SIX YEARS PREVIOUS
It wasn't as if she didn't know what could happen.
Drew was scared. Terrified would be a better word. This wasn't her usual everyday scared- which she got a lot of experience from, raising a six-year-old- but something new, a dark terror for her husband's life. Doc was a strong man, and a good fighter, but Drew didn't think even he could win against Tsul' Kalu. Especially not during a thunderstorm.
There was an enormous flash of light from outside, followed closely by house-shaking thunder and a man's roaring yell. It was a wonder that Zak hadn't woken up already, but Drew didn't have time to worry about him. She stood up from the couch and paced in front of the elevator nervously. Doc would come inside if he survived the fight.
It wasn't long before the elevator doors opened. Doc was leaning against the wall, shaking, with his hand over his face. Drew ran inside and caught him as he took a step forward and tripped over his own feet.
His breath was hot on her neck as he leaned against her. Finally he said "Drew?" like it was a question.
"I'm here," she whispered, putting her arms around him and drawing him closer. "I'm here, Doc, it's ok. By the powers, don't you scare me like t-"
"Drew, my eye... Can't see..." Doc pushed himself back, one hand on her shoulder, the other covering his right eye. She gently pried his fingers away. There was no blood, but his eye was starting to turn milky white all over. When she let go, he put his hand back.
"What happened?"
"Tsul' Kalu... Lightning..."
"I can't see you like this..." Drew shook her head, then turned and pulled Doc's left arm around her shoulders. "Ok, let's take this one step at a time, big guy. Ready?" She was speaking quietly, like she would to Zak after he had a nightmare. Wearily, Doc allowed her to lead him to the medical bay and take his shirt off. He put his head in his hands as Drew dabbed antiseptic on a scrape on his back.
"You're going to have to take your hand off your eye sometime."
Doc looked up.
"I just need to see it for a few more seconds, darling. I'm not sure I know what to do."
Doc looked as though he had been planning to live the rest of his life with his hand covering his eye. He slowly moved it, feeling his eyelid twitch and tears run down his face, but all he saw was black.
Drew made sure to approach from the side that could see. She took his right hand in hers, holding it down so he couldn't move it, and shone a pencil flashlight in his eye. "Can you see?"
"No," Doc replied, looking defeated. "It's nothing... Like it was never there."
"Lie down," Drew said. "Get some sleep; it's late." She clicked the flashlight off, shaking her head again. "You're not going to like what you see in the morning."
"What else did he do to me?" Doc demanded angrily, grabbing her arm as she tried to turn away.
There were tears in Drew's eyes as she said "I... I'll get you a mirror." She came back with a small hand mirror from their bedroom and showed him the shock of white hair, almost identical in color to her own, that now covered the top of his head. Doc cursed.
"How did this- ?" he half asked, running a hand over his hair.
"The lightning," Drew said. "It must have- I don't know- but-"
Noticing his wife was struggling for words, Doc made her sit on the edge of the bed, putting his arm around her. They shared a few silent moments there, then Drew stood up and made him lay back on the pillow. She shut off the lights and came back to lay next to him, feeling him stroke her hair reassuringly.
"I was scared," she admitted in an undertone.
"I'll be fine," he murmured. He blinked into the blackness and continued, "Eventually."
Drew moved up to his face and put her hand on his cheek. Her thumb brushed over the closed lid of his right eye. "And I'll still love you no matter what else goes wrong," she whispered, kissing him.
Minutes passed. She had almost fallen asleep with her head on Doc's shoulder when she heard:
"Drew?"
"Huh?"
"I love you."