Part 10

ooooooooooooooo

Alonzo awoke to the most beautiful sight in the world. Julia slept peacefully beside him, her head resting lightly on his chest, one hand clutching the neck of his shirt and obscuring her face slightly as she leaned onto him from where she fell asleep while watching over him. He did his best to lie totally still, so he wouldn't wake the doctor. Not that he could move much anyways.

Ever since he was free from his restraints, Alonzo found every movement took an unbelievable effort and exacted a high toll. Mindful of his sleeping lover, he drowsily tried to assess his injuries to get a handle on his condition. His body ached, the thrum of pain threatening to escalate with the merest of movements. The new incision on his abdomen shadowed the original injury on his back, making the pilot feel as if he had been driven through with a hot poker. Not that he almost hadn't, he knew. As much as he tried to ride it through, his head buzzed painfully with a need only the medicine seemed to calm; the throbbing behind his eyes was getting unbearable as it snaked its way down his neck, wringing his muscles tighter with each passing moment. But, as uncomfortable as all that was, his back superseded everything else, with spikes of pain radiating through his torso and flaring down his legs with the slightest impulse.

Alonzo traveled what little of the med-tent he could see without moving. It was nearly morning. He could see the hints of dusky red on the canvas. Above him, partially in the shadows, another bottle of blood hung from a pole, making him wonder with some bemusement who's blood was now being introduced into his veins and how many of their companions Julia had drained to get him better.

The day before was sketchy to the pilot as was the week before that. Snippets of memory surrounded by the soft padding of Gilbert's syrupy concoction. Alonzo vaguely remembered some excitement over Rogers' visit and the additional surgery later that day but that was about it. He wouldn't worry about it, it wasn't his way. Get better, move on, celebrate life. The pilot sighed softly, he was more than ready for his next dose.

Julia stirred slightly, shifting in her sleep. Alonzo caught himself and tried to keep his breathing steady. She looked endearingly rumpled and he loved her for it. As much as his body craved the medication, for the time being, he was content to stay awake to watch her fondly as she slept. Alonzo carefully wiggled his toes, gratefully feeling the soft sheet glide across them. Julia had told him, if his paralysis had been permanent, he would have had to wait for the Colony Ship and the medical equipment it offered for any chance of walking again.

A twinge in his lower back caught Alonzo off guard. He grunted softly as his body arched away from the impulse. A tremor coursed through his body as the pain broke free. He tried to rein it in, but it broke past him again. At a soft rustle, Alonzo looked back to Julia to see her blinking herself awake in surprise at having been caught asleep only to peer intently at him. Sitting up with a sigh, she drew her hair behind her ears to gather herself as he lay panting against the pain.

Alonzo noticed she still wore her diaglove. Relaxing a little as the last wave eased a bit, he look directly at the medical device, raised his eyebrows at her and smiled shakily. "Sorry."

Julia matched his smile with one of her own, part exasperation, part love and part promise as she started scanning him. "I can give you a little of Gilbert's narcotic now," she began. "I'm holding off on a full dose because I want to give you more when we load you on the TransRover."

He mutely nodded his acquiescence, grateful for anything at this point. Julia retrieved a hypospray from her bench. Sorting through her vials, she found what she wanted, scrutinized it briefly and snapped it into place. Alonzo eyed the vial with the turquoise liquid questioningly.

"Yale and I analyzed the compound thoroughly yesterday. At first I had my doubts, but it's really a remarkable pharmaceutical. We were able to purify it into an injectable. It's much more concentrated this way but I should be able to meter it out more accurately, which may minimize some of the side effects. Since you need to be on it for the time being and the painblocks appear to interact negatively with this medication, I'll use this instead of the typical painblocks. Once we get you on a stable schedule with it, you hopefully won't have breakthroughs of pain." She leaned close as she injected the medication into the vein in his neck.

Alonzo heard the soft hiss in his ear, felt the tingle, first gentle then more insistent. His hand strayed toward his neck. Julia's hand followed his, the diaglove humming. The tingle grew to a burning sensation then, quick as it rose, the heat died, leaving a chill on his neck that drew an involuntary shudder from the pilot.

"Did that hurt?"

"Real warm... coold..." Alonzo's eyelids drooped. His breathing slowed and steadied with the relief the medicine brought with it. His hand haltingly captured her diagloved one where it hovered next to his, while their gazes met. "Thanks."

Ignoring the diaglove's frustrated chirrups, Julia allowed Alonzo to hold her hand for a moment before extricating herself. "I need to see how it interacts in this form," she apologized as she laid his arm by his side and continued the examination. Noticing the more targeted dose didn't immediately sedate him, she added with a gentle caress on his chest, "Try to rest, it's going to be a long day."

The pilot sleepily nodded his understanding. Drowsing, he watched her monitor the medicine's path through his body as he felt the familiar buzz soothe his nerve endings. Her examination complete and confident the pilot was content for the time being, Julia busied herself preparing her equipment for travel.

Not having been awake for such a long time since the accident, Alonzo lay motionless while his mind wandered. Now, without the distractions of either Julia or the pain, he increasingly became aware of an unnerving disquiet which lay just below the surface. The pilot wondered about the odd sense of something missing he couldn't seem to shake. Something not quite right which seemed to eat at him from somewhere deep inside. Alonzo sighed softly, bringing the doctor back in a rush.

"Alonzo?" Considering him closely, she frowned her concern.

"I'm ok," he lied badly.

She harrumphed in reply. "What's wrong?"

"It's just... I don't know how to explain it..." He sought the words, a way to explain the intangible feelings. Frustrated at his confusion, he looked to her for help. "I feel empty."

"Empty?"

"Yeah. I guess..." He sighed, "I don't know..."

"Julia?" Devon's voice cut into the tent.

"Just a minute, Devon," Julia replied, exasperated by the distraction as the pilot struggled with his thoughts. She laid a hand on his arm. "Relax. It's normal to experience some confusion due to the anemia. With everything you've been through, it's going to take a while to feel like yourself again. Maybe you're trying too hard."

He nodded with a sigh and sank deeper into the bed. "What does Devon want?" he reminded her.

"Devon, come on in."

Devon entered the tent, seeking. Spotting Julia sitting next to Alonzo, she crossed the tent. "How's Alonz-- You're awake!" she observed with a smile when the pilot tipped his head to see her.

He tiredly smiled back, his lids progressively getting heavier. Alonzo's eyes lazily tracked Devon as she approached.

Julia gently stroked his wrist, her fingertips and thumb tracing opposing ovals. She could see the effect the simple sensation was having on the pilot as he slowly faded towards sleep. He fought the seductive pull at first, stubbornly blinking his eyes open to meet her gaze. She bent low to whisper in his ear, "I'm right here. Sleep now. We'll talk later."

Finally yielding, he allowed his eyes to drift shut. Julia watched his chest slowly rise and fall in the rhythm of sleep. The doctor silently considered Devon as she joined them.

Devon found a seat and perched across from the doctor, her hands on her knees. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything. I didn't wake him, did I? I thought I heard voices, so I hoped you were up. How's he doing?"

"He's been awake for a little while. He's stable. Once this transfusion is done, I'll need to monitor him closely for a couple hours then we should be ready to travel."

Devon looked dubiously at the bottle of blood then down to the sleeping pilot. She had to admit, he looked better than the day before, the transfusions had given him a little much needed color, but he still appeared much too frail, his pallid features and soft curls vaguely reminding her of Uly before he was healed. "Are you sure he's ready? We can wait..."

Julia wished she was. She had spoken with Danziger about it the night before, while she was collecting his blood after his watch shift. What she could actively do for Alonzo had been done. Now, he needed time and rest. She had considered trying to synthesize a marrow stimulant to help his body produce more blood, but was hesitant to due to the hairline fractures. With the fractures' locations in his back and sacrum, she also could not give him a bone healer treatment for fear of overgrowth in such sensitive areas. Julia shrugged helplessly. "I don't really know. He's stable and the route ahead of us looked good, so I hope so. Danziger is having Cameron drive the TransRover. He's usually pretty good about keeping it smooth. We'll stop if Alonzo gets stressed at all. Between the anemia and medication, I'm hoping he'll sleep."

Devon considered the young doctor and then the sleeping pilot. "If there's anything I can do to help..," she offered.

"Julia?" Morgan poked his head into the tent. "Bess is busy making breakfast, so I thought I'd see if you needed any help."

Julia smiled at the offers as she retrieved a roll of bandages. "Thanks. Morgan, once I'm done with this, if Devon doesn't mind watching Alonzo, I could use some help with my monitors."

Devon nodded readily while Morgan wandered into the tent, waiting to find out what she needed done.

Capturing Alonzo's left hand, Julia slowly drew it to her, pausing for a moment at the unconscious resistance. As the pilot relaxed, the doctor lightly wrapped his burn to protect the open wound from the dust the large mining vehicle was known to kick up.

Devon's eyes widened at the bruised shadow of a large handprint visible on his upper arm. She looked to Morgan who tracked the source of her concern only to whiten slightly and look away with an odd look on his face she couldn't fathom.

Quickly checking the IV line, Julia pushed herself up. She missed the exchange of glances. Turning to Devon, she asked, "Are you free for a while?"

"Of course! Should I be looking for anything?"

"Fever, chills, hives, anything out of the ordinary," Julia listed. "He's had quite a few units within the past few days and I'm concerned about an adverse reaction. This will be the last transfusion he'll receive."

Taking the doctor's warnings to heart, Devon scooted closer to Alonzo, watching him closely. The pilot continued to sleep placidly as Morgan and Julia busied themselves packing up the tent around them.

True tentatively entered the tent, two plates in her hands. Reaching into her pocket for a utensil, she quickly handed a plate to Julia and then turned to Morgan to explain quietly, "Bess wanted to know if you'd like to have breakfast with her or in here."

The liaison glanced over to Julia and around the nearly packed tent, then told the girl, "Let her know I'll be out in a little while?"

True nodded as she brought Devon her meal. She approached the cot anxiously, having been kept away from anything to do with Alonzo, the strange men they had encountered, and the whispered discussions which stopped whenever she or Uly drew near. Bess had noticed the young girl's furtive glances at the med-tent since the pilot's return and, knowing Alonzo had again stabilized after his most recent operation, had given the child this task to help ease her worries.

While Devon took her plate with a smile, True eyed Alonzo as she fished out another spoon. She followed the IV line up to the bottle of blood dangling above her head. "Is that my dad's blood?"

Devon looked over to Julia who replied, "No, he's already had your father's. That's Mazatl's."

True lightly rested her hands on Alonzo's arm, her eyes again wandering the pilot's pale features. "Is he gonna be ok?"

"Yes, True, Julia thinks he's going to be fine," Devon assured the girl, looking past her to Julia.

Seeing the child's distress, the doctor came over to True's side. Crouching down, she watched through the reflections of the eyes of a child as True regarded her friend silently. "He's very weak right now, but he should be better in no time," Julia confirmed. "When he wakes up, I'll tell him you were in to check on him, ok? For now, why don't you give Bess Morgan's message?"

True nodded obediently and, sparing Alonzo a quick relieved glance, trotted out of the med-tent, dodging past her father as he entered.

Danziger glanced past his elbow as his daughter trotted past, her eyes aglow, then to the adults in the med-tent. "She wasn't supposed to come in here without permission..."

"Bess sent her in," Devon confirmed to his relief. "She just wanted to see Alonzo for herself."

Danziger nodded. He had tried to quell her concerns, but knew she was still troubled by what little she knew about what had happened. True had seen too much in her young life and was exceptionally perceptive. With the adults as on edge as they had been and the undercurrent of fear which had coursed through the camp after Alonzo's disappearance, then Gilbert's visit in the pilot's stead, it was only understandable to the mechanic that his daughter would worry about their friend. As much as the mechanic knew Uly had also seen far too much for a child his age, despite Devon's protective nature, being in a Syndrome ward for any length of time would do that to a child, he was still a young boy, now caught up in the thrill of normalcy and seemingly content with whatever explanation his mother had used to reassure him.

"I just don't want her to get in the way." He surveyed the tent. "How are we coming, Julia? What's the timeframe?"

"We should be able to load almost everything as it's packed. Morgan's been helping me, so we're almost done with the larger equipment and crates. I want to give Alonzo two hours after this transfusion is complete, then he should be ready to go. Is the TransRover ready?"

"Yeah, I've got one of the sidebaskets pretty well padded and a sunshade over it, so he should stay as cool as possible. It looks like it's gonna be a scorcher today."

"Julia..."

Alerted by the tone of her voice, Julia rushed over to Devon's side. Alonzo shifted restlessly, moaning in his sleep. The doctor immediately began scanning her patient. Frowning, she turned off the transfusion and sorted through a nearby crate.

"Is he dreaming?"

"No... No, I don't think he can yet." Preoccupied, the doctor loaded the hypospray. "He's developing a fever. With all the blood he's been getting, I was worried about this but didn't want to give him anything unless it was absolutely necessary. He needs an antihistamine"

As Julia administered the medication, Alonzo awoke. He hazily looked up at the doctor, his eyes red-rimmed. "Hot."

"You have a fever. I just gave you something to help."

He squinted unevenly, closed his eyes and tried again. "Gotta check coordinates." Alonzo slid his elbows back for leverage and tried to get up. Immediately, his back arched in pain only for his abdomen to clench against it. He fell back into the bed with a choked sob as he single-mindedly attempted to rise again. "Something's wrong with the ship! Can't feel it!" he protested as Julia easily held him down with a palm on his chest.

"Alonzo, you're injured and feverish. You need to lie still," she reasoned with him. "Please, relax."

The medicine and fever spoke louder to the pilot. He tried to fight her restraint, his breath coming in gasps as he weakly strained against her. Finally yielding, his eyes widened blindly as he sank into the bedding. "Please, Wilson... No more..." Alonzo drifted back into unconsciousness.

Taken aback by the pilot's comments, Danziger demanded, "What was that all about?"

Julia sat back, monitoring the effect of the antihistamine in Alonzo's system. Once she was satisfied with it, she restarted the transfusion. "Confusion is pretty typical with severe anemia. Even though the times you've been here he's mostly been pretty lucid when he's awoken, you have to keep in mind he's also very heavily medicated," she cautioned. "As long as he stays stable, we should be ready to go in a few hours."

Devon and Danziger exchanged worried frowns as the doctor busied herself with her packing once more.

Alonzo remained quiet, sleeping through much of the morning and into the afternoon as the convoy slowly wound its way along the canyon once again. The pilot remained oblivious to the scrutiny he received from everyone, only waking long enough for a drink and, perhaps, a quick visit with Julia before fading asleep again. The day was brutally hot, even to people now accustomed to traveling in everything from snow swept mountains to blazing desert.

After calling for another much needed rest break, Danziger clambered out of the DuneRail. He thoughtfully watched Julia hop down off the TransRover to stretch her legs as Bess and Morgan came to stand near Alonzo. The mechanic stretched with a grimace, luffing his sweat-soaked shirt away from his skin as he walked over to the larger vehicle. "How's he holding up?" he asked Bess quietly.

"Julia feels he's handling it as well as can be expected."

"Good. Hopefully, we can get another couple hours in, then we should probably start looking for a good campsite."

Bess bobbed her head, her curls bouncing in agreement.

Behind her, Morgan was talking to the now awake pilot, "Hey, 'Lonz. How're you doing?"

"Stopped for the day?" the pilot asked huskily from where he lay curled on his side, one hand gripping a sidebar while the other cupped his abdomen.

"Ummm... ahh..."

"Yeah, man. We're setting up camp right now," Danziger responded unexpectedly over Morgan's shoulder, causing him to jump while earning a knowing look from Bess. The mechanic set the nearby crew into action with a dip of his head. "You just relax and we'll have you in bed in no time."

The pilot sighed in relief. He held himself very still as he searched the area. "Where's Julia?"

"She's stretching her legs. She'll be right back," Bess assured him with a smile. "Do you need anything?"

"Hurts..."

"OK, she should be back in just a minute or do you want me to call her on gear?"

Not answering, Alonzo distantly looked through the gathering group as if they weren't there. Bess ducked her head to meet his eyes to no acknowledgment. Morgan's hand on her arm drew her attention.

Her husband shook his head and pulled her to him to whisper, "Let Julia handle it."

"What's going on?" Julia wove through the crowd to the pilot's side. "Alonzo?"

The pilot snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice. "Julia?"

"I'm right here. How are you feeling?"

"Hurts bad."

"OK. It's almost time. Let me get it."

Walman readily boosted the petite doctor up onto the vehicle where she loaded her hypospray and applied it to Alonzo's neck. The pilot closed his eyes tight as the medicine hit his bloodstream. He shuddered slightly then visibly sank asleep.

As everyone looked on, Julia scanned Alonzo thoroughly. Looking up, she met Devon's worried frown. "He's fine," she assured them. "Why are we unpacking?"

"Time to stop." Danziger answered firmly with a look which brooked no further argument.

ooooooooooooooo
--end Part 10--