.

Chip placed his tray down on the table. All he had grabbed for lunch was half a sandwich and an apple and that was starting to look unappetising. His migraine had downgraded to a killer headache so the lights in the cafeteria weren't offering any excruciating torture but his stomach was protesting the idea of consuming anything solid.

He twisted the top off of his water bottle and reached into his pocket for the bottle of painkillers that he had become rather attached to over the last few days. He dumped out two into his hand and tossed them back just as Lee sat down. He knew his friend had noticed him taking the pills and had no doubt noticed several such incidents over the last little while.

Morton knew the conversation was coming; eventually Lee was going to stop pretending to look the other way about the headaches or some other symptom would rear its ugly head. So far Jamie hadn't found anything promising. The doctor had insisted that the exec report to Med-bay at the start of everyday, at some point in the afternoon and again before he went home. That was a little easier to hide; though he wasn't particularly thrilled about using Nelson's condition as an excuse for his frequent trips to Med-bay.

". . .but he does like to listen to himself talk. Unfortunately it's not about anything useful, except for the imminent alien invasion," said Lee.

Imminent alien invasion? Had Chip heard that correctly? "What?"

"I knew you weren't listening."

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I said, Logan doesn't seem to want to divulge anything useful." Crane wasn't mad at the exec drifting away from the conversation, maybe a little irritated, but the smile remained on his face.

Chip downed his whole water bottle. "Did you really expect him to sing like a canary? Are you going to drink that?" Morton asked pointing to the extra bottle of water Crane grabbed from the kitchen. Crane shook his head and slid the bottle across the table and watched his friend finish that bottle to.

Was it hot in there or was it just Chip? "Look, we both know Alexi isn't done. Sooner or later he's going to surface and I just want you to promise me you're not going to do something stupid."

Lee put on his most innocent face. "Me?"

"No, the other klutzy, self-destructive, stubborn, tragic hero-type that Captains Seaview!"

"I'm not klutzy."

Morton rolled his eyes and stood up pushing his tray to the side. "I'll see you in Nelson's room later this afternoon."

Lee went back to eating his lunch. It was however, not the first lunch he noticed his friend had not eaten this week.

"What's the word today Doc?" asked Sharkey as he entered the medical building.

"I'm afraid there really hasn't been much of a change."

"Is it alright, I mean can I go in and see him? The guys kinda wanted an update and. . ."

A smile appeared on Jamie's face. "Yes Chief you can go in. I just can't guarantee he'll be much of a conversationalist. He needs a lot of rest to recover plus all the medication keeps him under pretty good."

"Thanks Doc."

"Fifteen minutes though, that's all," added Will as he nodded his head towards the Admiral's room.

The crew had come to visit the Admiral once in a while. They all knew that the skipper and Nelson's sister had pretty much been a constant by the man's side and not wanting to intrude had kept themselves away from med-bay. They all popped in for updates; usually it was Sharkey or Kowalski that had been designated the official status checkers.

Sharkey sat down on the chair near the bed that was usually occupied by the Captain. He had actually been in to see the Admiral twice before he was called to rescue Morton and O'Brien. The exec had been a constant presence there as well since his return.

Edith was staying at Nelson's home since she arrived in town. She came in to visit during the evening so Nelson wasn't overwhelmed with visitors during the day. It also gave her a chance to take care of his affairs during the day. Where Nelson found the time for all of his obligations was beyond everyone. At present it was taking five of them to hold things together.

Sharkey was twiddling his thumbs in an effort to occupy his time; the Admiral was asleep when he sat down and he didn't want to wake his boss unjust fully. The deep croak caught him off guard.

"How's crew?"

The Chief looked over at the man in the bed and saw him looking back at him with half opened eyes.

"The crew sir?" Sharkey tried to clarify. The Admiral nodded his head slightly.

"There, there good sir. We're keeping Seaview in tip top shape for you. The boys wanted me to tell you to get better soon."

The Admiral nodded at the news and soon his eyes fluttered close. It was a brief exchange but it offered hope that Sharkey didn't realize he was looking for. The crew had overcome so much; they would get through this too. He was Admiral Nelson after all, nothing kept that man down.

.