Tegan Chronicles Sanctuary Style 3:
Nubbin Juice 11
Stubborn

Over the last week and a half Helen and Tegan seemed to fall back into old habits. Though Tegan was more careful about not getting lost in thought during staff meetings, and whenever she started to feel like she was falling for Helen she only had to recall Nikola's pointed words. The puppy followed her everywhere within the Sanctuary walls, and rarely barked at the other residents with exception of those kept in the SHU. When she had to go out to help pick up supplies or shipments from the docks he would ride with her. The only time he wasn't with her was when she was doing field work or on a mission; during those times he stayed with Biggie or in an empty habitat.

As the routine staff meeting came to an end Helen asked if anyone had anything to add. Tegan waited to see if anyone had anything more important and when no one spoke she did. "I haven't decided if he's going to be a permanent fixture here, but I have decided on a name."

He lifted his head off her foot as she spoke and looked up at her with sleepy puppy eyes.

"He was a really lucky dog to survive being dropped at the docks, and to follow the van all the way back to the Sanctuary with out getting run over, or even eaten by some puppy hungry abnormal. So…"

"Let me guess." Kate wiggled in her seat. "You're going to name him Lucky."

"Not exactly," Tegan grinned. It was so cliché, but really she'd tried to go with another name and nothing else fit. "His name is Fraks, which is…"

"Norwegian for lucky." Helen smiled. She liked it. "He looks like a Fraks."

Fraks looked at Helen as he stretched. He already knew it was his name, and trotted over to her.

Two days later Henry jogged over to Tegan's bedroom door when he heard Fraks barking up a storm, which was really odd. He never barked more than once or twice when he was around Tegan, and he knew she wasn't out on a mission. With his keen hearing Henry could tell it wasn't his normal bark.

"Tegan?" He knocked on the door and waited thirty seconds with the only response being Fraks incessant barking. He opened the door about nine inches before it hit something soft. That's not good. He stuck his head through the opening and looked down to see Tegan's knee was blocking the door's progression. He watched for a few seconds as her body tensed and then relaxed. As her body tensed again he reached down to calm Fraks. "Hey, it's ok."

He pulled his radio from his pocket and held it to his lips. "Doc?"

She could tell from his tone, even over the radio that something wasn't right. "Go ahead Henry."

"I need you in Tegan's room, she's having a seizure."

She didn't say anything but appeared a minute later, slightly winded, to see Henry standing there holding an agitated Fraks in his arms. "He was barking and I came to see what was going on. Her leg is blocking the door."

Helen nodded and looked in. Tegan was no longer seizing. "Tegan?"
"'m fine." She mumbled.

"Move your leg." Helen told her.

Tegan kicked the door as Fraks squirmed out of Henry's arms and ran in the bedroom afraid the door would close and he'd be stuck outside.

"The other way." Helen watched him run up and start licking Tegan's face.

"Sit." She pulled her leg out of the path of door as Fraks sat. No one understood why he followed her commands, especially at such a young age. If anyone else told him to sit he would look at them as if they were speaking Alienese.

"Tegan?" Helen knelt beside her. "You had a seizure."

"No." She shook her head. "Decided to take a nap on the floor."

"Really?" Helen sighed.

"No." She was too groggy to pick up on the sarcasm. "But I'm fine."

Helen looked around the room and then back at Henry. "When you guys had that scuffle with the Treptopod last night, did she make her eyes glow?"

"No," He looked at Tegan his mind replaying the events. "I don't think so. I mean, there was about twenty minutes where we were separated."

"Did you?" Helen turned her attention back to Tegan.

"What?"

"Make your eyes glow last night?" She repeated the question.

"Maybe." Tegan rolled on her side. She didn't want to think about last night, or anything for that matter.

"How many times have I told you that you need to tell me these things?"

"Too many to count." Tegan mumbled.

"And yet you still don't tell me."

"I have a splinter in my thumb." Tegan threw out for good measure.

Helen wanted to say that was nice. She figured Tegan was trying to change the subject. "How did it get there?"

"Dun know." She shrugged.

"You know I can have your driver's license revoked." Helen warned.

"Then I can't fly your ass half way around the world on a whim."

"I'm going to chalk that up to an electrolyte imbalance." She glanced up at Henry. "I've got it from here."

"Come on boy, let's go for a walk."

Fraks looked from Henry to Tegan.

"I'm fine, go." And with that he trotted out the door with Henry.

"Bed?" Helen asked.

"Mine…" Tegan bit her tongue to keep from saying, or yours?

"Infirmary."

"No." Tegan sat up with her back still to Helen.

"I wasn't asking."

"I'm not going anywhere."

The defiance wasn't lost on Helen and she wondered how much of it was post seizure grumpy, how much was electrolyte imbalance and how much was just Tegan's hardhead. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Take your time."

When she returned Tegan was sitting on the side of the bed in a bra and underpants trying to put her lounge pants on like a shirt. "I thought you weren't going anywhere."

"Going to bed." Tegan yawned. "Tired."

"Let me help." Helen took the pants from her and helped her into the shirt.

"You…" Tegan's brow wrinkled.

"What?" Helen prodded.

"Nothing." Tegan was glad she'd caught that one before it slipped out. She realized telling her boss she smells good probably fell under the category of sexual harassment. She inhaled deeply.

Helen held the pants up. "Can you stand?"

"Nope." Tegan fell onto her side and pulled the covers over her naked legs. "Had to crawl here."

"Did you hit your head?" Helen tossed the pants on the foot of the bed and started running her fingers through Tegan's hair.

"Feels go- ouch!" She moved her head away.

"You've got a nice goose egg there." Helen smiled to herself. "I think you managed to give yourself a concussion."

"Sounds 'bout right." Tegan closed her eyes.

She reached forward and felt the side of her head again trying to gauge just how big the bump was.

"Would you stop it?" Tegan's eyes snapped open and she growled.

"I was just trying to check your head out." Helen straightened her back and frowned down at Tegan while searching her pocket for the penlight she'd slipped in it earlier. "Were you dizzy when you got up?"

"Never made it up." Tegan pulled her biomechanical arm off and rolled over pulling the covers up to her neck.

"I need to get blood and do a neuro check."

"No light." Tegan closed her eyes tightly reminding Helen of a child trying to block out visions of an imagined monster in the closet.

"It's part of the neuro check." Helen reminded her. "Sorry."

"No you're not."

"You're right." Helen agreed with her. "If you'd just told me that you'd made your eyes glow I could have given you an oral potassium supplement and we wouldn't be having this discussion."
"Where's Fraks?" Tegan lifted her head and looked around. "Fraks?"

"He's out side with Henry. Remember?"

"Yeah." Tegan looked up at Helen. "What are you doing here?"

"Tegan?"

She sat up and threw the covers back. "I don't…"

Helen saw it coming, but before she could step back Tegan projectile vomited all over her new stilettos.

When she woke up she was in an infirmary bed with Fraks curled up under her arm and his chin resting on her chest.

"You're keeping the dog." Helen was sitting in a chair beside the bed with a book in her lap. She had changed into scrubs, tennis shoes and a lab coat.

"Maybe I don't…" Tegan paused as he scooted up and licked her chin.

"If you were going to give him up you would have done it by now. Besides he chose you, and if it hadn't been for him barking no one would have known you were having a seizure today."

"And that would have been a bad thing because?"

Helen gave her a look that dared her to go there.

"Fine, he's staying." It wasn't like she could give him up now anyway. She looked at Helen's attire. "I – uh, sorry."

"It's better than some things I've encountered. How's your head feeling?"
"Like there's an episode of monkeys go wild with jack hammers being filmed live inside my skull."

Helen held up a bottle of potassium pills. "I want you to take them prophylactically starting tomorrow."

Tegan sighed.

"I know you're hardheaded, and I know you don't want to take it. But please don't make me treat you like a child."

Tegan looked at the IV running into the back of her hand. She wanted to argue with Helen. Say something smart. Pick a fight.

"You take them and I'll let you keep your license."

Tegan glared at her, but it was clear Helen wasn't going to back down.

"You're getting another potassium bolus after that one."

"Can't I just eat a banana a day or something?"

"We'll revisit the issue in a month." Helen shook the pills. "Until then."

Tegan closed her eyes and a grin pulled at her lips. She knew what she wanted to do right that minute. She wanted to rip the IV out of her hand and go ride the Ducauti. Push its engine to the limits. To feel it tremble and vibrate beneath her. It was such a rush, and it had been so long since she'd done anything that reckless.

"What?" Helen put her hand on Tegan's leg.

Even through the sheet and bedspread Tegan could make out everyone of Helen's fingers. "Are you going to stay?"

Helen watched her open her eyes. A curious green dance shifted in her irises. Something in them made her feel like she couldn't abandon her. "I won't leave." She watched a mix of disappointment and relief flood through her face at the same time.