thisavrou_log | Take it slow [CLOSED]

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original character: adrien arbuckal

Take it slow [CLOSED]

Who: Adrien and Padmé
When: A few days after her arrival
Where: Medbay
What: Padmé has some questions, although whether there are answers...
Warnings: No.

There was still no clear answer as to how any of this was possible. Perhaps it was something she should simply let drop as not only was Anakin here- and yes, Anakin and not the man whose hand had make a squeezing motion on Mustafar and looked upon her with such negative emotion- but it also seemed that Padmé was being given a chance she would otherwise never have had. Leia.

But that wasn't Padmé's way to simply accept something as it was. No, it had always been what had driven her forward, that desire to know and to learn, to see through any falsehoods and stand for those who couldn't stand for themselves. It wasn't that she was regretting the fact that she was alive, but yes, she was still questioning it. It was as if Polis Massa had never occurred, even though she knew it had. She was no doctor though, and while there had been a check-up when she first arrived, she did want a second opinion.

It was why today found her entering in to the medical area. Truthfully, she wasn't certain of the protocol and if she had to make an appointment. It was a piece of information that she hadn't imparted upon many yet, and asking too many questions might have gotten some in return. No, first she needed to see if there was anything there, or if it was as good as it seemed- that she was truly alive again. It was why she did stop within the area, glancing around, and sought someone to ask.

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Did they do appointments? Naaahhh, usually one of the socially awkward bunch was rattling around in the Medbay, if not more than one of them at a time.

Adrien was actually on shift and having gone through every inch of cleaning, inventory and bit of lab work he could think of, he had finally settled down at a desk to work on some projects. His back was too the door but at his feet lay Courser and when Padme stepped through the door, the tracker's head came up.

It was enough of a signal to break through the doctor's note taking and Adrien glanced back over his shoulder, watching her for a moment. People came in and out of the Medbay for a host of reasons; visiting people in cryo, sometimes to see another doctor or if they had patients in beds to visit friends. He waited a moment till it became obvious that she didn't have a specific destination in mind, at which point he cleared his throat and called over.

"Can I help you?"

Not, perhaps the most friendly member of the medical staff but he had gotten better about actually using his words!

She had been inside of many different medical facilities over the years, for a variety of reasons, stemming from her own need to being there for someone else. Being a senator of strong and unwavering beliefs had placed a pretty little target upon her back, but it hadn't always been Padmé that had paid the consequences of her actions, much to her dismay and sorrow.

She took a minute, knowing that in some way, they all shared a similarity, no matter where it was. Perhaps it was that sense of where one was that made it so or perhaps it was simply that healing was healing no matter where one went. She'd had her own physician on Coruscant, especially during her pregnancy, one who was trusted and would keep their mouth shut, although the time for that was over anyway. Her hand did pause, settling on her stomach, although the clearing of a throat had Padmé snapping back to reality.

Turning with a soft swish of fabrics, Padmé offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I was wondering what the procedure was to be seen?"

"Usually it involves rapid blood loss or bones sticking out of where bones shouldn't stick."

The words left his mouth and in the next second he looked as if he were internally chastising himself; which would be because he was doing just that. Taking a breath, he lifted a hand in a gesture of 'apologies' and moved to stand up.

"Very few people come down here for just a regular exam. Folks on this ship seem to avoid Medbay like the plague unless an injury or an ailment has gotten to the point they can't stand it anymore."

As he talked, he approached her. On a quick visual, she didn't appear to be in physical distress, which was what he based his words on. Stopping a few feet away, he folded his hands into the small of his back, military parade rest style.

"I'm Dr. Adrien Arbuckal, one of the physicians on duty at the moment. Is there something wrong you wish to report?"

If he sounded a little bemused, it was truly because the idea of someone just wanting a check up was so at odds with the attitudes he usually ran into.

She didn't seem insulted or put off by his words. Rather, she took them as they were. It was hard to truly get beneath her skin to the point of bothering her, and her duties over the years have had her interacting with a variety of different personalities. Some were more warm and welcoming, people persons, while others were more recluse and less sociable.

"As you can see, no rapid blood loss or broken bones sticking out." A gentle lightness to her words. He wouldn't be much of a doctor if he couldn't figure that out already. Yet, it was clear that he had. Perhaps she was being silly but after all the surprises that had already met her, she didn't want to wake up one morning dead- or rather, not wake up one morning.

"I would prefer a more thorough exam, if possible, than the rudimentary one given on arrival. There-" Although she hummed softly, contemplating the direction that her words would take. I should be dead, but here I stand, seemingly alive would be the blunt way to put it, but while Padmé might be forthright at times, she wasn't quite so blatant. "I am not suffering in any physical respect, but I am also at a loss as to certain aspects of my health."

To be fair, he deserved the bit of light hearted poking, for having stuck his foot in his mouth in the first place. Less sociable was a good description for the doctor, who reached up to rub at the back of his head in a slightly sheepish manner.

It was one the tip of his tongue to wryly acknowledge the ridiculousness of his initial words, when Padme continued. Adrien's brows drew together in a bemused frown, as if he were trying to figure out just what it might be she was after.

"Any aspects in particular?" He asked, though he also gave a slight bow of his head and motioned her towards once of the exam tables. "Which is not to say we can't do a more thorough scan. It would help to know if there is something specific you believe should be looked at?"

Padme would not be the first member of the crew to have searched out medical above and beyond the initial, intake exam. That exam tended to be perfunctory and done in the middle of absolute bedlam; not the best time for details.

The exam table he had motioned her towards was obviously equipped to deliver a full body diagnostic imaging. Unfortunately, it wouldn't make it any more comfortable than your typical medbay bed.

"If I could have your name? I can pull up what we have on file currently."

Words had always been her strength, and while she might not be feeling 100% like her old self, there was enough of Padmé there now to keep others on their toes. There had been nothing malicious though, not seeking to belittle or rub it in, but some habits did die hard. Even with senators.

Yet there was still that contemplation on how to broach the topic. She didn't expect him to run screaming from the room or some other rubbish like that, but she also had no idea if her predicament was common or not. She knew that Anakin and Obi-Wan were still alive because they had been when last she had seen them. Leia had been just a babe, so Padmé couldn't speak about her. Ahsoka too fell in to the same category as her husband and her friend.

"Any abnormalities," she started, turning towards the table, although that likely wasn't sufficient. How long had it been since she had seen a humanoid doctor? Droids had been her answer for quite some time, although thinking back, it likely had been Geonosis, after the arena, after the nexu and the fighting that had killed so many... But back to here and now, she elaborated a bit further. "I find myself in a strange situation here."

She paused though at the table, knowing no doubt that her answer was still not quite what he was looking for. "It is Padmé Amidala, and before coming here, I am certain that I passed on."

Adrien was in the middle of typing her name into the MID when she reached the part about being certain she’d ‘passed on’ before arriving on the Moira. He paused for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“Not to diminish your own circumstances, but if it’s any comfort; you’re not the only person to have arrived on this ship at such a juncture in their lives,” words he’d honestly never expected to hear himself say.

He nodded again for her to make herself comfortable on the exam table.

“Was it due to an illness? Traumatic event?” Adrien asked, not finding anything particular in what little was tied to the file ’Amidala, Padme’. “If it was an illness, do you have concerns it would continue to affect your health here on board the Moira?”

It wasn't exactly a question that Padmé thought was good to bring up. Hello, my name is Padmé Amidala, and have you been brought back from death as well? While she wasn't going to weep or fall apart at the knowledge of her own demise, it still wasn't something that one just casually addressed. In fact, aside from Leia, he was the first person that she had truly spoken to about it.

"No. Thank you. That does... There is a small comfort in that." As peculiar as it was to say that. Not that she wished for any more deaths, but knowing that this phenomena wasn't just applied towards her. And, it wasn't as if her hand had played a role in the passing of any others- well, so she assumed.

"Not an illness, no. There is nothing there to worry about with that respect. It- an unfortunate accident that was the cause of it." Or perhaps caused her early demise. The Force choke... The will draining from her. Nothing contagious anyway.

Oddly enough, she might find some interesting stories if she used that as a conversational gambit. The Moira had quite the collection.

As she talked, he reached for the control panel and began to run the diagnostic function built into the bed. She spoke of an accident, which made him expect to find evidence of traumatic injury but the scan wasn't turning up near the amount of healed damage he'd expected to find.

Frowning pensively he adjusted the expanse of the scan, the results coming back to him causing his frown to deepen.

"Excuse me for having to ask but ... were you, pregnant?"

For all she was a public figure, there was much of Padmé that was private as well. Those who earned her trust had it to death. Yet it was something that she was still coming to terms with, her death, and what she would be doing now that she seemingly had a second chance. That she would need to tell Anakin was a given, although she knew that here and now in the medbay, she need not worry.

A part of her was surprised when he asked that question. Not because she didn't give birth, but because physically, just looking at her as she was, it wasn't something that was obvious. The lines were there, hidden beneath her clothing, but the scan must have shown something in particular. She wasn't a doctor and while she might be able to bind a wound, she was no expert when it came to anything medical. "I- I was, yes. I gave birth prior to arriving here."

The scanning equipment went beneath the fabric, beneath the dermis even and picked up the subtle changes that a woman's body underwent when she carried a child to term.

"It's not something that must go in your medical file, if you'd rather it didn't. Though it would only be available to other physicians, were it to be recorded."

Normally, he wouldn't have asked, just made the notation. However, he's run into enough people on this ship who want to keep their medical histories secret that he's learned to ask.

"The scan also shows some scarring on the trachea," he paused and looked at her directly. "Would that be the location of the accident?"

Adrien kept his tone carefully neutral because his experience, as both a medical professional and as a solider, told him that 'scarring' was the result of some sort of strangulation.

There was a shake of her head. While there were certain things that she might consider on how to broach the topic, Padmé was never one to hide from the truth. Even if it did hurt. "I trust in the privacy afforded, and in truth, it isn't something that I need to hide any longer."

Although it was far less obvious now that she actually had given birth. No more puffed out dresses to hide that ever growing baby bump. She knew that she had been lucky, suffering little in the way of the usual ailment that other woman had during their pregnancy. No doubt throwing up in the middle of the Senate would have caused a stir.

Even as he said it, there was still some surprise. In real time, there had been no time for any sort of healing, although she had never suffered such an attack before and didn't know how they would progress had she survived. "That- yes. That is the vicinity that was effected."

She did glance up at him, pausing. "It was, I suppose you can say, strangulation, but no hand touched my throat."

Her word choice was definitely curious, 'isn't something I need to hide any longer' and he glanced up, that curiosity probably in his expression before he reined himself in. He didn't know her well enough, nor did he have a medical reason to inquire further into the situation, so his curiosity was untoward. If the Ingress had separated her from a child, should she wish to talk about it, she'd be best served to seek out one of the counselors.

The possibility of the reality of the situation, that the Ingress was providing her an opportunity to meet one of her children, didn't even occur to him.

With her consent, he made the note about her pregnancy and childbirth before placing his focus on the trauma to her throat. He had experience with a wide variety of ways that death could be visited upon a body; particularly a human body. Strangulation, without contact was odd, yes but not impossible and ultimately it was a question beyond the necessities of their current conversation.

Motioning for her to sit up, he would reach with his hands, intending to make a physical exam of her throat.

"Are you experiencing any lingering pain in the area? Any difficulty swallowing or breathing?"

While it could be argued that Padmé wasn't one to follow orders, that did only apply to orders she didn't want to follow. With an easy motion, she set herself upright, hands folding delicately in to her lap. It was odd not to cup at her stomach, to know of the life that was growing there. It was, and then it wasn't.

"Nothing." That was the strange part. It was more or less like it had all never happened. Padmé had woken up here, feeling slightly out of place but not hurting. At least not physically. Emotionally had been another matter completely. No, the only true sign was the stretch marks that she now bore.

Leaning forward slightly with her chin tilted up, she let him continue as he would. She would think there should be something, anything, some abnormality. "It is like it never happened."

Adrien was thorough, methodical but also deft and quick with his exam. He didn't linger and eventually dropped his hands away, brows knitted.

He couldn't feel any residual damage to her throat or trachea, not like he'd expect to feel in the aftermath of a fatal strangling. It was odd, particularly combined with the fact that Padme wasn't reporting feeling any internal difficulties either.

Stepping back, he crossed his arms and gave a slight shake of his head.

"We don't understand a lot about the Ingress technology," he began, which might sound like he was about to compare apples to oranges but he was quick to continue. "Some people come through missing limbs from injuries they received back home. Some people come through right at the moment they can remember being dealt a death blow."

He wracked his brain and tried to remember if he'd seen any files of anyone in a similar circumstance as Padme was reporting; dead but then alive with no real evidence of the trauma. He was coming up blank, at least in so far as the Moira was concerned, so that left delving further back into his experiences.

"However, since leaving my own home world and coming out into deep space, where jumping dimensions seems to be a thing, I can say that I've seen similar circumstances to your own." In fact, he'd experienced it personally.

"It seems that when inter-dimensional travel is involved, the rules of life and death start to become more like guidelines, rather than hard and fast absolutes."

She was familiar enough with the expression to realize that he was thinking, although whether it was good or bad, Padmé couldn't tell. Speculative, maybe, especially if he had no reference for her own particular situation. Nothing was covered about it, and Padmé knew that she had been moved. She had died on Polis Massa, wearing her medical robe. Yet, she had arrived here in attire that was akin to something someone would be buried in.

Padmé did listen as he spoke, knowing that she did fall in to the latter, but beyond that. Yes, she could recall slipping away from consciousness, but the change in attire... No matter what, it did point to the fact that she had been moved. She couldn't say, but she would guess back to Naboo, her home planet, where she would be buried. Given that she had met Leia, she would speculate that she would be shown to be pregnant as well, with her children passing. It was what she would do.

"I suppose I was under the impression that an answer would be along those lines." There was something to be said that she wasn't alone in this though. "It- is just all unexpected."

"Though we are widely varied in terms of species, one constant seems to be mortality." Even the Cybertronians, as best he could understand, were subject to the idea of mortality.

Loki might be an exception but that wasn't pertinent to the current conversation.

"So it's natural that the idea of having died, only to be returned, would catch a person off guard. Never mind the rest," he motioned with his hand, indicating the ship, "that comes with it."

The ship, the Ingress, finding oneself not only alive but in a completely unknown place, with no immediate route back and for many, no friends or family. For others too many friends and family.

Adrien wasn't so socially clueless as to expect one scenario was better or worse than the other.

"That said," he began, watching her carefully. "It is still a bugger of a thing to go through, let alone struggle to come to terms with. Grieving for your own death. Is there anyone ... " he paused and considered his words, not as natural at them as she appeared to be. "Would you consider talking with someone about what happened?"

For the next bit he paused and looked down, before looking back up to finish his thought.

"It can help."

It was not that she was seeking to lie about having passed, although the simple fact of the matter was that she hadn't told Anakin. Yet. She already knew it was something that he would not take kindly to, even without knowing the full extent of everything that had happened. She would tell him, yes, but in her own time.

It would have been harder if there was something going on, if there was some side effect that she might not know about. Perhaps there was and she would only know in time, but for now, this was the only course of action that she thought to take. If physically she was as she felt- alive- then she would have to accept that.

Her gaze did flicker, a telltale sign, perhaps. There were people, and yet it was those very people that she couldn't tell. Not the truth of it. And for all that she was someone who listened and offered support to those in need, she was also stubborn with respect to herself.

"It's complicated. I'm not certain I would wish to burden anyone with the knowledge of it, no matter what protocol might dictate with respect to what they may repeat. But I did want to make certain that physically there was nothing wrong with me. I hardly know what to expect." Keeling over dead, for starters, again, would have not been pleasant. For all she knew, this could have only been a temporary event.

As he was probably the last person to be giving advice to others on the subject of seeking therapy, Adrien didn't press Padme on the subject. He accepted her response with a nod of his head and merely offered.

"If you do decide you wish to talk to someone, there are a few people on the ship who are listed as counselors and I doubt they would see talking with you as a burden."

The options were there, should she find herself in a position of wanting to take them but for the moment, he set the subject aside.

"Physically there is nothing wrong with you. The scarring on the trachea, but you've said you have no problem swallowing food or breathing so I wouldn't expect that to hinder you. You'll want to attend to your own nutrition; it will help your body recover from the demands of pregnancy, particularly if you're still feeling a little run down.

Other than that, your systems are functioning normally and I see no other complications from your passing and returning to life."

And wasn't that a hell of a diagnosis to make. Sometimes inter-dimensional travel made absolutely no logical sense.

If he were to look later, he might well notice that Padmé's own name had been added to that list. While she couldn't say that she had ever thought about that field, nor did she have any true training in it, she had always been a people person. Her own genuine nature and true concern had always driven her to help others anyway. "Thank you. I will consider it."

And she did mean it, although not yet. There was one thing to saying that she had died, but another to say how she had died. The simple fact was that there was no easy answer to explain it. No, it would be a lengthy story, and even then, she wondered what they would think, especially if they didn't understand the Force.

But she would admit that she hadn't thought about what he suggested. To simply not have her babies and suddenly finding herself alive... She hadn't thought beyond that. Still, there was a small tug at her lips, as no doubt it was a rather peculiar prognosis to make for anyone. "I will make certain that I do just that. And thank you again. It- It seemed prudent to have a professional opinion on the matter."

Adrien gave a small nod of his head.

"Better safe than sorry, especially given the habit this ship has of finding mischief," he agreed.

"If you find yourself feeling run down or experience any of the symptoms we discussed or if you merely have any other concerns, stop by and we'll check again. I'll make sure my notes are in your file so any of the physicians on board can help or if you'd rather speak with me again you can always contact me across the MID."

There was still much that Padmé had to learn about this ship and this galaxy. In truth, she knew that what she had learned was the barest tip of the iceberg. The others had mentioned some of this mischief, but Padmé had yet to witness any. Aside from herself, if she fell in to that category.

"Thank you. I will, and if it is no inconvenience, I will ask for you again." Not that she doubted any others, but there would be something easier about addressing anything with him.

"No inconvenience," he said, to reassure her. "Stop by as you wish and if I'm not here, I'm just a MID call away."

He had grown used to the fact, over the years in space, that many of his patients would rather be treated anywhere but Medbay. It was best to make sure they knew the offer was out there, rather than risk them trying to go it alone.

While it wasn't a place that Padmé would go to spent free time, she didn't have qualms about visiting any sickbay or medbay. Of course, she also wouldn't be the best patient either, as she would simply do what needed to be done before excusing herself. With or without a doctor's leave.

Rising, she tipped her head in thanks towards him as she straightened her attire. "I will remember that, and try not to do it anyway."

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Take it slow [CLOSED]

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