Chapter 8 racing thoughts
Dana no sooner felt her feet slipping then she felt an arm go about her waist. Pain raced over her back and she heard voices shouting and yet all she felt were strong arms and then she heard the voice.
"Dana, just hang on." Carter, that was Carter. "You'll be alright, just hang on, alright?"
"Carter?" Where was he? He couldn't be there he was on a mission and…
"Yeah, it's me, I'm here, just hold on and everything will be alright." With his words the world spun out and she felt nausea rising. Heavens she was going to die and how could that be alright? She had to think of something else, to get her mind off this whole thing…
"Hollie, the little…" She remembered but had to clench her teeth against the nausea and pain.
"Their fine, Dane, we're waiting for you just hang on." Ryan's voice floated to her as slowly everything whirled and she was falling, dropping…
***
The communication unit went blank, Carter cursed as the link to Dana went to static. Terror gripped him until he saw Ryan's face.
"She's safe, their loading her into an ambulance now." Ryan reported and Carter sighed. He knew that his mission was dire but still not to be there with Dana... it ate at him, they were no longer just friends, and he should be there, waiting for news not going to the bleeding moon!
"Keep me posted." He ordered and signed off. I was all he could do.
"You care about her very much." Cole said after watching the exchange. He'd seen some of the emotions that Alyssa raised in himself. He couldn't blame the other man, the blonde was very pretty. He could appreciate that even though it was his white ranger who had his heart.
Carter just looked at him still reeling from the scene he'd just witnessed. Dana was hurt, she had nearly died and he'd not been there. He kept seeing her fear and then he had seen the calm come over her as he'd appeared on the link.
"The girl, you love her very much." Cole amended and Carter didn't even think he simply nodded knowing it was true, he loved Dana, it had to be love, and why else would he have been so frightened. For heavens sake he'd thought his heart would stop in the minute she'd slipped. Then there was the laps of time it had taken for Ryan to report after her link had shorted out...
Carter glanced at his watch absently and realized they had to move. He didn't want to but the world was counting on them to protect it. Not for the first time he wished someone else could do it.
***
Ryan had thought his heart would stop when his sister had slipped and hadn't started again until he'd seen the fire fighter catch her. Now as he sat in the hospital's waiting room he wondered why it had to have happened to his sister. Hadn't they all been through enough? Wasn't it enough that she and the other three rangers trapped in the Aquabase had almost died? Did things just have to keep happening? Then there was Carter's reaction, it was almost as if they were… It hit him then that maybe there was more going on there. Was that why Carter had told him that she needed a little extra sleep? If it was he didn't know how he'd feel about it. True they were friends but could he handle his best friend dating his sister?
He thought about how happy and yet distracted she'd been when they'd arrived at the fire and knew that if it would make her happy than he'd learn to deal with it.
"Here." Captain Mitchell looked up to see Marie holding out a styrophoam cup of hat had to be the foulest liquid on the earth.
Looking up he found the girl must have passed hem out to everyone. They all held cups. It struck Ryan then that not only were Joel, Angela, Chad, and Kelsey there but so were the new recruits. He wondered why they'd not been taken to the base but knew that they wouldn't have gone there was just something so similar about the first lightspeed team and these young people. He didn't have any doubt that they'd accept the gauntlet.
"Excuse me Captain Mitchell?" A woman asked coming into the room. She had to be a doctor if her white lab coat and underlying scrubs were any indication.
"Yes?"
"Your sister's going to be fine. Her burns were aggravated by the glass which got into the gashes but with the accelerated healing lent by the power she should be up and around by, I'd say Sunday."
"Thank you Doctor. When can we see her?'
"They've just gotten her settled in a room. You can go right in as son as you like…" She never got to finish Ryan was out the door and down the hall.
***
Carter and Cole arrived at the NASADA space port, where Eric and Wes were already waiting. Carter heard himself make the unnecessary introductions even as his hand itched to hit the button on his communicator to check on Dana. Surely they'd know something by now. Still looking at first Cole and then the two silver guardians he sustained. It wouldn't do him any good if she was really bad off, he could be with her… Again he cursed the responsibilities of their careers. If not for them she'd not be injured and he'd not leaving earth for the moon He knew he should be eager about seeing outer space but if he'd wanted that he'd have applied for passage on Terra Venture.
Carter was pulled out of his thoughts when the Red Turbo Ranger arrived. Carter made the necessary introductions but didn't really say any more than necessary. Not that he was ever a man of many words. Especially not now when his thoughts were racing a mile a minute.
Andros arrived soon and He gave them a minor briefing.
"We've all been gathered by a veteran Ranger for this mission." Carter didn't really care; he just wanted to get this over with... Didn't any of them have lives or was it just a curse of the power? Either way there was no more time to think as Tom Oliver joined them and they prepared to leave.
***
The hospital room was still, the only sounds coming from the heart monitor and Dana's faint breathing. She was laying face down and looked to be asleep. He hoped she was, either that or she was medicated, otherwise he had a feeling she'd be in a great deal of pain. It hit Ryan that for once it was not a monster hurting one of them but a simple fire. Talk about irony.
"You can sit down you know." Came a strained voice. Looking t Dana's face he saw that her eyes were slitted open and she looked slightly sick.
"Dane, do you want me to get a nurse?"
"No, I'm ok." She rasped and sure enough some color returned to his sister's face.
In truth Dana felt like screaming, her back hurt, she'd had to be told what had happened because her last memory was of getting out of the rover at the fire and the one thing that she might be remembering was Carter's voice telling her to hold on. Was it because she kept remembering last night, it popped into her mind whenever she tried to really think back. Still she wondered. Should she ask Ryan? Would he think her a ninny? She just didn't know anything anymore. She just wished her mind would stop racing.
"The new team is gathered in the waiting room. They're all waiting to see how your doing."
"They are?" She asked a little surprised. They didn't even know her. As if knowing her thoughts Ryan added.
"You must have made a big impression on them." He smiled at her and she thought he kind of looked like Dad. Dad, had she heard his voice? Had she seen him…?
Ryan knew he should let the kids in to see her but right now he just wanted to stay with his little sister, hold her hand and thank the heavens that she was alive. He wondered if Carter would check in soon or if he'd not have time with his mission. Idly he wondered what that could be. It had to be big to drag him from whatever he'd been doing. And he thought again that he didn't even want to go there. Not that he'd dislike them together but he didn't have to think about it. They were close but not that close…
"I'll um bring them in."
"Ok, Um, Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you." She said and he felt tears stinging his eyes.
"I love you too sis." And with that he left her there.
TBC
***
Ok, now for my fave part, PLZ R&R and let me know what you think.