Waking Up

Posted on 25 May 2016 @ 11:41pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Commander Jayla Kij

1,567 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD9 || 1730 hours

Harvey groaned, beginning to stir. As his eyes forced themselves closed again in a vain attempt to adjust to the bright lighting, his other senses began to come alive. His fingers felt the thermal blanket that had been placed over his body and his back felt the uncomfortable cot he'd been placed on.

I'm the Captain, he arrogantly thought, wondering why the hell he wasn't on a biobed. Then he remembered the altercation he had with Jayla shortly before he was drugged. He forced his eyes open, expecting to see himself sealed in a room behind a forcefield.

The Captain was indeed in a room, just not alone. At least seven other cots were in the room, with PADDs and monitors attached to each cot. From what he could tell, just about everyone was unconscious.

Are these others who learned the truth? he asked himself, only to realize later that the room was devoid of senior staff. Harvey rose and made for the door, and was surprised when it opened when the sensors detected his movements. "Someone's overlooking security," he mumbled, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the pain coming from his brain.

Jayla looked up when she heard the door open and blinked as she saw the Captain. Relief flooded through her and she abandoned the patient she'd been checking on to go to him. "Harvey!" she said. "I mean, Captain. Oh, who cares? How are you feeling?" she asked, taking out her tricorder and quickly scanning him. "You still have a bit of a fever. You should still be lying down. But otherwise, you're fine."

"I'm surprised you care," Harvey quipped, not sure why he was allowing her to scan him. As grumpy as he sounded, Harvey still hadn't mustered the energy to try and do something about his situation.

Jayla blinked at him, hurt creasing her brow. "Harv- Captain," she said, sounding even more hurt than she looked. "Why wouldn't I care? Why would you even say that?"

Harvey didn't respond. Instead, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, losing his balance slightly as he did.

Instinctively, Jayla put out a hand to steady him. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking back at her tricorder. "Do you need to sit down? You should probably sit down. Come on," she added, attempting to lead him to a nearby chair.

The Captain groaned, hesitantly accepting the assistance. "Did I have some Romulan Ale or something?" he asked, nearly collapsing into the poor excuse for a chair.

"Not to my knowledge," replied Jayla, studying her tricorder again. "You're a bit dehydrated. Hurley, will you please get a glass of water?" she asked her head nurse and he headed off to the replicator. "Other than that and the slight fever, though, you seem okay. How do you feel otherwise?"

Harvey opened his eyes. Though his vision was clear, his mind was anything but. "I... I have no idea..." He looked up at Jayla. He felt instant betrayal and instant... instant something else. Affection? Love? Harvey closed his eyes and shook his head again.

"What's going on?" she asked, kneeling in front of him. "Come on, Harvey, talk to me. You're the first person to wake up from this and I have no idea how to help you if you don't talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking, how you feel, everything."

"I remember the lab," Harvey said plainly. "I remember seeing your blood samples virus-free." The anger surged, but something else within him calmed it for the moment. "I remember being angry. And then... and then I was on a cot." Though his eyes never left hers, he could tell that the gaze he was giving was not a friendly one. "I remember thinking that you did this," he said, "or that you might be sitting on the cure. Or be the key to the cure."

Harvey closed his eyes again and began to rub his temples. "Hell, I don't know. None of it makes sense."

"That's okay," she said, stowing her tricorder in her pocket and taking one of his hands in hers. "I'm thinking the disorientation will pass. For now, just try to think logically. Maybe that will help. Do you remember accusing me of infecting everyone?"

The captain considered checking his ears to see if someone had performed an unwelcome surgery. "No. I have no memory of that," he replied.

Jayla grinned, the first time she had done so in about three days. "Good," she said. "That means it was all the virus. Which, by the way, you were right. Sort of. I was the key. Well, all Trill were. We're the only ones producing antibodies on our own."

Harvey opened his eyes and looked at her. "Antibodies?" The damned foggy brain was preventing him from making the complete connections.

"To fight the virus," she replied. "You remember the virus, right?"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What I meant was..." He sighed. "The Trill aboard can produce antibodies that combat this virus? Sounds like we might have a fighting chance." Despite the lack of clarity in his mind, Harvey knew that time was running out, and engineering a treatment, much less a cure, would take more time than they had.

Jayla grinned and nodded. "We were able to isolate the T-cells from the antibodies, which we then introduced to the infected," she replied. "Bast, Casey, and I, I mean. Happily, once the immune system realized what those T-cells were up to, it responded with antibodies of its own. We took a few risks and had a few hiccups, but I was able to save almost everyone. We lost six." It was clear that she was unhappy even with such a low number. "Also, one of Casey's daughters was infected with the same virus, and a different one at the same time. It seems that her immune system recognized the threat because of the second infection and she was able to fight it. We're hoping it will lead to a vaccine."

He nodded slowly, getting the impression that they were on the upswing. "Six..." Harvey closed his eyes, not happy with a single loss of life aboard. "Who?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Ensign Fellowes from Engineering," she started. "Also Ensign Atherton and Lieutenant Pallson from sciences, Lieutenant Moises from security and Ensign Lavier from flight control. And I lost Nurse Stanton." She paused a moment as if in respect for the dead. "Cadet Cherno had a bad allergic reaction to the T-cells, but she's stabilized. I think she'll be okay. She's the only one so far."

Harvey accepted the glass of water from Hurley and instantly downed it whole. "We need to let Administrator Falow know right away," he spoke, as he waited for the water to come to his aid. "What about the rest of the crew? Has everyone been treated yet?"

"I've been in constant contact with the doctors on the surface," Jayla told him. "They know everything I know. Everyone in the crew who was showing symptoms has been treated and we're now helping Yolvanda treat their ill. Anyone presenting with new symptoms is treated as they come in. Once we've caught up, we'll treat those who test positive for the virus and then try the inoculation on those who have somehow managed to avoid exposure." She paused. "How are you feeling? Do you think you can make it back to your cot?"

He nodded, but quickly found that he could not stand up. His legs felt like they were under siege by pins and needles, nor would his muscles respond to impulses. "Maybe a hand wouldn't hurt," he said softly. "What about heading back to my quarters? No offense, Jayla, but that cot's a bit uncomfortable."

"I would love nothing more than to let you go back to your quarters," she said, standing and offering him a hand up. "But, it's much easier for me to keep an eye on you here. If you're still improving tomorrow, though, I'll definitely allow it."

Harvey was thankful for the hand. As they walked back towards the other room, Harvey pondered what Jayla had told him, or at least he attempted to. His mind was barely functioning. A nap would do him well.

Jayla didn't say anything as they walked back to his cot, either. She was just glad that he was all right and no longer suspected her of fowl play. That was good. And she had an idea of what the others would experience upon waking up, too. Once they got back to the cot, she helped him lie down and pulled the blanket back up to his chin. "Get some sleep," she said, unable to stop herself from brushing his cheek with the back of her hand. "Now that you can, that is."

Instinctively, he reached up and placed his hand over hers. Harvey wanted to say more, but his body was already yielding to sleep. "Thank you..." he said softly, his eyelids getting heavy. "...Jayla."

Jayla smiled down at his sleeping form for a moment, then leaned over to kiss his forehead. She tucked his arm back under the blanket and left him sleeping with the others. She had more information now that she would have to send to Yolvanda and then she had many more patients to see.

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