Doc came out with a frown to the worried waiting group outside of Scarlett's room after Duke had notified him of the additional complication. "Thank you Duke, she was trying to just pretend she knew what was going on because she was scared." He sighed, then continued, "But it means we have a more serious problem. It looks like her memory has been damaged. Right now, she doesn't remember who she is, or anything about herself. That could be from the trauma, as a physical or psychological factor." He cleared his throat unhappily, "But, it also appears that her short term memory has been damaged. Again, we won't know if it is permanent until she's had time to recover."

"What do you mean her short term memory is damaged?" Jaye looked confused.

"Right now at least, she can't move things from her short term memory to her long term memory. So you can have a conversation with her, explain what is going on, and in 20 minutes to a day, she will again have no knowledge of what happened to her."

"She knows nothing? How is that possible? She was able to understand my signing." Snakes signed, the concern and frustration evident on his body.

Doc frowned a little, digesting that, "Well, she likely has access to things on a subconscious level. Which gives me hope that the overall amnesia is reversible."

"What about the short term loss?" Duke finally spoke from where he had been standing and brooding.

"That is most likely physical and only time will tell if it goes away or improves."

Duke sighed, "Well, I should go tell her father. I'd like to arrange it so they can visit at some point, probably in a neutral location, if she can be moved. Otherwise, for now, I think it is best if she is kept on base."

Hawk nodded, "I agree. The reemerging memories make her dangerous to us, and the inability to tell friend from foe makes it dangerous for her."

Agreement came from the rest of the team and they split apart to spread the information on her condition.

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After having spoken with her father again, Duke returned to sickbay to sit with her a while. He opened with door, peeking in to make sure she was awake, "Mind if I come in?"

She smiled and nodded, "Come on in." She tried to cover the loss because it made her feel so vulnerable, but it was very disconcerting when she did it.

"Do you remember who I am?" He held onto the hope that she would just suddenly pop out of this. She shook her head sheepishly and he continued. "My name is Conrad, we work together and are very close friends."

She nodded and wrote something down on in a notepad. He resisted the urge to go look over her shoulder, keenly aware that as far as anyone knew, he was only her commanding officer and he didn't know how to deal with that yet. As she kept writing, curiosity got the better of him. "What are you doing?"

She gave a sly smile, so close to the ones she used to give him when he was teasing her, it hurt. "Cheat sheet." She looked down at the paper, "I'm Shana, but people call me Scarlett. I'm in a hospital, I was shot, everyone just calls my doctor 'Doc', and he's a black man who wears glasses and olive drab."

He couldn't help but smile, "Clever Shana. How am I described?"

"Tall, big, blonde military guy. Goes by Conrad." She frowned a little, "How is it that I can recognize that you are military but I can't remember that I am?" She let out a frustrated sigh and Duke resisted the urge to take her hand to comfort her.

"You were shot, that will take a while to bounce back from." He gave her a reassuring smile, "But I know you will. You are one of the best out there."

"We were good friends, weren't we." She watched his body language as he stood speaking with her. He choked a little when he tried to speak, and instead just nodded.

A moment passed in silence and then he said, "And I was in the plane with you before it crashed and you were shot. I'm sorry Shana." He cleared his throat a little to cover his nervousness, then sighed. "I should probably go. You need your rest." She nodded vaguely and laid down in the bed, closing her eyes. As he left, she heard him whisper, "I love you Shana."

She looked up as he walked away, reaching for the pad, but then weariness was overtaking her and she decided to close her eyes again, she would remember that, she was sure of it. She repeated "Conrad loves me," to herself a few times, to help her remember.

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Later that night Flint came into Duke's room, bringing a 6-pack of beer. "How are you holding up buddy? I'm sure this is pretty hard for you."

Duke took the offered beer and downed half the bottle in one gulp, "You have no idea. This is a mess whichever way you look at it. She's not going to be able to leave here really until she either recovers fully or we find a way to make sure she can't accidentally betray us. Her dad is pissed that he still has to wait longer to see her...And I hate seeing her like this."

Flint nodded, "We all do buddy. And I know you feel guilty, but you shouldn't You were doing what needed to be done. You had no way to know things would end like this."

Duke nodded morosely. He took another swig of his beer. Flint watched him for a moment, then stood up. "Wait here, you need something more than just beer." Before Duke could protest, Flint was out the door.

"Oh great, just what I need, a stripper or something," He rolled his eyes at Flint, knowing he likely wouldn't be pleased by what he brought back. But nothing had prepared him for when Flint returned and Duke saw what he had in tow. "Jaye...." Duke said politely, while looking back to Flint, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"You can invite me in to start with." He nodded and moved aside so she could walk in. Flint waved and them turned to leave. Duke shot him a questioning glance but only received a smirk in reply. Jaye had settled herself on the couch with a beer, "Now I'm comfortable. This isn't about me, it's about you. You're pretty torn up about Scarlett and Flint thought I'd be better to pry an emotional conversation with you.

Duke rolled his eyes a little and got another beer from the kitchen, "You want anything?" She shook her head and they both sat down on the couch together.

"How is she doing?"

"About the same. Which isn't really great." He picked at the label on his beer.

"How are you doing?" She watched him carefully as he replied.

"I don't know honestly. This is just so strange and I don't know how to deal with it." He gave an exasperated sigh.

"Do you regret not telling her how you feel?" Jaye prodded carefully.

Duke weighed telling her the truth, but felt he couldn't because he couldn't talk to Shana about it first. "Maybe. I just wish I had been there to protect her."

"She cares about you too Duke. She doesn't like to talk about it, but she really does."

He nodded silently then said with a wry smile, "Now is not the best time to deal with all this because no matter what I tell her, she'd just forget in twenty minutes." Jaye chuckled softly. "But honestly, I'm not sure what to do with her. Once she is as better as she will be for a while, I can't decide whether she needs to be kept here or sent home. It's not like we can force her to live out the rest of her life here with us. And what would be done with her after we retire? There's so many considerations there. On the other hand, she potentially could be a security leak if she were to regain her memories. But how likely is it that she would? And if she would, she would probably remember she shouldn't tell anyone about things." He gave a tired sigh.

"That is a difficult question to ask. What does her father say?" Jaye furrowed her brow a bit.

"He is alright with her staying here for now, for protection, but I don't know about the long term. I don't want to send her away, But most importantly, I just want to do what is best for her. I just want to be able to fix this!" His voice showed his frustration with the situation.

Jaye leaned over and gave him a hug, "I know you'll be able to figure out what she needs. And I hold onto hope that she will regain her abilities." She tried to sound as hopeful and reassuring as she could.

"Thanks Jaye." He stood up, "I have to run into town for a couple of things, either of you want to tag along?"

"What are you getting?"

"Just a couple of little get-well soon gifts."

Her curiosity piqued, she stood up too, "Like what? Jewelry? What?"

He rolled his eyes, "Nothing like that. Something that will maybe help her." He shrugged, "I just have to do something."

"I understand Duke. I think Flint and I will hang back, but good luck. You're doing a great job by her so far."

Duke smiled, "Thanks, that means a lot to me. That's all I want to do. I just don't want to make this any worse than it already is for her."

Jaye nodded and opened the door and Duke went out to buy his surprise for Scarlett.