Author's Note – I do not own Outlaw Star or anything that has any affiliation with it. This is my first attempt at an Outlaw Star fic so be gentle. It's also only the second fic that I've written.
"What do you mean you won't treat him?" The loud feline shriek broke through the silent waiting room. "He's badly injured, it's your damn job to fix him up! What is this crap about not helping him?" Face to face with a very angry Ctarl Ctarl, the young nurse shook nervously and barely managed to stutter out a response.
"I…I'm sorry…w…we can't t…take him...i…if…y…"
"Oh spit it out already!" Aisha finally screamed, waving her claws menacingly in front of the nurse's face to make her point.
"We can't take him if you don't have insurance!" The poor girl finally managed to blurt out. "I'm sorry, it's hospital policy." Hesitantly, she glanced up to see the effects of her words on the extremely angry feline. Eyes widening in fear, she briefly glance behind as if to see if running was an option. However, before she could attempt to retreat to safety behind the doors, another voice broke into their discussion.
"I have the necessary insurance forms. The boy can be placed under those forms for the purpose of this operation." Aisha quickly turned to face the speaker, barely able to contain the shock when her eyes confirmed what her ears had heard.
"Suzu! Oh, thank you so much! Wait…where are Gene and Mel?" Suddenly her voice dropped into an ominous tone. "They better not have decided not to come."
"Rest easy Aisha, they're only moments behind me." When Aisha turned to her questioningly Suzuka merely shrugged her shoulders. "I was worried a situation like this would occur so I came a bit ahead of them." When Aisha's eyes got even wider at this statement, Suzuka merely shrugged again. "As I said, I have developed a certain affection for the boy." Before anything further could be said, the doors to the hospital opened and a red haired tornado exploded through them, dragging a worried looking bio-android in its wake. The nurse, having now been satisfied that payment would be achieved, took this moment to duck back into the operating room and start the doctors to work.
"Where's Jim? What the hell is going on here? Where did you find him? What happened to him? Is he going to be okay? How badly was he hurt?" When no responses came forth Gene whirled on Aisha angrily. "Tell me what's going on!"
"Gene, I suggest you calm down so that we can discuss this rationally. Jim is being worked on as we speak, and I suggest that all of this yelling is not helping the doctors focus on their work." Suzuka quickly intervened, in an attempt to calm the overly excited Outlaw.
"Yeah, right…calm. Got it." Gene responded. He moved over to one of the chairs in the waiting room and sat heavily into it. Melfina sat down beside him, briefly resting her hand on his shoulder. Turning her worried eyes onto Suzuka and Aisha, she beckoned them to come sit down so that the whole story could be told.
The two walked over and took seats. After a prodding glance from Suzuka, Aisha drew in a deep breath and started to tell everyone the events that had happened that night. She began with her being unable to sleep, then went into her late night stroll, her realization that someone was following her, and finally to her capture and identification of her mysterious stalker. She paused there in her story telling, reluctant to call the image of Jim's injuries back into her mind. However, Gene pressed her on. Finally, with great hesitation, she told them in all in full detail the extent of the injuries that Jim had suffered. When she was done, they all just stared at her in shock. After a few moments, Melfina's soft voice broke the silence.
"Why?" The bio-android whispered the question, tears gently falling from her eyes. "Why would anyone ever do such a thing to Jim? He's such a kind and caring person. Why would anyone ever want to hurt him like that?
"I don't know Mel. This just doesn't make sense. What in the world could have happened to him while we were gone?" Gene looked over the crew quietly. "I mean, I just don't understand any of this."
"I think it's obvious what happened here Gene." Aisha spit the words out with as much venom as she could manage. "The little family that you turned Jim over to beat the hell out of him. That sure was a damn good decision of yours. Turn him over to an abusive family you moron. I'm sure he's so thankful for your wonderful decision now. You damn bastard."
"That is enough." Suzuka's stern voice broke in before Gene could respond to Aisha. "Aisha, you're letting your emotions blind you. This is in no way Gene's fault. We have no evidence as to anything that has happened to Jim. The only thing we can do for now is stay here and make sure that the operation goes well. When we're sure of Jim's safety we'll hunt down the lady who was responsible for finding Jim a family and figure out where she took him. After that it's just a matter of tracing the steps until we discover the cause of all this." Suzuka's words seemed to have the desired effect on everyone, as they all lapsed into a silent vigil. However, no one heard Aisha's as she whispered to herself.
"We find them…and then we make them pay." The feline hissed.
For the next hour, the crew stayed in the waiting room, holding their breath and hoping that everything was going okay. Gene and Meflina sat in one corner. The red headed Outlaw found himself brooding over Aisha's words. As he let the accusations roll around his head, he had to wonder if she was right. Was all of this his fault? He had been doing what he thought was right, but had he ever thought about how Jim would feel? What if this had been done to Jim because he got mixed up in the wrong crowd in an attempt to get back to the Outlaw Star? Melfina sat beside him the whole time, switching between eyeing the doors to the operating room and the crew. She knew Gene had taken Aisha's words hard, and she wasn't really sure how she felt about them herself. While it was true that Gene's decision has obviously not turned out for the best…he had done what he thought was right. For once in his life he had actually thought like an adult. It was all to confusing to sort out. Instead Melfina simply sat and hope fervently that Jim would be okay.
Suddenly, everyone was jolted out of their thoughts by a flurry of activity from the hospital staff. After several shouted inquiries met with no success, Aisha finally pinned down one of the nurse, the one who had initially talked with the Ctarl Ctarl, and asked her to explain the situation. The nurse hesitated, but the claws mere inches from her face convinced her that keeping quiet would not be a good idea. Looking into the feline's face, the nurse took a deep breath and spoke quickly and quietly.
"Your friend has flat lined." There were sudden intakes of breath behind Aisha, but being unfamiliar with the term, she merely glared at the nurse in puzzlement. Recognizing the look, the nurse answered Aisha's unasked question.
"His heart has stopped beating. He's dead."
