Here you go, Chapter 4. It should go without saying that I do not own any of the Jak and Daxter characters. Dr. Lucie and all other OCs are my creations.
As an after thought I probably should have said this in chapter 1, but this story takes place about 7 years after the end of Jak X so Jak is about 26 years old, Keira is about 25, and Doctor Lucie Grizyvinsky is 55, yes shes old. But I've rambled on long enough, time to read, and please review even anonymous reviews are fine.
As always. Please read and review.
-The Beckster
"It's all my fault!" Keira wailed, suddenly finding her voice "I let him out of my sight for a minute and he got into the eco store!" Her legs gave out under her and Jak had to support her and move her to the chair placed next to the bed.
"Keira," he said calmly crouching down next to her and looking into her eyes "Please tell me exactly what happened."
Keira took a few shaky breaths before she could choke out "His usual nanny called in sick today. SO I figured I could watch him for one day without help. How hard could it be? So I was out in the garage working your jet board, Ike was playing with his toys quietly. Then after a little bit, I noticed that he wasn't talking to himself as he played his games. I turned around and he was gone. I thought that he had wandered into the yard and someone had taken him or he had wandered out on his own, but the gate was still locked and closed. So I searched the house. I checked every room in the house and couldn't fund him. Then I noticed that the door to the eco store was opened. The lock must have malfunctioned because when I checked in the room I saw Ike. H-h-he had somehow gotten the dark eco vault to open because when I saw him he was … he was … about to …" she stifled a sob and took a deep shaky breath; tears had started to stream down her face. Jak was still gently holding her face, but he just stared back at Keira in shock. "He was about to stick his hand in the dark eco!" Keira wailed as she dropped her head and pressed her face into Jak's chest "he's going to die and it's all my fault! I should have watched him closer!"
Jak snapped out of his shock and hugged Keira tight "No, shhhh, it's not your fault …" he murmured comfortingly in her ear.
So that explains everything Lucie thought numbly. She walked over to the bed to check the machines keeping tabs on Ike's vitals. He was doing better after almost dying, but his condition was still poor.
"Lucie, we need you down here." Her communicator buzzed to her through her ear piece. "I've got to go, I'll be back soon." Lucie said, but nobody paid her any attention. She slipped out of the room and hurried to the front. When she reached the front she was surprised to find it full.
"Janice, when did we get so many people here?" she asked the head nurse and her best friend.
"What? Oh these aren't patients; they're family and friends waiting. Besides, none of the cases have been serious, just in and out on an hour or two. You had more important things to worry about." Janice handed Lucie a data pad "This one is different. The emergency crews are bringing her in right now. Rape. And it looks pretty bad."
Lucie had just enough time to scan over the data pad before the emergency team pushed the victim through the doors. She was rather young, maybe in her early twenties. Lucie noticed that the team was made up of mostly women; the only man was behind the stretcher out of sight of the victim. He had a black eye forming. Lucie raised a questioning eyebrow and before she could even open her mouth the leader spoke.
"She punched him in the face when he tried to check her. Turns out she still had some fight left in her. She's got a fracture in her right temporal bone and a compound fracture in her left humerus. She was also cut up really badly, we got the worst of the cuts with eco but she lost a lot blood."
"Alright," Lucie said as she motioned for some nurses on standby to take the girl "We've got it from here. And get some ice for that black eye." She called over her shoulder as she walked off to follow the girl. Oh, Precursors, this girl is going to need a lot of eco and a lot of counseling.
Lucie entered the room and the nurses were already working on cleaning her wounds, setting her fractures and getting casts ready. The girl was still conscious but they were getting ready to put her under "It will help with the pain, I promise you're safe here, nobody will hurt you. Now take deep slow breaths" the nurse said soothingly. Lucie was handed an x-ray of the girl's skull and of her arm.
"Get some eco on that head would and put her arm in a cast." Lucie ordered. Then she and the rest of the team set to work on the girl
Jak sat in the hospital room watching his only son struggle between life and death on the bed a few feet away from him and knew he couldn't do anything to help him. He felt like he was going to tear in two, lose control, but he couldn't. Not here in the hospital, not with Keira in his arms, he could possibly kill her. He hadn't lost control like that in years. He knew Keira didn't have fault in letting Ike out of her sight. He's three he's going to wander around Jak thought to himself. It was his fault; he was in a hurry and didn't close the room properly after he got a supply of Eco for the day. It was his fault the room was open for Ike to wander into, his fault his only son was on the brink of death, all his fault … all his fault … all his fault …
Keira had fallen asleep on his shoulder and Daxter was lying on the bed by Ike's head deeply asleep. Jak sat there stewing in his silent thoughts when the room was illuminated with a flash of blue and three familiar figures appeared. The leader looked at Jak and then to Keira and Daxter. "Are they asleep?" Jak nodded silently.
"I was hoping you could come. You'll be able to save Ike wont you?" He looked at the leader ottsel pleadingly.
"We can't promise anything, Mar. Even you weren't that young when you received your channeling abilities. We could make him a channeler like you, but he already has the Dark Eco in his system; he'd be like you, only with less control. Every tantrum, every fit, every emotional outburst from him would turn him into a monster. He could hurt Keira if she was within reach, nothing could control him except for yourself in your Dark Form. But could you bring yourself to that? Could you hurt your own son to save your wife? Your children? Your friends? Your comrades? He'd be more feared that you were. He would have no friends, Keira would even fear him. His siblings would fear him. Can you imagine a six year old being afraid of their older brother because every time they said something to him he didn't like he might kill them? Could you put your future children though that?"
"And if you don't make …"
"If Ike does not become a channeler, he will die in days."
Jak had gently placed Keira in the chair making sure she still slept and was now angrily pacing the room. "So you're telling me I have to sacrifice my only son or the safety of my family?" he asked his voice shaking dangerously. "How can you ask me that? To choose between the two greatest loves of my life. That's like asking me to give up my left arm or my right arm, I need them both!" He stood still and gripped his head in his hands taking a few slow deep breaths trying to keep control.
"There's always the chance that Ike won't become a monster every time he got angry. He didn't come in contact with as much Eco as you were exposed to, but he's so small that his body reacted so badly to it. He may not be as bad as you are, and he might be easier to control. But the only way to know for sure is to make him a channeler. And make him like you. Jak, we'll come back later to get your answer on the fate of your son." The leader raised his staff to summon the blue eco power but Jak cut him off.
"Wait! I've made my choice." He paused for a moment. "Make Ike a channeler. I can control my Dark Form I should be able to control him while in it. And I do have my Light Form, and that's stronger that my Dark Form. I should be able to stop Ike before he does any harm." He looked at the Precursors waiting for their reply, waiting for them to say "No" but they never did. The leader took his staff and lightly touched Ike's heart with the tip while uttering some chant in an ancient tongue. A film of light consisting of White, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, and Black shimmered over Ike's body all the colors were squishing together and pulling apart and moving over Ike like a kaleidoscope. Jak had to shield his eyes and he couldn't help but wonder how Daxter and Keira could sleep through this. Just as the light reached an unbearable intensity, it was gone and Jak was left with spots on his vision.
"It would be best if you were the only one to know about this; for a while at least. Keira doesn't have to know until she's home and has to be wary of his temper." The leader precursor said to Jak. The three Precursors looked at Jak one last time and the Leader raised his staff and they disappeared in a flash of blue light leaving Jak alone in the room. He gently set the still sleeping Keira on his lap so she would be on his shoulder again and Daxter stirred on the bed before waking and asking "Were the Precursors here again? It smells like them again." Jak nodded silently. Daxter looked into his friends eyes and saw a glimmer of hope that had not been there before. Comforted he curled back up and fell asleep.
Jak sat there thinking. Thinking about how everything would be different. How Ike would be changed. He wondered how prominent the eco was in his system and he prayed that it was not very prominent. Jak thought about how Ike could be extremely fussy at times and he couldn't help but fear what would happen to Keira or the new baby If Ike was to lose control. Jak stewed these thoughts over and over in his head until he heard hurried steps coming down the hallway.
Lucie had just left the girl's room and had stopped to get herself a cup of coffee. She was about to take her first sip when her communicator buzzed. She sighed and reached to look at the message. Her adrenaline spiked when she saw that the alert was coming from Ike's room. She abandoned her coffee and ran out of the break room.
Lucie burst into Ike's room, and hurried over to the bed. She sighed audibly in relief when she realized that Ike was not getting worse. In fact, he was getting rapidly better. It doesn't make sense … his blood-eco levels are evening out. That's impossible unless … Lucie shot a quick look to Jak and then turned back to the machines unless his body is absorbing the eco. He might be a channeler. Like father like son perhaps.
Lucie walked over to Jak and he asked her in a whisper "How is he?"
"Better, amazingly better. It's like a complete turnaround. There still is some hope for your son, Mar."
Jak nodded and sat silently for a moment. Lucie saw the ghost of a smile play across his face before he asked "I need a communicator. Do you have one?"
Lucie shook her head "Mine is only connected to the hospital system. I'll go look for one though. I'll be right back." She turned and walked out of the room
"Hey, Janice," Lucie said a minute later as she approached the Nurses' Station "I need to borrow your normal communicator."
Janice handed Lucie her communicator "Here you go."
"Thanks." Lucie smiled and glanced at the clock No way. It's can't be past midnight already! It's been eight hours since Ike got here. Lucie did the math in her head and it really was that late Precursors, no wonder I'm so tired.
She stopped for a second in the break room and grabbed herself a cup of coffee. She downed it quickly and then grabbed another one. She entered the room and handed the communicator to Jak and placed the cup of coffee on the table next to him. He murmured a thanks and she left quickly giving him privacy. Lucie wandered around the hospital for fifteen minutes checking various stations and just trying to kill time. Eventually her wanderings brought her back to the ICU. She knocked on the door to Ike's room and entered.
Daxter was awake now and he and Jak were conversing quietly. They stopped when Lucie walked over and Jak handed her the communicator with a quiet "thank you" Lucie left quickly feeling like they were waiting for her to leave before they started talking again.
Lucie took the communicator back to Janice. "Lucie, you know you really should go home soon." Her friend said before Lucie could even open her mouth to thank her.
"But – "Lucie started but Janice cut her off.
"Don't give me any buts. I've been here as long as you and you know as well as I do we aren't young any more. You can't stay up for two days straight with no sleep and only coffee for fuel like you could thirty years ago. You're fifty-five, not twenty-five. You've already been here for over a day. If you work yourself sick then you won't be helping anyone." Janice said sternly.
Lucie sighed "I know. I just can't seem to drag myself away from the boy. I'm afraid something will happen while I'm not here and –"
Janice cut her off again "Lucie, you know every doctor here and you know they are qualified to take care of anything that should arise. You interviewed them and hired them yourself. Now stop being a worry wart and go get some rest. You aren't committing a crime by taking care of yourself. Besides, Moxie is probably wasting away without you." She added with a smile.
Lucie thought and she realized how achingly tired she was, she had just been pushing the feeling away all night. "I know. Alright, I'll go home, but I'll be back early. Tell Dr. Turina that he is in charge of the boy until I return."
Lucie walked away from the Nurses' Station and headed back to the ICU for one last check. She knocked and entered the room and Jak was still awake talking to Daxter. Lucie walked over to Ike's bed and checked his monitors; he was doing so much better already.
"How is he?" Jak asked.
"Good. Amazing actually. If he continues to get better at this rate we should be able to take him off of the respirator and maybe even dialysis tomorrow afternoon."
Daxter smile and his ears perked up with hope. Jak smiled too. Keira stirred on his shoulder and woke up.
"Jak … Where are we?" she asked groggily and then she sat upright and said "Help me up, I gotta pee."
She stood up as quickly as her large belly would allow her and hurried off to the bathroom that was part of the room.
"Well, I'm going to head home for a few hours." Lucie said after the door clicked shut. "I've got a croca-dog that might eat my apartment and I've been here for over a day. I hate to leave, but I really need to go get some rest and food. Some other doctors should be in and out checking on Ike, they should come at least once an hour. I'll only be gone for a few hours."
"It's alright. You look worn out. Go get some rest. We'll be fine here."
"Okay, well there's a little food station for family of ICU patients down the hall if you get hungry or thirsty. I'll be back in the morning." Lucie said and she walked out of the room.
Lucie entered her apartment and braced herself for impact as a brown blur flew towards her. "Hello, Moxie. Did you miss me?" she cooed to her pet croca-dog. She set moxie down on the floor and walked into the kitchen. She quickly refilled Moxie's food and water before trudging off to her bedroom. She didn't even bother turning on the lights or changing her clothes. She just kicked off her shoes before she fell into bed and was asleep instantly.
Jak stood in the dimly lit hospital room watching his only son sleep. Keira walked back into the room and stood next to Jak giving him a hug. Her face was streaked with silent ears. Jak hugged her back and he heard her stifle a sob. He tightened his hug around her comfortingly.
"He - he's going to pull through isn't he Jak?"Keira asked shakily "He has to."
"Of course he will, Keira. After all, he is my son." Jak said reassuringly smiling to himself. He knew Ike was going to pull through, Ike had to. The room was quiet except for the whirring, clicking, and humming of the medical machines and the beeping of the EKG. The couple passed the night like that, in each other's arms occasionally catching some sleep, constantly watching Ike.
To Be Continued ...