A new nightmare...

Posted on 08 May 2016 @ 11:42pm by Lieutenant Commander Adam Casey & Commander Jayla Kij

948 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Timeline: MD6 0800

As Adam opened his eyes, for one brief moment, everything was fine and normal. Then it hit him, where he was, and what had happened. He had fallen asleep next to the girls, and as he stood up, he looked at both of them. Maria, his youngest, looked a little better, and there was colour in her cheeks as she slept. Adam smiled, and kissed her forehead gently, not waking her up. He then turned to Amy, and kissed her forehead just as gently, watching over both of them, not wanting to wake them. He would let Harvey know he wouldn't be on duty today; his friend would understand, of course.

Jayla returned to Sick Bay the following morning to find Casey already awake, but his girls still asleep. "Good morning!" she said quietly, so as to not wake the girls. "How did they sleep?"

"Maria slept like a baby, thankfully. Amy...she seemed to have trouble sleeping. Probably just restless, poor girl. She's never been ill before, but then, we've never been off Earth before." Adam replied, his voice low so the girls didn't hear him.

"Poor thing," said Jayla. "Let me get my tricorder and I'll check her over."

"Appreciate that doc." Adam replied, looking over the two girls as he spoke. "I should have expected this might happen sooner or later. They've never been ill, but it does happen. If it's something they ate on the planet, I'll be having a few strong words with them."

Jayla grinned and quickly retrieved her tricorder. A quoka can of Maria revealed a common, run of the mill virus. "Nope, they've definitely got a bug," she said. "Maria looks like she's fighting it off well enough. That's good." She then turned to Amy. The same virus turned up, but also traces of something else. "Hm," said Jayla, brow furrowing. "She seems to have something else going on, but she's young and strong. I'm sure she'll fight if off. I'll take a blood sample from each of them for further study, but maybe I'll wait until they wake up."

"What do you mean, something else?" Adam asked, frowning as he looked at her. "What kind of something else?"

"I'm not sure, yet," said Jayla. "Another virus. It could be benign or at least harmless to humans, but obviously we don't need her carrying something that could be harmful to other people. I'll run some tests and figure it out."

"Another virus? From where?" Adam asked. "I thought it was food poisoning or a bug of some kind? Have you encountered it before?"

"I don't think so," answered Jayla. "But I'll know more after some blood tests. Don't worry. The probability of it being serious isn't very high. I'll take care of her."

Adam shook his head and sat down in the chair that had been given to him. "This is my fault. I should never have taken them off world." He said, placing his head in his hands.

"You can't live your life in a bubble," said Jayla, crossing to him and laying one hand on his shoulder. "Kids get sick. They're lucky they made it this long without getting sick before. It's not your fault. When she gets better, all they're going to remember is the lovely vacation and that they got to spend if with daddy."

"I did live in a bubble though. I never used to be like this; I had to protect my girls. In truth, I've probably over protected them since their mother died. I just...it killed me inside. If anything happened to the girls...I don't know what I'd do." He explained.

Jayla nodded. She knew what he meant. Well, at least she had a general idea of what he meant. She felt that way about her younger sister. "I won't let anything happen to them," she promised. "I'll make sure they get better."

Adam nodded. "Thanks Doc. I appreciate that. I just...you don't mind if I stay with them, do you?" He asked. "I don't think I could leave them."

"Absolutely," said Jayla. "You can stay as long as you like. Once they're awake, I'll run some blood work and then most likely, they'll be able to go home."

Adam sat down in the chair as he looked at the two girls. "That's good. I just need to make sure they're okay. I know, I'm a worrier, but all part of the job." He said. "You have kids?" He asked, leaning back in the chair.

"Never got around to it," she admitted. "Also, I suppose one would actually have to find someone with whom one wanted to have kids, so that's an issue, too."

"Yes, that usually helps." Adam agreed, nodding as he looked at the girls. "But I hope that you are able to find someone. Family...there's nothing like it. An old friend of mine always said that every man should have a code, and his was family. He believed that there was nothing more important, and you should never give up on yours, even if they give up on you."

"I can't argue with that," replied Jayla. "I know I'd always be there for mom and dad and my sister. We're pretty close, me and Jess."

Adam smiled. "It's the same with Amy and Maria. They've never spent a night apart, from each other or from me." Adam said. "I should probably get a little more sleep though. Will you wake me if there are any changes?"

"Absolutely," said Jayla. "You get some rest. I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thank you." Adam said, as he leant back, looking at the girls again before closing his eyes.

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