Chapter Nine
Katryn opened her eyes, with a frown. Something was wrong, she pondered, thoughtfully. Something was definitely wrong. Climbing out of her hammock, she walked over to check on Archie, carrying her flashlight.
Archie lay on his back, his breathing; deep and regular. Asleep. She shook her head. No, this was not it.
Sock-footed and wearing only her nightclothes, Katryn left her quarters, entering the main sick berth, checking on each patient one by one.
Davey and Jack were both sound asleep and appeared to be alright.
Katryn shook her head. Frowning, she wandered over to Jesus and Willie's quarters and peeked in. Both were also asleep. She continued on to Jesse's cabin.
Jesse looked up as she poked her head in. "What's up, Doc?" He asked, softly.
Katryn grinned and shook her head. Same old Jesse. Even when he felt like crap, he never lost his sense of humor. "I don't know." She replied, keeping her voice down. "I just woke up feeling something was wrong."
Jesse frowned, getting up. "Anyone in here?"
Katryn shook her head. "No. I checked on them after I checked Archie." She told him, with a shrug. "Whatever it is, it's not in here."
Jesse chewed his lip, thinking. He knew that when Katryn was convinced something was wrong; most of the time, she was right.
"I'm going to go look around. You stay here." Katryn ordered, quietly.
Jesse waved in acknowledgment.
Silently, Katryn left the sick berth and stood outside the door for a moment. "God, whatever it is that's wrong, please take me there." She whispered, closing her eyes and walking on, eyes shut, following the feeling. Up the steep stairs, she continued, blindly walking through the ship.
Up on the quarterdeck, Horatio was nearing the end of his shift when he saw Dr. Casse come out on the maindeck below. He frowned, leaning over to get a better look. Yes, it was definitely Dr. Casse. She was wearing nothing but a very light ensemble that appeared as if it were meant only for sleeping in. Carrying a small light of some sort, she was slowly walking with her eyes closed. Could she possibly be sleepwalking?
Dr. Casse walked on, headed in the direction of the Senior Officer's berths, he discovered. Should he go after her? He'd have to leave his post and he knew that; unless it were an emergency, he was not supposed to do that until the relief watch came out.
Dr. Casse passed on, out of his view and he nervously continued to stare after her. She'd certainly not been dressed appropriately for being out on deck and it was most improper for her to be looking for someone at this hour on a ship full of men, dressed the way she was.
Sighing, he finally compelled himself to go after her. After all, as Officer of the Watch, he was responsible for her safety and if she was indeed sleepwalking, he owed it to her to protect her.
Katryn stopped and opened her eyes. She was standing outside the door of the cabin belonging to Conrad, George, and Carlos. George, she knew would be on lookout duty, but Conrad would certainly be here with Redbird.
Hearing footsteps, she turned, spotting Horatio at the end of the corridor, watching her, with a confused look.
She held up a finger to tell him to wait a moment, then she softly knocked on the door she was standing before.
It was opened immediately, by Conrad, who breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her standing there.
"I was going to come get you but I couldn't leave him." Conrad informed her, pulling her inside. "I was praying you'd find your way up here somehow."
Katryn nodded and walked over to Redbird, who was laying on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling. He was wheezing, heavily and he looked notably feverish. "How long has he been like this?" She asked, brushing her hand against his forehead. He was burning up, she noted, frowning.
"He didn't look so good when I went to bed and I heard his breathing change, about ten minutes ago." Conrad informed her, biting his lip.
Katryn gave a nod. That was when she'd awakened. This was definitely the feeling that had roused her from her sleep. "He's got a fever and from the sound of it, he's got fluid in his lungs." She told Conrad, gravely. "We need to get him downstairs."
"What's up, Doc?" Hendricks asked, poking his head around the corner. "I was coming up for watch."
"That's the second time I've heard that, tonight." Katryn retorted, pointedly. "Can it, already."
"Sorry." Lance answered, sheepishly. "Couldn't help it. What's wrong with Carlos?"
"He's sick." Katryn returned, with a sigh. "Help me get him to the sick berth. We're going to have to put him on oxygen." She turned to Conrad. "Has he been taking the antibiotics?"
Conrad frowned. "I don't know."
"Where's the bottle?"
Conrad strode over to Redbird's trunk and opened it, pulling the bottle out.
Katryn took it and dumped it out on Conrad's bed, grumbling under her breath.
"I heard that." Lance quipped.
"I didn't say anything, I was just mumbling." Katryn defended. "He's taken a few, then stopped. This bottle should be almost empty by now. Get him downstairs and we'll put him on IV antibiotics, as well as oxygen. He's got pneumonia."
Hendricks nodded and stepped over, grabbing each side at one end of the blanket Carlos was laying on. "Dave, can you grab the other side?"
Conrad quickly moved to take the other end of the blanket, and together, they maneuvered it through the door, carrying Redbird between them in the make-shift stretcher.
Katryn promptly followed behind them.
"Stay on watch." Hendricks ordered Horatio as they passed him. "I'll be up as soon as we get him below."
Horatio nodded. "Yes sir." He replied, shakily, then stared at Katryn. "How?"
"Some things cannot be explained." Katryn informed him, distantly. "I'll tell you about it when I have more time."
Horatio wordlessly gave a nod, before he slowly returned to his post on the quarterdeck.
Archie's head jerked up as he heard Katryn reenter her quarters. "What's going on?" He asked, loudly, having heard the commotion in the next room.
Katryn came around the screen with a sigh. "Carlos is sick." She told him, warily. "He's got fluid in his lungs, he hasn't been talking the antibiotics and the broken ribs, with the flu, has caused pneumonia."
Archie frowned. "Why wouldn't he take the antibiotics?"
"Because he's a stubborn, proud, Sioux warrior, who hates to admit weakness, and he's been blaming himself for Sebastian's death." Katryn answered.
"There was nothing he could do about that." Archie put in, confused. "You said the topyard fell on him. That means no one could have prevented it. "
"You know that, and I know that, and deep down inside, even Redbird knows that, as does everyone else." Katryn responded, sighing. "But Sebastian was a good friend of Carlos, and the very fact that there was nothing he could have done to save him, is what bothers him the most. He doesn't like to admit that he couldn't have helped him, so it's easier to just blame himself."
Archie looked down, considering this. "I understand." He replied, with a faraway look.
Katryn frowned, confused.
"Horatio was the same way after an incident in France, not long ago." Archie explained, distantly. "There was a woman who was killed. Shot, while he was trying to help her escape."
Katryn nodded. "He blamed himself?"
"Yes." Archie answered. "He went hysterical. I had to pull him away from her, or he would have died, as well. We had to get across the bridge before it blew."
"Who blew the bridge?"
"We did." Archie answered, indifferently. "The bridge was our only escape. We were to cross it and blow it, once we were all on the other side, to keep the French from coming after us, so we could retreat safely. Horatio hadn't made it in time, so we had to light the fuse without him."
Katryn raised an eyebrow. "And the moment you lit it, there he was, right?" She inquired, wryly.
Archie grinned, sardonically, shaking his head. "Exactly. He was leading a woman, who was limping. He told me later that she'd broken her ankle, jumping out a window." He went on. "Then there was a gunshot and they both went down. For a moment, I was frightened that it had been Horatio, but it was her instead."
"So when he went hysterical, you ran across the bridge, while the fuse was still burning?"
Archie shrugged. "I really didn't think about that, at the time." He informed her, pointedly. "I just couldn't leave him there to die with her. We made it across just as it was exploding."
Katryn nodded. "He told me you'd risked your life to save him." She remembered, admirably. "It was when you were trapped on the gun deck. He said he would have gone under the pile of debris, himself, if he could have. Unfortunately, I was the only one who'd fit."
Archie raised an eyebrow. "He saved my life long before I saved his." He confided, dolefully.
"So I've heard." Katryn returned. "I'd say the two of you have some interesting history together." She gave a mischievous grin. "That means it must be about his turn to save you again, right?"
Archie chuckled. "I suppose so." He acknowledged, then frowned, wincing, as he remembered what had awakened him in the first place.
"Are you alright?" She asked, noticing he'd been unconsciously shifting his weight.
"It's starting to hurt again and it's really itching now, as well." He told her, trying to keep from crying out as he shifted anew, looking for a comfortable position.
Katryn nodded. "Alright, give me a minute and I'll take care of it." She promised, disappearing to the other side of the screen.
Archie ground his teeth, reaching with his fingers, for another spot on the cast, wishing he could just dig the cursed thing off with his bare hands. He gave a frustrated moan, which turned into more of a sob, as the shifting caused a sharp pain in his knee, and the itch only worsened.
Katryn returned with three syringes, then, setting them down, she gently, but firmly, pushed him back against the pillow so he was laying down again. "Settle down and relax." She said, softly. "I'll take care of it."
Archie bit his lip, concentrating on not squirming against the itch and watched, anxiously, as she injected the contents of two of the needles into the IV port.
After a few minutes, he breathed a sigh of relief, when both the itch and the pain faded away, and he felt himself begin to relax.
"Better?"
"Much." He answered, letting himself relax completely. "Thank you."
"You need some water?" Katryn asked, after a moment. "The meds you're on tend to cause dry mouth something terrible."
Archie nodded, raising his head a bit, as she handed him the opened bottle, from the night table. As soon as he finished drinking, he handed the bottle back, and laid back down again and frowned. "What's the other needle?"
"Ativan." She informed him, injecting it into the port. "Go back to sleep. It's only four in the morning."
"Have you slept?" Archie questioned, noticing her weary demeanor.
"A couple hours." Katryn replied, brushing a few stray locks of red-gold hair out of his face.
Archie frowned, feeling notably drowsy. "Are you going back to sleep as well?"
"I'm headed back to bed as soon as you drop off." She assured him.
He nodded, with a yawn and closed his eyes, sighing.
The last thing Archie was aware of; was the sound of Katryn moving around the mat, on the other side of the screen. Odd, hadn't she said she was going back to sleep?
It was 10:00 in the morning as Horatio found himself entering the sick berth, after having checked on his men first.
Their berth had been deserted, with the exception of one who introduced himself as 'Jensson,' who had spoken to Horatio in French, telling him the others were on duty but he'd come back to the berth for what he'd called his 'insulin injection.' Unsure what that was, Horatio had simply nodded, and told him he would come see them later on, before continuing in the direction of the sick berth, to check on Archie . . . .as well as his wanting to talk privately with Dr. Casse, for his own reasons.
As Horatio entered, Conrad looked up from where he was seated beside Redbird's bed. Redbird had his nose and mouth covered by a familiar clear mask that Horatio had remembered Dr. Casse using on Archie, when he'd been on the gun deck. Not a surprise, as it was supposed to help a person breath, or so he'd heard. In addition to the mask, Redbird also had been put on an IV. Also not a surprise, as that had been mentioned the night before, as well.
"How is he?" Horatio asked the Navy SEAL, seated beside the bed.
Conrad was wearing a white surgical mask tied on, also covering his mouth and nose. "They put him to sleep, early this morning, so we won't be waking up for a few hours, at least." Conrad responded, with a sigh. "He's breathing much easier now, though."
Horatio nodded. "That's good." He paused, then motioned to the mask Conrad was wearing. "Are they worried about you getting sick, as well?"
Conrad gave a shrug. "It's just procedure, but in all honesty, George and I have been exposed to it for the last week, just by sharing a cabin with him, all this time." He pointed out. "Really, I don't think I'm risking anything. If I'm going to get sick, I'll do it, whether I wear a mask or not. . . . but hey, if it makes everyone else feel better, I may as well wear it until I start getting symptoms."
"I understand how you feel." Horatio remarked, glancing toward the closed door to Dr. Casse's quarters.
Conrad gave a smile beneath the mask. "I figured you might."
"Is she up?"
"By now, she's always up." Conrad replied, lightly. "Just knock first."
"I would never enter a lady's quarters without knocking." Horatio informed him, defensively.
Conrad smirked. "Yeah, but we don't have a lady on board." He told him, pointedly. "That's just KC's room."
Horatio frowned. "You don't consider her to be a lady?"
The SEAL raised an eyebrow. "Try eating dinner with her sometime." He remarked, matter-of-factly. "Believe me, she's no lady."
"I've eaten in the same room with her, before." Horatio reminded him. "I stayed in the sick berth for a week."
"Did you share a table with her?"
Horatio frowned. "Well, no." He admitted, reluctantly. "We were in the curtained off area, but I certainly never heard anything that would be ill-mannered."
Conrad raised an eyebrow. "You can't hear her with her knee on the table, or the fact that she rarely uses a napkin. . . . . . " He trailed off. "But I'm sure you'll figure it out, eventually."
Horatio shook his head in wonderment, then walked over to the door to Dr. Casse's quarters and knocked, cautiously.
"It's open, Horatio." Her voice called out from inside.
Frowning, he entered the room. "How did you know, or is that another one of your strange talents, as well?" He asked.
Katryn glanced up from her desk, with an amused look. "Took no talent at all." She remarked, with a shrug. "Who else would it be?"
"There are any number of people on this ship." Horatio pointed out.
"True." She replied, smoothly. "But Jesse rarely knocks, and I happen to have a certain hostage you have a particular interest in visiting on a regular basis."
Horatio raised an eyebrow. "And are you willing to negotiate for the release of this hostage?"
"You can have him." She graciously offered, with a casual wave. "Just as soon as he can walk himself out that door."
Horatio sighed, shaking his head, with an amused chuckle. "How is he?"
"Dead to the world, last I checked." Katryn answered. "He woke up at about 4:00 this morning in need of drugs and I put him back to sleep. Should be waking up any time now though."
Horatio nodded and sat down in a chair, before her desk. "So what was that, last night?" He asked, curiously. "I thought you were sleepwalking, or something."
Katryn smiled. "I don't sleepwalk." She told him, easily. "I was wide awake, I assure you."
"So how did you know?"
"About Redbird?"
"Of course."
"I didn't." Katryn informed him, bluntly. "I woke up with a feeling that something was wrong. I checked on Archie, who was asleep, then looked over everyone in the sick berth, finding all, but Jesse asleep. Since Jesse was alright, I went out in the corridor, and asked God to take me to whatever was wrong."
"And . . . 'God' took you there?"
"Yes." She said, simply.
"Impossible." Horatio breathed, in disbelief.
"And yet, it happened."
"Perhaps you were worried and just came to check on him." Horatio suggested.
"With my eyes closed?" Katryn inquired, seemingly very amused.
"You've been on this ship long enough to know the general layout."
"Do you believe in God, Horatio?" Katryn asked, pointedly.
"Why do you ask?" He responded, avoiding the question.
"I'm just curious as to why you keep denying the possibility that maybe I'm telling the truth." Katryn remarked, with a shrug.
"I've not exactly seen much of what I'd consider evidence that God truly exists." Horatio informed her.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Katryn blinked. "Wow, an atheist." She commented. "I've never had one in my room, before." Eagerly, she jumped up, strode to the door and carefully locked it, cutting off any possible means of escape.
"I didn't say I was an atheist." Horatio defended.
"But you obviously don't believe in God, so what does that make you?"
"There are plenty of scientific methods that contradict any matters usually attributed to God." He pointed out.
"Really? How did the world come into existence?" Katryn asked, curiously. "I've always wondered about that."
"There are theories for that." Horatio informed her.
"Let me guess. Billions of years and lots of spinning molecules floating around in space, slowly evolved into the world?"
"Not exactly how I'd put it, but essentially, yes." Horatio replied, with a shrug. "That is possible, you know."
"You know, I'd actually believe that, if I had that much faith." Katryn commented, thoughtfully.
"I don't really see what faith has to do with it."
"You don't think it takes faith to believe all that?"
"No, I don't."
Katryn nodded. "Alright, let's say you have a bag, and you throw in all the parts it takes to make a watch." She suggested. "You close this bag with all these pieces in it, and you shake it for a billion years. How much faith do you have that you're going to open that bag, and find a brand new, and perfectly working watch?"
Horatio sighed. "Not much." He admitted, reluctantly.
"See?" Katryn pointed out. "It's a lot easier to believe that God spoke: and 'poof!' There's the world."
"I suppose you have a point, there." Horatio replied, slowly.
"Look, I can't explain how it is that I seem to know things by feeling, or why I can sense whatever emotions are being felt around me, or even why, just by being in the room with people, I can pick out all the ones who are in pain or hurting. All it comes down to, is trust. I trust that God gave me a gift to help the people around me, and that's what I use it for. When these feelings come to me, I follow without hesitation, trusting that God is going to lead me the right way." Katryn explained, prominently. "I'm not going to apologize or feel I have to explain myself, every time that happens. It just happens. You can believe whatever you wish, and I'm not going to stop you, but this is what I believe, and this is the way I'm always going to see it. Understand?"
"You're Jewish, are you not?" Horatio asked, curiously.
"Why would you assume that?"
"You have the Star of David around your neck." Horatio replied, pointing to it. "You don't speak like any Jewish person I've ever known."
"Look closer." Katryn informed him, pulling it off and handing it to him. "That's not the typical Star of David."
Horatio frowned, studying the pendant. Sure enough, it was the star, but there was a cross in the middle of it. "Is this another religion?" He asked, passing it back.
Katryn put it back on. "Not really." She answered, with a shrug. "I'm what's called a 'Completed Jew', or a 'Messianic Jew.' That's a Jew who believes that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, therefore, we are Jews who have found our Messiah. Then again, that's not just all I believe. When you put it down to that, I suppose you could call me a Pentecostal Charismatic Messianic Jew."
"Say again?"
"I'm a Messianic Jew, who believes in, and has experienced the events of the Day of Pentecost -all the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, you get the point- and I believe in the Charismatic teachings of faith healing, miracles, raising the dead, gifts of the Spirit, Spiritual Warfare, and all the other exciting freaky stuff."
"I see." Horatio murmured, thoughtfully.
"Take off your breeches." She suddenly remarked, changing the subject.
"I beg your pardon?" He returned, completely caught off-guard.
"I may as well check to see if your stitches are ready to come out, since you're here and all." Katryn informed him, pointedly, standing. "Jesse is still sick, and as you're frequently visiting Archie, I'd rather you didn't expose yourself to the virus any more than you already have."
Horatio groaned, inwardly. He had not realized that Dr. Davidson's being ill would affect him so.
Katryn, noticing his discomfort, rolled her eyes. "You 18th Century guys are so old-fashioned." She commented, shaking her head.
"Compared to you of the 21st Century, I should think that obvious." Horatio pointed out, flushing.
Katryn shrugged. "You don't have much of a choice right now." She reminded him, eminently, as she pulled a sheet out of a closet. "I'm the only doctor on this ship, who isn't sick. Here, you can cover up with this, now take off your pants. I'll even turn around."
Horatio gave her a flat look. "You're mocking me."
"Not intentionally." Katryn replied, facing the other way. "The faster you get going, the faster it's over."
Horatio sighed in defeat and begrudgingly went about the task of unbuttoning and removing his breeches. He was completely positive the flush on his face would never go away.
On the other side of the screen, Archie chuckled softly, hearing Katryn put Horatio in his place. He had awakened, hearing voices, and had gradually become more awake, when he heard Katryn making Horatio take his breeches off. He, himself, had been dealing with that particular embarrassment for the last week, and still hadn't gotten used to the fact that Katryn had already seen him naked, before he was even awake.
Listening to her remove Horatio's stitches, he sighed quietly, thankful that he had at least been unconscious at the time. Unconscious people did not have to deal with embarrassment, fortunately.
Although, he suspected his relief was short-lived, because with the Registered Nurses, as Katryn and Jesse had called them, both incapacitated, Katryn was now his only doctor as well. What would happen the next time he had to be bathed?
Archie made a face, at the thought. Maybe, perhaps she'd let Horatio do it. Then again, maybe he could just go without bathing until the cast came off, he decided, with a grimace. It seemed so much easier than admitting he was completely incapable of bathing himself.
More than anything, Archie hated being helpless. He'd hated it when he was on Justinian, he'd hated it in the prison in Spain, and it certainly was not any easier now.
"How long have you been awake?" Horatio asked, as he came around to the other side of the screen to see his friend looking up at him, amused.
"Long enough to hear her inform you of your place." Archie remarked, smirking.
Horatio blushed again, and Archie chuckled.
"Found that funny, did you?" Horatio commented, when he'd recovered. "You're going to have it worse, you know."
Archie shrugged, pretending it didn't matter. "As she; not so delicately put it, I have nothing she hasn't already seen before." He pointed out.
Horatio raised an eyebrow, suspiciously, clearly not buying into Archie's casual manner. "Really?" He questioned.
Archie exhaled, dispiritedly. "Horatio, I've been lying here, tied to one bed, or another, for the past week, wearing nothing but a 'hospital gown' that barely covers anything, and is open in the back. How would you feel?"
Horatio grimaced. "I suppose there's a certain logic to that." He replied, sympathetically.
Archie sighed, in defeat. "It's positively humiliating." He confessed, miserably. "And the last thing I would ever look forward to, is another bath, no matter who did it. It was embarrassing when the Nurses did it."
Horatio gave an understanding nod. "Would you rather I did it?"
Archie sighed again, massaging his temples. "It would still be embarrassing, but it would be less humiliating than having her do it, I suppose." He admitted, with a shrug.
"We can just see what she says about it." Horatio replied, reassuringly. "She's usually very understanding, so I can't see why she'd object." He paused, considering this, then frowned, noticing Archie's hands on his temples. "How are you feeling?"
Archie shrugged. "I feel like a cannon blew up in my face." He murmured, warily.
"I mean seriously, Archie." Horatio scolded.
"I was being serious." He insisted.
Horatio sighed.
Archie rolled his eyes, and nodded toward the cast. "It hurts, it itches like mad, I have a headache, and I'm bored to tears." He informed his friend, reluctantly.
"Do you want me to get Dr. Casse?"
"What's she doing?" Archie asked, cocking his head, listening. "I didn't hear her leave."
Horatio got up and looked, before sitting back down. "It appears she's fallen asleep on her desk." He replied.
Archie frowned. "Don't wake her, then."
"Archie-"
"She's exhausted, and I don't believe she slept much last night." Archie explained.
"Are you sure?"
"She'd only slept a few hours, when she got up to check Lieutenant Redbird." Archie informed him. "She said she was going back to sleep after she put me out, but I don't believe she did, at least not right away."
"What makes you so sure, if she put you to sleep first?" Horatio asked, confused.
"She does exercises on the mat, the other side of the dressing screen, there." Archie told him, motioning to it. "I heard her there, as I was falling asleep."
Horatio's brow furrowed. "So she got up to check on Redbird then?" He asked, looking suspicious.
Archie shrugged, confused. "I assumed so." He answered, openly. "She told me he was sick when she returned."
"You didn't see her leave, then?"
"No. I woke up when my leg started hurting, and realized she wasn't in the room, when I heard the commotion in the main sick berth." Archie informed him, perplexed. "Why?"
"Just something strange." Horatio murmured, distantly.
"What?"
"I was on Watch last night and I saw her walking toward Lieutenant Redbird's quarters." Horatio explained.
Archie looked even more confused. "She went to check on him." He stated, obviously. "How is that strange?"
"She was walking with her eyes closed, as if she were sleepwalking."
Archie stared, incredulously.
"I asked her about it earlier." Horatio went on. "She said she'd awakened with a feeling that something was wrong, and after she checked everyone in the sick berth, she left it, and asked God to take her to whatever was wrong, and she ended up at Conrad, Redbird, and Johnson's quarters, where Lieutenant Conrad informed her Redbird was ill, and he'd been afraid to leave him, so he'd prayed she would come to them."
Archie frowned, considering this. "She never mentioned it to me, but then I was rather distracted at the time."
"That's not the point, Archie." Horatio pressed.
Archie eyed him. "You know what your problem is, Horatio?"
"What?"
"There's always been some way to explain everything, in your mind." Archie told him, pointedly. "And now, something's happened and you can't think of any logical explanation for it and that frustrates you."
"So then, you believe her explanation?"
"She does, obviously." Archie commented.
"That's not what I asked."
Archie sighed. "I believe that sometimes, things happen that have no possible means of explanation. You ask me if I believe God led her to Redbird last night. In all honesty, I really don't know what to think about it. I know Dr. Sebastian believes in God, but as for myself, I've had times when I wonder if there even is a God."
They sat a moment in silence, as Horatio considered this.
At her desk, a single tear rolled down Katryn's cheek. The amount of pain behind that one sentence was so strong, it hurt her. "Oh God, that you would use me to remove that doubt." She whispered.
Horatio was deep in thought when Archie's sharp, hissing, gasp jarred him back into the present.
Archie had stiffened and was gripping the sheets with one still-bandaged hand, and his thigh, just above the cast, with the other, his jaw clenched and his eyes tightly closed.
"Archie?" Horatio spoke up, alarmed as he started to jump up.
"No, don't get her, yet. I'm alright." Archie insisted, slowly relaxing.
"You're sure?"
"It was only for a second." Archie assured him, trying to slow his breathing.
"Archie, you're sure you're alright?" Horatio pressed.
Archie nodded, but no sooner had he relaxed, when the sharp, stabbing, pain shot through his leg again, and he jumped, crying out, loudly.
Before Horatio could get up, Katryn had suddenly come up beside him and was urgently pushing him out of the way.
Archie bristled as another spasm of pain hit him and he screamed through his firmly clenched jaw.
Horatio, seeing the needles Katryn had set down on the bedclothes, reached over, catching Archie by his shoulders, endeavoring to hold his arm still. "Archie, it's alright! Stop moving!" He cried, straining to hold his friend's arm.
Archie, clearly not hearing him, jerked again, with another cry, as another spasm of pain came over him. "Please make it stop!" He begged.
Katryn gave a grunt and managed to get the contents of one needle into Archie's arm, then quickly injected the second.
Archie stopped struggling, feeling the medication take effect and collapsed back against the pillow, panting.
Horatio, relieved, glanced over at Katryn. "What was that?"
"The medication?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No, what was happening to him?"
"Muscle spasms in the leg." Katryn replied, uncovering the cast, and examining Archie's thigh, then carefully massaged the still-twitching muscle, until it completely relaxed.
Had Archie not been so focused on the pain, he might have felt rather awkward, to have his female surgeon massaging his thigh, Horatio mused, intently, as he observed the scene before him.
"He hasn't been able to move around for a while, and the muscles are spasming and cramping up." Katryn explained. "I gave him the usual painkiller and a muscle relaxer."
Archie groaned, in frustration. "Is it going to keep doing this?!" He asked, dispirited.
Before Katryn could answer, Jesse suddenly poked his head around the screen, looking concerned. "Is he alright?"
"No!!" Archie snapped, sounding angrier than he'd meant to.
"I got it." Katryn assured Jesse.
Jesse nodded and looked at Horatio. "Davey's wanting to see you, if you've got a minute." He replied, before he left.
Horatio looked at Archie.
"I'm fine, just go." Archie whispered, looking away.
Katryn caught Horatio's gaze, and motioned for him to leave them alone.
Hearing the door close, Katryn sat down next to the bed and silently waited for her patient to regain his composure.
Finally, Archie took a deep breath, and turned to look at her.
"Feel better?"
He sighed. "Not really."
Another moment of silence stretched between them.
"Aren't you supposed to scold me for snapping at Jesse like that?" Archie asked, quietly, very ashamed of himself.
"No."
"He didn't deserve it."
"No he didn't, but I don't blame you for it." Katryn responded.
"Why?" Archie asked, confused.
Katryn sighed. "Look, I'm not going to tell you it's okay; because it's not, and I'm not going to tell you not to be upset; because you have every right to be upset." She informed him, soothingly. "You went through a serious trauma and I can't honestly expect you to be happy about it."
"That's not an excuse for rudeness."
Katryn rolled her eyes. "Sure it is." She contradicted. "Archie, any judge, where I come from, would have ruled; 'not guilty,' under reasons of Temporary Insanity, because of the amount of drugs you're on, and the amount of pain you're in, you cannot possibly be expected to be in your right mind."
Archie stared at her, astonished.
"You could murder someone and get off on 'Temporary Insanity." She informed him, pointedly.
Archie blinked. "Well, the legal system certainly has changed a lot." He mused, impressed.
"You have no idea." Katryn replied, with a sly grin, deciding he could use a distraction. "I think my favorite 'Temporary Insanity' case was Lorena Bobbit, against her husband."
"What did she do?" Archie asked, interested.
"You'll love this one, trust me." Katryn assured him. "One night, her husband attacked and raped her."
"Did she kill him?"
"No, but she did extract vengeance with a kitchen knife, assuring he'd never rape her again." Katryn told him, with a pointed look.
Archie stared, openmouthed, giving a strangled groan. "And she was acquitted for that?!" He asked, in disbelief.
"Think about it, the guy raped her." Katryn reminded him. "She couldn't conceivably have been in her right mind, after an experience like that and I would expect you, of all people, to understand that."
Archie considered this. "True." He commented, thoughtfully.
"Oh come on." Katryn pressed, with a knowing look. "You can't honestly tell me you wouldn't have loved to see that happen to a certain Sleazeball in your past history."'
"Well, now that you happen to have mentioned it." Archie mused, shifting his head back into the pillow a bit.
Katryn grinned, as she noticed the mirth in his glittering blue eyes, and he couldn't even begin to hide the slow grin that spread across his lips. "You're laughing." She stated, triumphantly.
"Temporary Insanity." He quipped, in his defense, with a snigger.
"He got off easily, you know." Katryn remarked, distantly.
"Did he?"
"Yeah. She just threw it in a parking lot somewhere." Katryn went on. "I would have made him eat it."
Archie studied her face, attentively. "Tell me what happened to you." He requested.
"That's a pretty long story." Katryn informed him, with a sigh.
"Do I appear to be going anywhere?" He asked, pointedly, motioning to his cast, still secured to the wooden bar.
Katryn exhaled, thinking. "He was a friend of my family." She began, with a faraway look. "One my parents trusted, wholeheartedly. He was my music teacher and the minister of our church."
"How long did your family know him?" Archie asked, inquisitively.
"As far back as I can remember." She responded, with a shrug. "Although nothing really happened until I was about nine or ten. That's when they discovered I had a perfect ear for music, and I started taking lessons. Our minister gave private music lessons, regularly, as did his son and daughter. They were much older than me, of course. His daughter was my Sunday School teacher, so I loved her, dearly. To this day, she's a pretty close friend."
"So then, she didn't know?"
Katryn shook her head. "No, and I would never tell her." She replied, determinedly. "She saw him as nothing short of a kind and loving father, and a man of God, and I would never dream of taking that away from her."
"I don't blame you." Archie commented, sincerely. "So, when did he . . . .?" He trailed off.
"It's not the same situation as yours." Katryn told him, incredulously. "There was never any violence and I was never physically raped. In fact, it was so subtle, I didn't even realize it was abuse until much later."
Archie frowned, but didn't interrupt.
"I was nine, when I started taking music lessons." Katryn continued. "I was ten, when I stopped wearing dresses to lesson. Dresses in that time period are a bit shorter then they are now. About knee-length."
"That's what they are now, for children." Archie replied, nodding.
"Well, we didn't have petticoats or shifts underneath, though." Katryn explained, patiently. "Believe me, there's nothing underneath but a little pair of underpants."
"Drawers." Archie corrected, blushing.
Katryn rolled her eyes. "Tomato, tomahto." She retorted, with a shrug. "Same difference, except under-garments in the future cover a lot less than they do, nowadays. Anyway, I was a little nine-year-old girl in a short dress, with nothing under it, but that little pair of 'drawers.'"
Archie chuckled. "I'm sorry, go on." He apologized.
"Right. Anyhow, I was mainly learning violin and piano, but he was showing me how to play a cello that day, as an experiment." She went on, then frowned. "Do they have those now? Kind of like a big violin that you play sitting down and it stands between your legs?"
"I know what you mean." He assured her.
"Good. So, being a shy little girl, in a short dress, I didn't want to spread my legs, because he's sitting right in front of me, kneeling on the floor and I didn't want to show off my cute little 'Care-Bears' drawers."
Archie started laughing. "Stop that!" He scolded, between giggles. "I'm never going to take you seriously, if you don't stop making me laugh!"
Katryn grinned, sheepishly. "Sorry." She apologized. "Natural born Jewish comedians. We can't help it. This next part isn't funny though."
Archie sobered, and motioned for her to continue.
"I don't know if he was trying to reassure me or what, but he told me he'd already seen 'all of me,' back when I'd been about four years old, and went to church without anything on, under the dress." Katryn went on. "I never really thought about it at that time, but the fact that he'd remember, and mention something like that, was a little disconcerting to me. I mean, why would he even be looking at a four year-old child?!"
"That is rather strange." Archie observed, frowning.
"I never wore another dress to lesson." Katryn finished.
"I can certainly discern as to why." He agreed.
"Anyway, things continued like that, and I got more and more uncomfortable around him." Katryn continued, distantly. "I was reminded of a time when I was about six and I'd been showing off after church, one night, jumping around in my. . . . " She paused, with a sly grin.
Archie rolled his eyes. "I take your point." He returned, shaking his head.
"I was six, and he was like my uncle to me." Katryn replied, defensively. "How was I supposed to know that he'd think I was coming on to him, or that he'd bring it up, when I was about eleven, as one of his fondest memories of me?"
Archie made a disgusted face. "That's awful." He murmured. "But why is it, you never told your parents?"
"Well, at the time, I really didn't know it was wrong." Katryn informed him, honestly. "I was eleven, and very shy and I was always made fun of at school, for being shy and poor, and when he'd take me to the store and buy me things my parents couldn't afford, I felt special. I'd always thought he was being nice to me out of love, I mean he was like my uncle, all those years, so what else would I think?"
"So what you're saying, is that he bought your silence." Archie remarked, in realization.
"In so many words, yes." She answered, looking ashamed. "He'd buy me things, and tell me not to tell my parents, because they wouldn't approve of his buying things they couldn't or wouldn't buy me."
"Did he ever do more than just make remarks like that?" Archie asked, curiously.
"Much more." Katryn told him, with an involuntary shiver.
Archie noticed. "I didn't mean to upset you." He quickly apologized.
Katryn held up a hand, reassuringly. "You're not. It's just that sometimes I feel so stupid for not realizing what was going on sooner. I loved having him buy me things and I'd get angry when he wouldn't sometimes, to keep me in check, I suppose, but I was always happy when he did."
"That's not unusual." He responded, with a shrug. "But why should you feel stupid about it?"
Katryn sighed. "I don't know." She confessed, before continuing. "He liked to rough-house in his family, a lot and many times, when I was younger, my sisters and I would wrestle in his lap. We were only about five, six, and seven, so it was just something for fun. Naturally, when he wanted to do that, later on, I didn't think anything of it. He'd try to pull me up against him, in his lap, and when I'd try to get away, because I got uncomfortable, he wouldn't let me go. He liked it when I struggled, and he'd enjoy proving how much stronger he was, then me."
"I'm familiar with that concept." Archie responded, with his own shudder.
"I figured you might be." Katryn returned, with a sad look. "I still get freaked out when anyone tries to get rough with me and shows off how much stronger they are, then me."
"Is that why you got into climbing?" Archie asked. "To make yourself stronger than you were?"
Katryn shrugged. "I got into climbing because I love to climb but I suppose I do tend to prove that I can be as strong as anyone else." She admitted.
"So I've seen." Archie responded, with a grin. "I certainly wish I could have been awake to see you man-handle Horatio, on the gun-deck."
Katryn rolled her eyes. "That was adrenaline." She informed him, pointedly. "You were in trouble, I nearly got crushed with you and I lost my temper. Not something I do often, but when I do, I never do anything, halfway."
Archie laughed. "I daresay he was rather startled." He commented, smugly. "But please do continue with your story."
Katryn nodded and paused, as she took a moment to remember where she'd stopped. "I could never figure out why I kept getting more and more uncomfortable around him. As I got older, I never wanted to be alone with him and we kept spending less and less time at the studio, doing music lessons." She told him. "I had my pieces memorized, and didn't even have to really practice. We had recitals once a month, and I always received high marks for my memory. I was an outstanding music talent, and when I started singing, I got higher marks, because I could imitate, and sing like, the professional singers. If I heard a song in another language or accent, I could adapt to match both, perfectly."
"I can see that about you." Archie replied, with a smile. "It's a wonder you never became a musician."
"Is it?" Katryn asked, pointedly.
Archie frowned. "Then again, I can see why you didn't, now that you mention it."
Katryn nodded. "Anyway, moving on." She continued. "I could sing in the car, with my tape player, so I didn't even have to go to the studio for vocal lessons."
Archie's brow furrowed, in confusion. "Is that like a carriage? A 'car?'" He inquired.
"Yes, except no horses, and it can go up to a hundred miles an hour, at its fastest." Katryn explained, patiently. "Hang on a sec."
Archie watched, inquisitively, as she stood up and walked over to a shelf, returning with a book. Leafing through it, she found a page, and handed it to him.
"I won't let you read it, because it's got a lot on the future in it, but this is a car." She informed him, pointing to an apparatus, in a picture.
Archie studied the machine. Interesting, he mused, fascinated. A large metal beast, with four wheels, four doors, with windows, and one large window in the front, tilted at an angle, above what appeared to be another compartment that would open, in the very front of the machine. "Interesting." He murmured, handing the book back. "And a 'tape player?'"
Katryn grinned, and got up again, returning, this time, with a small gray rectangular contraption, he'd remembered seeing her with, the evening before.
"A regular tape player plays it out loud." Katryn informed him, readily. "This is a small, portable one, that works only with a headset." She handed him the 'headset', which was attached to the 'tape player' by a cord. "Over the ears." She waited until he got them settled in place. "I'll make sure the volume is down, so I don't blow out your eardrums."
"They can do that?" Archie asked, alarmed, no longer sure he wanted this 'headset' on.
"No, not really." Katryn assured him. "But my mom always said I'd be deaf by the time I was thirty if I didn't stop listening to it." She paused. "What a liar Mom turned out to be."
Archie frowned. "You couldn't possibly be thirty yet."
Katryn raised an eyebrow. "Well thank you, son. You just made my day!"
"You're serious?!" Archie asked, astonished.
"We set sail, just after Christmas in 2006. That was six months ago, so that means I turn thirty . . . . in two weeks." She informed him.
He stared at her, dumbstruck.
"You didn't think I was that much older than you, did you?" Katryn asked, with a sly grin.
Archie blinked. "Well, you certainly don't look it." He remarked, seriously.
Katryn smiled. "Thank you." She returned, then she held up the 'tape player' with a pointed look and pressed a button on the side.
Archie nearly jumped out of his skin, at the sound of music in his ears. Hearing the words, he realized he'd heard it before. It was the very song he'd heard Katryn and Cortez singing, the morning of the funeral. "What is this called?" He asked, loudly.
Katryn removed the headset with a grin. "You don't have to yell, I'm right here."
"Sorry." He apologized, sheepishly. "What is that song called?"
"'Everything Burns.'" Katryn answered. "It's sang by a man called Ben Moody, with a woman called Anastasia. I love the melody and the words, and it happens to be one of Jack's favorites as well."
"I can readily see why." Archie told her, honestly. "I liked it very much, when I heard you sing it, before."
"Okay, now you understand 'car' and 'tape player'." She went one, continuing. "This is a tape."
Archie eyed the small, rectangular device, she'd pulled from a compartment on the tape player. It had two little wheels inside, wound with some kind of brown tape. "And this has the music on it?" He asked, awed.
Katryn nodded. "I've got a box of them, you can look at later." She invited, with a shrug. "Now where did I stop? You distracted me."
"You were singing in the car." Archie reminded her, eagerly.
"Right, and why do you suppose I preferred to sing in the car?" She asked, slyly.
"Something in the lines of not wanting to be in private with him, I would suspect." Archie remarked, shrugging.
"Actually, it was because he had to watch the road ahead and not me." Katryn informed him. "It bothered me when he watched me, because I'd sometimes sing songs that mentioned love or other such things, and he'd stare at me, as if I was singing it directly to him." She cringed, making a face. "In fact, if we were at the studio, I'd usually make him sit in the other room, because he was making me nervous."
"You didn't!" Archie exclaimed, in disbelief.
"I did!" Katryn insisted, laughing. "Can you imagine having a music lesson, and telling your teacher to sit in the other room?!"
Archie laughed. "I should imagine the teacher wouldn't like that, very much."
Katryn rolled her eyes. "Guess again. He just thought I was playing 'hard to get'." She paused. "Are you understanding that?"
"I'm not familiar with that particular phrase, but I believe I'm understanding the meaning." Archie answered, nodding. "He thought you were toying with him, by acting aloof, and pretending to be coy."
"Exactly." Katryn told him, with a grin. "My piano lessons were the worst, though." She went on, sobering.
Archie, silently motioned for her to continue.
"I stopped playing solos, and moved on to only duets." Katryn told him, distantly. "Because when I sat at the piano, or, I suppose you'd call it a 'pianoforte.'"
"I assumed that was what you meant, yes." He clarified.
"He'd sit behind me." She chewed her lip.
Archie studied her face, thoughtfully, but remained silent, waiting for her to recover from what was obviously a difficult memory.
"He'd be kissing and touching all over my shoulders and neck." Katryn told him, cringing. "That left a lot of mental scarring, above all else that happened. I see scenes in movies and plays, and it freaks me out, to watch. And you know, all that time, I never even understood why it bothered me so much. In most memories, I was happiest at lessons. My older sister used to beat up on me at home and make fun of me, talking about me in school and I was even beat up twice, by other students, because I wasn't like them."
Archie looked at her, amazed at the similarities between her story, and his own.
"My teacher was always so proud of me, because of how well I did, and I even won an award for my memory, when, for one of my lessons, I picked out every song I'd played over the past five years, and played through each one, one at a time, by memory, even though it'd been a couple years since I'd preformed a few of them. They were, of course, only the duets. He looked at the music and I looked at my hands."
Archie smiled, watching her blue-grey eyes shine. This was a person who had truly loved music, he could tell. It was such a shame it had ended so terribly.
"My favorites were from theater performances. Plays, musicals, that sort of thing." She went on, her eyes gleaming.
Archie grinned, widely. "Now, I believe you are speaking my language." He stated, agreeing with her.
Katryn looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, so the Acting Lieutenant is a theater addict, is he?" She returned, artfully.
"Most definitely." He confessed, exhilarated. "But please do continue your story first."
"I'll have to take a break, pretty soon, because I have to eat something, but if you'd like, later on, I'll let you hear the songs I liked best." Katryn suggested. "I have most of them, here, on tape, and I know the theater has changed a bit, since this Century."
"I should like that, very much." Archie replied, eagerly.
Katryn looked at a small watch on her wrist. "We've been here for about two hours, now, and I'm sure Horatio and Jesse are wondering if you're even still alive, in here."
Archie stared at her. "Has it been that long?" He asked, amazed.
Katryn frowned. "Actually, it's been two and a half hours." She informed him, seriously. "We started about 11:30, so it's now 2:00 in the afternoon, and I'm starved. So if you're hungry, I'll bring back some food for both of us."
"That would be fine." Archie readily agreed. "You might also tell Horatio I'm still alive, that is, if Davey's finished with him."
"Oh, Davey probably just wanted him to fetch him his knitting needles or something." Katryn assured him, waving it off. "Horatio's using their room, right now, you know, but I'll find out."
Archie stared, as she left the room. 'Knitting needles'? Ratzlov!? Had he heard that right? Interesting, he mused, then frowned, as something caught his eye.
There, on his right arm, only a few inches away from the IV port, was a smear of dried blood. Odd. He hadn't remembered Katryn sticking him. She'd used the IV port.
So where had the blood come from? It certainly wasn't close enough to the port, to have come from that. Archie's frown deepened as he discovered yet another spot of blood. This one was on the bedclothes . . . . exactly where Katryn had been leaning over, he realized, suddenly extremely distressed.
End of Chapter Nine.
Apologies for this chapter taking so long. We've had some bad storms over the last few days and I've still been suffering some awful migrains. Anyhow, thanks for your patience, and please let me know what you think.
--Cassi
