"Thank you for coming so quickly," Julian began, stepping out of the low-level containment field around the biobed. Kallim kicked and cried while a pair of nurses did their best to console him while also operating their medical devices. "We administered a standard immunobooster, but it seems to have triggered an unexpected reaction. Originally I was under the impression Kallim's species simply had bioluminescent characteristics, but I see now it's really more akin to thermoluminescence, as the process also produces a substantial amount of heat. The immunobooster appears to have hijacked this heat generation process, leaving Kallim incapable of regulating his body temperature."
"Is it life threatening?" N'ivryn asked with concern. Her hair still dripped with water from the holoprogram. As much as she loved the water, she didn't enjoy the feeling of damp feet shoved hastily into boots.
"At the moment, I'm not sure," Bashir admitted truthfully. "But his agitation is making it difficult to administer further treatment. You were clear about wanting to know if anything changed in his condition. I was hoping you might be able to calm him down, make him more comfortable."
"Of course I'll help," she said, her voice firm despite the worry in her eyes.
He ushered her in, past the containment field. She gravitated to Kallim's side immediately, folding his hand in hers. She could feel the heat radiating off of his small body. Trails of blue-white light glowed down the lengths of his bare arms and legs.
Julian turned his attention to his medical team, snapping orders with precision. "Nurse, prepare 20 cc's of inaprovaline, and set up a cortical stimulator. We need to monitor his brain activity closely."
"Yes, Doctor," one of the nurses replied, moving with practiced efficiency.
"It's alright, Kallim," N'ivryn soothed, brushing damp hair from his forehead. "I'm here now. We'll take care of you."
Julian worked alongside his team, his fingers flying across the medical console as he analyzed the complex readouts. "Temperature is still increasing. I need an ice-water bath ready, just in case."
As N'ivryn held Kallim's hand, the intense heat of his skin pressed into hers. The warmth spread like fire through her veins, tempting her own thermoluminescence to emerge.
Inhaling, she fought to suppress the natural reaction. She tensed and focused all her mental energy on holding back the wave of energy.
It signaled something else to her, though. Something that presented a dilemma. She recognized the symptoms. The cause may have been different, but she'd treated Alar in a similar state a hundred times back home. To do so here and now, though, that would require sacrificing her Andorian disguise. She wasn't ready to give that up just yet.
N'iv inspected Kallim's anguished face, the trust in his eyes, and knew she had to do something, even if it meant a risk.
"Julian," she said, her voice resolute. "I think I know what to try, but I need you all to leave. I can fix this, but you have to trust me."
Julian looked up with disbelief, his expression seeming to question if she was making some sort of strange joke. "Leave? N'ivryn, this is a critical situation and Kallim is my patient. I appreciate your input, but this is not the time for improvisation."
"I know what I'm doing, Julian," she insisted, her voice low and even. "You know I only want what's best for Kallim."
Julian's mind entered a battle of logic and intuition. His medical training screamed at him to deny N'ivryn's request, to maintain control of the situation like any good doctor would. But something in her eyes, a desperation mixed with certainty, gave him pause. He remembered the words he'd confessed to Dax–that he felt there was something N'ivryn wasn't sharing with him. Maybe she did know how to help Kallim. Maybe he did have to trust her. And maybe, just maybe, it was how he'd get answers.
"Five minutes, and not a second more." He ignored his nurses' questioning looks. At Julian's direction, they retreated, leaving N'ivryn alone with Kallim.
The sound of Kallim's labored breathing filled the room, the heat radiating off his skin nearly melting the corners of a monitor closest to him. She dipped her fingers into the icy water of the bath that had been left on one of the carts. Its cold shock against the warmth of her own emerging thermoluminescence awakened her senses and focused her mind. She pushed his collar aside, placing a hand over the boy's purple mottled chest, the other gently cradling the side of his face.
Slowly, she began to hum, a low and haunting series of notes that resonated deep within her chest, vibrating her very bones. The doorway between them inched open. She retreated into her mind, the blips of the medical monitors fading into the background.
When she re-emerged, a sweat had broken out on her brow beneath her still-damp hair. It really wasn't a remedy to be administered by a single person, but she knew from experience it could be done if necessary. She let her luminescence fade, relief rushing in to take its place. Kallim's skin cooled, and his restlessness stilled. N'ivryn's limbs felt heavy and sluggish, but at least the crisis had been averted. Now she had one of a different sort to deal with.
Less than a minute later, Julian and his nurses trailed back to the biobed. He looked perplexed but also intensely curious. "What did you do?"
"I simply applied a method I thought might help. It's hard to explain, but it's something I've seen work before."
The non-answer clearly wasn't satisfying to Julian. "You're going to have to give me more than that. What method? How did you know it would work?" He waved a tricorder near Kallim to confirm the reaction had truly subsided.
"It's a form of bio-energetic regulation, based on harmonic resonance. Not exactly standard Federation procedure, I admit. It's...more intuitive than empirical."
"N'ivryn, I need real answers. I can't let you just walk in here, kick me out of my own infirmary, and then refuse to tell me anything." Julian demanded, his professional composure giving way to frustration as he examined Kallim's vitals. He'd hoped that by capitulating to her request he'd finally get answers, but so far that strategy wasn't panning out.
N'ivryn was slightly taken aback by his assertive tone. This was a side of Julian she hadn't seen before, and it both surprised and impressed her.
"Dr. Bashir, I understand your concern, and I don't mean to be evasive," she began, choosing her words carefully. "But the truth is, I am a medical professional–of a sort." She recalled a phrase she'd seen countless times in the logs of her ship. "But, unfortunately, my methods and training are classified. I cannot discuss them, I'm sorry."
Julian blinked. "Classified? That's a convenient excuse. This is my infirmary. You don't get to boss me around and then hide behind vague statements. I need to know what you did to Kallim, for his safety and for the integrity of my work."
N'ivryn felt a pang of guilt, knowing she was putting him in a difficult position. She respected him and his dedication to his patients, and she didn't want to undermine that. But she also knew that revealing the truth could jeopardize everything.
"This isn't a game, N'ivryn. You performed an unexplained procedure on my patient. You can't hide behind 'classified' and expect me to just accept it. Tell me what you did."
N'ivryn stood her ground defiantly. "I did what needed to be done, and that's all you need to know."
"I'll decide what I need to know." Julian didn't bother hiding his irritation. "If something happens to Kallim, I need to understand what was done to him. Your secrecy could cost him his life."
"My secrecy might have just saved his life!" N'ivryn snapped back, matching his intensity. "You will not bully me into revealing what you have no right to know."
Julian's eyes flashed, his voice threatening. "I'll bring this to Captain Sisko. Whatever you're hiding, it better be worth it."
N'ivryn's face turned cold, her voice unwavering. "Go ahead. You'll find that some things are bigger than your need to know. You might be the doctor here, but you're not in control of everything."