Reunion and Betrayal

Chapter 3

"I thought you were suppose to be under doctor's care; why are you doing work while in the infirmary?"

Nyssa sighed and put aside the computer pad she'd been studying. "Valgaurd was here a little bit ago bringing me the latest computer scans. There were three more minor malfunctions while I slept. Valgaurd was once again urging me to close the hospital until we discover the origin of the malfunction."

"And you told him no?"

"I can't close the hospital, Bor; to do so would be certain death to the passengers of five vessels en route to Terminus. I can't be responsible for signing that many death warrants. Valgaurd disagrees."

Bor smiled. "Typical for any situation. If you don't mind me saying so, Director, while you look rested from your ordeal in the lab you look infinitely more distressed and I don't think it has anything to do with the malfunctions." Bor's candid remarks were spoken with obvious affection and worry. "Is it the lad? His presence bothers you, doesn't it?"

Nyssa nodded absently. Then she thought about what he said and looked up sharply. "No, it's not that. Bor, it's difficult to explain. Not too long before I arrived on Terminus, Adric was killed or so we thought. His death was hard for me. I had already lost so many I was close to that losing Adric on top of that was too much for me to bear. If I'm honest with myself his death was probably one of the reasons I stayed here on Terminus."

Bor tweaked her nose good-naturedly. "And here all this time I thought it was my wonderful personality that drew you here."

Nyssa smiled in spite of herself. "Don't get me wrong, Bor. I was glad to be able to help synthesis the Hydromel and to help turn Terminus into the respectful hospital it now. I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish but my reasons for staying were far from altruistic. I enjoyed my time with the Doctor and Tegan, every minute of it, but it was getting harder and harder to be surrounded by things that reminded me of Adric and not succumb to the grief I felt. I knew I would soon start worrying the Doctor and I didn't want that so I think part of me was looking for a reason to be needed elsewhere."

Bor nodded. "And now here he is, alive but at least for now unable to answer the many questions you might have for him."

Nyssa nodded thoughtfully. "It's more than that though. When I first looked down and saw him I did have all these questions about how he survived and where he's been but he said something earlier before he went to sleep that raised even more questions."

Bor encouraged her to explain so she told him about the comment Adric had made about wishing he'd been the one to get to know her. Then she shrugged. "I don't know if he was just talking out of his head or if it meant anything."

The older man tweaked her chin affectionately. "The important thing is that your friend is alive and here right now. Rejoice in that and worry about the time he was missing when he is capable of talking about it."

Rising to her tips of her toes, Nyssa kissed him affectionately on the cheek. "You are always my voice of logic and reason when I'm too close to something to think objectively. Thank you, Bor. You are right; I should be grateful that a dear friend didn't die a senseless death."

"That's the spirit, my dear. Seeing that you've already had your office work delivered here, I take it you will not be in your office today."

Nyssa nodded. "I don't want to leave the ward just now. Adric knows me even if right now he's not sure why he knows me. I should be here when he wakes up. If anything should come up that requires my attention; could you direct it here?"

Bor nodded. "Of course. I should be checking in with Valguard about those malfunctions he came to you about. I will be having a talk with him about burdening you when you are still recovering."

"Don't be too hard on him. Someone has to be honest with me about what's going on."

Bor looked away guiltily. He didn't like hiding the knowledge that there was a possible saboteur in the hospital but he didn't want to add to her worries. "I'll just give him the usual grief. Not to worry. Good luck with the lad, Director."

He had barely gone and Nyssa had barely sat down on her bed to watch Adric sleep when Dr. Myak entered the ward. The older woman smiled at the younger and fussed a moment taking Nyssa's vitals. "You've seemed to have made a full recovery and our friend here seems to be sleeping well. Can I contribute both of these facts to the aid of your wonderful sleep program?"

Nyssa nodded, slightly embarrassed. "It seemed the right thing for both of us. How is he Dr. Myak?"

She sighed. "Physically, he'll be fine. He's malnourished and dehydrated, weak from his experience but with rest and caring, he'll recover. Emotionally, I'm worried. It's obvious he's been through a very traumatic experience that he's not even close to being able to face. It'll take every ounce of strength he has to recover from the emotional scars."
For just a moment, she watched her sleeping friend. "I'll help any way I can."

"I expected that. Do you have any idea who might have done this to him?"

Nyssa shook her head. "We were talking earlier and he became very agitated when I mentioned the Master." Seeing the confused expression on the doctor's face, Nyssa explained who the renegade Time Lord was. "But I don't see how he could have been involved. The last we saw Adric he was on a freighter that was on a collision course with Earth. The Cybermen were trying to destroy the earth but the freighter ended up traveling back in time to collide with prehistoric Earth and kill off the dinosaurs. Adric wasn't able to get off the freighter in time."

"No, that's not what happened."

The two women looked around to see that Adric had awakened and was watching them. His expression was full of confusion. Nyssa came to sit beside him on the bed. Dr. Myak sat opposite the two of them. Nyssa shook her head. "Adric, what do you mean that's not what happened?"

"That happened to the other one, not me."

Nyssa was becoming increasingly unnerved by what he was saying but Dr. Myak simply smiled reassuringly. "What other one Adric?"

"Block Transfer Computation. Always that Adric, not me."

Nyssa's heart skipped a beat. "Block Transfer Computation. That's what was supposed to allow the TARDIS chameleon circuit to function. You and the Doctor went to Logopolis to have it fixed. Then when the Master kidnapped you on Earth after the Doctor regenerated, it was a Block Transfer Computation of yourself that programmed the TARDIS to go back to Event One. But we rescued you before Castrovalva collapsed."

Just hearing Nyssa recount the past seemed to have Adric in pain. Worried about him, Nyssa gently squeezed his arm. Without shrugging off her arm, Adric covered his face with his hands. "No, not me. Another trap. Another Adric."

Tears filled her eyes as Nyssa realized what Adric was trying to tell her. All that time in the TARDIS, the young man she'd thought of as her friend was just a pale imitation of the real thing and she'd never noticed. What kind of friend did that make her? She looked to Dr. Myak for help.

The medic smiled reassuringly. "The two of you lost me with the technical talk. I'm going to make my rounds now and I'll check in on you two later. Director, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Nyssa gently extracted her hand from Adric's arm and followed the doctor to the door. She bit her lower lip gently. "I only seem to be hurting him worse."

"He's going to have to face the pain eventually if he's going to recover. You have a kind and tender heart; trust it to know when to listen and when to press him for information and when to change the subject all together. If you need me, I'll be nearby."

Once Dr. Myak had left, Nyssa returned to Adric's side and once again sat next to him. "Adric, are you saying it wasn't you in that web on Castrovalva?"

Adric wouldn't comment; instead he stared at Nyssa for a moment. "Why did she call you Director?"

Nyssa flushed; she had never been too taken with the being given such a title and having everyone look to her as the leader but it was a job someone had to do and nobody else had been willing to take on the responsibility. "Synthesis a little Hydromel and everyone assumes you are in charge. Are you hungry?"

"Famished actually."

Nyssa smiled broadly. This was more like the Adric she remembered. "I think I can take care of that. Probably best to start out with something light until your body gets use to solid foods again. Will you be alright for a few minutes while I arrange to have something brought here?"

For a moment Adric looked frightened. "You'll come back?"

Nyssa nodded. "You have my word. I'll never leave you behind again."

Satisfied with her promise, Adric nodded, granting her permission to leave. Nyssa quickly went to the food replicator and placed her order. Once the computer chimed Nyssa bit back a growl of frustration. Instead of the clear broth she'd ordered, the machine had dispensed a thick slab of raw meat. She touched a comm padd on the wall. "Computer malfunction on replicator Tri7. Dispatch technician for diagnostic and repair."

"Acknowledged."

Nyssa turned to return to Ward 4 when she was interrupted by the computer.

Attention: Dr. Myak to Ward 3. Medical Emergency Code 5.

She almost dashed directly to Ward 3 but stopped when she thought about Adric. He wouldn't know what was going on and might think she'd abandoned him once again. She quickly returned to his side. "I'm sorry. I hope that announcement was just another computer malfunction but I have to check this out. I'll be back as soon as I can."

She hated to leave him so soon after learning the truth but a Code 5 Emergency was a life threat to one of her patients. Dr. Myak might provide their medical care but as Director, Nyssa felt just as responsible. With barely a backward look, she rushed out of the room. No one in Ward 3 should be in a life-threatening situation. Currently there were only six patients assigned to that Ward. Four were in the recovery stage of the Lazar disease and the fifth and sixth patient was a young native girl who had just recently given birth and her newborn son.

The four recovering Lazar patients were watching in concern and pity as Dr. Myak was tending to the native girl who was in the midst of a massive seizure. Suddenly the girl went completely limp and Nyssa sighed a breath of relief, thinking the danger was passed. But then Dr. Myak looked at her, disbelief clouding her pretty features. "She's dead."

Nyssa shook her head. The delivery had been quite routine two days earlier. Nyssa could think of no explanation for the girl's death now. "What happened?"

Dr. Myak shook her head. "I don't know. She had started to run a slight fever earlier that I contributed to a postpartum infection. I gave her a simple antibiotic but it was nothing this serious. I'll do an immediate autopsy. I'll have the report for you in half an hour."

Just then the small infant in the carrier next to the bed began to cry. Nyssa just stared at him. Part of her told her to pick him up and comfort him but she couldn't do that. He was now an orphan just as she was. His father had been killed in a hunting accident without even knowing that he would be a father. The Bantati chief had explained the situation on one of Nyssa and Dr. Myak's visits to the village to treat an outbreak of malaria.

"Let me take him." A young woman who had lost her own child when she was first diagnosed with the Lazar disease stepped forward and scooped the young boy to her shoulder. Nyssa was glad to allow her to do so. Suddenly the events were too much for her and she fled the room before they could see her break down in tears. Tears were something that should be shed in private and she refused to let anyone see her cry.

She would have run straight to her room but Adric called out to her as she passed the ward he was in. He had been leaning heavily against the doorframe, too weak to support his own weight. He stared at her in concern. "What's wrong?"

She allowed him to lead her back into the room where she sat next to him on one of the beds. Only sheer willpower held back her tears as she told him about the Bantati girl and her newly born and orphaned son. "It's not fair. I know what it's like to lose your parents but at least I have the memories of what good people they both were. He'll never know either one of his parents."

Adric was quiet for several long minutes and Nyssa couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his mind. But finally he spoke. "What will happen to the baby?"

Nyssa shrugged. "Dr. Myak and I will return him to the Bantati village and explain to his grandfather what happened. I presume someone in the village will raise him. We'll have to keep him here for a couple more weeks. His immunity is still too weak to return to the village. He would more than likely develop malaria and die. For now, there are several women in the ward who will be more than happy to care for him until we can return him home."

"Ah, Director, there you are. I'm hoping the Code 5 emergency was another malfunction as was the replicator." Valguard barely acknowledged Adric's presence as he entered the ward.

Nyssa shook her head, painfully aware of the lump of grief that was forming in her throat. "No, I'm afraid not. Ashantol had a seizure and Dr. Myak was unable to save her. She died."

"Unfortunately, a computer malfunction was responsible for her death." Dr. Myak leaned against the doorframe wearily. "I just finished the autopsy. There was no trace of the antibiotic I gave her two hours ago. Instead there was a large concentration of Diotatum in her bloodstream. When I called up the antibiotic from the computer it must have switched the drugs. In essence, I killed her instead of helping her."

Valguard looked at Nyssa grimly. "Bor and I tried to tell you yesterday that we needed to close the hospital before something like this happened and just hours earlier I again implored you to think of the safety of the patients. If you had done so, the girl would still be alive."

Nyssa's eyes widened and her face became ashen. Because of her reluctance to turn patients away, a person who should be enjoying the miracle of birth was now dead. It was all her fault.