"Were you able to get any sleep at all, Lwaxana?"
She glanced over at Alex Taylor and gave him a small shake of her head. "No. I…didn't want to disrupt anyone here, even if I was just here for a short time," she said as she packed the last of her things away in her bag. "I'm just hoping that Doctor Pulaski is able to solve my problem. I don't want to be a burden on anyone."
"If people are truly your friends and family, you'll never be a burden on them. Don't worry, it's something that I'm still working on myself." Alex gave her a warm smile as he picked up her bag and then held out his elbow. Lwaxana slid her hand home and let him guide her back to the transporter room.
Captain Otto was there, a tight smile on her face as she watched them enter the transporter room. "I hope that you were able to rest somewhat, Ambassador Troi."
"That I was, Captain. Again, thank you for hosting me for this leg of my journey, and I hope that you and your crew continues to have safe journeys." In truth, she wished that Chief Taylor would continue to enjoy safe journeys, and she made a note to tell someone at Starfleet about the kind young man, in hopes of getting him a better berth. "Well, Alex, it seems our time together has ended."
"So it seems, Lwaxana. May I?" He didn't finish his question, but she could read it clearly on his mind, and gave him a small nod. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she responded as she stepped onto the transporter pad and took her bag from his hands. "Now, if you would be so kind as to ferry me over to the Repulse."
"Aye, ma'am." They shared a knowing smile and then drew in a deep breath as the too familiar feeling of her body coming apart at the seams took hold. Frantically, she tried to control her reactions, looking for Alex's eyes before she completely disappeared. He was still there, regarding her steadily, and that soothed her more than she was comfortable admitting, even to herself.
The next thing she knew, she was appearing on the transporter pad of another ship, and a familiar face was regarding her steadily. "Doctor Pulaski, you have no idea how glad I am to see you."
"I can only imagine," the woman replied, her voice as gravelly as Lwaxana remembered. Though humans might thing that familiarity bred contempt, she knew that familiarity truly brought comfortability to a heart. "Beverly contacted me, told me that you might come out to see me, though she didn't go into specifics. You look exhausted, however. Would you like to rest before we go into what you're here for?"
The professionalism in the woman's voice and mind let Lwaxana know that she was in good hands, and she went to shake her head until she caught a flash of a thought that fired across Doctor Pulaski's mind. "I can't sleep well, I wake up screaming more often than not."
"I have something that can help you with that. Now, I know that Betazed minds work slightly differently than human ones, but artificial rest is better than what you're dealing with right now. It will be a dreamless sleep."
Her shoulders sagged with relief as she nodded. "Oh, that does sound wonderful," she whispered as she picked up her satchel. "Am I going to have my own quarters while onboard?"
Doctor Pulaski shook her head. "I'm afraid not. We're not as large a ship as the Enterprise, and all berths are full at the moment. I told Captain Taggart that I would put you up in my room for the length of your stay. It won't be what you're accustomed to, being a Daughter of the Fifth House and an official ambassador."
There was a faint tone of teasing mockery in her voice, even though there was no malice in word or thought. Lwaxana laughed lowly as she shrugged. "Well, I am the one who's imposing here, I should be grateful for whatever I'm given." The woman nodded and turned on her heel, taking off at a brisk clip. Lwaxana had to almost scurry to keep up. This was something she had forgotten about the doctor, and she tried to keep her movements quick but graceful, knowing that there were others aboard who knew her as an ambassador.
"All right, here we are. If you want to make yourself comfortable, I'll run down to Sickbay and grab a holospray that should allow you to sleep. I'll wake you when it's morning aboard our ship, we'll need to get you acclimated to this time cycle, if things are to work out."
Doctor Pulaski had a good point, and Lwaxana nodded as she stepped inside the quarters. There wasn't too much to make the room personal, and that seemed to fit what she knew about the doctor. "Thank you, again," she said, watching the woman turn and leave. Once she was alone, she kicked off her shoes and padded over to the set of drawers, wondering if they would be full or not. A number of them were empty, and she hummed a little as she placed her belongings in them before slipping off her traveling dress and changing into a loose sleeping dress.
A large yawn split her face as she made her way over to the bed and pulled back the covers. As she stretched out, the heady scent of roses and lilacs wafted up to tickle her nose, and the one romantic personal touch told her so much about the woman she was entrusting her life to that it almost overwhelmed her. Snuggling into the mattress, Lwaxana let her head thump back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling and letting the steady thrum of the engines seep into her ears. It was almost as familiar as the hum of the Enterprise, and to her shock, she found herself actually nodding off.
Letting her eyes close heavily, Lwaxana focused on the ambient sounds as she tried to fall asleep. Still, there seemed to be something that held her back, and so she started to slowly count, hoping that would further relax her. The hiss of the doors opening threatened to totally remove her from half slumber, but then she felt the cool press of metal against her upper arm and then she was falling into the sweet oblivion of drugged sleep.