Hearts and Fates Entwined

By: Fairedust

Part three

Chapter 3

Just as she suspected, Cottle was furious with her when she arrived almost three hours before he said she could. "What in Gods green hills are you doing back in here?! I thought I ordered you not to come back any earlier that 0600!" He bellowed in his gravelly voice.

"Well Doc, I'm sure it's that time somewhere in the Universe. Maybe next time you will be a little more specific. Besides, from what I just felt, I'm quite sure you could use an extra pair of hands." She blasted him right back.

Even though he'd never admit it to anyone, he did to himself. He really enjoyed her pluck. She never gave him any deferential treatment due to him being a Major. The only slack she granted him was due to his MD status and that was it. Generally no one would be able to classify her disagreements with insubordination. They seemed to usually be in regard to a medical procedure or treatment. Still this time was definitely pushing the line. Other life station personnel had stopped in their tracks, to see how this would unfold.

"While I admit we will be needing all the assistance we can get, I am still not happy with you being in here. Did you manage to get any sleep? You look like someone put you in a burlap sack and rolled it down the hill." he grumbled. Pluck or not, she looked like hell. He was about to insist on her leaving, when the injured started to be brought in. Seeing the large number coming into his domain, he knew he had to concede. She was right. She was needed. Giving her a quick wave to let her know she'd won, he ordered her to do triage. He was heading over to surgery to await his first patients.

Once Cottle said Tabby was in charge of triage and he left to scrub, the other nurses and assistants began to move in earnest. Injured men and a woman were quickly shuffled into curtained off rooms. Supplies suddenly seemed to appear. All went to work. Tabby began to make the rounds on all the cubicles. Cottle had left her in charge of who needed to be seen by him first and so on.

While making her quick rounds she was able to hear in bits and pieces what had happened down in an engine room. It seemed as if one of the boilers valves had been blown off, causing a small chain reaction in the compartment. That would certainly explain what she was seeing. Most of the crew members she was inspecting were covered in severe burns caused by either fire or steam. Several were also injured in what could only be from flying shrapnel. In all there were eleven men and one woman brought into Life station.

Handing off the patients with only minor burns and cuts to one of the other nurses, she wrangled Ishtay over to assist her. She ordered the worst one, who must have been directly in front of the valve when it blew, to be brought directly into surgery. There wasn't much she could do for the poor man with so many more needing her. She left him in Cottle's capable hands.

Marking down the order of anyone else needing surgery, she went down the list. Most however, only needed patching up or some stitches. Time to heal and pain meds were what they needed. As it turned out only two were in need of actual surgery in order to survive. Cottle already had one on his table, leaving the other in Tabby's hands.

The nurses moved like a well oiled machine. Quickly all had been given pain meds and the arduous task of cleaning their cuts and burns began. The one with Tabby was not so lucky. Ishtay gave the man a light dose of morpha, while she hooked him up to a monitor. She noted his blood pressure was dropping rapidly. Both she and Ishtay quickly cut the mans clothes off, to better see his injuries. He had a huge gash on his side, almost from armpit to waist. But what concerned Tabby even more was the huge bruise on his upper chest. It was almost purple already. Internal bleeding, she realized.

Moving with haste, she went to sew up his side. "Tabitha? Are you sure we should be closing him? That bruise indicates he must have some internal bleeding. Doc Cottle will only have to reopen what we sew out here."

Giving her a confident look she stated in a calm firm voice, laced with steel, " I am going to sew him up right now and you are going to help pull his flesh together. If we don't sew him up now, he's gonna bleed to death from this laceration, Ishtay! If the Doc wants to open him back up when he's done in there, fine. But for right now, this must be done." Ishtay gave a firm nod in return. Cottle had left this woman in charge after all, and she knew an order when she heard one.

Ishtay reached over to pull the flaps of raw flesh back together so Tabby could start to first sew the inside musculature together and then the skin. Ishtay was thinking it was fortunate the man had already passed out by the time he'd reached Life Station. Her relief was short lived, however. As soon as she had started to pull the loose flaps of flesh together, he sat bolt upright, screaming in pain. When Ishtay reached for the Morpha needle again, Tabby stopped her with a bark. " He cannot have any more of that. He's lost too much blood already." , she said firmly. Then she called out for someone to come help hold the man down.

Both women were surprised to see their assistance came from the Commander, himself. He had entered Life Station shortly after the casualties had begun to arrive. Seeing everyone else already occupied, he never even hesitated. He felt it was his duty to help. By the time they were done, both women were covered in the poor mans blood. The Commander wasn't completely spared either. Quickly seeing to the man's other injuries, both women made quick work of sewing, cleaning and patching his remaining surface wounds as best as possible.

Once done, Tabby sent Ishtay to check on the other, less severe patients. This left Tabby alone with the Commander still holding the man down. Realizing she would never be able to get an IV into the thrashing mans arm, she decided to risk using her skills in front of the Commander. She really felt she had no choice. Cottle would be in surgery for at least another hour. This man would bleed to death from his internal injuries before then. Even if she were able to fix the damage, he still was a few pints too low to safely be allowed any pain meds. She knew she couldn't just do nothing. She felt it was well worth the risk to save this mans life. Even if she wound up sharing a cell with Sharon.

"Bill, I need you to remain calm, can you do that for me?" The Commander gave her a questioning look. He was calm. What was she referring to?, he thought. When she continued to stare at him in question, he realized she expected some type of an answer. He gave her a single nod in response to her questioning look.

She reached into her large pocket and pulled out several stones. At another time and place he may have admired their beauty. She placed them around the head and foot of the bed. Then she pulled out what he at first thought was a potato, only to realize this too was a stone. To say he was confused, was an under statement. Why was she putting stones around the mans bed? Why wasn't she doing something doctorish? He was about to ask, when he realized she was staring at him again.

"Bill. I promise, I won't hurt either of you. But this man needs our help right now. I need you to hold him still and remain calm. I will answer any and all of your questions once he is out of danger. Deal?" While her voice remained calm and steady, Bill knew it was his own reaction that made her eyes shine nervously. He decided to play this one out. What else was there for him to do. His crewman needed him. He gave her a firm nod, then tightened his grip on the mans shoulders.

Tabby ensured the cubicles curtains were all closed tightly. Then while holding onto her 'potato' rock, she began to hum softly. Bill's eyes flew to her face to ensure he was really hearing what he thought, but he held the man and his tongue. He was beyond curious as to what it was that was about to happen before him. He'd heard some rumors around ship, but…

Placing one of her small hands onto the mans chest she moved the other holding the rock just above her heart. Her humming seemed to increase in intensity, though not really in volume. With her eyes closed, she could not see Bill's scrutiny. As he watched, it looked as if the air around her hand on the man's chest began to shimmer. Was that even possible? He was surprised to realize he wasn't feeling any fear. He felt strangely calm, more curious than anything.

Tabby began to breath heavily, and her face became flushed. Sweat was beginning to run down from her temples. The shimmer was no longer just around her hand but had moved up to envelope her whole being. The air itself smelled slightly charged, he noted. Also, the man he was holding no longer seemed to be fighting his hold. Looking quickly over to the monitor, it seemed to his unskilled eye that the man was doing fine, better than fine really. The machine said his respiration and heart rate were improving.

Quickly returning his gaze back to this unusual woman he began to comprehend what it was she was actually doing. She was somehow healing this mans wounds right before his eyes. Looking back down on the man in question, he noted the purple bruise had lightened down to an angry red shade. Then her humming stopped. When he looked back at her, he saw her reaching for the IV. Once she had the injured man hooked up to a blood bag, she flopped into a near by chair, cradling the odd looking stone to her chest.

He noted her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily. Looking down at the sleeping man, he knew he was no longer required to hold him down. He walked cautiously over to Tabby, not wanting to startle her. She seemed miles away. Kneeling down before her, he looked over her flushed face. Her eyes remained closed tightly.

"Tabitha? Are you going to be alright?" he said in a fatherly voice.

"Just give me one more minute before your questions begin, please. I can still feel his pain running thru me." she said in a near whisper.

Feel his pain? What was that all about? Did she make those injuries just fade away or had she absorbed them, as her comment implied. Aside from being confused that she could heal someone. He was flabbergasted that she would be willing to absorb someone else's pain into herself.

At that moment Ishtay re-entered the cubicle. Looking over the three occupants, she came to a quick realization. Walking over to the prone man, she covered him with a blanket. She took a quick look at the monitors, then checked the IV line and bag. Nothing else needing to be done, she quietly exited; closing the curtain tightly behind her. The mans condition came as no real surprise to her. She'd discovered Tabitha's ability some weeks before. Thus far, she had decided to keep this discovery to herself.

Eventually Tabby opened her eyes. Tired did not even come close as a description for her. Exhausted was only a close relative. Drained seemed more appropriate. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked in genuine concern. At her small nod he continued. "Did you really take all his injuries into yourself? Isn't that dangerous for you? How did you do it?" came his rapid questions.

Tabby noted right off he didn't seem afraid or disgusted with her. Perhaps she wouldn't find herself rooming with Sharon after all. Looking into his eyes, he seemed only concerned for her. Not the way she had seen many men of control look at her. Those who had seen her ability as a way to extend their own power. Men like the Roganovs, had seen her ability as a way to do just that.

Raising her face up to his," I'll be right as rain in a little while, Bill. I don't absorb their injuries and pain, as much as …channel it back to the elements. Yes, it is usually very painful; but it's generally not too dangerous for me. I've had this ability for as long as I can remember, the same as my mother and her mother before her, and so on. It just seems to be something most of the women in my family have always been able to do. The ones who followed the path anyway." came her weary reply.

Bill took the time to absorb her answer, before he spoke once more. "I see. Well then, if you no longer require my assistance, I'm going to go check on the rest of my crew." His tone relayed his acceptance of her unusual abilities. Much as he accepted Kara's unique traits, 'warts and all', he decided to do the same with this special woman. Standing up slowly, he exited the cubicle to check on his other injured men.

Shortly after, Cottle came out of surgery with his patient. When he looked around for any others, he noted there seemed to be no more takers. He then made the rounds of all his new patients. He had not seen Tabitha since leaving surgery. He was given the run down by Ishtay. He never even thought to question. He assumed that after the crisis was over, Tabby had wisely gone back to her quarters to sleep. Little did he know he was simply not crossing paths with her. She too, was making rounds with all the newly injured.

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Tabby knew her strength was waning, but she simply could not leave all these burn victims to suffer. The morpha could only do so much, after all. Knowing Cottle would simply have her kicked out of Life Station, she did her best to avoid him. The man wasn't the quiet type, so it was fairly easy to judge where he was at, at any given moment. Choosing her path wisely, she proceeded to visit almost all the new casualties. Making a stop at her beginning was ultimately her undoing.

When she entered into the privates cubicle, she found him thrashing about on his bed. Since she knew his blood count was still way to low to administer any pain meds, she gently laid her hands against his head and side. Unaware, due to her complete focus on those in so much pain, she used her last reserves of strength. She pulled the gravely injured man's pain thru herself. She had just finished when Cottle entered the cubicle with Ishtay.

Upon seeing her still there, for what seemed hours after he had left surgery, he instantly went on the offensive. "What in tarnation are you still doing here!!" he bellowed, causing Ishtay to flinch. Tabby merely turned around with a dazed look on her face. "My job, as if that wouldn't be obvious to even a blind man." came her slurred response.

Cottle held his tongue. Something was definitely wrong here. Tabby's eyes seemed to be glazed and she was swaying on her feet. If he didn't know better, he'd have sworn she was three sheets to the wind. Knowing that could never be the case - this woman never drank, or if she did, it certainly was not to excess - there had to be a different reason. When he saw her weave her way out of the cubicle, he was right on her heels. He knew Ishtay was more than capable of checking in on their patient.

It ended up being a very good thing he had followed her so closely. Not five steps out of the cubicle, she collapsed. He managed to catch her before she hit her head on the ground. Looking at her face, he saw she was unconscious. Damn!! What was wrong with her? Was it simple exhaustion? Somehow he doubted that.

"Ishtay! Help me get her to an exam room STAT. " With the two of them working in tandem they managed to get her lying down on a freshly made gurney. Checking all her vitals, Cottle didn't find any immediate problems. He then tried some smelling salts, which had no effect. "Go get the portable scanner in here. I want to do a full work up on this little lady." Ishtay quickly moved to comply. The concern for their new patient was clearly written on both of their faces.

While Cottle waited for the scanner, he began to quickly divest her of clothing. With his assistant's return, they removed all but her knickers. Cottle began a complete examination of her skin and skeletal structure. When they rolled her over onto her stomach, both gave an audible hiss at seeing her back.

From shoulder to waist, it looked as if somebody had flayed her open multiple times. They could see where the flayed scars had healed, only to have the skin ripped anew, in crisscross patterns . To Cottle's trained eye, it looked as if this was the work of several years. The Ragonovs he realized. Reaching out his trained hand, he felt the ridges of several different lengths, widths and heights. He knew several of these had gone thru the muscle layer to cause such dramatic results. He never noticed his eyes tearing, but he did hear Ishtay's quiet sob of disbelief.

"My Gods Sir, what happened to her. It looks like she fell onto a hay baler!" came her strained question.

"They're whip marks. By the Gods, I'd heard stories of those monsters, but here's the proof." was his growled response. By sheer determination, he managed to pull his professional cloak back around himself. He was already afraid what the scanner would reveal.

"Get the scanner hooked up. There doesn't appear to be any new injury on the surface that caused her to collapse." He gently laid Tabby back onto her back while she moved to prepare the machine. Cottle knew he wanted to have a jar of the Chief's 'home brew' when he was done. Even trying to prepare himself for what he might find on the bone scan wasn't enough. He had counted over 60 different breaks. All but a three from early childhood appeared to be from the same time frame, three to six years ago. That was the time frame the Commander had said she was held captive.

Fortunately there seemed to be no recent breaks. There also seemed to be nothing showing up on the deep scan of her organs. He was at a loss. Hooking up a separate monitor to her temples, he grew even more concerned. Though not in a coma, she was certainly down deep in an unconscious state. Shaking his head in confusion, he headed to his office. He simply didn't understand what could be wrong. Physically, there seemed to be nothing at all to account for her current condition. Ishtay stayed awhile at her bedside. She had already made her as comfortable as possible. There really was nothing else for her to do. But she knew and liked this woman. It just felt wrong to leave her all alone. So she sat.

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tbc