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Chapter 33 - Evening in the Med Bay

It was evening and the Doctor was back on his ship that orbited below the Earth. He walked along the hallways and rubbed his face. He was exhausted. The stress from the last 24 hours had taken a toll on him.

He walked past Lewis' suite and heard crying. He stopped and backed up. He stood outside the door and decided to press the doorbell.

Lewis called, "Come in!"

He opened the door and found Lewis walking with baby Arles in his arms. He was screaming his head off.

The Doctor held his hands out and Lewis gave him the baby. "Shhhh… calm down."

Lewis sighed. "Thank goodness. I was about to ask you to come. He's been screaming for an hour. I don't know what's wrong."

The Doctor bounced on his feet. "Arles. Calm down. Tell me what's wrong."

Arles wailed.

The Doctor looked back at Lewis and smiled. "I've never heard him cry!"

Lewis collapsed on the sofa. "Oh, he does. It's just not often. And never for this long."

The Doctor continued to bounce on his feet. "Arles. Shhhh….calm down and tell Daddy what's wrong."

Arles continued to scream.

Lewis shook his head. "My nerves just can't take it, man."

The Doctor nodded. "Let me take him."

"Oh, my dearest friend. Please." Lewis sighed.

The Doctor walked out of the suite with Arles and kissed his screaming face. "Arles. Arles. Ugh."

Arles continued to scream.

The Doctor walked the hallway with him and was certain he had significant hearing loss by the time he got to the med bay. Maybe he was hurt? Maybe he was feeling ill?

He lay Arles down in a cot and scanned him.

Rose walked into the room. "What is wrong with him?"

The Doctor looked back at her, "What?"

She picked up Arles and kissed him. "Shhhh."

He stopped crying immediately.

"Rose?"

She smiled, "What?"

"Just making sure."

"Making sure, what?"

He groaned and rubbed his face. "Oh, this day!"

Rose kissed Arles, who was sucking his fingers. "Mum is awake. Dad is with her."

"She's fine."

"She said you want her to stay here."

"Yeah, just for now. She shouldn't be alright at all. She should have suffocated. But…."

Rose nodded and told Arles in a playful voice, "Your Grand is completely fine. I bet she would love to see you."

Arles coo'ed.

The Doctor smiled and ran his hand across the back of his small head. "Rose-"

"And I'm still lost as to an explanation. What the hell happened?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her. "Bassiano had her open the safe when someone got into the house. They shot him, and he wasn't able to tell us that's where she was."

"How is he?"

"He's looking better. He was shot close to his heart, and lost a lot of blood before we found him. He's still asleep."

"Who was it?"

"Don't know. He hasn't been awake. I looked in his head, but it's a mess. Blood loss for anyone is bad. But, Quauthins? Really bad. He should have notified us, immediately. But, we were in Florida."

"This happened at the same time?"

"Yes. Believe me. I have questions for him when he wakes up."

"Then how did you find her?"

He turned back off the monitor he had been using to check on Arles. "I had a bit of help."

Rose noticed Arles had fallen asleep. She cradled him in her arms and kissed him. He rubbed his face and took a deep breath.

The Doctor pulled over a chair for her. She sat down and kissed Arles' head. "He just needed to see me."

He pulled a chair over to her and sat down. "He just needed to scream. Sam was upset earlier, too. They do things together."

Rose shook her head to excuse it. "Samuel is fine. I can feel him sleeping."

The Doctor nodded, "What do you remember? From yesterday?"

"Umm. You went to see Genie and Legate and I felt you get cross."

"Oh really? Is that the last thing?"

"Yeah? What happened?"

He grit his teeth. "Oh that's just….sick! I can't believe she did that!"

She rose her eyebrows. "Are you going to tell me?"

"So, you don't remember the fight?"

"Who had a fight? Did you hit him again?"

He threw his hands up and stood. "Oh, Rose. I seriously can't deal with this right now!"

Rose giggled and looked back down at Arles. "Your Dad has gone mental."

The med bay doors opened and the adult Samuel walked in holding Karen's hand. They both stopped as soon as he saw his Mum and Dad. "I don't want any trouble-"

"That's two of us." The Doctor insisted. "Everything alright?"

"I'm running an experiment I need to check on."

The Doctor nodded. "Right. Umm. I spoke to Genie."

Samuel held up his finger. "I'm sorry, Dad. Just one bit." He turned to Karen. "Go to that second room and I'll be straight there."

She squeezed his hand and walked away.

Samuel put his hands in his pockets. "Sorry. She needs to get off her feet."

"She alright?" Rose asked.

"No. She's….we're….dealing with some stuff."

"Baby-"

He shook his head and walked over to join them. "Baby is fine. Umm. Did you tell her that I'm going to outlive her?"

The Doctor crossed his arms. "I didn't say it like that-"

"Dad! Why would you say something like that to her-"

"Well, it wasn't intentional-"

"So, you just open your mouth and words fall out?"

He nodded, "Yes! It's a damn problem today!"

Samuel looked back at Rose.

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's a proper problem. Trust me. And it's not just today."

Samuel held out his hand. "Ah. See there, then?"

The Doctor glanced back at Rose. "Admitting there is a problem is the first step."

Rose shook her head. "Try again. That's a terrible apology."

The Doctor sighed and looked back at Samuel. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that. How is she?"

Samuel closed his eyes and groaned. "It's just been a really bad day. Two days."

Rose asked, "Shall I speak to her-"

"No. Thank you. We're…." Samuel groaned and put his hands on his hips. "Thank you for helping Anne…with that-"

He rubbed his face. "It's alright. Karen didn't-"

"She couldn't. After our morning, well….she checked her phone to send a text to Anne. She got a voice mail from her Dad. Apparently, after he got back to work. We've both just been…." He took a deep breath. "It's just been a bad day."

The Doctor looked back towards the hallway where Karen had just disappeared. "Damn."

Rose asked, "What did it say?"

"He told her that I had told him about the baby. And that he was happy about it. He wanted her to know that he loved her, and wished that he had gotten to see her before he went back to work. But, he would see her soon and he wanted the entire thing of her feeling like she couldn't tell him about the baby not to be between them. That sort of thing."

Rose sighed. "Poor girl."

The Doctor glanced back at the hallway. "Yeah. Have you seen your sister today?"

Samuel closed his eyes and took a moment. "I really don't want to get into that with you. I know you want to murder me-"

"Murder may be too strong of a word-"

"Just, make me wish I was dead-"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, Sam. I just-"

Samuel pat his Dad's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Let me get in here with Karen. I don't want to leave her alone for long."

The Doctor held up his finger in mid-sentence. "Sam, we need to talk about this."

He looked back at him. "We will. Just not now."

Rose looked back down at Arles in her arms. "Let him go. Everyone has had a long day."

He sighed. "Alright."

Samuel walked into the second room and closed the door. Karen sat on the stool with the wheels. "I nearly busted my ass on this chair."

"After I broke my back, that was one thing that frightened the hell out of me."

"Falling off of the chair?"

"Sitting on that damn chair." Samuel told her as he tapped some things on the monitor on the wall.

"It still hurts, doesn't it?"

He didn't look away from the monitor. "Sometimes."

She watched him type in some things on the monitor and then turn to open the cabinet. "And I want to get a blood sample."

She rose her eyebrows, "Is this a baby thing?"

He sat on a stationary chair in front of her. "It's a Karen thing."

He took a blood sample from her finger and healed it quickly. He put the sample into the computer and typed something on the screen. "Okay, that's running."

"Samuel. What are you doing?"

He glanced back at her, "I'm going to check on my experiment while I'm up here. Do you want to look at Halley?"

She looked up at him and rubbed her stomach, "I always want to look at Halley."

He grinned at her as she watched him take a blood sample of his own. He put it into the computer and nodded. "And that's done."

She pushed the chair she was sitting in, over in front of him.

"Karen?" He asked in surprise to her arrival.

"What are you doing?"

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Running an experiment."

She smiled, "Okay."

His attention went back to the computer screen. "Well, this is encouraging."

He tapped a few things and slid his finger down the screen. "Very encouraging."

She sat on the stool and asked, "Shall I lie on the bed?"

"Nah. It's not necessary." He told her.

She rose her blouse that she wore and he turned and put the familiar black disc on her stomach.

Samuel spoke, "And we'll look at this little girl of ours. Your Mum and Dad have had a bad day, Halley. I hope you never have such a bad one. Daddy will keep you from being so sad as we have been."

Karen wiped a tear from her eye. "Gosh, if only it was that easy. I want her to stay in there. I feel like she's safer than being out here with us."

Samuel turned on a monitor, "I agree."

Karen smiled as she saw the image of the baby she carried appear on the screen. "And there she is."

Samuel smiled proudly. "There she is."

"Is she jumping?"

Samuel didn't take his eyes off of the screen. "She has hiccups. That's common. She's practicing the movements she needs to do when she starts to breathe."

Karen giggled, "How big is she?"

He made a fist. "Like this. Our blueberry is an avocado."

Karen rolled her eyes. "I think you're hungry."

"I could eat. Yes. You are deciding on what we're eating for dinner still. Ideas?"

"I think Halley, wants a hamburger."

"With chips! She's her Daddy's little girl. Yes!"

Karen giggled. "And kicking."

"She has tiny feet like her Mum."

Karen laughed.

Samuel typed something on the screen. "And, her growth has slowed down. A lot."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

He groaned, "Oh, her Daddy is getting what he wants. Exactly the reason you said. She's safer inside of Hotel Mum. She's growing at a regular rate. Has been for, 38 hours."

"Samuel, you're going to be able to control that."

"With practice. Lots of practice." He looked back at her. "Because, I know what I want."

She wiped a tear from her eye. "And I hope you get what you want."

He printed off a photo of Halley and mumbled. "I always get what I want."

Karen reminded him. "Samuel, this is an awful big thing that you want."

He handed her the photo. "With practice, I think I can do it."

"Believe you can do it. Don't think."

He smiled at her. "I know I can. Karen, I'll do anything to keep you with me."

She nodded sadly and met his lips with her own.

Samuel stood up as she looked at the photo. "Of course you think I'm mental."

"No. I believe you can do this, Samuel."

He looked back at her and grinned. "Truly?"

She took his hand in her own. "Samuel. Listen to me. You can do anything. Have anything you want. Focus that, and your life can be amazing."

He nodded and sat back down in front of her.

She looked at the photo. "Our Halley."

He took the disc off of her stomach and sat it on the cabinet.

She looked back up at him. "Did you want me to become pregnant? Is that the reason I did?"

He looked back at her and grinned. "No. I can fully admit that Halley is an accident."

Karen put her hand on her stomach. "She kicked really hard hearing that."

He stood in front of her and asked, "Do you mind?"

"Need to be gushy?"

He grinned and held up his fingers. "Just a little bit. Hop up here on the bed for me."

She stood up and lay down on the bed. He stood beside of the bed and unbuttoned her blouse that she wore so that he could gently kiss her stomach. Each time his lips touched her skin, she felt a burst of energy.

He looked up at her and continued to unbuttoned her blouse. She smiled as his lips left where Halley was and he kissed Karen's chest and her neck.

"Samuel. You were speaking to Halley."

"Her Mum needs some attention." He smiled at her.

She grabbed his face and kissed his lips. "I love you."

He sat on the side of the bed and ran his fingertips across her chest.

"That feels so nice."

"Tingles?"

"All over my entire body. It's gotten stronger since yesterday."

He kissed her again. "How are you? Do you want me to get something to help you sleep?"

"Bring it with us. But, I'm going to try to not take it."

He nodded and continued to tease her chest.

"The visions you have. The things you see."

His eyes met hers. "Yes?"

"Will you tell me about them?"

He continued to run his fingertips across her chest and to her face, caressing her as he spoke. "Time, isn't a straight line. It's rather like a ball. Like a bit of paper you throw across the room into the rubbish bin. My Dad, knows a lot about this and can feel when people travel in time, when things have to happen, where things can be changed."

"And you can, too."

He nodded. "I can. One of the things we do, it's rather something we have to do, is see bits of the things that have to happen. And sometimes we see things that have already happened. But, they are all fixed points and things that can't be changed."

"Okay." She whispered.

"I see them when I sleep. Sometimes when I'm awake. Like daydreams. Since I've arrived here, sometimes they aren't clear. It's like looking through water. I'm not sure why. But, I see a lot with you."

She smiled, "And Halley?"

"There's a little girl. She has blond hair, like mine. She wears it in two braids on either side of her head. I need you to show me how to braid hair."

Karen smiled. "Okay. What else?"

"I've seen you showing her how to hit a ball with a bat. I've heard her laughing. She has this laugh that makes everyone smile."

"Like Genie."

He smiled, "Arles has her on his knee, playing his drums."

"Do we ever convince him that she's a girl?"

"I don't know."

She laughed. "What else? There's also bad things, aren't they?"

"Yes. And I'd rather not tell you those things."

"Why?"

"You should only have to face those once. When you have to. Good things, I'll tell you. So you can experience those over and over."

She smiled. "Alright."

He rubbed his face. "And I need to shave."

"Oh, let it wait until morning." She asked.

He continued to run his fingertips across her chest. "Still need me?"

"I just don't want to be apart. Not for one minute. I feel as though you need me, too."

He nodded sadly. "I do."

She took a deep breath, "And I really need to go to Mom tomorrow. Stay with her."

"I'll be there, too. For you. For her."

She whispered. "Thank you, Samuel."

He continued to stroke her chest with his fingertips.

She closed her eyes and savored the feeling he was sending into her body. "And I want you to take me home and continue to do that."

He leaned down and kissed her. "Anything you need."

She smiled at him. "And a hamburger."

"And a hamburger with chips! Yes! That's in the food replicator and we'll get that first." He stood up and walked back over to the monitor to check a few things. "Alright. That's good."

He slid his finger down the screen and the monitor turned off. Karen sat on the side of the bed and rebuttoned her blouse. "Samuel?"

He walked back over to her and took her hand. He rose it to his lips and kissed it.

"Will you tell me how you broke your back?"

He sat down next to her on the bed and held her hand. "It's fine, Karen-"

"It still hurts."

"It takes a long time to heal what I did to it." He reasoned. "Lying around as much as I did, didn't help it. Then, I landed on that table. It just mucked it up again. Irritated it."

"Samuel."

He rubbed his face. "Alright. We grew up on the island. You've been there. Lots of cliffs. Great for diving. Jumping. There is one in particular that when the tide is going out, there are rocks at the bottom. I managed to find one."

"Rocks? You jumped off a cliff-"

"It's called cliff diving. And yes. I have done it since I was a boy. I landed badly, and the rock was more exposed that it normally would have been. Well, exposed with water on top of it so no one could see it. It was like a….stalactite…there in the water."

"No personal shield?"

He rubbed his eyebrow and shook his head. "I didn't have it turned on. When you jump into the water with the shield on, it creates a bubble for you to land in. Similar to landing a craft. It's like…well, a pillow."

"What did your Dad say-"

"Oh, he was furious. 'If Tony Tyler dared you to jump to your death, you mean to tell me you would?' Every bad decision I've ever made somehow involved him. He had been on my case about 'maning up' and turning off the shield when I jumped off. The cliff in question wasn't the highest one, but it was one that required a shield for the landing because of the rocks. He had done it several times without the shield. Hell, I had, too. Never had a problem."

"How high is it?"

"46 feet. I went back to measure."

Karen covered her mouth. "Samuel."

"I'm fine. Everything back there is alright, or getting better. I heal fast which is why Dad says I'm even walking about. I never should have even made it back to the surface, but…"

"What?"

"There was this…odd, yellow light that surrounded me. I've seen it several times. When I've done something, stupid. Or was in danger. The light surrounds me and …well. In this case, it brought me out of the water, and to the boat. Arles spoke telepathically to Dad to get me to the ship, and I passed out. I woke up in hospital on Nimiset. They put a pain blocker in my back, which sat at the base of the spine."

"What was it made of?"

"Metal. I've seen the record and Dad removed some stray metal bits from my back."

"You destroyed it when you fell." She realized. "Oh, Samuel."

"I can have one put back. I think they have them now. But, hopefully it's healed enough that I won't have to."

"If it hurts-"

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's fine, Karen. I'm fine. It's to be expected that it hurts."

"Not all of the time, Samuel."

He nodded. "Something else to practice, huh?"

Karen took a deep breath. "Well, I know that your Papa has really annoyed you with this entire 30% thing."

He looked back at her. "You're going to ask me to keep it higher?"

"I'm going to ask you to at least keep it at that."

He nodded. "That's fair. I'll do that. After this morning, and falling on you and Halley, I'm grateful it was on. I need to think and realize that Tony lives to wind me up. I'm just…really quick to…." He grit his teeth. "Do stupid stuff."

"I think it's just part of growing up."

He nodded. "Yeah."

She held his hand tighter. "Is that what happened to Dad?"

He looked back at her. "I don't think we should talk about that-"

"I want to know. Did someone, take him? Hurt him?"

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her. "It won't help you to know what happened."

"My imagination of what happened is probably going to cook up something worse."

He gripped her hand. "Karen. Your Dad died, protecting you. He refused to tell someone where they could find you. Or your Mum, or me. Everything that they found suggests that it was rather quick. He didn't suffer for a very long time."

Karen wiped her eyes and whispered. "Thank you. I just can't believe it. Mum said it's as if he's at work. That's how she's standing upright."

"You have been so brave for everyone, but you don't have to pretend. It's alright to be upset. No one will think differently of you. You won't disappoint anyone."

She looked back at Samuel, "Even Dad?"

"If it was my Halley, I would want her to know she could cry. As much as she wanted. As long as she wanted."

Karen wiped her eyes. "I feel like I've done nothing but cry since it happened."

"That's okay. But, it's also alright to laugh. Us laughing this morning with Arles, Legate and Genie. He would be alright with that, too. I would be alright with Halley being happy. I would want her to be happy."

She grabbed his hand with both of hers and whispered, "Thank you, Samuel."

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