Chapter 29
"Oh, dear God." Kristen covered her mouth with trembling hands, tears of shock filling her wide eyes.
"I hate you!" Angelica's voice shrieked into the shocked silence, followed by the sound of an open palm slapping skin soundly.
"Mummy, please! No, more! Please, mummy!" Lex's high childish voice pled tearfully.
"It's your fault!" Angelica screamed. "He left because of you! I never wanted you! But he begged me and I thought by having you, he'd stay! But you drove him away!"
Lucas, Hudson and Kristen stared at the violent images on the screen, transfixed by the unbelievable acts of terror they were seeing.
The images raced forward and then slowed. Hudson recognized Lex's childhood bedroom. Light pink walls graced with dancing ballerina teddy bears, the canopy bed he'd bruised his fingers constructing, the ruffled eyelet lace adorning the coverlet and canopy.
Through the eyes of a young Lex, they saw many plush animals and several rag dolls scattered about the floor. Young hands danced them about merrily, a sweet, high voice providing the playful dialogue.
Everyone jumped when the door on the screen was flung open forcefully. "You!" Angelica snarled with loathing, her intoxicated eyes boring through the screen.
The images became chaotic as the young Lex was chased and flung across her room, the sounds of crying and screams filling the lab.
The adult Lex struggled on her makeshift bed, her now pale face wreathed in sweat. Her breaths came in great gasps as she struggled to release herself from Wendy's physical and psychic bond.
Meanwhile, more images flowed on the screen. A young Lex awakened from sleep, fleeing yet another of her mother's drunken tirades. Running fanatically though the darkened yards of neighbour's homes, until finally finding refuge with a compassionate dog, huddled deep within its wooden house.
More images. The toy collection from the fairytale bedroom now resting in the damp, dusty crawl space in the basement, illuminated by the weak beam of a single flashlight.
The young Lex creeping though the silent house, pausing to view an unconscious Angelica on the sofa in the living room, an empty bottle of scotch laying on the floor where it had been dropped. Then Lex carefully continuing on to the kitchen, rummaging through the near empty fridge, snatching any morsels she found.
As if in a movie being fast forwarded and then played normally, the images kept coming.
It was like a nightmare. The harder Lex fought against the cascade of memories, the faster they flowed. Wendy's grip on her hand had tightened to the point where it threatened to crush the bones, her fingers like a vice.
Calling up every ounce of will power she possessed, Lex tossed Wendy out of her mind. The shock of the force Lex used caused Wendy to start, loosening her grip on her hand.
Lex saw her opportunity and wrenched her hand free. Flinging herself off of the bed, she headed for the door, ignoring her shaking legs, and fled into the hallway.
Everyone else remained where they were, too stunned to move.
"Here, drink this," Bridger said, pushing the snifter brimming with golden Brandy into Hudson's numb fingers.
It had taken but a moment after Lex had fled the room before chaos had broken out. Lucas, his lean face pale with shock, had leapt from his chair in pursuit of Lex. Wendy had begun to sob, curling onto her side in a fetal position, her mind tortured by the images and turbulent emotions of an abused child. And Oliver Hudson, tormented by what he'd witnessed, had begun to shake violently, slowly sinking to the floor in dumbfounded shock.
Kristen had quickly recovered and taken charge, immediately calling for help. Bridger had been the first to arrive, followed closely by Commander Ford and Chief Crocker.
At Kristen's authoritative command, Crocker had been dispatched to locate Lex and Lucas, while Ford and Bridger picked Hudson up and settled him into a chair.
Kristen had rushed to Wendy's side, quickly administering a sedative to calm the traumatized empath. Once settled, she had then turned her attention towards the captain.
Hudson's pale face was covered with a sheen of sweat, his pulse high and erratic. He seemed unaware of his surroundings.
"I'd better give him a shot too," Kristen muttered as she reached for another syringe.
"This'll work faster," Bridger said as he returned to the room, a large bottle of brandy in one hand, a glass in the other.
"What the hell happened?!" Ford asked with a frown.
"We unwittingly opened Pandora's Box," Kristen replied, running a trembling hand down her suddenly haggard face.
Ford shook his head, his frown deepening. "I don't get it."
Taking a deep breath, Kristen began to explain the events that had unfolded.
"That was one hell of a stunt," Bridger replied darkly when Kristen had finished.
"There was no other way," Hudson said coarsely, his eyes focused on the now near empty glass. "We had less than forty-eight hours to find that code, access the information on that chip and get it to the U.E.O., before the deal went down and the world was poised on the brink of the first, and last, nuclear war."
"We had no way of knowing what else we would find beyond the code," Kristen said softly, her sympathetic gaze turning to Hudson.
"And the code?" Bridger asked. "Where is it?"
"Stored in the memory of the computer." Kristen nodded her head in the direction of Lucas' console.
"I'll get O'Neill and Ortiz on it," Ford said as he turned to leave the room.
"No!" Hudson shouted. "I don't want anyone else ..."
Ford nodded in understanding.
"Commander Ford and I will take care of it," Bridger said calmly as he headed for the computer.
"And you should head to your quarters and rest," Kristen said to Hudson.
He turned stormy eyes to her. "How can I rest? How could I have not known?! I should have been there to protect her!"
Kristen sighed and knelt as his feet, taking his cold hands in hers. "Oliver, your wife was very ill. You did all you could do at the time. There was no way you could have know because she would have never allowed you to see that part of her for fear that it would have driven you away. All you can do now is be strong for Lex, and help her to pick up the pieces. That's all any of us can do."
Instead of replying, Hudson just buried his face in his hands, and for the first time in his life, allowed the tears to fall.
"Oh, dear God." Kristen covered her mouth with trembling hands, tears of shock filling her wide eyes.
"I hate you!" Angelica's voice shrieked into the shocked silence, followed by the sound of an open palm slapping skin soundly.
"Mummy, please! No, more! Please, mummy!" Lex's high childish voice pled tearfully.
"It's your fault!" Angelica screamed. "He left because of you! I never wanted you! But he begged me and I thought by having you, he'd stay! But you drove him away!"
Lucas, Hudson and Kristen stared at the violent images on the screen, transfixed by the unbelievable acts of terror they were seeing.
The images raced forward and then slowed. Hudson recognized Lex's childhood bedroom. Light pink walls graced with dancing ballerina teddy bears, the canopy bed he'd bruised his fingers constructing, the ruffled eyelet lace adorning the coverlet and canopy.
Through the eyes of a young Lex, they saw many plush animals and several rag dolls scattered about the floor. Young hands danced them about merrily, a sweet, high voice providing the playful dialogue.
Everyone jumped when the door on the screen was flung open forcefully. "You!" Angelica snarled with loathing, her intoxicated eyes boring through the screen.
The images became chaotic as the young Lex was chased and flung across her room, the sounds of crying and screams filling the lab.
The adult Lex struggled on her makeshift bed, her now pale face wreathed in sweat. Her breaths came in great gasps as she struggled to release herself from Wendy's physical and psychic bond.
Meanwhile, more images flowed on the screen. A young Lex awakened from sleep, fleeing yet another of her mother's drunken tirades. Running fanatically though the darkened yards of neighbour's homes, until finally finding refuge with a compassionate dog, huddled deep within its wooden house.
More images. The toy collection from the fairytale bedroom now resting in the damp, dusty crawl space in the basement, illuminated by the weak beam of a single flashlight.
The young Lex creeping though the silent house, pausing to view an unconscious Angelica on the sofa in the living room, an empty bottle of scotch laying on the floor where it had been dropped. Then Lex carefully continuing on to the kitchen, rummaging through the near empty fridge, snatching any morsels she found.
As if in a movie being fast forwarded and then played normally, the images kept coming.
It was like a nightmare. The harder Lex fought against the cascade of memories, the faster they flowed. Wendy's grip on her hand had tightened to the point where it threatened to crush the bones, her fingers like a vice.
Calling up every ounce of will power she possessed, Lex tossed Wendy out of her mind. The shock of the force Lex used caused Wendy to start, loosening her grip on her hand.
Lex saw her opportunity and wrenched her hand free. Flinging herself off of the bed, she headed for the door, ignoring her shaking legs, and fled into the hallway.
Everyone else remained where they were, too stunned to move.
"Here, drink this," Bridger said, pushing the snifter brimming with golden Brandy into Hudson's numb fingers.
It had taken but a moment after Lex had fled the room before chaos had broken out. Lucas, his lean face pale with shock, had leapt from his chair in pursuit of Lex. Wendy had begun to sob, curling onto her side in a fetal position, her mind tortured by the images and turbulent emotions of an abused child. And Oliver Hudson, tormented by what he'd witnessed, had begun to shake violently, slowly sinking to the floor in dumbfounded shock.
Kristen had quickly recovered and taken charge, immediately calling for help. Bridger had been the first to arrive, followed closely by Commander Ford and Chief Crocker.
At Kristen's authoritative command, Crocker had been dispatched to locate Lex and Lucas, while Ford and Bridger picked Hudson up and settled him into a chair.
Kristen had rushed to Wendy's side, quickly administering a sedative to calm the traumatized empath. Once settled, she had then turned her attention towards the captain.
Hudson's pale face was covered with a sheen of sweat, his pulse high and erratic. He seemed unaware of his surroundings.
"I'd better give him a shot too," Kristen muttered as she reached for another syringe.
"This'll work faster," Bridger said as he returned to the room, a large bottle of brandy in one hand, a glass in the other.
"What the hell happened?!" Ford asked with a frown.
"We unwittingly opened Pandora's Box," Kristen replied, running a trembling hand down her suddenly haggard face.
Ford shook his head, his frown deepening. "I don't get it."
Taking a deep breath, Kristen began to explain the events that had unfolded.
"That was one hell of a stunt," Bridger replied darkly when Kristen had finished.
"There was no other way," Hudson said coarsely, his eyes focused on the now near empty glass. "We had less than forty-eight hours to find that code, access the information on that chip and get it to the U.E.O., before the deal went down and the world was poised on the brink of the first, and last, nuclear war."
"We had no way of knowing what else we would find beyond the code," Kristen said softly, her sympathetic gaze turning to Hudson.
"And the code?" Bridger asked. "Where is it?"
"Stored in the memory of the computer." Kristen nodded her head in the direction of Lucas' console.
"I'll get O'Neill and Ortiz on it," Ford said as he turned to leave the room.
"No!" Hudson shouted. "I don't want anyone else ..."
Ford nodded in understanding.
"Commander Ford and I will take care of it," Bridger said calmly as he headed for the computer.
"And you should head to your quarters and rest," Kristen said to Hudson.
He turned stormy eyes to her. "How can I rest? How could I have not known?! I should have been there to protect her!"
Kristen sighed and knelt as his feet, taking his cold hands in hers. "Oliver, your wife was very ill. You did all you could do at the time. There was no way you could have know because she would have never allowed you to see that part of her for fear that it would have driven you away. All you can do now is be strong for Lex, and help her to pick up the pieces. That's all any of us can do."
Instead of replying, Hudson just buried his face in his hands, and for the first time in his life, allowed the tears to fall.