Chapter 7

The ride back to seaQuest was uneventful. So much so that once they had cleared the tailing fire barrage, the roads had been dark and quiet. The trip back didn't take any longer than the trip to it had, but Alex had curled up to Lucas's side, nestled her head on his shoulder and fallen asleep within a block of being told they were safe. He didn't have the heart to wake her so he had put his arm around her and held her there as she slept. Just happy to have her safe and sound in his arms again.

Tony however hadn't had much choice. Lucas couldn't decide if he was enjoying his stint as a human pillow or if he was too unnerved to know what to do. Sam had all but crawled into his lap and fell asleep the moment they had gotten settled in the vehicle. She still hadn't spoken a word.

Brody and Ford hadn't said anything the entire trip. Either they were silent because they knew Alex and Sam had fallen asleep or they were too tired themselves to be up for small talk. Either way the trip home was a blessedly quiet one. Explanations could wait until they were all back on board the boat.

When they finally came to a stop Lucas gently roused Alex and everyone clambered out of the vehicles. All but Sam. Tony was forced to carry her like a child into the boat with Ford's help navigating the precarious ladders down into the ship. She hadn't bothered to wake when they tried to rouse her.

They trudged their way to the medical bay and were met by Dr. Smith and Captain Bridger. Most of the team members save Brody, Ford, Tony, Sam, Alex and himself had disbanded as soon as they came aboard with the captain's permission. Now Lucas and Alex made themselves comfortable on a nearby bed as Sam was tucked into one of her own and Brody found himself one. Dr. Smith didn't bother with pleasantries upon seeing them she tackled them in order of medical need. Which meant Brody was treated first. With the medical bay more or less empty Bridger felt like he could interject while their injuries were seen to.

"Now then what exactly is going on?" he asked, his voice serious but sympathetic.

Alex raised her head up off Lucas's shoulder where she had been resting it and blinked at Nathan a moment before she could gather her wits. Dr. Smith was busy tending Brody's wounds with the pulse burn treatment she and Alex had perfected the last time Alex had ended up on the seaQuest in the middle of a crisis. But she obviously had an ear turned to the conversation.

"Oh right. Uh, well, yesterday... No, now it's the day before yesterday, we got a shipment of stem cells just like we always do. Except this time, they shipped two units by mistake. One had almost all of the shipping label washed out by coke someone spilled on it," Alex said starting and stopping as she gathered her thoughts. Lucas rubbed her back soothingly as she spoke. She was so tired by now her eyes were nothing but slits in her face.

"The only thing you could still see were the words stem cells. I assumed they had shipped too many in error. Sam checked the boxes over for contamination since one of them had coke spilled all over it. I was going to call the company to see what had gone wrong with the shipment once she was done. That's my research assistant Samantha Collins over there," Alex continued, waving her hand in the direction of the bed Sam was on. She was still sound asleep.

Bridger nodded listening intently. "How did you end up being chased down by henchmen posing as police officers?" he asked.

"I'm getting to that," Alex insisted rather sharply. Lucas grinned at her. Alex had a habit of developing an exceedingly short temper when she was extremely tired. Bridger seemed to take it in stride though he controlled the knowing grin that threatened at the corners of his mouth. To be honest she looked and sounded a little drunk from the lack of sleep.

"Anyway, when she was checking them she noticed they acted oddly. I checked it myself to be sure and they were. Stayed up most of the night trying to figure out what it was they were doing and why. I finally gave up and decided to try again in the morning. By the time I got to the lab, the henchmen had shown up and had Sam held hostage. It was the stem cells or us. We managed to get away and you know the rest," she rattled on.

"So that's where you were at two in the morning. I should have known," Lucas joked. Dr. Smith excused Brody as she finished dressing his wound and moved to Sam. Brody opted to stay and made himself more comfortable on his bed listening to the conversation. Ford and Tony stood by silently listening to the tale; they knew Bridger would garner any information he could from Alex.

"What do you mean they acted oddly?" Nathan prodded. Alex sighed in resignation. Lucas knew it wasn't that she didn't take the situation seriously it was because she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

"They attacked the normal stem cells. They began multiplying, invading and changing them. I never got far enough to know why they were doing it or what caused it," she told him and followed it with a skull-splitting yawn. Nathan patted her shoulder warmly. He knew blatant exhaustion when he saw it.

"Stem cells don't do that," Wendy observed as she scanned the unconscious girl frowning slightly as she did. Lucas wasn't sure if she frowned because of what Alex had said or because she didn't like what the scans were showing.

"Yeah well these do. I would have run a complete panel on the samples but I never had the time. Even with the most advanced equipment out there, it would take the better part of a day to analyze it at least. I managed to save some of it when we ran. The original sample I tested and a few others. They're in the cooler I brought in with me," she explained. Dr. Smith finished her initial exam of Sam, began hooking up an IV of saline fluid to stave off any pending dehydration, and attached vital monitors to her.

"I could start the analysis for you. By the time you wake up it will have gotten further than if we wait until you have had enough sleep to think coherently," Wendy suggested lightly. Alex yawned again despite her best efforts not to.

"Fine by me. I feel like I'm about to drop. Anybody got any food around here? I haven't eaten since the night before last," Alex said dismissively. Right now Dr. Smith could have dumped the vials over her head and danced the hula for all she cared. She just wanted sleep, a shower and food.

Wendy finished her treatment of Sam with a good dose of medication via hypo-spray and moved to tend Alex.

"Well, I don't think we are going to get anything else useful done tonight. Why don't we all get some sleep and pick this up later? I'll have someone bring food to your quarters Alex. You'll be right where you were before. I assume you'll be going with her Lucas?" Nathan reasoned. Lucas let his eyes slide away in embarrassment. He hadn't expected the Captain be so forward.

"Uh, yes Captain." he answered softly.

"Is Sam alright Wendy?" Alex interjected before Lucas could make a complete fool of himself. Dr. Smith nodded.

"Yes she'll be fine I think. She just hasn't had the experience you have with life and death situations. It's taken it out of her. She's as exhausted as I've ever seen a person but a good night's rest, a good breakfast, a shower, a good dose of sedatives and she should be fine by morning." she told her with a smile. Alex hissed in pain as Wendy cleaned the gash on her cheek with antiseptic.

"Thank god. I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong. She's been like that since not too long after we escaped the explosion." Alex replied.

"Stress can do that to a person. You weren't exactly Miss Sunshine the first time you dealt with something like this either." Dr. Smith responded. Alex chuckled at her but Wendy held her head still so she could apply salve and close the gash with butterfly bandages.

"Touché'" she assented.

"Though I admit she does seem a bit too far stressed by all this. There are people who just cannot handle stress well. But reading her I don't think she would be this bad. The scans I ran don't indicate anything is wrong and nothing feels wrong. It's probably just lack of food and rest on top of the stress." Dr. Smith added, that frown tugging at her mouth again.

"You don't think that's all there is to it?" Alex prodded as Wendy collected the discarded bandage wrappers and disposed of them.

"Honestly, I don't know. I could be wrong. But she seems to be perfectly healthy. I just don't get the feeling she would become catatonic from this. Scared yes but this just seems a little much." Wendy replied softly. Alex quirked her eyebrows slightly.

"I don't either. Sam's not the type. Rave, complain and freak out. Sure, those seem like things she might do but then again we don't really know how we'll react to a situation until we face it do we?" Alex observed. Wendy nodded in agreement but the look on both their faces said they still doubted it.

"If Wendy says she thinks Sam will be fine, you two should go get some rest. You especially Alex. You look like hell." Bridger told her. Musing when half the people in the room could barely stay awake was getting them nowhere. Alex shot him a glance and he smiled innocently at her.

"Oh thanks. Why is it every time I step foot outside this boat, underwater or above it, someone is always trying to kill me?" she retorted.