Chapter 3
"No! Just no!" Andy's voice carried through the door. Dex had come through the surgery and was now itching to get out of sickbay...and back to work! Dr. Finn, and Andy, had objections to his returning to work the day after surgery.
Freya hesitated outside the door for a moment, listening for another outburst. Hearing none, she opened the door and slipped inside quietly intending to check the patient's vitals. "Morning." Freya said with a smile.
"Can I leave now?" Dex greeted her.
"No!" Andy burst out again. Freya flinched back and started looking over the computer readings. "Right Freya? He's be out of surgery less than 12 hours....you can't be sending him out already..." she turned to Freya.
Freya glanced at Andy and turned her attention to Dex. "No, you can't leave -sorry. Dr. Finn insists on keeping you here for at least another day."
Andy looked triumphant and Dex growled and grumbled to himself while Freya turned back to the computer. "Don't worry 'bout the bay Dex, I've got it running smoothly..." Andy said trying to sooth Dex. "Even got Anders and Franklin to stop fighting all day!"
"Don't let her fool you," Freya said with a grin when Dex looked shocked. "She put them on different duty shifts."
"Traitor" Andy said, but she was chuckling. "It works doesn't it?"
Freya finished up her quick examination. "Okay, everything looks good here Dex. With any luck you'll be out of here tomorrow morning." He looked thrilled at the prospect and Freya felt a little bad for bringing him down but it had to be said. "But not back to work for a few weeks at least." She watched as his happy face turned sour and grumbling recommenced.
"Ryan!!" came Dr. Finn's bellowing voice from the main ward. For an older man, he knew how to yell! Freya gave Andy and Dex a weak smile and then walked out of the room. "Deal with...that." Dr. Finn said motioning absently to the bed where a girl sat.
"Tessa right?" Freya asked as she washed her hands quickly and then walked over to her. The girl nodded. "Shouldn't you be in school right now?" Freya asked with a teasing grin.
"I was!" Tessa protested. "But look!" and she thrust her arms out at Freya. She was covered in red pock marks.
"Ah." Freya said looking over the rest of her. "Yeah you have Diverian Pox."
"What's that?" Tessa asked looking anxious.
"Nothing to fret about. It's a childhood thing. Every time we eradicate one, a newer version seems to pop up in it's place. There have been five different versions of the pox on this ship in the last 300 years." Freya said as she gathered a few things.
"So what do you do about it?" Tessa asked, absently scratching herself.
"First....you don't scratch." Freya said putting her hand on Tessa's to stop her. "I know it itches but you don't scratch." Freya pulled out a spray bottle and gently started spraying it on Tessa's skin and pox. "This..." she held up the bottle to show Tessa. "Will help with the itch and keep them from getting infected." She resumed spraying until she'd sprayed all the exposed areas. "Now you take this home and spray it over yourself once a day. Second, you get to miss school for a couple days." Freya said grinning. "The Diverian Pox is very contagious....do you know what that means?"
"Yes! It means it spreads to other people easily." Tessa said looking as confident as she had when she'd answered questions in class.
"Very good." Freya said. "So you need to go home and stay home." Freya looked up as she heard the door open. Commander Katou came in and ignored Freya, going to Dr. Finn immediately.
"Come back in a couple days and I'll see if you're ready to go back to school." Freya said returning her attention to Tessa. "I'll send a message to your teacher so she knows you'll be gone. Go on." She watched Tessa scoot off the table and make a wide angle, as wide as the walls would allow, around Dr. Finn and Commander Katou and then dart out the doors.
"We've encountered a small moon with some of the elements you were looking for Doctor." Katou said. "Mr. Ice," she paused and gave a quick, sour look in Freya's direction, "is taking the shuttle down with me to collect a few samples, Captain Hunt thought you'd like to come down as well."
Dr. Finn seemed to be considering. He didn't particularly like leaving the ship - one of a very few in that respect. In fact he much preferred his medical ward to any other place, even his quarters. "Dr. Hasberg can collect some medical samples for me..." he said
"Um..." Freya looked over at them. "Dr. Hasberg just had her baby last week, she's on leave..."
Katou glared at her which didn't really bother Freya - she was used to it. Dr. Finn looked mostly surprised even though he'd delivered the baby. "Oh fine." he muttered. "I'll be ready in an hour." Katou nodded and left without sparing Freya another look.
Dr. Finn seemed reluctant to leave the ward in Freya's care but as he was preparing to leave, two more children entered - clearly foretelling of a Diverian Pox outbreak on board. For once, he was thankful to be leaving the ward behind, with all the children invading it.
The surface of the moon was seemingly unpopulated by intelligent life but the atmosphere was mostly compatible with the team. Julian sat on the hill, running his fingers through the warm sand while Commander Katou and Dr. Finn collected samples.
Julian saw the movement within the water before anyone else but Finn and Katou paid him no mind. Dr Finn was attempting to reach the fruit of a plant, just past the water's edge and he waded in just a couple inches. He reached into the plant to collect the fruit and before anyone knew what was happening, he was convulsing and writhing half in the water.
Julian jumped to his feet and quickly dragged Dr. Finn out of water. Katou came over next and they exchanged a look. Neither knew what to do if he didn't stop convulsing soon. His seizures slowed but he was unconscious, all in a matter of moments. "We need to get him back to the ship." Julian said hoisting Dr. Finn up and dragging him back to the shuttle.
Meanwhile, Freya was entering the latest information from he children. Four more children had come in with the pox not including the two that had come in when Dr. Finn left. She had put out a notice to parents, teachers and the captain, informing them of the outbreak. Captain Hunt walked into the ward, always looking like a commanding force, without even trying. Freya jumped to her feet. "C-c-captain!" she stammered a bit and tried hard not to flush in embarrassment.
"As you were Ms. Ryan." Captain Hunt said with a wisp of a smile. "I understand we have a bit of an outbreak with the children. I just stopped by to get the details."
"Um, yes. Tessa came in with Diverian Pox - common enough childhood illness. So far we've had seven cases, including Tessa's. I've send them home with something to help with itching and infection and orders to come back here in a couple days for a follow up - and no school of course." Freya said slowly recovering her calm. "None of the cases have been severe and I expect they will all recover fine."
As she was talking a couple more kids came in. "Make that nine cases." Freya said with a small laugh and directing the children to the beds. "I'll be with you both in a moment."
"Sounds like you have everything well in hand Ms. Ryan." Captain Hunt said. "Please keep me updated."
Freya nodded. "Of course Captain."
She was about to address the two children when the door opened emitting Julian and Katou trying to support Dr. Finn between them. "What happened?" she and Captain Hunt asked at the same time.
Katou, who had be busy collecting her own samples, hadn't seen anything until Julian started running so she couldn't answer. She turned her gaze on Julian who was looking at her - clearly expecting her to answer as the senior officer. "Um, Dr. Finn was collecting a sample from a plant and he started convulsing. He was standing a couple inches into the water at the time. He came to when we were half way home but has seemed groggy since."
"Dr Finn?" Freya said looking at him. "Dr. Finn....can you hear me?" she asked as he stared through her and wavered on his feet. "Okay let's get him to the other bed." she said starting to turn away so she could hurry the children out of the ward.
"Doctor!" Katou grasped. Freya turned back to see everyone scrambling to catch Finn as he fell to the ground in a broken heap but no one got him. He was still conscious - although seemingly unaware of his surroundings - as Julian helped him back up.
Julian and Captain Hunt worked together to get Finn to a bed while Freya quickly instructed the children on what they needed know. She came over before the second child was even off her bed and started hooking several devices to Dr. Finn to take readings. When she got to his hand she noticed three bright red welts where it appeared he'd been stung or bit by something....
Katou, Julian and Captain Hunt crowded around the bed with her, watching her work and clearly expecting something. She administered a light sedative when it appeared that his heart was working in overdrive - if it didn't slow down, he'd arrest regardless of what may have caused the problem.
"I don't have any answers yet. I'll keep you informed." she said addressing Captain Hunt. Hunt was satisfied with that and nodded before leaving. Julian gave her a reassuring smile and Katou glared at her as always.
End Chapter
Chapter 4
The initial exam of Dr. Finn provided more questions than answers. While stable, he had not improved and every attempt to waken him seemed to make his body weaker. With no other doctor available, Freya - an untested medical student - was left to cure whatever ailed him. Unfortunately she still didn't know what exactly that was.
She ran a hand through her hair and felt every minute of her sleepless night as she looked over the test results again. Everything in his body seemed to contradict each other. Truth be told, he ought to be dead by now and yet he wasn't. The only thing she knew for certain is that the wound marks on his hand had been where some sort of toxin had entered his body. A toxin she couldn't isolate...
Someone cleared his throat and Freya jumped. She hadn't heard anyone come into the ward. She looked up and tried to muster the energy to come to some sort of attention but her mind and body wouldn't allow it. "Captain." she said following his gaze to where Dr. Finn was motionless.
"Report." Captain Hunt said snapping her attention back to his face. Even though he spoke sternly, she could see a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"No worse." Freya said. "He was stung or bitten by something on the moon. It seems to have administered some sort of toxin that I can't isolate. It's not like anything I've even heard of before." she said, knowing she had very little real experience to draw on but she had lots of medical history to draw on. "If I had a sample it would probably help." she said quickly and biting her lip. She didn't like the idea of sending anyone back to the moon but it really would help - she hoped.
Captain Hunt was considering even as he nodded his understanding. Like Freya, he didn't like the idea of returning a team to the moon's surface but he recognized the medical need.
"The wound was shallow Captain." Freya was saying as she walked over to Dr. Finn's bed. She uncovered his hand and showed the marks to Hunt. "Had he been wearing protective gloves..." she paused and looked at the wound. "There's a good chance he would have been fine."
"Understood." Captain Hunt said making up his mind. He stepped aside as Freya began another exam of Dr. Finn. She was taking several blood samples from the doctor as he placed a communication. A few minutes later, Freya finished and recovered Dr. Finn as the doors opened. She turned and was surprised to see Julian there. She was about to walk up to him when she saw the Captain was still in the ward and Julian was approaching him, not her. "Ah, Mr. Ice." the Captain said.
"You are going to take a team of Commander Katou's scientists down to the moon. Show them where Dr. Finn was at the time he was..." he paused and looked in Freya's direction. "Attacked. We need samples of whatever might have attacked him."
"Attacked sir?" Julian said looking from the Captain over to Freya and back again, clearly confused.
"I suspect it was a plant." Freya said speaking up and coming forward. "A natural defense mechanism perhaps. Or a very large bug - but since you didn't mention any very large bugs in your report - I would guess whatever plants he was reaching for at the time he was afflicted."
"Right." Julian said looking only slightly less confused.
"Commander Katou should have assembled a team for you already in the science lab." Captain Hunt said. "Oh, be sure that everyone collecting samples wears protective gloves - just in case."
Julian nodded and turned to leave. "Wait!" Freya said quickly. Julian and Captain Hunt turned to her in surprise as she scrambled to pack a small medical case. She looked around and her eyes settled on Nurse Atayo. She handed the medical case to her and thrust her forward. "Just in case. She has generic anti-venoms and anti-toxins as well as basic medical stuff, it won't cure anyone who gets stung but it might delay the toxin."
Captain Hunt nodded. "Ms. Ryan - I am making you the acting chief medical officer until either Dr. Finn has recovered or Dr. Hasberg is fit to return to duty." he said and left the ward before she had a chance to reply.
Freya stared at the door stunned for a few moments. "But...but...." she muttered looking over at Julian who was grinning at her. "But I'm not a doctor." she finally said.
"Only because they won't let you test." Julian said coming over and giving her a quick kiss. "Congrats...Chief." he said with a wink. "Gotta go get you a some flowers - how does dangerous and toxic sound to you?" he said laughing his way out of the ward.
Julian got an icey nod from Commander Katou as he walked into the lab with the nurse in tow. Three scientists were ready and waiting for him, each carrying a bag with collection equipment. "Let's go." he said, not returning Katou's nod.
The trip to the surface of the moon was quick, although a little rocky due to the atmospheric conditions. Julian tried not to laugh as he noticed one of the scientists clutched her chair tightly. He landed smoothly and unbuckled. "Let's go." he said leading the small team out onto the moon. "Don't forget gloves, the natives aren't friendly it seems."
"I thought this moon was uninhabited?" Ida Washington asked nervously.
"Right, I meant the plants." Julian said and shook his head. He led them to the area Dr. Finn was at the time. "There." he said pointing. "I was too far away to see which plant exactly he was looking at but he had three clustered punctures in his hand." he said and the trio of scientists converged on the area while Julian and the nurse hung back.
-----
Back on the ship, Freya checked Dr. Finn one more time and then prepared to leave with a bundle of blood samples and test results in hand. She gave the nurse on duty specific instructions and looked at the still doctor once more. Everything available to her in the medical ward had only frustrated her more so she was preparing to get help...help she really didn't want ask for.
She straightened her shoulders as she walked into the science lab, met by the steely gaze of Commander Katou. "I need your help. I need another pair of eyes." Freya said commandeering an empty table and spreading out what she'd brought. "He's stable but every hour his body is getting weaker -even without being woken. The changes are minute but they are there." Katou continued to look at her, clearly disapproving of Freya's general presence. "He's going to die!"
Katou said nothing but took the test results and the blood vials. She plugged several of them into a machine for extensive analysis and then start looking over the results. "This will take some time." she finally said and Freya was about to leave - eager to get away from Katou's cold presence. "Since your here, I need you to check a few things. Medically."
Freya turned and nodded and went to where Katou directed. When Unity had been prepared for launch, one of the science experiments of the team was to test the viability of frozen embryos when exposed to deep space over a period of time. Some feared that the DNA would degrade, making the probability of use on colony ships unlikely. As it turned out, the embryos, safely stowed on the Unity prior to the emergency launch, survived fine as long as kept in deep freeze. They had proved a vital role on the ship, providing the genetic diversity that 25 original inhabitants simply couldn't maintain for long. Three hundred years later and there were only a handful of samples left but the crew was fairly diverse now. Freya started the freezer scanners which has been designed to test each samples viability. "They appear to be fine Commander. No abnormalities or degradation detected."
"Very good, now can you check the chambers." Katou said not looking up. She motioned over to a bank of tall tubes. Freya couldn't recall those being here the last time she'd come in - of course she couldn't really remember the last time she'd come to the science lab either. She walked over and examined the control panel and data screen. It was clearly meant to do with humans but she wasn't sure for what purpose.
"What do these do?" she asked pressing a few buttons to bring up the biological readings. Before Katou could respond - assuming she intended to - Freya gasped. "There is a baby in here!"
"Medically it's a fetus." Katou said calmly. "A 30-week fetus."
"Okay it's a fetus - why is there a fetus in here? Why isn't it..." Freya looked at the readings again. "Why isn't SHE in a carrier mother?"
"A more interesting and prudent question would be HOW don't you think?" Katou said with a smile - a disturbing smile - on her face.
"No, I'd rather stick with why." Freya said coldly. Every minute with Commander Katou made her dislike the scientist more.
Katou's smiled disappeared. "The few remaining embryotics will be grown in these chambers." she turned and looked at Freya with a piercing look. "So they aren't a burden on their carriers."
Freya glared at Katou and refused to speak, afraid of what she might say. She was about to give a terse report on the baby - and it was a BABY - in the chamber when her communicator chirped summoning her back to sickbay immediately. She didn't spare Katou another glance and hurried from the lab.
The sickbay was in a panic and alarms were going off as Freya rushed in. "He's crashing!" Arabella said frantically. Freya ran over to Dr. Finn's bed and started working, diving into it and pushing Commander Katou from her mind. "I don't understand this!" Arabella said watching the readings fly across the screens. Dr. Finn's body had been seizing only moments before and now he was still but his vitals were still registering as if he were crashing.
Freya put tuned out the blaring machines and checked his vitals manually. He was stabilizing once again despite the machines' evidence to the contrary. Freya flipped off the machines and left them off for a minute before turning them back on. When they came back up, the machines detected the same things she did.
"What was that about?" Arabella asked
"I'm not sure." Freya said beginning to take more blood samples and complete another exam. As before, he appeared to show further deterioration, accelerated by the recent episode.
Freya's communicator chirped again and Katou's voice echoed around her. "I found your toxin." she said and the comm ended immediately. Freya tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes and looked at Arabella. "Stay by his side, I'll be back." she said.
"Have you slept?" Arabella called as Freya left. Freya didn't respond. She hadn't slept in almost thirty six hours and her whole body was beginning to feel it.
-----
"I think we got the culprit" Cameron, another scientist, said. She was holding a containment unit up that had a average looking plant encased in it. But it did have the three prongs.
"And if that's not it, one of these might be it." Julian said indicating the collection of plants, bugs and even a couple of fish the scientists had insisted on taking 'just in case'. They were a quick bunch of gatherers so Julian didn't complain. Within an hour, they had samples of just about every plant in the area.
Cameron grinned at him and shrugged. "I'll start taking these to the shuttle." she said and Julian helped her. They were halfway through their second trip when they heard shouting. They started racing back to the site with the rest of the team and found Rahman on the ground. "What happened?" Julian bellowed as the nurse leaned over him and administered a dose of anti-toxin.
"He took his gloves off and then saw something else he wanted to collect..." Ida explained.
"Let's go!" Julian barked. He put and arm around Rahman and lifted him easily while the other collected the remaining samples. He had them up and in the air in a matter of minutes.
-----
"There." Katou said pointing to a readout and a vial.
Freya scooped it up and read over it quickly. By the time she'd read through it a second time the words were starting to blur from lack of sleep. "Thank you." Freya said tersely. She took the rest of her stuff and the new vial which hopefully contained the actual toxin and left before Katou could comment on her weakness.
Arabella met her at the door and took it all from her hands. She thrust a clean pair of scrubs into Freya's arms. "Get changed and lay down."
"I have to analyze..." Freya protested scooping up the toxin vial.
Arabella took it from her hands. "I'll get the test started, it will take about an hour anyway. You need to sleep or you'll be no good to anyone."
Freya tried to think of a response but she couldn't formulate a reason to fight the sleep anymore so she did as she'd been told.
An hour and a half later Arabella woke Freya quickly. "The team is back and another one was attacked."
Freya jumped out of the bed and scrambled into the main ward. Although an hour and a half wasn't enough sleep to make up for almost two days without it - it gave her a temporary boost. She was halfway through the tag team brief from Julian (on what happened) and Arabella (on the medical status) when Katou rushed in to check on her scientist.
'So she does care about something.' Freya noted to herself.
"We have samples of half the moon." Julian said to Freya and Katou. "They should be in the science lab"
"Compare them to the toxin you may have isolated. Find me the attacker." Freya said to Katou, stunning both Katou and Julian with the tone of her "order". Katou didn't argue though and quickly left the ward to get to work.
Freya turned to Arabella. "Let's work him up. Maybe we can find similarities. And get me the result of the toxin analysis." They worked together for an hour and both Dr. Finn and Rahman were stable in the end but both were showing the same deterioration from the toxin. "I'm going to go check in with science. If your shift ends before I get back, brief the next person." she said leaving Arabella with the two medical mysteries.
Freya tried to hide her general annoyance and disgust for Katou and what she was doing with the embryotics as she entered the lab but one look at the chambers made her flush with anger. 'Burden...bloody hell, they're people!' Freya thought to herself. Katou's attitude toward embryotics was sadly common as a gulf continued to grow amongst the population.
"Who's my attacker?" Freya said looking over the collection. She wanted to lash out at Katou but she was more concerned with curing her patients.
"That one." Katou said pointing to the last sample collected by Camera. "The toxin in it is nearly identical to the one isolated. It mutated a bit in Dr. Finn - evolved to attack his body specifically - it's a fascinating plant actually."
"Thank you." Freya said. There was a vial of toxin and a read out next to the plant in question which she picked up. As much as she wanted to leave, the science labs resources were more extensive. She worked in silence at a computer near Katou and felt her eyes on her most of the time. "There!" she said to herself and kept going. She was breaking down the toxin trying to predict it's next mutation and figure out a way to fight back.
Eventually she could feel people behind her, she turned to see Cameron and Ida hovering behind her, watching her and glimpsed Katou behind them as well. She turned back to the computer and tried to ignore their presence unless they spoke up. The computer was quickly recompiling simulations as she entered new orders trying to find the exact sequence she needed. She could use the toxin to fight the toxin if she could mutate it...if....
"What if you did this?" Cameron said suggesting a series of changes. Freya's fingers flew across the board as she entered in the suggestion. It wasn't right but it was closer. Soon Cameron, Ida and Freya were working together and talking faster than the simulations could be run.
"That's it!" Cameron said as Freya entered another series of changes. The simulation concurred with Cameron's enthusiasm. Less than half an hour later, Freya stormed into sickbay with two vials of what she sincerely hoped were anti-toxins. She took one final blood sample from each of the patients and then treated Dr. Finn first. Arabella should have left already but she'd stayed around well after her shift to help. They waited together silently watching the monitors.
"He's improving!" Arabella said watching the readings. It was slow but they could see that the anti-toxin was doing it's job. Freya decided to take the chance and give a dose to Rahman as well, the sooner he was treated, the better he would recover. Hopefully.
Freya watched the monitors for another hour before she dosed off in her chair, seated between the two of them. When she woke up, she was laying in the bed of a side room and her uniform was draped over the chair waiting for her. She stood and looked around. She quietly changed and was pulling on her boots when she realized she'd been asleep for seven hours. She rushed into the main ward and saw Katou and Captain Hunt standing over Dr. Finn's bed. And Dr. Finn was awake.
"Well done Ms Ryan." Captain Hunt said as she joined them. "Dr. Finn appears to be quite recovered. As does your other patient."
"I'm glad Captain." Freya said looking over the recent readings. "The toxin appears to be all gone." she said happily, ignoring the fact that Katou and Finn said nothing. "You're body took a lot of damage but I think with some rest you'll recover fine." Freya said to Dr. Finn.
He grunted in acknowledgment and Katou took her leave quickly. Freya said nothing as she turned to Rahman's bed and looked over his readings. Like Finn, he was recovered and eager to get out of bed. "A little longer if you please." Freya said with a warm smile for him. She could tell he was about to protest when the alarms from Dr. Finn's bed went off and a red glow illuminated his area.
"What's happening?" Hunt demanded.
"He's crashing Captain!" Freya said as a couple of nurses rushed over. They all but pushed Captain hunt out of their way to get to Dr. Finn's side and assist.
"Is it the toxin?" one of them asked as she handed Freya medicine.
Freya administered the medicine directly into Dr. Finn's chest as it was intended to regulate his heart rate. "No, the toxin was eliminated." she said. Dr. Finn's body seized and bucked against her hand violently.
The alarms silenced save for one, monotonous tone. Freya looked up and saw the flat line. "No!" she shouted and began to pump his chest. With each push, the line jerked roughly up once but nothing more.
After several attempts the nurses stepped back sadly but Freya refused to stop until Captain Hunt put a hand on her shoulder. "Let him go." he said quietly. Freya stared through him, not seeing him for several seconds but she finally backed away from Dr. Finn's lifeless body, still staring through Captain Hunt.
Freya was clearly still in shock as Dr. Finn's body was removed and the quiet rustle of activity settled around her. She couldn't be sure how long she stood in the ward, seeing everything happening around her and yet seeing nothing.
Julian was at her side then. Had he been there for long? She wasn't really sure. "No one blames you Freya." Julian said quietly, slipping his hand in hers, or maybe it had been there all along.
End Chapter
Chapter 16: The Talent Show
"And now we have Erik Langston and Veronica Meyer performing a duet!" Principal Watts announced. The audience clapped with what little enthusiasm they had left. The talent show was almost over and I think most everyone was just ready to be done.
Veronica strode confidently onto the stage and Erik trailed behind her. I could see he was a bit tense at the prospect of performing on stage for such a large (and apparently unappreciative) audience. I stood in the wings and anxiously twirled my hair around my finger as Veronica adjusted the microphone. "We'll be performing 'Two is Better Than One'" she said and smiled. She turned to Erik and gave him a reassuring smile.
The song started with Erik playing as well as singing. He had a wonderful voice and I thought back on the first time he'd song for me. I smiled as I watched Veronica join in the song as well. While she couldn't play a guitar - she had a wonderful voice. She always had but it wasn't a talent she shared often.
So maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
As the song continued, I could tell that Erik was tuning out the audience and the tension rolled away from him. "They're good. Has she always been able to sing like that?" Timothy asked quietly.
I tried not to jump as his voice and presence jolted me out of the song. "Hmm? Yeah, yeah she has."
"How did I not know that?" Timothy asked looking annoyed.
"She doesn't share it often. The last time I remember her singing in public was in third grade." I said with a laugh, thinking back to the third grade performance. Veronica had wowed the audience with her solo and then tripped and fell as she returned to her place in the crowd of awkward third graders.
"Ah. Anyway, we're up next and I don't know where Todd is." Timothy said.
"What?!" I said a bit loudly. I peeked around the corner but none of the audience seemed to have heard me so a wheeled around to face Timothy. "What?" I hissed. He just shrugged. I hurried away from him in hunt of my Romeo. "Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?" I muttered to myself as I pushed through the backstage crowds of acts - most of whom had already gone. "Have you seen Todd?" I asked several people but most only shrugged or shook their heads.
I found him crashed out in one of the side dressing areas. I knelt down beside him and prepared to shake him awake when I caught a strong whiff of alcohol. "Damn it Todd!" I hissed and whacked him on the shoulder but he didn't so much and grunt.
If he weren't snoring loud enough to be a freight train I would have checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive. I was standing there trying to figure out what to do when Timothy walked in and spotted us both. "Oh there he is!" Timothy said. "Hey Todd! Wake up!" Timothy said reaching down to shake Todd.
"No! Leave him." I said quickly, hoping Timothy wouldn't notice the smell of alcohol. Todd couldn't go on stage. "You know Romeo's lines right?" I asked.
"What? Well yeah I do but...why?" Timothy asked looking confused and a little frustrated.
"Todd doesn't look like he's up for it, we'll cut the Friar out and you can be Romeo. Come on." I said ushering Timothy out of the room and closing the door firmly behind us, hoping no one would stumble on Todd.
We were back in the wings just as Erik and Veronica were finishing up their duet. They looked like a couple in love as they sang the final lines to each other as opposed to the audience.
'Cause, baby, two is better than one
But there's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
But I'll figure it out
When all is said and done
Two is better than one
Two is better than one
"Are they...?" Timothy asked, leaving the question hanging.
"I don't think so...are they?" I asked looking at him.
He shrugged. "Not that I know of...I thought you would know."
I shook my head and looked back at Erik and Veronica as they received much more enthusiastic applause. "I don't know." I said feeling another sting of jealousy. 'I'm seeing James, I'm seeing James - I shouldn't be jealous....' I told myself over and and over again as Timothy and I rushed in behind Erik and Veronica to set up our little tomb set. Erik put his guitar down and helped us, a few times our hands brushed each others' and I fought to urge to giggle or blush. 'James James James...'
The last of the set was staged and Erik jogged off stage as I took my place in the fake tomb bed and quickly draped the blanket over myself. Timothy was waiting just off stage to make his entrance and I could hear him whispering his new lines as Romeo to himself.
Timothy entered the stage and took in the sight of me as his departed Juliet. Considering he should have been playing a different role entirely, he had the lines memorized and gave his speech well.
Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death!
Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!
Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!
Here's to my love!
He took a drink from an imaginary bottle in his hand then and started to fake stumble.
O true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.
Timothy leaned forward and gave me a quick, gentle stage kiss before pretending to fall to the side of my tomb and die. I ran through the lines that should have happened between Juliet and the Friar in my head quickly and began to rise from my bed, looking happy and refreshed to meet Romeo.
Leaning forward from the bed I gasped at the sight of Romeo on the ground and hurried to the floor beside him.
What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand?
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end:
O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop
To help me after? I will kiss thy lips;
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,
To make die with a restorative.
I leaned forward to return the kiss Timothy had given me before. "Thy lips are warm." I looked up, pretending to hear a noise from outside the tomb. "Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" I said snatching a pretend dagger from Romeo. "This is thy sheath;" I thrust into my chest to stab myself, "there rust, and let me die." With a final, perhaps dramatic, flourish, I collapsed into Timothy's arm and played dead.
I kept my eyes closed and tried to feign death for a moment or two. Slowly the audience began to clap and Timothy and I got to our feet and took a few quick bows. The clapping got a little more enthusiastic as we got up and Timothy and I grinned at each other and then cleared our set for the last act. "Not bad...considering." I said with a smile.
"You did great." Erik said as he helped get the tomb setup back stage.
I left Timothy and Erik to deal with the setup and went back to the dressing area hoping to find Todd awake - or gone even. When I walked in he was moving at least so I jabbed him a few times. "Get up!" I said loudly.
"Gah, wha?" Todd muttered as he rolled over and put an arm over his eyes.
"You need to get out of here or pretend to be sober, you're at the talent show damn it!" I said poking him again just because I was upset with him.
"Could you stop poking me?!" Todd shouted, now fully awake. "I am sober..."
"Yeah right!" I said as I heard footsteps and the door opening. I stood and smiled as Erik, Veronica and Timothy came in laughing together. "Good show everyone! You two were incredible!" I said to Erik and Veronica, trying to ignore Todd.
"We were weren't we?" Veronica said with a laugh and gave Erik a hug as James came in holding flowers.
"Ah there is my fair Juliet." he said with a smile. I turned to him and grinned, trying to keep my focus from Todd or Erik. He held out the flowers to me.
"They're beautiful." I said taking them. "Thank you, and thank you for coming." I said taking his hand in mine.
"You are beautiful." he said leaning into me and whispering in my ear.
"And you're a charmer." I said with a laugh.
"Always." he replied pulling me into a tight hug.
"Why don't we all go out for a late dinner." he suggested, squeezing my hand and addressing my friends. "Or just a late snack."
"Sure." Timothy and Erik said at the same time. I caught Veronica looking from me to James and then to Erik and back again. I wasn't sure what was going through her mind and I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know.
"We'll get changed." I said looking around and most everyone was nodding, Todd was holding his head and looked like he was in pain. 'Good' I thought to myself. "We'll meet out front." I said aloud to everyone as they dispersed to change as needed. Veronica threw a coat on and walked out of the dressing area with Erik and Timothy. Okay maybe it was really only me that needed to change...I smiled at James, "I'll be out in a flash." I said as he left and Todd soon dragged himself out as well.
End Chapter
Chapter 17: The Wreck
Blink.
Blink.
Blink. The bright lights swirl under the eyelids even as they close again.
I was sitting in another school, an hour from home, getting ready to for another awards ceremony. There was no chance of me ending up on the stage this time but James, who was sitting next to me, looked anxious for the first time since I'd met him. This wasn't like any other speech and debate tournament though, this was a regional tournament which could lead to the state tournament and eventually the national tournament - if he placed. I smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze as my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Veronica's name on the caller ID but slid it back into my pocket as one of the hosts walked on to stage. Several minutes later my phone buzzed again - Veronica. It was unusual but not unheard of for her to call me several times in some sort of imagined panic about what to wear to school so I ignored it again. She knew I was out of town and couldn't be much help to her anyway. As the awards were being presented, the phone buzzed again - this time it was a text message from Veronica. "Call me now!" Three little words that suddenly made me very anxious. This wasn't an imagined panic on her part. "Be right back." I whispered to James and slid past him and quietly out of the auditorium, punching in Veronica's number as I walked.
"Todd has been in a wreck!" Veronica all but shouted as a way of answering her phone.
"What!?" I said loudly, slipping into an empty classroom. "What happened?"
"I don't know exactly, but there was fire and he's on his way to the hospital. When will you be home?" Veronica explained quickly. "No that way!" she added, clearly not to me.
"Um..." I said trying to process it, the ceremony would take at least another hour plus the drive and waiting on the rest of the team and everything else. "It could be a few hours." I said finally.
"Well you should get home, we're at the hospital now, I gotta go." she said and clicked her phone off.
I stared at the phone confused and felt warm tears form in my eyes. "Ginny?" I jumped as James appeared behind me. I hadn't even heard him come in the classroom. I turned to face him and he took in my tears and wiped them away with his thumb. "What's wrong?"
"A friend of mine...Todd, remember him?" I asked knowing he would. "He was in a car wreck tonight. Veronica doesn't know anything really." My brain was trying to figure out how to get back home as fast as possible. "I need to get home, I need to see him...." I said mostly to myself as I prepared to dial Information and get a cab.
James put his hand over mine to stop my dialing. "I'll take you home Ginny." he said simply.
"But the awards' ceremony, you could win..." I protested.
"And it can be accepted by one of my teammates or a coach. There will be other award ceremonies. Come on, call your dad to make sure he doesn't have a problem and I'll go tell my coach I'm leaving." James said. He kissed me quickly on the cheek and left before I could protest anymore so I did what he said and called my dad.
My dad said he was on his way to the hospital with Mrs. Anderson now and it was fine. "Just be careful kiddo." he added, I suspected he was thinking of Todd as he said it. In the background I could hear Todd's mom crying.
"I will" I said as James returned carrying my bag and his. "I'll be home soon Dad." I said and ended the call while following James out to the parking lot.
I was quiet during the return trip, thinking about Todd and worried for him. I wondered if he'd been drinking or not. I wondered if he was okay. I wondered a lot of things as I stared out the window into the night. James didn't try to interrupt my thoughts. Occasionally he would put a hand on my hand and just hold it tenderly but he never said anything, clearing sensing that I wasn't ready to talk. Before I realized we were close, James was parking the car and came around to open the door for me.
I ran into the hospital and saw Timothy and Veronica standing awkwardly together while Mrs. Anderson, my dad and a couple of medical staff were talking near the desk. Veronica saw me and pointed to the room where Todd was - I knew they'd stop me if I tried to go in so I just walked over to look in the windowed ICU room.
At first, he seemed mostly unscathed but as I watched him I noticed small things like the bruise forming on his head, and the tip of the cut I could see on his neck. I wondered if most of the damage was under the covers and found myself staring at the shape of the lump under the blanket. Was his arm at an odd angle? What about his leg? Did he break something? I realized I wouldn't be able to figure it out and slowly backed away from the window. My dad saw me and nodded but stayed by Mrs. Anderson's side. I could see her trembling as the doctor spoke and wondered what he was telling her.
James was sitting in the small waiting area and Timothy and Veronica were sharing a bench together, Timothy had a comforting arm around Veronica. I wanted to smile at the moment but I couldn't so I simply sat down next to James. He immediately put an arm around me and pulled me close to him.
"Thank you." I said softly.
"Anything for you." he said quietly.
The four of us sat there in silence for several minutes while the doctors continued to talk to Mrs. Anderson. I wanted to badly to know what was wrong with Todd but no one came to update us. Eventually my dad came over and took a seat, followed closely by Mrs. Anderson. "You guys can go in and see him now, but only one at a time." she said, her voice breaking with each word. The others turned to look at me, clearly expecting me to go first.
James and I stood in unison. "Thank you for bringing me home James..." I said. I knew his phone had buzzed a few times and he was ignoring it, I suspected his parents were waiting on him. "You should probably get home." I said with a weak smile.
James nodded but didn't move, reluctant to leave. "I should." he finally said.
I gave him a tight hug. "Thank you, I really appreciate it." I said holding on to him.
"Anytime m'lady." he whispered. "I'll call you." he said, kissing my cheek once more. He waved to the others and was gone before I'd made it to the door of Todd's room. I slid the door open quietly and was thrilled to see Todd's eyes open, though dazed looking.
As I was about the slide the door shut, I heard a couple of the nurses talking at the desk. I lingered a second longer in closing the door as the words "drunk" and "driving" reached my ears. I closed my eyes briefly, collecting myself and finished closing the door and turned back to face Todd.
"Good to see you awake." I said. "How do you feel?"
Todd struggled to sit up some as I got closer to his bed. "Been better" he croaked. His voice was rough.
"What happened Todd?" I asked, hoping the nurses had been talking about another patient or something completely unrelated to Todd.
"What do you think?" Todd asked still fussing with the bed and trying to get comfortable.
"I don't know what to think. I don't like what I think might have happened." I said adjusting the blankets around him. "We're you drinking?" I asked finally.
Todd stopped messing with the blankets and bed and wouldn't meet my eyes.
"We're you drinking Todd?" I asked again. Todd didn't reply and I knew. "You were. You were driving drunk...did you hurt anyone else?"
"No!" Todd shouted. "I ran into a tree!" he said and started messing with the blankets again. His right leg was exposed for a moment and I could see that at least the foot was wrapped for a burn. I gasped and stumbled back.
"Oh Todd...." I said softly, shaking my head. Todd followed my gaze and quickly covered his foot with the blanket.
"Just go Ginny." Todd said leaning back and looking away from me.
I hesitated for some time, trying to find the words - any words really but I couldn't. I stepped forward and took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently. "Please get better soon." I whispered and then retreated out into the waiting area. Veronica and Timothy looked at me expectantly but I just waved them to his room so they could see for themselves. I didn't know what to say or maybe I didn't want to say anything.
Eventually we all went home. I sat quietly in my dad's car as we drove home feeling lost and confused about Todd. I felt my dad's eyes on me several times, but like James he didn't try to interrupt my solitude. He didn't ask me about Todd or the tournament as we walked into the house together and he didn't try to stop me as I retreated to my room.
Several days later, Todd was finally released from the hospital. He had burns on the lower part of his legs but chances were they would heal for the most part. His bruises were turning a sickly golden color and the deeper cuts had been stitched up and treated. Everyone said he was lucky to be walking away at all. I'd watched from a couple lots away as his burnt, still new car was towed away from park where he'd crashed. The tree now bore scorch marks and the grass and bushes where the fire had been were blackened and dead or dying.
I'd heard from Veronica that Todd had been grounded once his parents learned about the drinking. I wasn't sure Mrs. Anderson would let me see him but I took a chance and rang the doorbell - something I couldn't remember doing in years. Todd and I practically lived at each others houses as children - we joked that we had two families and two houses each. "Ginny!" Mrs. Anderson said, surprised to see me waiting on the doorstep. Clearly she was remembering the same things I was. "He's grounded - but you can go up an see him." she said giving me a weak smile.
"Thanks." I said quietly. I walked past her and took the steps two at a time until I reached the door to Todd's room. I stopped in my tracks and wondered if I could go in. I knocked once and without waiting for a reply, I pushed the door open.
"What are you doing here?" Todd asked.
"Making sure you're still alive." I said with a faint smile. I sat on his bed near him and saw a small bit of the darkness in him disappear.
"I'm pretty sure my grounding includes being grounded from death." Todd said with a chuckle, then he grunted and held his chest - he was still sore from the wreck.
I smiled. "I hope so." I said. "My world wouldn't be the same without my best friend."
"Are we still friends?" Todd asked seriously.
"Yes, always." I said. "You killed my egg baby - we recovered from that, we can survive anything." I said grinning.
Todd laughed again and then groaned. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts."
"I'm here Todd - if you need me. I'm here." I said seriously, reaching out for his hand as I spoke. "Please need me, talk to me..."
End Chapter
Chapter 14: The Tournament
I sat on the bus anxiously drumming my fingers. Right after the holidays, I'd been encouraged to join the school Speech and Drama club by a couple of my teachers. It had been fun and interesting in practices but now I was on a bus to my first actual tournament. I didn't know what to expect really so I was growing more nervous as the bus approached Franklin High School. I wondered if the elusive Sir James would be there but as far as I knew he wasn't in the Speech and Drama club so why would he be at his school on a Saturday? But then what did I really know about him?
When I walked into the high school, the first thing I noticed was all the red. James had said red was one of their school colors but was there this much blue at Carson? I thought hard and realized there probably was. The various school teams were shuffling into the cafeterias and claiming tables for their teams so I followed along with my team mates, ready to take in the experience. The Carson High group took up a couple of tables and soon all the tables were cluttered with bags, boxes, papers, notebooks, stuffed animals and assorted things but most of the people had clustered around the walls where pieces of paper were taped up all around.
I hung back and waited for the crowds to lessen before approaching the nearest wall. I realized why the crowd had gathered instantly, these were the lists of prelim rounds for all the various events with room numbers. I was entered in three events so I sought out my name and wrote down my room numbers in my small notebook. "Good luck Ginny!" a few people called as they left to go find their own rounds. I smiled and nodded in their direction and then figured now was as good a time as any to hunt down my first room. I was less than ten feet outside of the cafeteria, focusing on the tiny map the tournament hosts had provide when I bumped into someone and stumbled backwards, falling hard!
"Oh, ow!" I said loudly. I felt my cheeks flame red both from the fall and my loud reaction. I looked up finally to see who I had run into, alternating between hoping it was a team mate or a stranger. It was neither...
"My queen." James said with a playful smile on his face as he looked down at me.
"Um...uh...er...." my mouth made incoherent sounds as I tried to process the fact that he was here and that I was sitting less than gracefully on my butt. "Hi." I finally said as he offered me his hand to help me up.
"Good morning Queen Genevieve." he said as I righted myself.
"I think you can officially call my Ginny now." I said as I dusted off my pants.
"Nay, I fear I cannot - you stipulated two dances I believe." he said with a wink. "Are you alright?"
"Um, yeah, I think I am." I said looking at him and giving him a smile. "Do you run into all the guests at your school?" I teased, recovering myself.
"Only the special ones." he replied. "May I assume, since you are here at my school, that you are here to compete in the tournament?"
"Yep. Although to be fair, this is my first time." I said. "You?"
"Not my first." James said with a smile. "But I hope for my sake we are not against each other in any events, I would have to concede defeat immediately."
I laughed. I glanced at my watch and realized I still needed to find my room and time was growing short. "While I am beginning to enjoy our little chance encounters like this; I have a round to get to and have no idea where the room is yet." I said regretfully.
"Perhaps I could show you the way?" he offered. "I have no event at this time and I do know this school pretty well." he offered his arm to me. I accepted his arm with a smile and then told him where I needed to go. "Dramatic Prose." he said instantly knowing which event I was headed towards. "I look forward to it."
"Oh no! You can't stay." I said and then bit my lip regretting the words. "Uh, it's just that...you might...throw me off."
James looked at me for a moment and I held my breath wondering what he would say. "My presence effects you that much m'lady?" he asked with a flirty smile.
I looked down at my feet as the blush crept up again. "Um...yeah." I said to the ground.
"I'll be really quiet and promise not to smile at all." he offered.
"Fine you can stay." I said looking up at him. "But if I see so much as a twitch of your lips..." I trailed off recalling the interrupted dream I'd had.
"Yes? What about my lips?" he asked as we stopped in front of the room I need. He'd raised his eyebrows at my halted speech.
"Er...nevermind." I said and hurried into the class room. I heard him 'hmm' behind me as he followed me in but he didn't say anything.
James stayed true to his word and did nothing to disturb me during my prose. In fact, having a familiar face in the audience proved handy as it gave me someone to focus on occasionally without feeling weird. "Am I allowed to smile now?" he asked as we left the room together.
"Yes, I think you can." I said giggling. "Thanks for showing me to the classroom..."
"It was my pleasure m'lady." he said taking my hand in his and raising it to his lips. "I'm afraid I must depart your company now though, for I have my own round to attend. Will you be able to find your next room?" he asked.
I glanced at the notebook and the map and realized my next room was only around the corner. "I think I can manage." I said. "I hope chance brings us together again."
"I suspect it will." he said with a wink.
"Break a leg." I called after him as he walked away. He turned and waved to me as he left. I sighed contently and walked to my next round. I was the first one there so I settled in to work on my notes. This was a debate round, which was completely different from my already prepared dramatic prose. I smiled as a couple of my team mates from Carson came in carrying some of the research files for our team and made room for them near me.
The debate round went well, as did my final prelim round. I managed to find my way back to the cafeteria which now had a scattering of people playing games and listening to music. When people weren't in their own rounds or watching those of friends, they tended to congregate and pass the time here it seemed. Since most of the semi-final rounds didn't start for another hour, several board games had been pulled out. James materialized by my side and smiled at me. "I hope your prelim rounds went well m'lady." he said.
"I think they did." I said.
"Care to join me for a game to pass some time?" he asked motioning to where a Monopoly board was being set up at the Franklin High team table. I shrugged and followed him over.
We opted to play by altered "Quick Rules" due to potential time constraints. One of the first squares I landed on was "Chance."
"I hope it's good." James said winking at me.
"Chance seems to have been favoring me lately." I flirted. I saw James silently chuckling as I read the card (which was good in fact).
We didn't actually manage to finish the game before players started having to leave for semi-finals but it wasn't really important, we'd had a great time. The board was left out as it was - a tradition with Franklin apparently. Other players would show up and pick up the game where we'd left off from what James said. James and I had both advanced in events so we had to part company once again. I was at little sad to see him walk away but he turned and smiled at me before turning around the corner.
My semi-finals for debate and dramatic prose went well but I didn't advance for the prose. I was very surprised to see my name on the list for the debate finals though. I also saw James's name up there, among the others.
I wasn't sure if chance had turned against me or simply had a wicked sense of humor. James and I had been paired up to debate against each other and I remembered him jesting about conceding defeat. I wondered if it wasn't me who should be conceding. I prepared as well as I could and was ready for my brain to stop malfunctioning as I stared at his handsome face instead of making a logical argument but my brain surpassed my expectations. I felt pretty good about myself actually for even making it to the final round at my first tournament.
I had the audience in the palm of my hand...and then James spoke with his silky smooth ways and easily managed to persuade them to see his point of view. Despite a winning rebuttal from me, he could turn them back again when it was his turn. He had me thinking his way and I was supposed to be arguing the opposition. He was good - very good. Of course so were all the competitors in the final round. Watching each debate was like watching a tennis match with words.
"You were good." James said as we left. "Very convincing, if my coaches wouldn't have kicked me off the team, I would have conceded right then." he said grinning.
"No YOU were good. I was ready to just say 'He's right, I'm wrong' half way through the debate." I said with a laugh.
"Well you didn't show it." he said. "I have to go catch up with my coaches but...will you sit with me at the awards ceremony? We can span the gap between Franklin and Carson..." he suggested.
I smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."
At the awards ceremony, one of the Franklin coaches started off the evening. "Good evening and thank you all for being here! I know you all got here very early this morning and you're probably tired but....this is the best part!" she said with a smile. Everyone laughed and I heard several people murmuring their agreements. Trophies were always a perk.
The ceremony was long but there were a lot of laughs as people got their awards and there was more school spirit from each small school group than there was at most school wide pep rallies. Every trophy was greeted with whoops and hollers from the winning school and also from the rest of the audience.
When the presentation of Debate awards came up, I felt James hand slip into mine slowly - perhaps even nervously. I turned to smile and him and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Winning third place, from Carson High School..." the announcer was saying. I was the only one in the debate finals from Carson and my eyes went wide. "...Genevieve Bartlett!" I heard my school mates cheering but James was louder than them in my ears.
I walked, slightly less than gracefully due to surprise, to the stage and clutched the trophy in one hand and the hand of the presenter in the other. I stared at it and then the audience in shock as I moved to the side. They asked all the placers from each event to wait on stage for the whole event to be presented.
I was still stunned so I didn't even hear the name of the second place winner. I looked over at her as she stepped over to me. She vaguely recognized her from the final round and seeing her around. Hadn't she played Monopoly with us? Abigail something? She looked annoyed now that I examined her.
I shrugged her off and turned my attention back to the announcer. "First place, from our very own Franklin High School, James Dunmire!" she almost shouted the name - clearly excited to announce a school victory.
James, unlike me, showed neither surprise or shock. He was calm and graceful as he accepted his trophy. He smiled at the audience which was now roaring in appreciation. I wondered if it was all for James or had to do with the fact that this was the last event to be presented.
Finally, after several cameras from the audience flashed around us, the three of us were released. Abigail Something frowned the whole time and stomped back to her own school group angrily. She shrugged off all the congratulations. I watched her leave and James slid over to take her spot next to me. "She's usually like that." he said following my gaze.
"Sore loser?" I asked to which James just shrugged. "Congratulations." I said turned to him.
"And to you my Queen." he said bowing his head slightly.
"You really can call me Ginny ya know." I said with a laugh.
"I know." he winked at me. "But I'm holding out for that second dance."
"Ah!" I said nodding. "Maybe chance will continue to favor us."
"I can only hope m'lady." he said.
I grinned and pulled out the cell phone I could see in his jacket pocket. "Or we can give chance a helping hand." I said as I programmed my cell and house number into his phone under the listing of 'Queen Genevieve'. "Call me?"
"As you wish my queen." he said leaning closer. His face was inches from mine and he lingered a moment before giving me a light kiss on the cheek. "Until we meet again."
End Chapter
