so we could trust each other.” Toby sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Mike could tell how upsetting it was. The whole exchange was rather twisted. Reminded him of A Clockwork Orange or A Twisted Nerve. Psychiatry was a potentially dangerous field especially when the advanced knowledge of the human psyche was employed for ill.

“He started spewing nonsense. He said that the accident wasn’t an accident, but something I let or even wanted to happen,” Toby said. He was starting to speak faster and louder, “Then when I threatened to talk to you to go to Dr. Kitchener… It was like… I opened us up to attack.” Toby stood up and walked over to the bulkhead. He was wearing a pair of matched flannel pajamas in a green plaid. “He started raving about how I looked up at you at the Captain groveling from the icy cold floor and then got up, held something over my head and then… He yelled that I was cleared for duty and said good day.” He was starting to shake. “Mikey, I never… I never felt like that ever before… Like there was something wrong with me, like I was fucked up… Or even worse that I was possessed. I’m never, EVER going back to him again!”

Mike stood up and walked over to his quivering boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him in a reassuring embrace, “You don’t have to,” he said, “You won’t have to deal with him again… I’ll see to it.” He felt his shoulder starting to get wet. He would need to talk to Kitchner about this, maybe even the Captain.

 

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