Chapter Text
Hoshi straightened and tried to stifle her groan; it felt as though red-hot swords were being run through her spine, hips, and innards. Of all the things human women still had to suffer through in space, menstruating was a personal insult, as far as she was concerned.
Of course her implantable contraceptive pill had worn off, after a fairly blissful two years during which she hadn’t had to worry about the pain, the discomfort, the, well, messiness of having one’s period. It had all seemed to arrive at once, just when she was least expecting it. Right at the start of an early-morning shift.
Another wave of pain hit her and she felt sweat break out on her forehead. Biting her lip, she continued pressing buttons on her console, trying to concentrate on a particularly troublesome set of conjugations that demanded her full attention. She breathed slowly through her nose to get through the spasms as her uterus shed itself of its lining. Gods, she desperately needed an analgesic.
She glanced at the time. Just twenty more minutes and she could head out for lunch and stop in at the sickbay for Phlox to help her. It was doable. Just twenty more minutes to endure.
Hoshi felt eyes on her and looked up. Malcolm was staring at her thoughtfully from across the bridge, a little frown between his eyes. She cursed his attentiveness to everything out of place around him - his keen gaze would surely have picked up her pallor, the faint sheen of sweat on her brow, her shallow breathing, and the fine tremor in her hands.
She willed him to look away. Don’t say anything, Malcolm. Don’t ask. Don’t draw attention. Please!
His eyes narrowed fractionally and she narrowed hers in turn, frowning at him. One eyebrow rose infinitesimally, and his mouth twitched. A small nod, and he looked down at his own console again.
Hoshi sighed in relief, but soon realised that she was being watched from a different direction. She glanced to the side and saw that T’Pol was regarding her impassively. One eyebrow rose - almost like Malcolm, she thought, slightly hysterically - and the first officer asked, “Are you unwell, Ensign? You look pale and you are sweating.”
Trust a Vulcan to draw everyone’s attention, Hoshi thought resentfully. Surely every woman knew to not make a scene when another woman looked like she was in agony. Although, come to think of it … did Vulcans even have periods? She was so distracted by the idea that she forgot to answer until T’Pol spoke to her again. Then she gave a small start.
“Sorry, Sub-Commander. I have some abdominal pain, that’s all. I was planning to go down to Sickbay to get an analgesic during lunch.”
The first officer eyed her again, then said, “Perhaps you should head down early. You appear to be suffering quite severely. It is logical to seek treatment as quickly as possible.” She turned back to her console with no further comment.
Hoshi stared at her in surprise, then took advantage of the Vulcan’s tacit permission and headed to Sickbay for a painkiller.
“I’m sorry, Ensign, but that’s the strongest analgesic I can give you,” Phlox said regretfully. “Fortunately, you don’t have endometriosis, as you probably wouldn’t even be able to walk. Unfortunately, if I were to give you enough of the analgesic you need, it would probably knock you unconscious.”
Hoshi smiled weakly. “I understand, Doctor,” she said. “Of course it couldn’t be as simple as getting a painkiller and my new contraceptive shot at the same time. That would be too easy.”
“Yes, unfortunately that’s another problem,” the doctor admitted. “You’ve started your menses, so you’ll have to let it run its course before you can be given your next contraceptive.”
She nodded. “Oh well, I’ll go and have something hot to drink and put on a heating pad under my uniform and get back to my post. Only half a shift to go.”
“Oh no, Ensign, you’re in no condition to work,” said the doctor cheerfully. “I’m putting you on bed rest for the rest of the day.”
“I have to keep working, Doctor,” said Hoshi, feeling her irritation start to rise. Oh great, here come the hormones. “Women have had to work during their periods for centuries. I can’t be a wimp over having a period.”
“You’re not being a wimp, Ensign. You’ve been booked off work, given a very strong analgesic, and instructed to rest.” He saw her start to open her mouth and raised a hand to forestall her. “The captain will understand you not returning to your shift if I tell him you are in pain and I insist that you are booked off and sent to rest. He has no need to know exactly why, if you would prefer not.”
With a sigh, Hoshi acquiesced. It would be nice to just crawl into bed with a heating pad - or two - and eat all the salty crisps and chocolate in the universe while watching a sad movie and sobbing her eyes out. Better than punching through walls while crying. She’d need to rein in her temper while dealing with the pain, but on the first day she was always overly emotional.
“Okay, you win,” she agreed. “I’ll go to the mess and get something to eat, then I promise I’ll go to my quarters and get some rest. Will you tell the Captain that you’re sending me off shift?”
“Yes, of course. Come back in six hours if you need more of the analgesic.”
“Definitely.”