Stranded

Chapter 13

"In general, things either work out or they don't,

and if they don't, you figure out something else, a plan B.

There's nothing wrong with plan B."

Dick Van Dyke

The comm alarm by Nyota's pillow rang softly. She was awake instantly and sighed in bliss. Her room was warm and toasty thanks to the heater and she felt rested. Four hours of deep restful sleep had done wonders. She got up and put on her robe and slippers in case she had to go through the cold living room and kitchen. She turned the on bathroom light and walked quietly into Leonard's room to check on him.

Leonard was still asleep, but she noticed the cake was gone and most of the tea. She smiled. He must have woken up hungry. Well all to the good, she had to keep him nourished and hydrated. In the dim light, Nyota could see his cheeks were slightly flushed again. It was definitely time for his next dose of the antipyretic and pain medication.

"Len, time to wake up." She shook him gently. "Len."

Bleary blue eyes looked up at her. "Ny," he said hoarsely. "Is it time for my meds?"

"It is. Would you like to sit up for a minute and I'll get you some water or would you prefer tea?"

"Don't want you to go to any trouble, Ny, water is fine." She took the mug from the bedside table and washed it well with hot water and soap, then filled it with cool water from the bathroom faucet. Both meds were inside the drawer of the table, and Len took them in one gulp.

"How are you feeling, Len?"

"Feverish, achy, and lethargic. I can tell my temp is back, but it's not high yet. We caught it early. Thanks for waking me up, darlin'."

Nyota eyed the empty plate. Len could probably use a snack, but she didn't want to embarrass him by asking if he was hungry again. "I'm feeling a little peckish, Len. I get hungry when I'm short of sleep, burning more calories. I think I'll fix myself some toast with butter and a slice of cheese. Would you like anything? Some hot tea or maybe some toast? I'll sit here with you and we can eat our snacks. The meds should have worked by then, and you'll sleep more comfortably."

"A good plan, Nurse Nyota," he smiled up at her. "Tea and buttered toast sounds just right."

"I'll be right back with our snack, Dr. McCoy. Don't you go anywhere."

"Ha, as if I could, or would."

Nyota made quick work of fixing their snacks and carried everything back to the bedroom. They ate in comfortable silence making desultory conversation, Nyota doing most of the talking, mindful of Leonard's hoarseness.

She gathered up the crockery, stacking it on the tray and setting it on the dresser. "I'll wash everything tomorrow in the dishwasher."

"Ny, I'd like to use the facilities now, don't want to have to wake you up later. It's a good sign, though, your efforts are keeping me well hydrated."

She helped him to the bathroom, waiting once more by the door. She was impressed how the small heater was keeping the room warm. In the morning, she'd get up and light the living room fire, getting the room warm in case Leonard wanted to be on the sofa again. She sighed. He really was no better, but he was due the second dose of the anti-viral in the morning, maybe this next dose would help him fight off this damn flu. The door opened and they shuffled back to the bed.

"Good night, Len. I'll set my comm to ring in four hours for your next dose. Go to sleep now."

Leonard nodded tiredly and obediently closed his eyes. Nyota checked the heater, went through the bathroom to wash her hands again, and went right back to sleep.

The comm alarm buzzed, and Nyota opened her eyes. 0600. Through the translucent curtains she could see dawn breaking. Time to check on Len, give him his meds, make breakfast for him, comm Jim, figure out a heavy calorie lunch for him, and then make plans to find the Orion scouts. Nyota had thought about the hows and whys if Killeen discovered where the three girls were staying. Since they were strangers to the village, it shouldn't be too hard to find them, plus she knew all three were humanoid since it would have attracted too much attention to send scouts who were not. Hopefully the Apothecary had an address in his records and would give it to Killeen.

She dressed quickly, made her bed, and went to check on Len. He was still asleep, and although she hated to disturb him, he had to take his medication.

"Len, wake up. It's time for your medicine again."

Leonard's blue eyes opened slowly and he blinked rapidly. "Nyota, what time is it?"

"It's 0630, Len. You need to take your meds at 0700, and I'm going to fix breakfast for us both."

Leonard nodded and struggled to sit up. "Let me go freshen up a little first. Probably need some help to get up." He sat up and stretched. "I slept pretty well, the meds helped a lot. Fever stayed down and my body aches responded to the analgesic well."

"Good. That's a more positive report this morning for Jim and Geoffrey," Nyota helped him shuffle to the bathroom and waited at the door. She could hear water splashing, teeth brushing.

"Don't think I'll attempt a shower just yet," Leonard said through the cracked door. "Maybe later after breakfast. Still feel pretty puny," he admitted, opening the door.

"Bed or sofa for breakfast?"

"Sofa. Like the company," Len told her, smiling faintly.

"Sofa it is. You sit here on the bed, and I'll go light the fire, warm up the room and then we'll get you situated on the sofa." She made to go, but Len's hand on her arm pulled her back.

"Ny, sweetheart, I'm sorry as I can be to be so much trouble to you. You sure didn't sign up to be baby sittin' me, takin' care of me, waitin' on me hand and foot, through somethin' like this."

Nyota looked down into the worried blue eyes. "Len," she said gently, "first of all, you are no trouble, and besides that, you are my dear, dear friend who has always been there for me, for all of us, on the ship or off. We all love and adore your grumpy, acerbic self because we know that inside you there's a caring, loving marshmallow heart. It's my privilege to be able to help you. Now no more talk like this, or worrying about things. We are in this together, and we'll get through it together.?" She patted the slender, fine doctor's hand gently. "Understood?"

Leonard swallowed hard, and his blue eyes shone brightly. "Yes, ma'am, understood."

"Good. Now let me go light the fire and I'll be right back." She grabbed the two quilts and Len's pillow and hurried to the living room, coming back quickly fearful Len would try to get up by himself.

"Alright, the fire is lit and the sofa is ready for you. Ready?"

"Yep."

Nyota helped him up and they walked slowly to the living room. She got him settled on the sofa, covered him with the quilt, brought his hot tea and honey, his two medications, and went to prepare breakfast.

"Calories, calories," she muttered to herself as she washed her hands. She looked around. Buttered toast, with melted cheese on top, porridge with cream, and a soft boiled egg with a pat of butter. Fresh juice...no, honey and tea were better. Juice would accompany his snack mid morning, she decided. She made enough for two, omitting the porridge and cheese for herself.

At least she wasn't tired this morning, sleep had taken care of that. At 0800 she'd comm the ship, see what Geoffrey had to say, find out how fast the ship was traveling, get an updated ETA, and reassure Jim that if Len was no better, he was no worse.

She carried the tray in and put it on the small table. Leonard ate with good appetite, she was happy to see as she ate from her own tray.

After they finished she brought the doctor his hypo and the anti-viral.

"Let's see if a second dose does anythin', Nyota," he said as he injected it into his carotid artery. "Mark the time for Geoffrey. It'll be the first thing he asks. That and he'll want to know if I'm stayin' hydrated. You're doing a good job with that. I don't think I'll need another saline drip if we can keep the temperature close to normal."

"I hope so, Len. I'd rather not have to do that again." She checked the time, noted it in her padd, and pulled out the comm. "Time to call the ship. Jim will be chomping at the bit. Are you ready?"

"Do I look presentable, Ny? Do I need a shave and is my hair combed? I don't want Jim to think I look worse. The man will be frettin' enough as it is."

She looked at him critically. Len looked pale and ill, but no worse than yesterday. "You're fine, Len, but I think you'll need to shave before our comm this evening. You can have another sitting shower this afternoon. I'm sure they'll want me to comm again. Jim and Geoff will want to know how the second antiviral dose is working."

"You're right about that. I'll wanna' know that myself. Okay, go ahead and comm, I'm ready."

Jim's and Geoff were already in the briefing room. "Nyota. How is Bones this morning?" Jim asked anxiously.

"He's no better, Jim, but he's no worse either. He just gave himself the second antiviral dose. He's right here." She handed Leonard the comm and went to stand at the door to give him a little privacy. She was also concerned that Alarik or Doranna would show up early this morning to check on Leonard and see if she needed anything. Killeen, she was sure, would go to the apothecary shop first thing this morning, then call or come by with his report.

She could hear Leonard's soft murmurs as he spoke to Jim, and then he called her over. "Nyota, Jim and Geoff want to speak with you." He handed her the comm and she took it back to the door to keep watch.

Jim's worried hazel eyes looked into hers. "He's not a bit better," he said softly. "And he tires very easily," he added. He smiled at her wanly through his worry. "Bones says you're taking great care of him Nyota. Feeding him very well, making sure he rests, takes his medicine on time and stays hydrated."

"It's all I can do, Jim," Nyota said sadly. "I'm very worried about him." She squared her shoulders. "What's Your ETA now?"

"Gaining time. Gained almost two full days now, we're down to warp 6 for a couple of hours, eased down our speed. Scotty said we can resume warp 8 by mid-morning. We're coming as fast as we can. Ny, I spoke with Admiral Barnett earlier. Right now there's no ship patrolling near Sarena. We're it."

She nodded. "I thought as much; anyway it was worth a try." She knew Scotty was doing the best he could to get the ship here sooner than expected. "I have a report for you about the Orion scouts."

Jim put on his Captain face. "Go ahead."

She filled him in on what Killeen had found out so far and about her hopes of discovering where the three girls were staying. "I think that as long as they're sick the Orion Captain won't want them back on board, and they aren't well enough to be walking around the village. I'm also hoping the third girl will be too busy taking care of the others to do any scouting. I have a feeling she's the one who carried the virus back to the ship in the first place and it's been passed around without their knowing who the carrier is. She was probably feeling better, or asymptomatic and didn't report she'd been sick when she went back on board."

Geoff interrupted. "Excuse me, Captain. Lieutenant, do you and Len believe this girl was patient zero and gave Alarik the virus?"

"Yes, we do, Doctor. The timing is right for Alarik, but then the question is, who gave it to Leonard? Len said it's been too long for it to have been Alarik and that girl never came to our office. I went through all our records with a fine tooth comb so I know that for sure."

"I've been thinking about that, Lieutenant. I'm almost positive it was one of Len's patients who gave him the virus, someone who was either asymptomatic or only mildly ill. I'd venture to say there's been several sick people on Sarena, but for whatever reason the virus didn't make them nearly as sick as Len or Alarik. I'd have to do blood tests to determine why symptoms manifest differently in some patients.

I'm also very interested in discovering exactly what the Apothecary prescribed for that girl. It's too bad he's unwilling to say. If I knew the compounds I could do some research and find out if any of them might help Leonard. The Sarenans are humanoid after all and so are those three Orion slaves and the meds did help that first girl." Geoffrey ran his hand down his face in obvious frustration at not being able to help Leonard.

"Killeen says the Apothecary has absolutely refused to say what he prescribed, but maybe he'll find out more this morning."

"Do you think he would prescribe the same medication for Leonard? I don't necessarily want him to take it, but if it was available when we get there, I could analyze it in the lab."

"I don't know that he would, Geoffrey."

"Why is that, Nyota?" Jim asked, frowning. "Isn't it his job is to help people get better?"

"I agree that he should, Jim, but before we came here, the Apothecary was the only one in Sarena who treated anyone who got sick. When Len opened his practice, he took away a lot of his business. Nothing was ever said outright, but Doranna intimated several times that he was resentful of Len's popularity as a medical practitioner. That's one reason I asked Killeen to speak with him. I was afraid if I asked I wouldn't get any where. Hopefully Killeen will. I know he'll try his best, he thinks the world of Len."

"I hope so," Dr. M'Benga said. "Meanwhile I want you to keep doing what you're doing for Leonard. Push the fluids and the high calorie meals as much as possible, monitor his temp every couple of hours, dose him with the analgesic and antipyretic every four hours. I'm hoping the second dose of the anti-viral will help turn the tide. Len needs to rest as much as possible, his body is under a lot of physical stress right now."

"Is there anything else I should be doing?" Nyota asked anxiously.

"I don't think so, Lieutenant. The only other thing would be another IV session, but I don't think he needs one at this time. Len looks well hydrated."

"Jim," Leonard interrupted M'Benga hoarsely.

Jim's attention immediately went to him. "Yeah, Bones?"

Nyota handed Leonard the comm. "When do you think you'll get here?" He asked. "I'm feeling real poorly, Jimmy. Can't say I ever thought I'd say this, but Sick Bay sounds mighty invitin' to me right now."

Jim swallowed hard. "We're gaining time fast, Bones. I think we'll be with you by day after tomorrow. You just hang in there until then, do everything Geoff and Nyota tell you to do, and we'll be there before you know it."

"Good. Nyota and I are doin' all we can to keep me from gettin' worse, but I ain't gettin' better neither. Here's hoping the second dose of the anti-viral helps. Okay, Imma little tired, think I'll close my eyes for a bit."

"You do that, Bones. Rest as much as you can. It's the best thing for you."

Len closed his eyes and Nyota gently took the comm out of his hand and walked back to the front door.

"I'll have a report for you this evening, Jim. And for you too, Geoff, about the second dose of the anti-viral. I'll give it to him mid morning."

Jim nodded. "Just take good care of him, Nyota."

He looked so worried and stressed that Nyota put every ounce of certainty she possessed in her response. "I will, Jim. I promise."