Tegan Chronicles Sanctuary Style:

Step Through the Looking Glass 8

Three hours later Tegan opened her eyes and blinked several times. She felt like death warmed over and had that groggy hung over feeling she got after having a seizure. She looked down at the IV snaking out of the back of her hand before her eyes drifted to the woman with the long dark brown hair.

Blue eyes looked up from the case file they were skimming when Helen felt eyes on her. Henry and Kate were out trying to round up a hairless dog like creature that was the size of a horse, and Bigfoot was starting the morning feedings. "You're back among the living."

Tegan watched her smile but she didn't return it, which was hard because she had one of those infectious smiles. Still she didn't much feel like smiling. She looked down as she lifted her biomechanical arm noticing it was no longer tethered in place.

"How are you feeling?" Helen stood up placing the file in her vacated seat.

Tegan's tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth and it felt like she was pulling industrial strength Velcro apart. "Fine."

"I find that hard to believe." Helen picked up a cup from behind Tegan's headboard and spooned out a couple small ice chips, offering them to her. "It's just ice."

"No more drugs?" As she spoke Helen slipped the ice chips past her lips. The sensation was like manna from heaven to her.

"I gave you something for pain and then Lorazepam when you had a grand mal in the middle of the night."

So she was right, she did have a seizure. She swallowed the melted ice feeling it trickle down her throat.

"More?" Helen held the spoon to her lips and when Tegan opened her mouth she slid a few in. "If you're up to it, we can try solid food a little later. You're a little bit on the skinny side."

Tegan didn't comment as her face screwed up in pain.

"Oh dear." Helen looked at the heart monitor as it went wild with the beeps growing closer together. She looked back at her patient and noticed she was walking her right hand up and over her chest using her fingers. "What are you doing?"

Again Tegan offered no response. She wasn't even sure why she was doing it, except she needed to and for some reason she felt more at ease with this Helen character then she had earlier. Besides she realized her situation couldn't really get much more precarious then it already was. She eased her fingers up to her left upper arm and slid her thumb into the reader. A second later her stump was free of the prosthesis.

Helen watched as Tegan let her right arm slide naturally back into the sling and made a mental note to tighten the swath so she didn't have as much movement. She reached her hand out and let it hover above the prosthetic arm. "Can I move it?"

Tegan looked at her with curiosity dancing in the shifting greens of her eyes. She hadn't expected her to ask. She watched Helen flick her eyes to the bedside table and nodded her ascent. "I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name earlier."

Helen placed the arm on the table looking it over with great interest before she returned her attention to Tegan. "That's alright; you've been through quite a lot. I'm Dr. Helen Magnus."

"Dr. Magnus." She repeated as if writing the name on her brain.

"Yes." Helen watched her eyebrow dip.

"Am I your prisoner?"

There was a ghost of a smile on her lips. "That really remains to be seen. For right now you are my patient and I've got a lot of questions I need answered."

"Such as?" Tegan queried.

"For starters, who you are and how did you get into my Sanctuary."

"Major Tegan Kiser, United States Air Force."

"Major?" She raised an eyebrow and held up the dog tags. "Right, except we can't find any record of your existence."

"What planet am I on?"

Helen looked at her for a long minute trying to determine if she was serious. When she deduced she was, she simply replied; "Earth."

Tegan sighed letting out an uneasy grunt as her chest protested the quick exhale.

Again Helen's blue eyes jumped briefly to the screen of the heart monitor but Tegan's heart rate was already returning to normal. "What planet are you from?"

"Earth."

"Good." Both of Helen's eyebrows flicked up and back down. "Because for a minute there I thought maybe you thought you were an alien."

"You don't believe in aliens?" Tegan's eyes narrowed on her.

"No, but I take it you do."

"You'd be surprised." She sniffed. "If you knew the things I've seen."

"I doubt that." Helen looked over as the door opened and Biggie stepped in.

"She's awake?" He glanced at the bed.

Tegan stared at the creature with the matted hair on his head and the large wet nostrils on his face. "Cryptid Homonid?"

"Yes." Helen looked at her with great curiosity. "But we call him Bigfoot. He's one of my oldest friends."

"You've got Bigfoot for a friend but you don't believe in aliens." Tegan moved her head to nod 'hello' but regretted the movement as the pillow pressure on her laceration changed.

Helen frowned at her lightly.

As if reading her mind Tegan assured her, "I'm fine."

Helen shook her head and wondered briefly if she was a telepath despite her scans showing no indication of it which caused her to wonder again about the microchip she'd almost overlooked. "You've seen a Cryptomundo before?"

Tegan looked between the two of them, she was tired or more so foggy headed but that was an easy question. "No."

"Are you an abnormal?"

"I've been called a lot of things before, but abnormal isn't one of them."

Helen shook her head again. "Your eyes, they're…"

"Different?"

"I've never seen that color green, and the way they shift hues."

"No one has." Tegan didn't tell her she was staring since everyone did.

"Yesterday, your eyes they…" She usually wasn't at a loss for words. "They emitted a white light several times."

Tegan nodded. "It's classified. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Biggie grunted loudly drawing her gaze.

"It wasn't a threat." She smiled lightly at him. "Just the very reason I can't tell you."

Helen shot the Big Guy a warning look. "You have an unclassified element in your blood stream."

"Yup." Tegan flicked her eyes back to Helen's face.

"Classified?"

"Yes."

"Microchip in your brain."

She doesn't miss a thing does she? Tegan didn't respond.

"What can you tell me?"

"My name is Tegan Kiser, I'm a Major in the United States Air Force."

"When's your birthday?"

Tegan glanced at the dog tags still in Helen's hand. "June 1, 1981."

"You're thirty-one?"

"Yes."

"What do you know about the Cabal?"

"The who?"

Helen shook her head. "Nothing. How did you get here?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Tegan closed her eyes but opened them a second later when she heard a tap on the glass.

"Hold that thought." Helen looked up through the glass windows to see Henry motioning for her to come out. Kate was standing beside him smelling the arm of her jacket and scrunching her face up in disgust. "Excuse me."

Tegan looked out to see the duo. The woman looked like she just ate a lemon and the blue eyed male was wearing a goofy grin and waving at her. She felt like part of a zoo exhibit, which was odd considering Bigfoot was roaming the halls.

"You have a meeting in one hour." Biggie reminded her as she started past him.

She glanced at her watch. "Heads of house teleconference, you're right. I almost forgot, thank you."

"Don't mention it." He grunted and turned back to Tegan who watched Helen approach the duo outside her room. The two immediately began an overly animated conversation, throwing their hands in the air. She couldn't make out what they were discussing.

"You caught it?" Helen interrupted.

"Of course." Henry turned his head with mock insult. "He's in the shoe sleeping off the four." He held his fingers up wiggling them. "Count them four tranqs it took to bring him down."

"Good." She made a face. "You both need to hit the showers. Oh, and Henry if you can wake Will."

"Already awake." Will grumbled into his coffee cup as he approached.

"Kate I need you to run an errand for me after you've bathed."

"Sure thing. What is it?"

Helen smiled softly at her enthusiasm. "Our guest could use some clothes. I've got a meeting to get ready for, but I'll leave a list with sizes and some money on my desk for you."

"Alright." Kate looked into the room where Bigfoot was waving a bedpan in frustration. She turned to Will and laughed. "Looks like you're on bathroom duty."

Helen turned her head to see Biggie looking out at her. He was pointing to the bedpan and shaking his head. She just gave him an exasperated look and a small nod before turning back to Will who was watching the others retreat. "I'll take care of that. I need you to fix her breakfast."

"Eggs, bacon, the works?" He asked.

"I've got –"

"The teleconference with the heads of house; I know. I'll sit with her and see what information I can glean from her."

"Don't push too hard."

"I never do."