"How is she Doctor?" Deanna asked, greeting Dr Crusher as she stepped back from treating Isla on the main bed in sickbay. Other doctors and nurses buzzed around busily, checking readouts, giving her hyposprays.
"The poison was definitely Romulan," Dr Crusher explained, trying to keep herself composed.
"You said you saw him attack in the turbo lift," Captain Picard asked her. She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"She almost died, again," Dr Crusher glanced back over her shoulder at Isla. "I can't give her a glucose drip while she's like this, her body would just shut down. The poison, it's stronger than anything they've ever used before. It targeted all her major organs simultaneously, but it focused on the brain. I don't know yet how much damage has been done. When she wakes up she might have no memory."
"When you say no memory..." Picard asked, but couldn't finish the sentence.
"It might be five minutes, it might be her entire lifetime. I'm sorry, I really don't know," Dr Crusher felt terrible. Picard put a hand on her shoulder.
"There's nothing you could've done to prevent this," Picard told her gently. "Hey, Beverly." She looked into his eyes. "It's not your fault. They just would've attacked here instead." We don't know that, one part of Beverly's mind told her, but the other couldn't help but believe Jean-Luc.
"Doctor, she's waking up," Nurse Ogawa informed her. Dr Crusher and Deanna rushed to Isla's side. She began to stir, opening her eyes. She looked straight ahead, blinking once slowly. Suddenly her head jerked to the side. Isla started to struggle against the restraining beam.
"Isla, calm down, it's alright," Dr Crusher tried to reassure her, but she didn't go to touch her. Isla continued struggling in the limited space the beam gave her.
"Where am I?" she said quickly, fear overflowing from her mind. "Why can't I see? What's going on?"
"Isla, you're in sick bay-" Dr Crusher tried to explain before Isla cut her off.
"Dr Crusher?" she called.
"I'm right here Isla, calm down," Dr Crusher repeated.
"Dr Crusher!" Isla shouted, her head snapping around frantically.
"I don't think she can see or hear us," Deanna said.
"Is this a Romulan ship? What do you want? I have no information, I'm of no use to you," Isla shouted.
"Isla," Dr Crusher put her hand on top of Isla's. She shrank back immediately.
"Who's there? Who is that?" Isla frowned. "Please, tell me who you are!" Her head snapped back. "Why can't I hear anything?" Dr Crusher touched her hand again. This time Isla went stiff, letting Dr Crusher remove her hand from the restraint beam. "Who's there, who is that?" Isla asked warily.
"Try writing the letters on her hand," Deanna suggested. "Like blind sign language." Dr Crusher did as she suggested. She wrote a d.
"D," Isla said. Dr Crusher wrote an r. "D, R... Dr Crusher is that you?" Dr Crusher fought the urge to say yes. Instead, she made a fist and moved it up and down while Isla's hand was on it. "Yes." Isla said. She breathed a sigh of relief. "What happened, I can't see or hear anything. I remember we were in the turbo-lift, what happened?" Dr Crusher thought of how best to explain it to Isla. Isla's grip on Dr Crusher hand tightened. Dr Crusher laid Isla's hand on top of hers and wrote an A. "A," Isla said. Dr Crusher wrote a T, followed by another. "A, T, T, attacked." Dr Crusher made her hand a fist and moved it up and down again. Isla tensed her face in concentration. "Yes. We were attacked. Are you okay?" Dr Crusher repeated the movement. Isla took a breath as her face relaxed. She looked up with her unseeing, blinking eyes. "Yes. Good. Who were we attacked by?" Dr Crusher started to spell Romulan in Isla's hand. "Romulans." Isla said before she was half done. Her face seemed to go blank. "We were attacked by Romulans. I remember now, there was one of them. He injected something into my neck and I fell to the floor screaming. It felt like the inside of my body was on fire."
"She's getting scared," Deanna warned.
"Was anyone else injured? Have they kidnapped us or taken over the Enterprise?" Isla asked, her concern very clear. Dr Crusher made a fist a shook it. "No, phew." Isla sighed with relief. "So I'm in sickbay then?" Dr Crusher nodded with her fist. "Are there other people here?" Again, she nodded her fist. Isla didn't seem like she knew what to ask next until finally a thought crossed her mind. "Will I ever see or hear again?" Isla asked, a tear starting to form in her eye. Dr Crusher's eyes were welling with tears. She couldn't respond to that question, she had no idea.
"You don't know," Isla said. She still held onto Dr Crusher's hand.
"Release the restraining field," Dr Crusher ordered, taking a deep breath.
"Beverly, are you sure this is wise?" Picard asked her.
"Captain, she cannot see or hear us, I don't think she'd try to escape," Dr Crusher told them. Nurse Ogawa did as she asked. Isla remained still once the field was gone. Dr Crusher tried to pull her hand away, but Isla held on firmly.
"Please don't go," Isla said in almost a whisper. She put her other hand on Dr Crusher's, feeling up her arm to her elbow. Isla sat up slowly, blinking with unseeing eyes. Everyone took half a step back, except Deanna and Picard who both remained where they were, holding their breath. Isla moved her hands further up Dr Crusher's arms to her shoulders. She leant forward and wrapped her arms around the woman, putting her chin on her shoulder and started to cry softly. Dr Crusher's mother instinct kicked in as she wrapped her arms around Isla.
"I'm scared," Isla whispered as she held onto Dr Crusher.
"It'll be alright," Dr Crusher whispered back even though she knew Isla couldn't hear her.
"Doctor?" Captain Picard asked her. Dr Crusher let go of Isla, but Isla didn't relinquish her grip of Dr Crusher, holding on like her life depended on it. "I need to inform Admiral Jenkins of the situation. It would be useful if you or Counselor Troi could also be present." All the other staff were returning to their standard duties.
"Isla doesn't want to let go," Dr Crusher said, trying to turn her head to face him. Counselor Troi and Captain Picard both went to help her, peeling off Isla as her breathing began to quicken. Dr Crusher escaped her iron grip, stepping back and wiping her own eyes. She composed herself as Isla's head jerked around the room in desperation, a look of terror on her face. Picard released the arm he held and went to Dr Crusher.
"Are you alright?" he asked her gently.
"Yes," Dr Crusher told him and nodded. "I'm fine."
"Dr Crusher?" Isla asked, reaching out with her free arm while Deanna held the other. "Don't go, please." She barely managed to get the last word out.
"Can you sedate her?" Picard asked Dr Crusher as they stood out of Isla's reach. She continued to reach out, trying to find Dr Crusher.
"No, there are still traces of the poison in her system, I don't know how they'd interact," Dr Crusher explained. "Until the poison has completely left her body I can't even put her back on the glucose drip." She continued to resist the urge to hold onto Isla's wandering hand. Before Deanna could stop her, Isla stood up, stepping in Dr Crusher's direction. She pulled her other hand from Deanna's grasp, holding them out in front of her. Before she could take another step, Dr Crusher grabbed both her wrists and held them in the air between the two. Isla froze a moment.
"Dr Crusher?" Isla asked shakily. Dr Crusher made a fist and put Isla's hand on it, moving it up and down. Isla reacted instantly, clinging onto Dr Crusher with desperation. Her grip was tight, but not enough to cause Dr Crusher any pain. "Please don't leave me." She whispered, her voice quivering. Her whole body seemed to be vibrating with fear. Dr Crusher removed one of Isla's hands and wrote "ok" on it. The relief Isla felt was immediate. "Thank you." She told the woman, still holding on.
"I can't leave her like this," Dr Crusher told Captain Picard. "You can use my office." She suggested, turning her attention back to Isla. Picard and Deanna both headed into her office as Dr Crusher put an arm over Isla's shoulders, using her other arm to hold her hand and guided her back to the bed. Isla felt it with one hand, holding Dr Crusher's hand with the other. She waited until Isla had sat down. She seated herself on the bed beside her, keeping a protective arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her hand.
"Oh Isla," she sighed, rubbing her back as Isla leant on her shoulder.