Seth burst in a few moments later, gently laying TJ on the nearest Medbed, and causing a worried Rosie, who had been checking on a still sedated Elmira, to rush to them, grabbing a scanner in the process. Seth gave her a few moments to scan TJ, holding his girlfriend's hand before Rosie forced him back so she could more thoroughly examine her. He watched the Mercurian's browline furrow in concern while he nervously wrung his hands. "How bad is it, Rosie?" he choked out. Tears threatened to fall as he glanced at TJ, her arm at an unnatural angle, angry purple and black bruises marring her beautiful face. He was angry, devastated, grief stricken, all of it. He wanted an outlet to let all of his rage for her being hurt out but the truth was, he was more furious with himself. If he had been with her, he could have stopped her, or shielded her, protected her. Hold it together, Seth, he chastised himself. Stay strong for TJ.
Rosie hit some buttons on her Compupad before she started speaking. "Four cracked ribs, and her right arm is broken in 3 places," Rosie said. "That stuff we can treat easily."
"But?" Seth's breath hitched in his throat as he braced himself for the inevitable bad news that he felt coming.
She handed him the Compupad before continuing. "She must have hit her head fairly hard before she was knocked unconscious." Zooming in to a scan of Davenport's head, Rosie began explaining, "There are small fractures of both the temporal and parietal bones in her skull. That's bad enough but it's also caused some brain hemorrhaging. If we don't take care of it quickly, it could lead to permanent damage."
"That lump on the side of her head-"
"Caused by the trauma she suffered, yes," Rosie revealed.
Seth took a few shaky breaths, staring directly at TJ, and trying to shore up what little strength he had left to do what he needed. "What are our options?" he asked Rosie.
Rosie glanced at the healing chamber in the corner of the Medlab and nodded towards it. "I don't want to use it unless I have your blessing," she told him, referring to the cylinder which had saved his life already once on this journey. "But it would be our best chance of helping her heal from all her injuries, most notably the brain hemorrhage. Any other thing we can try would require advanced surgical procedures that I am not qualified to handle." The young Mercurian looked pained as she explained what she felt needed to be done, clearly feeling guilty she needed to go that route, but also worried for what her Commander's reaction would be.
"Without the chamber-"
"The bleeding in her brain might spread. It could kill her," Rosie revealed worriedly. "I think it's our best option."
"Do it," he whispered. "I will take full responsibility for this. Just…"
"I will do everything in my power to make sure she is okay," Rosie assured him tearily. "I'll prepare what I need and start the protocols for the chamber."
Goddard was left alone for a few moments while Rosie prepared the chemicals and materials she needed. It allowed him some peace to speak freely with TJ, even if she couldn't hear him. Sitting on the edge of her Medbed, he gently took hold of her hand and held it close to his heart. Tears fell uncontrolled down his cheeks as his grief took hold of him. "I'm sorry, Teej. So, so sorry." Composure gone, he sobbed, clinging to her like a lifeline, even as she wasn't able to comfort him. "This is all my fault. I should've been with you. I would've protected you and you wouldn't be…" He used his free hand to scrub the tears from his face, useless as more kept coming. "We were supposed to be having dinner tonight. I was going to cajole the food wheel to make your favorite things, and then curse it out for giving us something inedible again. You were going to tell me how you figured out my password, and then… God, this wasn't supposed to happen." Seth found himself silently praying to a God he wasn't sure he still believed in, begging for her to be alright. This is what it feels like for a heart to break. It hurts worse than when the ship landed on me.
"Sir," Rosie broke in softly. "It's time."
He nodded and stepped back, allowing the girl some time to prepare TJ's body. Seeing her methodically wrap Miss Davenport's injuries, Seth was simultaneously impressed with the girl's skills and heartbroken that the love of his life had endured the sort of injury that required him to make the decision he had. He wondered if this was how she had felt watching him be put into the healing chamber after his accident. Suddenly, he had a new appreciation for the loneliness she had felt when it was him getting mended, leaving TJ by herself to care for the students. Now that Goddard faced that same fate, it terrified him, knowing he was on his own and alone, at least until Davenport was better.
"Can you help me, Commander?" Rosie asked shyly. "I can't lift her myself."
Taking a deep breath, he cradled her in his arms and held her close to his body as he carried her to the chamber, kissing her forehead softly, and whispering, "Rest well. I love you," before lowering her in, watching Rosie close the lid and begin the procedure to administer the medications and keep her under sedation.
Watching the machine whir to life, he couldn't help commenting on how TJ hated tight spaces. "If she knew that she was inside there, Miss Davenport would be crawling out of her skin." He was trying to lighten the mood for his own sake but failing miserably. "Does she feel anything?" he asked more soberly.
"Nope," Rosie informed him. "The Christa's living systems are hooking onto her to help heal her injuries. The sedatives keep her body comatose so she won't feel any pain while she sleeps. It's just like when you were in there. She'll be good as new in no time." The sense of positivity from Rosie was noted and appreciated, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that his guilt was still consuming him.
"How long is no time?"
"Depends," Rosie said. "A week. Maybe two. It all depends on how quickly the Christa is able to heal her. She certainly isn't as badly hurt as you were, except for that head injury… you made the right decision, Commander." Rosie gave him a reassuring smile, trying to lift him a little. He appreciated it.
Before Goddard could respond, the doors to the Medlab opened, allowing Harlan and Radu to enter. Both boys' eyes widened upon seeing the chamber, their expressions clearly showing their surprise. "What happened?" Harlan managed to say.
"Harlan," Radu warned.
"She'll be okay," Goddard deflected softly. "The Christa is going to take care of her, right Rosie?"
The Mercurian girl quietly nodded in affirmation.
"Are you going to be?" Radu queried, a bold statement for him, but spoken in a concerned and careful tone.
Goddard sighed as he rested his hand on the outside of the chamber, the coolness permeating from the glass to his skin. He stared at her still form as he spoke, "It's hard seeing her like this."
The boys shared a glance with Rosie, all three looking concerned but sympathetic. "If you want us to handle things for a few days, Commander-" Harlan began to offer but Goddard cut him off.
"No, space hates weakness," the Commander stated firmly as he shook his head. "Besides, Miss Davenport would have my head if I neglected my responsibilities."
The boys sighed, shrugged their shoulders at each other, as though they were managing their own version of silent communication, before starting again. "Okay…." Harlan answered for them, dragging the word out.
"Is there a specific reason you both came down here?" Goddard pressed.
"Um, yes, sir," Radu said quickly, elbowing Harlan.
"Right, yeah, so we have good news, weird news, and I don't even know how to explain it news," Harlan told him.
Goddard pulled a face. "Come again?" It was the oddest start to a status report he'd heard in a long time, but it intrigued him just enough to distract him from TJ for the moment.
"Well, we have good news, weird news-"
"I heard you the first time Mr. Band. Some clarification would help."
Harlan nodded. "Well, the good news… Thelma!"
"Yes, Harlan?" Thelma asked as she appeared behind him. The boy jumped at hearing the android's voice over his shoulder, causing the Commander to stifle a laugh. It was always funnier watching it happen to someone else.
Shaking off his surprise, Harlan asked, "Where in space are we in relation to the Starcademy?" His grin was wide, as though he were trying to contain his excitement about something.
Thelma spent a moment analyzing before she responded. "The Christa will be back at the Starcademy in 2 months, 8 days."
Seth's eyes widened. Two months? Could they be that close to home? "Holy… Thelma, are you sure?"
"Oh, I am positive, I think," Thelma assured them. "Our last trip through hyperspace accelerated the trip towards the Sol system. We were able to escape from Spung controlled territory. I would not recommend jumping to hyperspace again though until we modify the engines again to realign our protomix master core back to normal operating parameters. Otherwise-"
"We might bypass our solar system all together," Seth surmised.
Thelma simply nodded.
"And that is the weird news?" Seth guessed.
"Yeah," Harlan nodded.
"Well, Suzee is confined until further notice so she won't be going anywhere until I speak with her, which is certainly not going to be today. Those repairs will have to wait. We're on main thrusters until then," Goddard ordered.
"That's going to be a problem," Harlan told him.
"What kind of problem?" Seth asked cautiously.
"Suzee isn't exactly on board the Christa," Harlan said nervously. "Not physically anyway."
"What do you mean, Harlan?" Rosie asked cautiously.
Goddard's heart sank. She couldn't have, he thought. No way. He has to find out. "Define, not physically on board the ship."
"This is the part we don't know how to explain," Radu started. "See, somehow, um…" He was at a loss for words.
"With all the chaos in engineering," Harlan tried picking up, but he too wasn't sure how to continue.
"Grozit, Harlan, just spit it out," Catalina's voice cut in, as she made her presence known by entering the Medlab, leaving the Commander frozen in stunned silence. "It's seriously not that difficult. You just say, well, Suzee found a way to switch us back, using the additional power from the protomix master, which was integrated with-"
"Her little device she managed to sneak past me while we were on a supply run at the Elydian Outpost," Seth managed as he found his voice. He fought to keep his tone even as he tried to decide whether to be elated that Catalina was home or furious that her being back was directly connected to TJ's current state.
Catalina hung her head. "I told her we needed more time, but Suzee insisted it had to happen right then. With the ship under attack, she thought the hyperjump was the only way all of you could escape and get her and I back in the right dimension at the same time." She looked sadly to Miss Davenport, laying comatose. More softly she added, "Suzee says she's sorry. So am I." The Saturnian girl hung her head, obviously feeling guilty for not only the manner in which she returned but also that it correlated to her teacher's injuries.
"It doesn't make her better," the Commander said bitterly, indicating where TJ lay.
The students all hung their heads, their faces showing remorse for the state their teacher was in, and nervously waiting for their Commander's order whatever it may be. When the command wasn't given after a few moments, Rosie shyly asked, "Commander?" snapping him from his momentary silence and helping him refocus.
"Harlan, you Radu, and Bova go scan this area of space, find out how close we are to UPP territory. Rosie, stay with Miss Davenport, get everything situated with her in the chamber. Cat… take Thelma with you to engineering. I want that device removed from the hyperdrive and restored exactly to as it was before the jump. I will be down there in one hour to check that work-"
"Commander, it takes longer than that-" Cat began arguing.
"One hour," he repeated harshly. "I'll be in my quarters if anyone needs me." As he left, he heard the students talking quietly, noting his cold welcome to Catalina and obvious grief.
"He's angry with me," Catalina said sadly.
"No he's not Cat," Rosie tried assuring her. "The Commander is just upset about Miss Davenport. He'll come around."
Bless Rosie. That girl's sweet soul will make a fine medical officer one day. And she was right. He was happy Cat was home safely. It would also make for one less thing to have to explain to the Admiral when they returned- Elmira would be enough. However, with his grief so fresh in his mind, he had to focus on the immediate pressing matters. Suddenly being significantly closer to home meant the potential for contacting loved ones- and STARDOG Command- so that needed addressing. The engines needed adjusting, logs detailing their journey needed cataloguing, and somewhere in the mess he knew there would be some preparation for his inevitable trial. All while managing the students alone. He glanced once more towards TJ before steeling himself and making his way back to his quarters. There was one thing he wanted to do first.
It had been a long week. After discovering they were within two weeks of the UPP controlled territory, the crew doubled their efforts to get home. It was as though being so close to home had reinvigorated them, wanting to see their families and impress upon members of the Starcademy that they were no longer the same misfit "Space Cases" that had gotten themselves lost three and a half years ago. Even Seth had found himself going through the records of their trip, but that was partly to keep his mind off TJ being stuck in the healing chamber.
She was progressively getting better according to Rosie's frequent reports. The girl was checking on her teacher several times a day, monitoring the progress on how well she was healing and trying to determine when Miss Davenport might emerge. After Rosie went to bed each evening, Seth would spend time in the Medlab, talking to TJ, filling her in about the day they'd had, the mischief the students had gotten into ("how did you handle them when I was in there?"), and how Catalina had been assimilating back with the crew.
Admittedly, Seth had barely paid her mind which he was aware bothered his Saturnian charge, but he couldn't bring himself to sit with her yet. So, other than noting that she had removed Suzee's transdistatial interdimensional thing from the hyperdrive engines, he'd been hands off with her. Yes, he was thrilled to have her home, but rather than facing her, he made excuses for why they couldn't be alone, leaving her with the other students instead of trying to talk her through her experience in Suzee's dimension or how she felt to have returned to the Christa especially under the circumstances that had occurred under. He knew TJ couldn't answer him about what he said- and she would likely be pissed about not addressing Catalina and for essentially blaming her for Suzee's plan and TJ's current state.
Seth had recorded a message to TJ's father just after she had been placed in the chamber. Nothing had been sent but he used it as an opportunity for a brain dump, describing their adventures, confessing to having begun a relationship with her and trying to explain the depth of his love for her, attempting to make it through his duty to crew in informing his mentor of his daughter's injuries, and most importantly, carrying out a promise to the man he had made years earlier- properly asking him for permission to marry TJ. After he was done, he felt stripped raw, having unleashed unabashed tears and simultaneously feeling somewhat better that he'd given himself a private platform to work through everything that had been weighing on him since TJ had been injured. He wasn't sure that what he recorded- or at least that incarnation of it- would ever be sent, but for now, it would carry him until he was able to properly speak with James Davenport.
On the tenth day of Miss Davenport's time in the chamber, Goddard had pulled a Medbed right next to the cylindrical prison, with the intent to sleep beside her that night. Rosie had said nothing, nodding him a silent goodnight as she left for the evening, allowing him the space to handle his loneliness in the manner which he saw fit. Her discretion was appreciated. "Hey, Teej," he greeted her quietly. "Rosie says you're doing really well. You might even get to come out in a few days if things keep looking up. Just… keep fighting in there. I miss you." He rested his hand gently on the outside of the chamber, looking down at her still form, noting how peaceful she looked.
"Commander?"
Goddard spun around to see Catalina standing in the door to the Medlab, wringing her hands nervously. He straightened, pulling his hands back from the chamber and dropping them to his side.
"Please, don't stop talking to her on my account," Catalina told him. She approached cautiously, the usually confident Titanian- Saturnian- Rigellian unsure of how to proceed. "Rosie said you might be here."
He nodded in response, silently waiting for her to continue.
"I honestly didn't mean to interrupt your time with Miss Davenport. I just… you've barely spoken to me since I returned. Everyone else has been really great and catching me up to what I missed but I got the feeling you are angry with me about Miss Davenport. I feel awful about what happened, I really do."
"Why are you here, Cat?" Seth asked quietly. He barely registered that'd he had used her nickname rather than her full name.
"I wanted to talk to you. This might not be the best place, but it's the only one other than the Command Post you've been since I got back so…" Catalina trailed off, not knowing how to continue. She changed course. "I've come to visit her a few times since I got back. When you weren't here. I know I wasn't always nice to her at the academy or when we first started out on the Christa, but after the past couple years in Suzee's dimension, I appreciate all she was trying to do for me. Giving me someone to talk to. Not allowing me to fail. Being more a parent to me than my aunts were…" Tears started forming in her eyes and she hung her head, not wanting the Commander to see her that way.
Seth scrubbed his hands down his face and sighed. He hadn't expected the normally confident and somewhat arrogant girl to break down, making him wonder what other cues he had missed since she'd returned. He quietly pulled over two chairs to sit next to the chamber and silently indicated for Catalina to sit. The girl hesitated at first, but then joined him, both sitting beside one another and looking at TJ's prone form.
"It's so weird seeing her that way," Catalina noted softly. "Can she hear us?"
"I don't know," Goddard told her. "Thelma said anything is possible."
Cat nodded. "I've been talking to her a lot. Telling her about what it was like in Suzee's world. For years I had always said I wanted to visit her dimension sometime. I suppose I should have been careful what I wished for."
Startled by the revelation, Seth's head shot up and he assumed a protective stance. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No! No, they didn't," Cat said defensively. "They were very nice to me. It's just…" She paused trying to find the right words. "I felt confined there."
"Confined? Like a…"
"Her parents couldn't explain to people where I came from. So rather than face questions, they chose to keep me out of sight. They would do normal family stuff with their other daughters like going to the science hall, going out to dinner, but I largely was told to stay home. They'd always bring me something back, but it wasn't the same. Even my school work was done at home. Sometimes I would sneak out when no one was around, just for a little while. Not in the backyard, but going for a walk around the neighborhood. Anything to be able to breathe a little. It was awful." Seth could see her fighting the tears but knew she wanted to finish. "I just wanted to go home. At least I would've had my freedom. But the minute I come home, Miss Davenport is…" The girl broke. Uncontrolled sobs poured from her and Seth wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in for a soothing hug.
"I'm sorry, Cat," he whispered. "I don't want you to ever think what happened is your fault."
"But it is!" she insisted. "That stupid device sent us on the course we were. If I had stopped her…"
"Stop," he told her firmly. "I don't think placing blame is helpful right now. That's what Miss Davenport would want me to ensure."
"But you blame me-" She sniffled.
"No. But if I've been behaving that way then I apologize. I honestly don't know exactly the circumstances that led to Miss Davenport's injuries and for that I blame myself."
"How do you think she'd feel if she knew you blamed yourself even as you said that placing blame wouldn't help right now?" Cat asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks.
Seth laughed mirthlessly. "I imagine there would be a lecture."
"She's lucky to have you. We all are," Catalina told him.
"Sometimes I wonder if it's the other way around," he mused aloud.
"She loves you. Always has," Catalina revealed. "And you've loved her. The only thing all of us can't believe is that it took you both so long to see it."
He chose to ignore her statement and deflect. "It's good to have you home, Cat. And I'm glad you came to talk to me. I needed it."
Catalina nodded. "Thanks, Commander. It… it means a lot." With a smile, she added, "Seriously though, you two have had a thing for each other since back at the Starcademy, how did everyone else see it and not you?"
"Good night, Cat."
"No fair, Commander, I poured my heart out-"
"Good night, Cat."
"But-"
"GOOD NIGHT," he said one last time, more firmly, as he gently steered her from the Medlab and let the doors whoosh behind her.
He turned to face TJ, still silent and still in the chamber and tried to picture her reaction. "Don't judge me," he said teasingly. "You would've ended that conversation too. But she's right. We wasted a lot of years. Once you get out of there, I intend not to waste any more time."
Returning to the Medbed at the side of the chamber, he laid himself down, called for the lights to be turned down, and turned on his side facing TJ. "Good night, TJ," he whispered, before drifting to sleep.
