Thought I had forgotten about this one, eh? Nahhh. Just struck with inspiration for the other one. But still working on this one when the mood hits :D
read earlier disclaimers please :D
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They arrived back on base at almost 4 in the morning. They were all exhausted and wanting to crash. Duke told Cover Girl and Stalker to grab a few hours of sleep and they'd have a debriefing at 0600. He then went straight to his quarters. He had work to do still, but he'd been up for nearly 24 hours and he wanted to see his wife.
He opened the door and smiled just a little, happy to be back at home. He didn't see Scarlett immediately, so he went to peek into the bedroom. Curled up tightly, under a throw lay Scarlett. Looking at her positioning and the dishes in the kitchen, he guessed Jaye and Flint had come over to help her pass the time and then she had fallen asleep and they carried her back there.
He crawled onto the bed and put his arms around her, smiling back at her when she opened her eyes sleepily. "You're home." She scooted closer to him and the relief was audible in her voice.
He put his arms around her and kissed her gently, "Sorry I'm back so late. I'm just here for a quick nap, we still haven't debriefed and then I have to run by Doc."
Her eyes snapped open and suddenly she was wide awake, "Doc? What's wrong? Were you hurt?" She looked him over carefully.
He rolled his eyes, "Not really. I got pistol whipped or something. Cover Girl and Stalker are anal about me having it checked."
"Well, they should be. Head injuries are nothing to mess around with!"
He grabbed a pillow and tagged her lightly with it. "You sound just like them. I'll get it checked out. Please, can't we have just a quick nap first?"
She shook her head, "No, you shouldn't sleep if you have a concussion and you know that! Get up. We're going to head down now."
Duke groaned miserably, "It isn't a big deal." But dutifully he followed her out of the bedroom, casting one fornlorn look back to the bed and its comfortable pillows.
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Doc checked him out, flashing lights in his eyes and then examining the back of his head. He frowned a little, examining it gently. "I'd like you to get a CAT scan. There's a small mass, and it could be a blood clot."
Duke nodded, squeezing Scarlett's hand. She leaned down to whisper to him, "Aren't you glad I made you come down?" He didn't answer, grumbling softly. He got changed into a flimsy gown, glaring at Scarlett's giggles seeing him in there.
"Shove it Red." He gave her another glare before being taken to another part of the sickbay, Scarlett staying behind to wait.
She flipped through a book while waiting impatiently. She was just thankful they had the equipment here so they didn't have to go to a "real" hospital and wait around there forever. It seemed like forever before anyone came out to see her. A nurse finally came out and told her that it would be a little while longer while they finished reading the readouts.
"Can go back and keep him company then?" The nurse quickly shook her head and retreated before Scarlett could ask more questions. Scarlett was now alarmed because she noticed fear in the eyes of the nurse. Not exactly a confidence inspiring thing.
Now she paced around the area, dreaming up all sorts of terrible things that could be happening. Each minute seemed interminable. Finally Doc came out, his expression grave. She rushed over to him. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
"Scarlett, I need you to go back to your quarters and get things for Duke. Clothing, books to read, anything he would like."
"No! I'm not doing anything until you tell me what is going on." She was terrified now and torn between getting really angry or crying.
"The MRI showed something unusual. He needs to be kept in isolation until we can figure out how to deal with it."
"I'm sorry, that's not good enough. I'm his wife and if necessary I'll pull out our powers of attorney. I have a right to know." Now she was just pissed. He was tiptoeing around what was going on and that just made her more upset.
"We can't be sure, but it looks like Duke may have a capsule in his neck, like the ones we found in the body. I'm sorry Scarlett." Doc seemed uncomfortable telling her this because she knew what was involved with those capsules and what the risk was. "Once we are sure about transmission of the virus, we can let him out of isolation, but until then, we have to protect not only the base but the rest of the world."
Scarlett felt a little light headed, like the oxygen content had just been sucked out of the room. "Take it out. Just take the damn thing out!"
"You know we haven't been able to get one out yet without it rupturing. And the closeness to his spine complicates it even more. We'll keep working, harder than ever. We'll find a way to get it out. I promise."
She was still breathing heavily as she digested this. "Alright. I ... uh... I guess....I better get him some things. Can I see him at least?"
"Through a viewing wall, but you can't go in there. If that capsule were to rupture, it could kill you too. We have to contain this virus."
She nodded numbly and walked out of sickbay, heading back to their apartment, running into a few people, literally, as she headed back. She took their epithets without even so much as a dirty look in return. She passed by Jaye who may have said something to her but she didn't even hear her. She arrived back at the apartment and packed a small bag for him, working on autopilot. She felt a strange sense of being disconnected from all this. Except when she closed her eyes, and visions of the destroyed corpse they found came to her.
She had the few things she knew he would want right away and was about ready to leave when there was a knock on the door. Scarlett opened it, letting Jaye in. Her best friend was a bit concerned because of the wild, vacant look in Scarlett's eyes. The news about Duke wasn't common knowledge yet, so all she knew was that the mission to find Snakes was a bust. "You ok?" Jaye eyed her cautiously.
Scarlett barked out a laugh, "Oh, of course. I mean, for God's sake, it's not like the pregnancy isn't doing enough to my brain and emotions. Let's take advantage of the unstable hormones and see how much we can screw with her mind!" She laughed again as Jaye just looked at her, a little bewildered. "No really, I'm peachy keen. I just don't know what the fuck I'm doing in this screwed up life! What the hell kind of person has a child in situations like this?"
"Situations like what?" Jaye asked cautiously, she was a tad unnerved by Scarlett's ranting. This wasn't her usual flare of anger, and she was starting to worry for her friend's sanity.
"Haven't you heard yet? I'm sure it will be all over base soon. Duke's got one of those nifty little plague capsules in his neck. My fault by the way because I was sure that my ex-boyfriend was still alive and sent my husband to go check. Isn't that a healthy family dynamic! Dysfunctional even before the baby is born, is this a new record? Not that it will be dysfunctional for long, because it's not like I'm going to stay married to his father for much longer. I'd love to, but that lovely plague he's carrying will probably interfere with those plans. So single motherhood. What in the hell have I done to my life? This isn't what I wanted for myself." The words just kept spilling from her mouth, tripping over occasionally, lightning fast with barely a break for a breath.
Jaye was floored. She was able to figure out what was going on now, but that didn't make it much easier to deal with. She reached a hand out touch Scarlett's shoulder, "Hey, come on now, l-"
Scarlett shrugged the hand away angrily, her eyes blazing, "Don't give me platitudes Jaye. I know you probably mean well, but I don't want to hear it. mmmKay?"
Now Jaye's anger flared, "Calm the hell down Scarlett! I'm not the enemy here. I know you are upset, but you need to stop." Her voice slowed and got firmer towards the end. "Take 3 deep breaths." Scarlett did so. "Do you have a grip on yourself now?" She nodded a little. "Good. Because even though that thickheaded husband of yours won't show it, he's going to be scared too. He doesn't need to worry about you too."
Another deep breath in and out and Scarlett nodded, "I know. I know! I don't know what came over me." She rubbed her forehead lightly.
Jaye smirked, "It's like you are PMSing, except about a thousand times worse!" She grinned and ducked from the light swat Scarlett sent her way. "Ok. You're going to go back there and...."
"Request some valium." Bland stare from Jaye, "Alright. I'm going to stay calm. Make sure I get all notifications on the progress on the disease the moment they happen. Happy?" Scarlett looked much more with it and sane finally.
"Yes. Much better. I didn't want to have to slap you, but I would have if you hadn't calmed down. Or I really would have asked Doc about some Xanax or Valium." She gave Scarlett a hug, "A little bit of faith goes a long way. He'll be ok."
"I'm holding you to that Allie," Scarlett deadpanned as she grabbed the bags and headed back to sickbay.
read earlier disclaimers please :D
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They arrived back on base at almost 4 in the morning. They were all exhausted and wanting to crash. Duke told Cover Girl and Stalker to grab a few hours of sleep and they'd have a debriefing at 0600. He then went straight to his quarters. He had work to do still, but he'd been up for nearly 24 hours and he wanted to see his wife.
He opened the door and smiled just a little, happy to be back at home. He didn't see Scarlett immediately, so he went to peek into the bedroom. Curled up tightly, under a throw lay Scarlett. Looking at her positioning and the dishes in the kitchen, he guessed Jaye and Flint had come over to help her pass the time and then she had fallen asleep and they carried her back there.
He crawled onto the bed and put his arms around her, smiling back at her when she opened her eyes sleepily. "You're home." She scooted closer to him and the relief was audible in her voice.
He put his arms around her and kissed her gently, "Sorry I'm back so late. I'm just here for a quick nap, we still haven't debriefed and then I have to run by Doc."
Her eyes snapped open and suddenly she was wide awake, "Doc? What's wrong? Were you hurt?" She looked him over carefully.
He rolled his eyes, "Not really. I got pistol whipped or something. Cover Girl and Stalker are anal about me having it checked."
"Well, they should be. Head injuries are nothing to mess around with!"
He grabbed a pillow and tagged her lightly with it. "You sound just like them. I'll get it checked out. Please, can't we have just a quick nap first?"
She shook her head, "No, you shouldn't sleep if you have a concussion and you know that! Get up. We're going to head down now."
Duke groaned miserably, "It isn't a big deal." But dutifully he followed her out of the bedroom, casting one fornlorn look back to the bed and its comfortable pillows.
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Doc checked him out, flashing lights in his eyes and then examining the back of his head. He frowned a little, examining it gently. "I'd like you to get a CAT scan. There's a small mass, and it could be a blood clot."
Duke nodded, squeezing Scarlett's hand. She leaned down to whisper to him, "Aren't you glad I made you come down?" He didn't answer, grumbling softly. He got changed into a flimsy gown, glaring at Scarlett's giggles seeing him in there.
"Shove it Red." He gave her another glare before being taken to another part of the sickbay, Scarlett staying behind to wait.
She flipped through a book while waiting impatiently. She was just thankful they had the equipment here so they didn't have to go to a "real" hospital and wait around there forever. It seemed like forever before anyone came out to see her. A nurse finally came out and told her that it would be a little while longer while they finished reading the readouts.
"Can go back and keep him company then?" The nurse quickly shook her head and retreated before Scarlett could ask more questions. Scarlett was now alarmed because she noticed fear in the eyes of the nurse. Not exactly a confidence inspiring thing.
Now she paced around the area, dreaming up all sorts of terrible things that could be happening. Each minute seemed interminable. Finally Doc came out, his expression grave. She rushed over to him. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
"Scarlett, I need you to go back to your quarters and get things for Duke. Clothing, books to read, anything he would like."
"No! I'm not doing anything until you tell me what is going on." She was terrified now and torn between getting really angry or crying.
"The MRI showed something unusual. He needs to be kept in isolation until we can figure out how to deal with it."
"I'm sorry, that's not good enough. I'm his wife and if necessary I'll pull out our powers of attorney. I have a right to know." Now she was just pissed. He was tiptoeing around what was going on and that just made her more upset.
"We can't be sure, but it looks like Duke may have a capsule in his neck, like the ones we found in the body. I'm sorry Scarlett." Doc seemed uncomfortable telling her this because she knew what was involved with those capsules and what the risk was. "Once we are sure about transmission of the virus, we can let him out of isolation, but until then, we have to protect not only the base but the rest of the world."
Scarlett felt a little light headed, like the oxygen content had just been sucked out of the room. "Take it out. Just take the damn thing out!"
"You know we haven't been able to get one out yet without it rupturing. And the closeness to his spine complicates it even more. We'll keep working, harder than ever. We'll find a way to get it out. I promise."
She was still breathing heavily as she digested this. "Alright. I ... uh... I guess....I better get him some things. Can I see him at least?"
"Through a viewing wall, but you can't go in there. If that capsule were to rupture, it could kill you too. We have to contain this virus."
She nodded numbly and walked out of sickbay, heading back to their apartment, running into a few people, literally, as she headed back. She took their epithets without even so much as a dirty look in return. She passed by Jaye who may have said something to her but she didn't even hear her. She arrived back at the apartment and packed a small bag for him, working on autopilot. She felt a strange sense of being disconnected from all this. Except when she closed her eyes, and visions of the destroyed corpse they found came to her.
She had the few things she knew he would want right away and was about ready to leave when there was a knock on the door. Scarlett opened it, letting Jaye in. Her best friend was a bit concerned because of the wild, vacant look in Scarlett's eyes. The news about Duke wasn't common knowledge yet, so all she knew was that the mission to find Snakes was a bust. "You ok?" Jaye eyed her cautiously.
Scarlett barked out a laugh, "Oh, of course. I mean, for God's sake, it's not like the pregnancy isn't doing enough to my brain and emotions. Let's take advantage of the unstable hormones and see how much we can screw with her mind!" She laughed again as Jaye just looked at her, a little bewildered. "No really, I'm peachy keen. I just don't know what the fuck I'm doing in this screwed up life! What the hell kind of person has a child in situations like this?"
"Situations like what?" Jaye asked cautiously, she was a tad unnerved by Scarlett's ranting. This wasn't her usual flare of anger, and she was starting to worry for her friend's sanity.
"Haven't you heard yet? I'm sure it will be all over base soon. Duke's got one of those nifty little plague capsules in his neck. My fault by the way because I was sure that my ex-boyfriend was still alive and sent my husband to go check. Isn't that a healthy family dynamic! Dysfunctional even before the baby is born, is this a new record? Not that it will be dysfunctional for long, because it's not like I'm going to stay married to his father for much longer. I'd love to, but that lovely plague he's carrying will probably interfere with those plans. So single motherhood. What in the hell have I done to my life? This isn't what I wanted for myself." The words just kept spilling from her mouth, tripping over occasionally, lightning fast with barely a break for a breath.
Jaye was floored. She was able to figure out what was going on now, but that didn't make it much easier to deal with. She reached a hand out touch Scarlett's shoulder, "Hey, come on now, l-"
Scarlett shrugged the hand away angrily, her eyes blazing, "Don't give me platitudes Jaye. I know you probably mean well, but I don't want to hear it. mmmKay?"
Now Jaye's anger flared, "Calm the hell down Scarlett! I'm not the enemy here. I know you are upset, but you need to stop." Her voice slowed and got firmer towards the end. "Take 3 deep breaths." Scarlett did so. "Do you have a grip on yourself now?" She nodded a little. "Good. Because even though that thickheaded husband of yours won't show it, he's going to be scared too. He doesn't need to worry about you too."
Another deep breath in and out and Scarlett nodded, "I know. I know! I don't know what came over me." She rubbed her forehead lightly.
Jaye smirked, "It's like you are PMSing, except about a thousand times worse!" She grinned and ducked from the light swat Scarlett sent her way. "Ok. You're going to go back there and...."
"Request some valium." Bland stare from Jaye, "Alright. I'm going to stay calm. Make sure I get all notifications on the progress on the disease the moment they happen. Happy?" Scarlett looked much more with it and sane finally.
"Yes. Much better. I didn't want to have to slap you, but I would have if you hadn't calmed down. Or I really would have asked Doc about some Xanax or Valium." She gave Scarlett a hug, "A little bit of faith goes a long way. He'll be ok."
"I'm holding you to that Allie," Scarlett deadpanned as she grabbed the bags and headed back to sickbay.