Chapter 4: Nav
"Kate! Wake up Kate" Nav yelled, getting the attention of nearby Buffer and Swain who came and stood at the door frowning.
"What going on Nav?" asked Swain, giving her a confused look?
"Swain! Thank god! It's Kate- she not breathing!"
Hearing this Swain sprung into action, quickly coming over to Kate and feeling her neck again. He nodded quickly
"Yeah, you might be right, but I can't really tell. Buffer, get over here and help me carry her into the ward room, I'll check her out properly there. Nav go ahead and get me some adrenaline from the drug safe and get Bomber over to help me when you can. Also patch me through to fleet medical while I try to at least stabilise her".
Swain picked Kate up by her arms while Buffer took her by the legs and together they carried her down the corridor into the ward room. They lay her down and Swain again felt for her pulse.
"Ok, I think I got a weak, thready pulse. I don't understand how this had happened" he said frowning. Suddenly Nav returned with Bomber behind her. Nav put the drugs she was carrying down and handed Swain the radio headset.
"Fleet medical, standing by Swain" she said.
"Good, can you go inform the captain, we will most probably have to return to base ASAP"
Nav nodded and left Kate in Swains and Bomber's capable hands. She exhaled deeply as she stepped up onto the bridge.
"How did this happen to her? Yes, she looked a little off yesterday, but how did she get to the point where she had almost no pulse?" Nav thought to herself.
"Good, did you find the X?" asked Mike, turning around to face Nav.
"Um no Sir" said Nav slowly "something has happened........to the X".
Nav explained everything to the CO, from Nav finding her in a coma-like state, to Swain calling fleet medical. Mike was speechless in worry and quickly said.
"Ahh....ok, I'm going down there to see what's going on....um, Nav has the ship".
When Mike got down to the ward room, he saw Kate lying down, asleep on the stretcher, with Bomber attending to her drip. Swain was standing off to the side, with his back to Mike, talking into the radio headset.
"Right.....well I still don't understand how it happened.........anything else we can do here to help her....Ok well I'll keep her hydrated until we get back to base" Swain sighed and took off the headset. He turned and saw the captain standing in the doorway, looking down at the X.
"What's happened to her Swain?" Mike asked, not taking his eyes off a helpless Kate.
"Sir, when Nav found her, she had no pulse, but when I bought her in here, I found she did have a weak and thready pulse. The doctor I was talking to over the radio thinks she has fallen into some sort of coma".
"How?" Mike asked "yesterday she seemed a little pale and exhausted, how did she go from that, to a full blown coma?"
"I really don't know sir. She must have fallen asleep yesterday and just not woken up. I don't know the cause and the doctor back at base needs to check her out properly to try and understand her condition and what might have caused his".
Mike nodded and thought back to last night, when he had gone to visit Kate in her cabin- he knew Kate was a light sleeper, she would have woken up or at least stirred when he had touched her, how could he have not noticed that? He felt a twinge of guilt as he thought about the fact that if he had realised this sooner, then she wouldn't be so bad.
"Anyway, the doctor just said to put on her a drip, to keep her hydrated and take her back to base ASAP" added Swain, interrupting Mike's thoughts.
Mike nodded again, "I'm going to go tell Nav now to plot a course for home, I just wanted to check up on the situation here".
Mike returned to the bridge and ordered Nav to head for home. He sat down in his chair, looking deflated.
"How's the XO?" Nav asked, after she had instructed 2Dads to change course.
Mike looked up at her "ah, Swain seems to think that she has fallen into some sort of coma. He thinks that she just fell asleep yesterday afternoon and just hasn't woken up".
Nav's eyes widened as she realised something.
"What is it Nav?" Mike asked, looking at her expression.
"Sir, yesterday when I went into the cabin to take Kate a brew after dinner, she was sleeping, she was so quiet and still, I didn't think of it at the time" Nav explained "but what if she had already fallen into the coma. I should have raised it to Swain's attention sooner, instead of only this morning. It's all my fault, X is in such a bad way!" she exclaimed.
"No! Listen, this isn't your fault, this whole thing is a mystery. I'm sure she will be just fine" Mike told Nav, firmly, but kindly.
Nav nodded, sniffling back tears and went back to her charts while Mike looked thoughtfully out to sea, hoping the last thing he had just told Nav would be true.