[sickbay - wait, what? : open]

[rn_chapel]

Tina had been having a weird week. Judging by the calls that were coming into sickbay, it was not actually going to get less weird. She'd barely arrived for her shift, and already she was hearing something about Leonard Nimoy being intoxicated on bananas (what?) and Pasha Chekov having fallen into an inexplicable, coma-like sleep

Comments

[cso_spock]

These recent habits that had formed out of his control had become...troublesome. He had not precisely over-slept into alpha shift (though it had been close), but the fatigue had encroached into his evenings, pushing them further and further back into his free time and personal activities.

It was, in short, unacceptable.

After some internal debate (first over breakfast and a bowl of milk and sugary cereal, then over a lunch of cherry pie), he had finally decided to seek some alternate solution in the face of his own failure to resolve it. Perhaps it involved human physiology, what little he had of it. At first he did not see Leonard, though this wasn't so private a matter as to require him. There were many other qualified individuals here.

"...Miss Chapel."

[cso_spock]

He stepped into the room and lingered towards the center of the open space, hands folded neatly behind his back as he looked at Leonard. "I had merely attempted to receive some stimulants in response to an unusual onset of exhaustion and other ailments. She has convinced herself that I suffer from clinical depression, which I do not, and has only permitted me the use of analgesics."

[dctr_mccoy]

Bones pointed at the pair of chairs, indicating he wanted Spock to sit across from him. "Tell me about these headaches."

[cso_spock]

Hesitation, just a moment, before he moved into one of the chairs. But he didn't relax into it, sat closer to the edge and kept his back straight. "When they occur, it is usually a sharp pain beginning along the frontal cortex. From there it will either spread and dull, or disappear completely."

[dctr_mccoy]

"Is there a particular rhyme or reason to them?" Bones wondered. "A particular time of day, or after a shift of work, staring at the monitors?"

[cso_spock]

Spock paused, considering. Trying to correlate dozens of locations, times, the thought process occurring during the most recent times it had picked up. "...No." He said first, cautiously, looking away from Leonard. "However, in the past sixteen days, I have woken up with the pain already present."

[dctr_mccoy]

"So, mornings mostly?" Bones asked. "Or when you get up from naps as well?"

He'd complained of being overly tired as well. It had to be related to something in the blood chemistry. "When you say you feel tired, is it a sort of physical exhaustion, like - you feel as though you've been running for miles or more of a state of lethargy, like you can't fully wake up?"

[cso_spock]

"The former." His heart didn't race but often it came to the point where it felt like it had been for the entire length of the day. "The day will progress as usual, excluding any painful instances, then my energy reserves will abruptly end at a certain point of the evening."

[dctr_mccoy]

"Over two weeks?" he added, a slight hard tone, more from worry than anything else. Bones told himself to take it easy, at least the stubborn Vulcan came in for some help, which meant it had to be pretty bad.

So, energy depletion at the end of the day. Increased sugar intake. The obvious answer was that he was coming off of sugar-rushes and it was fucking with his insulin levels. "Tell me about the sugar. Sudden craving or something?"

[cso_spock]

Spock shook his head. "It is not sudden. I am constantly and consistently hungry." He was in fact hungry now, and he just hoped the chocolate chips of the cookie hadn't melted into the napkin, as that would be troublesome to separate.

That idea sounded very appealing, actually. Spock swallowed. "Everything else available through the replicator tastes exceptionally...bland."

[dctr_mccoy]

Hungry - another symptom of some larger problem, and the more Bones heard the more convinced he was that this was all linked. So much of this was sounding like a chemistry issue. "Doesn't look like anyone's taken a blood panel yet. You mind if I take a sample and have it analyzed?"

Another thought crossed his mind. "Are you hungry now?"

[cso_spock]

"Yes, I am." He tried to make it sound as least pathetic as possible. But he was hungry. And he did want to eat something. And if he couldn't have fori, a peach cobbler would be just as welcome. To the first question, he showed more reluctance, but eventually nodded. "You may, of course, take a sample."

[dctr_mccoy]

"You've gain a little weight since your last check-up," Bones said, looking down at the datapad. "Still in the healthy range, of course, but with the increased sugar intake, it's something we need to look at. Your diet should include a variety of healthy complex carbohydrates, proteins, fruits and vegetables. Anything in particular you feel like eating right now?" he asked, giving Spock a measured look that told him that lunch would not be made of brownies.

Pulling out a small medical instrument, he reached for Spock's arm, pulling at the shirt sleeve, moving it up to expose some skin. "I think Tina still has lollipops for patients who don't cry," he said wryly, using a finger to look for a vein.

[cso_spock]

He flexed his hand, holding still even as he eyed the instrument. "I do not desire any solid sucrose candies at this time."

Looking to the side, mentally narrowing down his desires. "...For an afternoon meal, the ideal arrangement would be composed of a full cup of tea, three Madeleines, three quarters of creamed corn, one slice of apple pie, and one blueberry bagel. With cream cheese." He finished with his eyes on Leonard again, reciting the list as if they were chemicals in an experiment and not too many calories for an afternoon 'snack.'

And then Spock looked a little crestfallen, for a Vulcan. "...you do not agree with my dietary choices?"

[dctr_mccoy]

"I'd like to see some more vegetables or protein in there, and less fruit, which is still sugar in a nicer package." It reminded Bones, for the briefest moment, of the cravings his wife had when she was expecting, the sudden and inexplicable desire for bananas. But why would a Vulcan be experiencing anything like this? Maybe it was time to look at his books again - and yeah, he'd be sitting down with M'Benga and asking some questions.

Taking the sample from Spock's arm, he sealed the small wound and slowly covered the bared arm with the sleeve of Spock's shirt. "How 'bout a salad?"

[cso_spock]

Spock made a particularly unhappy face, the displeasure mostly concentrated in his eyes. "...A salad has insufficient caloric value. Unless you are implying a fruit salad? With marshmallows?" He looked hopeful again.