Chapter 10

"The last I saw it, it was on that table," Katie said, pointing to the bedside table.

"That's where I always leave it, but it's not here." Kristin was slightly panicked now.

"It didn't just get up and walk away," Katie assured her. "It has to be here somewhere." She walked over to help Kristin search for the missing PAL.

After a minute, Kristin paused. "What if it did?"

"What?"

"What if it did walk away? I told you I thought there was someone in here last night," Kristin explained.

"Doc, I-"

"I know you don't believe me, that you think I was dreaming, but I wasn't," Kristin said quietly. "You and I both know my PAL was here when we went to bed. And now it's missing; neither one of us moved it."

"Well, I know I didn't. I'm not accusing you, but are you sure you didn't just misplace it? You were pretty shaken up; you had that nightmare."

"It wasn't a nightmare," Kristin insisted. "There was someone here. I need to inform the captain. Are you coming?"

Katie shrugged her shoulders and followed the doctor out of the room. They headed to the captain's quarters and knocked on the door. Admiral Noyce answered, still dressed in his bathrobe. He was rooming with Nathan.

"Oh, good morning, ladies. What can I do for you?" he greeted.

"Is Nathan available?" Kristin asked.

"Actually, he already left. He said something about checking to see that the surveillance cameras had all been repaired before heading to the bridge. And, I'm sure he'd be stopping in the mess before that too. He left about twenty minutes ago. Is there anything I can help with?"

Kristin shook her head. "Thank you for offering, but we really need to talk to Nathan. Perhaps we'll see you later."

"Later," Noyce called as he closed the door.

Kristin sighed. "Well, where do you think we should check first?"

"The mess first," Katie replied. "We can at least grab something to eat if he's not there. Then, we'll head to the bridge."

Kristin nodded her agreement, and they both headed for the mess.

Luckily, they did find Nathan there. Kristin and Katie headed in his direction.

"Morning," Nathan greeted. However, he noticed the look on Kristin's face. "What's wrong?"

"Someone was in our room last night. And now my PAL is missing. I think whoever was there took it," Kristin told him.

Nathan shook his head. "The surveillance crew already reviewed the tapes from last night. No suspicious activity was noted. Are you sure you didn't just misplace your PAL?"

Kristin sighed. "Yes, I'm sure," she insisted through gritted teeth.

"So, you both saw someone in your room?"

"Uh, I was asleep," Katie said quietly. She gave Kristin an apologetic look as she continued. "I can't say if there was anyone there or not. I didn't see anyone. But, in the doctor's defense, I did see her place her PAL unit on her bedside table. This morning, it wasn't there."

Nathan nodded. "Look, we'll just get a new PAL. I'm sure the other one will turn up eventually."

"Wait a minute," Kristin interrupted, "you're just going to let this slide?"

"Let what slide? Think about it; every crew member has a PAL unit. Why would anyone want yours?" Nathan countered.

"I…I don't know. Maybe it's to make sure I wouldn't have one. And, we have two guests who don't have PAL units."

"What are you insinuating, Doctor? Do you really think Admiral Noyce or General Reese would-?" Nathan's voice was growing louder.

"Oh, Admiral Noyce certainly wouldn't, but that conniving Meredith certainly would!" Kristin's voice grew louder as well.

Everyone else in the mess grew quiet. All eyes were on the captain and doctor.

Katie looked around. "Uh…guys? Maybe you should take this somewhere else?" she said gently.

Nathan and Kristin finally noticed they were being watched.

"All right, people, back to work. Nothing to see here," Nathan ordered.

Everyone quickly went back to what they were doing.

"Uh, Doctor, can I see you speak to you privately?" Nathan didn't wait for an answer and headed out of the mess with Kristin on his heels.

Once they were in the ward room, Nathan closed the door behind them. "You just couldn't handle it, could you? You're the one who wanted to keep our relationship professional. It was your idea, for Christ's sake!"

"For your information, this has nothing to do with you and me. This has to do with her. She acts sweet and innocent, but she's far from it, Nathan! You need to wake up and see that." Then she lowered her voice and said, "You're probably not going to believe me, but she threatened me."

"Threatened you? How?"

"She told me to stay away from you or else. And Lucas said she wasn't very kind to him. I think she's the one responsible for all the threats around here."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "And why would she do that to Lucas and you?" Nathan asked. "And she was nothing but kind to him, by the way."

"Well, anyone can see she's attracted to you. And she says she noticed the way you and I…well, that you and I have feelings for each other. I'm a threat to her plans, apparently. Lucas, I'm not sure. I suppose that he would take your attention away from her. She doesn't seem to like when you're not with her. And, you obviously haven't made it clear to her you're not interested in her…or are you?"

"Didn't I make that clear to you yesterday?"

"Well, you started, but we were interrupted, remember?"

"Look…just because you don't like her, stop making false accusations. She isn't the type of person to do that. You don't know her like I do. And I don't know why I have to tell you. You know how I feel about you."

"You've mentioned that, but it's hard to tell. And if you felt anything for me, you'd believe me. Oh,and I think I know her very well, thank you very much. She said-"

"Are you sure you didn't just misinterpret what she said? You know, believe it or not, she says wonderful things about you when she and I are alone. And she keeps saying that she wants to spend some time with you, to get to know you."

"I knew it," Kristin said shaking her head. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"I…it's not that I don't believe you. Maybe there was someone in your room last night, but I don't think it was Meredith. And again, what benefit would she get by taking your PAL?"

"I'm not sure. But I know someone was there. Someone grabbed my arm."

"But the surveillance-"

"I want to see it."

"What?"

"The surveillance video; I want to see it," Kristin said.

Nathan nodded. "Fine; let's go."

"Cap," Crocker greeted them. "Something wrong?"

"Well, actually, we've just had another incident on B-deck. And the doctor here wants to see the surveillance footage from last night. She thinks there was an intruder in her room," Nathan explained.

Crocker nodded. "One minute." He set the tape from last night so Kristin could watch it. "You can fast forward or rewind with these buttons here," he explained.

As Kristin watched, she noticed something. "The camera shuts off every so often?" she questioned. She noticed the delay in time.

"It doesn't shut off exactly, but there is a delay if it's the end of the tape. It's only about thirty seconds or so," Crocker explained.

"You're sure that's all it is?"

"It might be a little longer maybe. Why?"

"Because," Kristin pointed out. "The footage has a full five minutes where nothing was filmed."

"Even if that's the case, how would anyone know there was going to be a window of opportunity?" Nathan inquired.

"I guess that's for us to find out," Kristin said. She turned to Nathan. "But we now know it could have happened."

"Maybe, but that still doesn't prove it was Meredith." Suddenly, Nathan's PAL beeped. "I have to get to the bridge. Let me walk you to the lab on the way, and I'll have Ben deliver a new PAL to the lab for you from the supply room."

She nodded. "Very well."

"And how about I pick you up for lunch?" Nathan asked as they walked.

"Will it be a Meredith-free lunch?"

"Kristin, I think the best way to deal with whatever is going on between the two of you is to confront her. I'm sure you'll see it's all a silly misunderstanding. Meredith wouldn't even hurt a fly," Nathan insisted.

"That didn't stop her from hurting you all those years back," Kristin pointed out.

"That's in the past. And she'd never physically harm anyone," he said, rephrasing his words.

Suddenly, however, they heard a cry from down the hall. It didn't take long for them to react, both running towards the source of the cry.

Meredith ran straight into Nathan's arms. "Oh, Nathan…someone…someone…" she stammered through tears, pointing towards her room.

Kristin stepped in the doorway and covered her mouth in shock over what she saw. There was a doll similar to the one that had been in Kristin's room. However, this one wasn't disemboweled. Instead, it had been elaborately set up to look as though it had been drawn and quartered, ropes tied to its limbs, the arms and legs detached from the body, fake nerves and blood everywhere. And to top it off, Meredith's picture was taped to the dolls face.

She turned back to Nathan, who was trying to calm Meredith down. "Sshh," he soothed. "It's okay; you're safe."

After a few minutes, Meredith had calmed down enough to speak. "I had left the room," she explained, "to get some breakfast. I was looking for you. When I didn't find you, I thought I'd go back to my room and relax a bit, and I found this."

"What about your roommate?"

"Amanda? She had to get to the lab, and I told her to go on ahead. I thought it would be all right," Meredith said, starting to cry softly again.

Nathan wrapped his arms around her once again, trying to comfort her.

After things had died down and the room was cleaned, Nathan went over to Kristin. "So you still think she's the one responsible?"

Kristin stole a look at Meredith, who was being comforted by Admiral Noyce, her head down. However, she seemed to notice that Kristin was looking at her. She gave Kristin an evil smile, then quickly went back to crying and being upset.

Kristin was sure it was Meredith. Now, how was she going to convince Nathan?