THE SECRET DEVICE
By JULES6
CHAPTER 9 - ASSESSING THE DAMAGE
KatKnits00 – Curious about Mr Sykes huh ? Let's just say – the fun isn't quite over yet.
SARA – The updates are even worse than before – but hopefully someone is still out there reading.
Dolphinology – So sorry you have had to wait for the next chapter – unavoidable real life.
Kas – Wonder whats going to happen ? – a mystery to myself most times until I put words on the paper – most of this is random and spontaneous with no real plan to most of it. Thanks for reading.
D.E.Lewis – Thank you so much for the information about the book that was the inspiration for the last chapter. I read it a very long time ago, but that one scene was always so vivid in my head – had to use it somewhere in my writing.
Ihni – This chapter is for you and all the readers out there – if there are any left still reading this story.
Ten minutes after arriving back at the SeaQuest, Commander Ford and the rest of the rescue group were quickly taken aboard, to find a very anxious and waiting Doctor Kristin Westphalen.
Lucas was the first concern of course, not having awoken since the later part of the boat journey. Tony and Bridger had assumed this was mostly due to the residual effects of the drug concoction in his system and the rough treatment he had received in the hands of Riley and his side kick.
Jonathan Ford had helped Tony Piccolo to Med-Bay, not wanting to admit his injury, but becoming a little worried about the amount of stiffness that he was experiencing. He had begrudgingly agreed to see the doctor, but only after Lucas had been tended to first. This also gave him the opportunity of being able to check on the condition of his young friend from Kristin herself.
"It don't really hurt that bad, Commander," Tony said through clenched teeth, trying to hide his pain from Ford.
"Sure it isn't," Commander Ford replied, not buying anything the unorthodox seaman had to say.
"Coming from the same man when he first came on this vessel, told me that he wouldn't be here more than a week, because you had a confirmed appointment with the President."
"I did too, dirty rotten fink that he is, reneged on our deal," Tony tried to answer seriously, but grinned when he saw the Commander doing the same. Ford shook his head as they continued down the corridor towards Med-Bay. Somethings around here didn't change, and he hoped they never did.
Tony took position on a medical bed next to the one that Bridger had set Lucas down on. Westphalen and he both now hovered around it, Kristin very clinical in her approach at first as she set to tending to Lucas's various injuries.
Clearly written on her face though was a mixture of concern about the young man laying before her and a sense of relief that he had been rescued from his kidnappers.
Bridget ended up sitting in an aluminium chair beside Lucas's bed, forcing himself to get out of Kristen's way and allow her time before being able to make her diagnosis.
"I want to take a look at this foot first," Kristin said, explaining her methods as she worked. Lucas had not shown any signs of regaining consciousness yet, but that was to be expected given the concoction of drugs that had been forced upon him. Not to mention the rough treatment he had endured.
The outside of the special cast was filthy. A combination of that rough treatment and when he had laid on the cave floor. Kristin was concerned that the small bone break might have been turned into something substantially more serious.
Kristin carefully began undoing the cast. It was the only way to assess if any further injury had been sustained to the bones. "I might need your assistance here for a moment," she said in Bridger's direction. She didn't have to ask twice.
"Just put your hands here," she directed, "I want you to hold his leg firm and as still as you can until I can see if the bones have been disturbed. I will have to remove this cast and replace it with a new one."
Bridger did as he was told, placing one hand firmly above the cast and one as gently as he could near the bottom. Just as he put his second hand on the cast, a groan was heard from the teenager.
Lucas murmured in pain and turned his head as though an attempt to escape the source.
"He moved," Tony blurted out, speaking the blatant obvious, almost losing his own balance off the edge of the bed.
"You stay exactly where you are Mr Piccolo," Kristin issued in a stern voice. "Don't put any more pressure on that leg than is absolutely necessary." But she could see from the exertion on Tony's face that even that small sudden jerk had inflamed the damage to own leg.
Kristin bent over Lucas's face, his eyes still closed, and seemingly asleep. She used the palm of her hand to feel the gentle breaths he was exhaling. "Lucas, can you hear me honey?" She waited before repeating the question.
Kristin gently brushed the hair out of his eyes hoping to invoke a response from the unconscious teenager. "Lucas?" No response again so she went back to assessing the damage to his foot.
"His breathing is a little shallow, but nothing to be over worried about," Kristin informed the small group of onlookers, as she turned her attention to the cast.
"I can't risk giving any more pain medication at present due to the mixture he has already had his captors. Hold him once more please, Nathan, but be prepared as this may hurt him," Kristin warned.
"Commander Ford, please hand me that pair of cutters on that table there," Kristin requested. "The only way to take this off without causing too much pain is by cutting it off altogether."
"Hold him steady, Nathan," Kristin repeated to Bridger.
Kristin used the sharp metal blades to cut through the flexible material that made up the cast. It was a little stiff in places from where it had come into contact with moisture. She was almost down the length of the cast when Lucas began to stir again.
At first his awakening was no more than moans from the pain and turning his head from side to side as he tried to fight the dizziness that assailed him. But the semi-consciousness state caused him to be confused and disoriented.
Lucas began to feel more of the pain beginning to flare in his leg and Kristen's actions, although gentle as she could, made the teenager more alert. His system was running on adrenaline and had yet to feel to full impact of exhaustion.
"It's alright, Lucas, Kristin is trying to fix your leg. You are safe now, but you just need to keep still for a few more minutes," Bridger said, trying to reassure the teenager that the worst was now over.
Part of Lucas's brain registered what was being said to him, the other parts were winding down as a result of the deeper sense of exhaustion that was beginning to set in.
He was telling himself he should open his eyes and talk to the voice that he could hear, but the effort to raise his eyelids was more than he could muster at the moment.
"Too tired…….."
These were the only two words that Lucas managed to mumble before succumbing to the tiredness that wouldn't let go. He felt himself drifting away from conscious thoughts and couldn't remember what it was now that he wanted to do.
"You just rest, and let us take care of everything," Bridger whispered, running his hand through the untidy blond locks on Lucas's forehead. Feeling for the first time since this whole saga began, that the teenager was at last back with them and safe.
"He really sounds tired," Tony commented, hearing the drawl in his friend's voice and seeing the level of exhaustion etched on his young face.
"He should be just fine, Tony," Kristin replied, knowing how close the two friends were.
There wasn't too many times that Piccolo showed a more sensitive side to his personality. He always liked to put on a mask so to speak and not let anybody see the real Tony. Much like a certain blond teenager too. Too afraid to let anybody else in. The friendship between them made perfect sense.
"Commander Ford, could you please ask two crew members to get a bed ready for Lucas in Bridger's quarters. By then I should be finished examining his leg and be able to give a better assessment," Kristen suggested.
"Your going to let him stay out of Med-Bay tonight?" Tony queried, thinking it odd rather than a bad thing. Kristen was known for being strict with adhering to medical advice, but Lucas was about the only one he knew of that got special treatment. Except maybe the Captain himself.
"Ordinarily, I would not agree," Kristin responded, see Tony trying to turn her rules back against her. "But Lucas was forcibly taken away from those people who care and love him. He might be very anxious in the weeks to come. He might be flighty around people he doesn't know or unfamiliar surroundings."
"Yeah, you can say that again, that cave wasn't exactly the warmest or cheerful of places," Tony interrupted briefly.
"I think it would be better if he was near the people that he is most comfortable with, like the Captain, you and myself. He probably doesn't want to be bombarded all at once about what happened for him, and for a time, he may want to forget or deny it happened at all," Kristin continued.
"But it has to be better for him to talk about it doesn't it?" Tony offered in logic.
"Yes, but at a pace that he is comfortable with, Tony. Lucas is someone who hides his emotions and feelings at the best of times, even from us. We can predict how he may react to something like being kidnapped, but have to be prepared to exactly the opposite if it happens."
"I hear what you are saying, Doc. I will make sure that the rest of the boat gives him some space for a couple of days. They are probably going to want to know how he is."
"I suspect they will too, but I would appreciate your help in limiting the number of visitors for a few days, until Lucas begins to recover a little more. The first few days will see him resting as much as possible and probably longer than that, allowing his leg to heal more again," Bridger asked, seeing
Kristin nod her head in agreement of such a suggestion.
"Make sure the bed is padded a lot with extra blankets on the bottom," Kristin instructed Ford. "I want to put some pillows under his knee to support the leg as well. I will monitor his temperature for a few hours, but it doesn't greatly concern me at present."
"It shall be done," Ford said formerly. "I will check back on how you are doing later," he said to Tony before leaving to find two volunteers.
Tony and Bridger were forced to wait another ten minutes whilst Kristin removed the remainder of the flexible cast and gently assessed the damage.
An x-ray was the best course of action, and thankfully with Lucas asleep, he offered little resistence. He had murmured incoherently when she had handled his injured foot, but his slumber too deep for him to feel any great pain. No doubt the story would be different once the teenager was conscious and more alert.
"Fortunately for Lucas, the bones appear to be still aligned. No displacement that I can see immediately. That is what I feared the most when I saw the state of the outside of the cast," Kristin explained as she worked.
"There is a little swelling around the top of the foot though, and the redness of the surrouding skin suggests some inflammation."
"I am going to rewrap his foot and then place a fresh flexible cast on his lower leg. That will help support it as it did before, and hopefully without too much activity or jarring over the next few days, the bones should continue to mend without too much interference," Kristin stated.
"So glad you are going to be okay, Kiddo," Bridger said to Lucas as he watched him sleep. "We gave him some milk from a thermos on the boat," he remembered.
"That wouldn't have done him any harm. It might have proven a benefit in coating his stomach against the concoction of drugs he received. The milk should absorb some of the drugs, and allow any side effects to be decreased."
Twenty minutes later, mostly watched in silence by Bridger and Piccolo as Kristin worked on Lucas's leg and put a fresh cast in place.
"Hand me that blanket from underneath there, Nathan," Kristin said, pointing to a trolley nearby. "And two of those pillows."
Bridger watched as the two pillows were carefully placed underneath Lucas's knee, raising the foot to an acceptable level that allowed support and decreased any stress on the bones or muscles.
Kristin placed another two fresh pillows underneath Lucas's head, and then covered him with two warm blue blankets. He had been cold in the cave, causing a slight low grade fever, but she didn't want to risk him developing a chill.
The doctor had tried up until now to ignore the bruise that was beginning to darken on the teenager's face. The foot had been the most serious injury, but now that it was taken care of and treated, Kristin went to the extra lengths to check out any other bumps Lucas may have suffered at the hands of his kidnappers.
"How did he get this?" Kristin asked, already suspecting some sort of physical blow from the position on his face.
"Some of those guys went to hit me," Piccolo admitted. "Somehow he missed and hit Luke there. Knocked him clean over in the boat."
Kristin clenched her unseen hand onto a sheet, controlling the anger she felt that someone would strike Lucas. Keeping her doctor persona though, she turned her attention to its after effects rather than the cause.
"Seems to be mostly superficial. Only fresh though, so may be worse in the morning. I suspect it is tender to the touch," Kristin remarked, giving her opinion orally.
"Lets him some rest for now, I can access his pain level through the day if he wakes. Hopefully, with crossed fingers, he should sleep soundly though most of the afternoon," Kristin instructed.
"Now," she said firmly, turning attention to two new suspected patients. "Which one of you wants to go first!"
Tony and Bridger both looked at each other and then Kristin, hoping that both of them would be able to slip under her radar whilst she was more concerned about taking care of Lucas.
"Him first," Tony said, pointing to the Captain. Kristin took the opportunity that presented itself and grabbed at his out stretched hand.
"Now lay down on your stomach for me Mr Piccolo," Kristin said, hoping the sterner tone of voice would get him to comply.
Piccolo reluctantly did so, but could only glare back at Bridger who was smirking to himself from behind Kristin's back at the seaman.
"It doesn't really hurt that much now, Doc," Piccolo tried to say in his own defence. It was Luke here that needed the care, not me."
"Doesn't hurt, huh?" Kristin asked impartially as she gently began to touch the bruised skin on the back of his lower calf.
"Yipe!"
"I'll take that as a yes," Kristin said, never understanding why men tried to behind a tough outer mask. Most of them never admitted to injury unless it was forced upon them.
Tony was surprised himself just how much it hurt. He had momentarily forgotten about it while they watched over Lucas, but now the residual soreness was apparent.
Though clenched teeth, Tony let the doctor continue her examination, though he found to difficult to hold back from calling out when she had accidentally pressed on a particularly tight spot. The muscles felt as though they were knotted together, and there was a slight stiffness that he described to Kristin.
"Well, I think you will live, Tony," Kristin said with a sly smile, but with genuine regard for his wellbeing.
"It may be tender for a week or so, and like Lucas, I suggest you stay off that leg for a few days. I will give you some inflammatory medicine that will help ease most of the pain."
"Its alright, doc, I am tough enough to put up with the pain," Tony said, turning himself over and preparing to get off the examination table. "I come from a long line of……………" was all he managed to get out as he allowed his feet to touch the floor.
"Yipes" he cried out once more, holding onto the bed until the sharp burst of pain began to subside. He raised the foot a little to ease his body weight off that foot.
"You were saying?" Bridger said with a laugh.
"I was saying, I better take a bit of that medicine, Doc," Tony admitted sheepishly. "But what about you too?" he now added, making sure that he wasn't the only one that the doctor had to look over skeptically.
"Nathan?" Kristin turned and asked at Tony's words. She knew only too well that when it came to admitting pain, Bridger was worse than Tony or Lucas.
"It's nothing really," Bridger said as he began to back pedal a few steps, rotating his injured shoulder as he did so to check that there had been no miraculous recovery. Much to his dismay there had not been and his face turned into a grimace at the protesting muscles.
"Now, where have I heard that before," Kristin said, gently scolding him. "No wonder Lucas doesn't come to me when he needs to, just look at you two."
"Don't look so smug, Piccolo," Bridger said in mock sternness. "Things have a way of coming around you know."
"Sitting up here please, Captain!" Kristin said, emphasing his title, but padding her hand on the bed where she wanted him to sit. "Shirt please."
Bridger knew he wasn't going to get out of this one, and did as he was told, removing his shirt. Unfortunately for him, it resulted in a few more grimaces at the protesting muscles that Kristen clearly heard.
Upon observation though, the doctor could clearly see the reason for his discomfort. A large egg sized bruise had formed in the centre of his left shoulder blade, indicating where the rock had hit him as they carried Lucas to the boat.
A thin pinkish welt gave evidence of where a sharper edge of the rock had connected with the bone of his shoulder blade but had not had enough force to break the skin.
"All of this just for the sake of a computer chip," Kristin muttered tersely, as she gently dabbed at the bruise with some antiseptic. "The lengths some people will go just for money," she added.
"That is what we will need to discuss with Lucas when he is well enough," Bridger said on a more serious note. "I don't want to crush his desire for this project, and I doubt any of you do either, but we have to look at what has happened over the past few days and the risk his life has been put into just because of it."
"That's the most sensible statement I have heard all night," Kristin agreed with Bridger, but she knew how much the teenager had poured into his chip.
Lucas had taken great pride in the fact that these companies were fighting over each other and willing to hand over fists full of dollars just for such revoluntary technology.
"Perhaps we can reason with him about slowly down and pulling back a little for a while, until all this has passed. Lord knows, he is going to feel the effects of his captivity over the coming week to remind him of the danger he has faced," Kristin suggested.
"That should heal in a few days, Nathan," Kristin said, finishing her examination and allowing him to put his shirt back on. There wasn't much she could recommend for the bruising except ice packs that she would also suggest to Tony for his injured leg.
"Thanks," Bridger replied, getting of the bed and looking in Lucas's direction. "Guess we had better move him."
"Yes, but not you two," Kristin stated. "Your leg is too sore Tony, and Nathan, you will do more damage to your shoulder. I will call Commander Ford and someone else. You two can supervise and help me get him settled into bed once we get to your quarters.
"She's the boss," Nathan said to Tony, submitting to her plan.
Commander Ford was summoned and came to inform that all was prepared. He was only too happy to help move the injured teenager as Kristin explained the minor injuries that Piccolo and the Captain had sustained.
A few minutes, and Lucas was being laid in the ready made bed in Bridger's quarters. Commander Ford took his leave, telling Bridger that the SeaQuest was secure and he would have control for the rest of the day to allow the Captain to rest and watch over Lucas without being disturbed.
Tony left at the same time, Kristin insisting that Ford give him some assistance in getting to his own cabin, much to the protest of Tony. Piccolo bid the sleeping Lucas to rest easy and promised that he would be visiting first thing when he awoke.
"You don't know what thoughts ran through my head when I first saw him laying on the floor of that cave," Nathan stated, his voice very soft and low in tone.
Kristin paused fluffing the pillow she had just picked up and listened to Bridger's brief admission. She did not want to interrupt it as the chance rarely came along with this man who chose to hide his true feelings and emotions most of the time.
Except when it came to Lucas. And oh boy, how much that teenager followed after Nathan in that respect. She could throttle the both of them at times, but then inwardly recognized for a moment, that it was this very reason that the bond between them was so strong.
That neither of them demanded anything from each other, but depended on each other so strongly, even if there was not always a physical contact that could be seen.
"I can't believe grown men would stoop to such underhanded tactics just to gain the upper hand on a boy Lucas's age," Kristen stated firmly, punching the soft folds of the pillow a little more to get rid of her anger. She soon realised what she was doing and placed the pillow on Lucas's bed, monitoring his sleep.
Between themselves, Kristin and Bridger shared the responsibility of keeping a close eye on their patient. Thankfully, Lucas's sleep appeared to be deep enough for him not to dream and toss or turn about in the bed. Kristin wanted his leg to continue the healing process.
By 6 am the next morning, the majority of the SeaQuest crew was asleep and the corridors of the large vessel remained quiet. Commander Ford was on duty on the Bridge, but there was only a small skeleton crew maintained for those tasks that could not be ignored.
In Bridger's quarters, one of the figures began to stir, slowly at first. The fog swirling around him threatened to take him again before he had a chance to wake properly. He lay still for a moment, trying to gain his bearings, searching for a coherent thought.
It was only then that Lucas sat bolt up right in bed, gasping for breath as the memory of the cave and his captors hit him full force.
In a tall building in the city, a single office was lit up and voices could be heard coming from inside:
"You two let him get away!"
Frank and Riley cringed at the anger that was directed at them.
"Technically we didn't let him get away, Boss. Those no good Seaquest people found him," Riley offered in his own defence.
"Technically, you are an idiot," the man shouted back, and began pacing back and forth trying to formulate a new plan and somehow salvage what was left of his previous intentions.
"You of course realise how difficult it is going to be to get anywhere near him now? You bumbling boobs don't realise how much I want what that kid has. And what I am willing to do to get it. The kid has shown that he does not want to co-operate willingly, so we will have to persude him, the hard way."
"What have you got in mind?" Frank asked, trying to find a way of getting out.
"As usual, if you can't get something done right, then it is time to do it yourself. Which I intend to do. I still have one ace up my sleeve."
To be continued…………………
