RAINBOW CONNECTION
by Newly Human
Synopsis: Logan finds out what caused Kaia to end up in the hospital. Her gift may not be a gift after all. Friendship, intrigue, action, and most importantly… hope.
Timeline: The following takes place in between seasons 1 and 2.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel the series and all it's characters belong to Fox, Cameron/Eglee Productions and other respective owners. I don't mean to infringe so please don't sue. Kaia Kilbourne and the plot are mine.
Authors Note: Sorry this chapter took longer than the others – FFnet was acting up. Thanks so much for all the reviews. It means a lot to me that you guys keep wanting more. I really want to finish this story in the next couple of days (I'm supposed to be studying for exams :) ). So check back early, and check back often. Thanks for reading! -- Newly Human
CHAPTER 6
Gifts... Curses
New York City Hospital, 10 Years Ago
Little Kaia watched her mother work. She loved to hide just outside the hospital room door and stare at her mother. When she was alone, Kaia would try to imitate her mother's graceful movements, treating her teddy bear with an imaginary cough or sore arm. Today her mother was caring for a boy, a few years younger than her 11 year old self.
"Breathe deeply," Doctor Janet Kilbourne instructed as she listened through her stethoscope.
"It hurts," the boy complained.
"I know, honey. Just try." The boy took one small and erratic breath before starting to cry. Very loudly.
"Shhh…" Janet tried to calm him, stroking his back gently. It didn't help.
Kaia watched as her mother took the boys face in her hands and looked into his eyes. The boy's scrunched up features slowly loosened and before long he had quietened down. He looked almost serene.
"That's a good boy," Kaia heard her mother croon. "Do you feel better now?"
The boy just nodded happily.
----------
The first thing she noticed, as she surfaced from her dream, was a familiar rhythmic beeping by her ear. The second thing, the terrible sterile smell that accompanied all hospitals. Kaia opened her eyes to find that she was right; she was lying in a hospital bed. The heart monitor making it's noise beside her. Her eyes drifted to Logan, seated in a chair on the other side. His head was jerking every few seconds, trying to stay upright, as he slowly began to nod off.
It looked so strange Kaia couldn't help but chuckle.
The small noise snapped him alert for good. "Kaia, you're up."
She nodded, "Sorry to wake you."
"No, I wasn't asleep." His response made her smile. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, "How do you feel?"
"I'll be ok" She lied. Her whole body ached. "What happened?"
"We don't know yet." He replied, "The doctor should be here any minute."
Again she nodded.
Their comfortable silence was interrupted when the man in the bed opposite Kaia's suddenly grumbled in his sleep.
"Quick… Kiss the tail…"
Logan and Kaia exchanged amused looks.
"Weird dream." Kaia observed, smiling.
Logan agreed. Kaia watched as he seemed to contemplate something.
"Can you feel what he's feeling?" He asked curiously.
"If it's not intense enough I'd have to concentrate to be able to get through." Kaia explained, "There were only a few people who could get through to me all the time. My mum, my dad…"
"And Zack." Logan concluded. He thought for a minute. "Why was that?"
When Kaia didn't respond Logan thought maybe she didn't understand the question.
"Why was it that only these people had a connection with you?" Logan asked, mostly to himself. "The link could be physical…" he started a possible explanation, "But then again Zack wasn't linked to you in any way." He finished, dismissing the idea.
Kaia stared at her clasped hands sitting in her lap. "But he was." She started to move them. "There's a part of him…"
Logan looked down to where her hands had finally rested. Her stomach.
"…in me."
"You're pregnant?" He heard himself utter the obvious words.
"Yep."
Kaia let the idea sink in. Logan's brain ticked away, his mind putting together all the pieces.
"One month ago… in his last visit…" Logan thought aloud.
"At first I couldn't understand why he did it, but…" She didn't know quite how to explain it so that Logan would understand. "He was always strict and unwavering with his orders, but under that hard exterior was the compassion that he hated about other people. Phoney sentimentality, he used to call it." She smiled, becoming lost in the memory.
Logan had only met Zack briefly, but Kaia's words made sense. Zack was harsh when it came to Max. She wanted to stay in Seattle despite his orders for her to keep moving around. But he was hard on all of them because he wanted to protect them. He would die for his family. And he did.
"Zack always knew I loved him," Kaia filled in the last of the blanks. "And even though he never felt the same, in his last visit he showed me that he understood how much he had meant to me."
"That's how I knew he was never coming back." Kaia finished sadly.
Max. Would she be coming back? The events of two nights ago seemed so far away to Logan. He felt detached from the person who watched the woman he loved die. Did it actually happen? Logan was thinking about Max when the doctor interrupted.
"Kaia, how are you feeling?" He asked. Doctor Weller was a nervous man. Even as he asked Kaia that simple question his hands were rapidly rubbing together for no good reason other than to keep them moving. At the moment however, there seemed to be something else bothering him, adding to his anxiety.
"I'm a little sore actually." Kaia responded.
"That's nice." said the doctor, obviously not listening. He turned to Logan. "May I speak with you outside, Mr. Cale?"
By the time Logan stood up to leave with him Doctor Weller was already out the door.
----------
Outside, Logan stood facing the fidgeting doctor. Already, all his thoughts of Max were being pushed back within. Doctor Weller was thinking intently, extremely distracted.
"Is something wrong?" Logan asked, not able to wait any longer.
Doctor Weller broke away from his thoughts and seemed to notice Logan for the first time.
"Just something…" Doctor Weller paused, searching for the right way to broach the subject "Her brain. I've found something unusual."
"What is it?"
"Well, typically we use various parts of our brain for various tasks, and it's not unheard of to use these different parts at the same time." Doctor Weller explained. "There are certain parts of the brain, however, that aren't related to the function of the actual nervous system, and are used for say, protective purposes. During routine tests on Kaia..." He hesitated, not knowing how to continue.
"Just tell me, Doctor." Logan urged, understanding half of what the doctor was describing, and getting more impatient and worried by the minute.
"Her brain is 100% active. She's using parts of the brain that we thought weren't supposed to be used. And there are more impulses travelling in her brain than in anyone I've heard of."
"So what does this mean?"
"It means Mr. Cale, that Kaia's IQ is off the charts. Her brain is constantly processing at an extraordinary rate doing God knows what!" Doctor Weller gushed, his excitement and enthusiasm getting the better of him. Suddenly he stopped, as if he had remembered something else. "But I'm afraid Kaia isn't coping with the stress. It doesn't look good…" The doctor trailed off, letting his tone say what he meant.
"How long does she have?" Logan asked, not sure whether or not he wanted to know the answer.
"I'd say no more than 6 months." Doctor Weller replied.
"Thank you, Doctor." Logan said, his mind contemplating what to do next. He turned to the doctor. "We'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone."
"But, but, Mr. Cale…" Doctor Weller started, obviously distraught by the idea. "This could be a great medical study. If we could just-"
"Consider it a favour to Eyes Only," Logan interrupted, "He'll owe you one."
"Eyes Only?" Doctor Weller stopped, surprised by the name.
Logan pulled a card from his wallet. They always give in when he mentioned Eyes Only.
"Give me a call if you need anything," He said, handing the card with his details to Doctor Weller, "And I'll get in touch with Eyes Only. See what he can do to help."
The doctor took the card silently, his face showing the shock of hearing Eyes Only's name. As he left the doctor standing there, still dumbstruck, Logan considered how exactly he was going to explain to Kaia that in 6 months, she was going to die.
Author's Note: I would love to hear from some Zack fans on how you guys thought I handled his character. And no, this story isn't entirely focused on Zack, but more on how Logan and Kaia deal with their losses. I just felt it was important to explain his actions. I really wanted to stay true to everyone's characters. -- Newly Human
© May 2004 NHmedia
www.nhmedia.cjb.net