CHAPTER 16

COMING BACK SLOWLY

After mulling this over a minute, Jason opened his eyes to see Frankie rubbing her wrists. His trained eyes looked her up and down, assessing her injuries in a glance. "Dr. Albert, you're hurt," he said, getting to his feet.

"I'm alright," she replied stiffly.

"You let me be the judge of that," the Healer said, crossing to her and taking her arm to examine it.

This young man was so different from Chris that Frankie was completely put off by him. She pulled away and took a step back. "I said I'm alright!"

Jason did not know what to make of this perplexing reaction. He was also slightly hurt by the obvious revulsion she seemed to have for him. "My dear woman, I'm not going to—" The words "hurt you" echoed through his mind before he even uttered them and he scowled, his face a study in confusion and uncertainty.

Intrigued, the Doctor asked, "What's the matter?"

"Déjà vú."

"That's encouraging."

"Is it?" His companion's face darkened further and for a single, terrifying instant, even the Doctor's identity was lost to him. Frankie saw the same terrified expression cross his face that she had seen the night before. Jason started to tremble and turned away, running his fingers through his hair. He appeared to be struggling with something he was either unable or unwilling to express. After a minute, he turned back to see a calm, patient expression on the Doctor's face. "I think…I'm losing my mind," he said at last.

Shaking his head, the Time Lord corrected, "Finding it, more like. Everything's bound to be a little fuzzy, Jason, you of all people should know that. Now why don't you see to Dr. Albert's injuries and try not to think."

With a half-smile, Jason nodded, taking Frankie into the next room. He had her take a seat at the table near the door while he collected what he needed, returning to take a seat across from her. He started to remove the wet and useless bandages from her wrists and caught his breath, looking up sharply. "I did these!"

"How do you know that?" Frankie wanted to know.

"See how the wrapping forms a 'J' there? My father taught me that when I was a kid. I think he did it as a joke, but it's become a sort of—" Jason slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "Why do I remember that but not dressing these wounds?" Seeing the frightened look on the oceanographer's face, his eyes grew wide. "I'm not… I didn't do this to you, did I?"

"No!" Frankie was clearly appalled, much to the Alterran's relief. "How could you possibly think that?"

Jason cleared his throat. "I'm just trying to put pieces together," he said mildly before continuing with his work. He applied an artificial skin over the lacerations explaining that it would act as a bandage, eventually being absorbed into the wound as the new skin formed, leaving no visible scar. He had no sooner finished than his patient pulled sharply away, causing him to sigh heavily. "Are you sure I didn't hurt you in some way? Every time I come near you, you either tense up or pull away. You did it again just now."

"It's not you, really," Frankie said nervously. "I'm just…afraid of being bruised again." Even she didn't believe this feeble excuse, but Jason seemed to accept it. He got to his feet, stopping dead when he saw the Doctor had drawn the curtains on the other side of the observation window. Apparently he had done this so the Healer could keep an eye on Alex's condition, but all it did was make him feel distinctly uncomfortable. The Alterran continued across the room, going to a cabinet and rummaging through its contents.

"I understand you hesitancy, Dr. Albert," Jason said conversationally, "but I'm not a violent person by nature—not really."

Dr. Albert nodded noncommittally, more interested in looking over her newly restored wrists then what he was saying.

Smiling, Jason pulled out a bottle of pills and examined it idly. "I mean, if I started beating up defenseless humans, my father would strip me of my guardianship, and then where would I—?" He broke off when a horrified look came to the face of the woman across the room. "What did I say now?"

"You're the Guardian!" she gasped in wide-eyed horror, a hand to her mouth. "Yo…you really are the Guardian."

"What?" Completely baffled, Jason could feel his head starting to spin and leaned back against the counter. "What are you talking about? My father's been calling me that since I was a kid."

"He's not the Guardian you mean, Dr. Albert," came the Doctor's reassuring voice from the doorway.

"Doctor, please, what is going on?" Jason implored. He held up a hand in anticipation of his friend's response. "Yes, yes, I know. I've been ill. But there's more to it than that. Good grief, Doctor, I have total recall! I should be able to remember some of what went on over the last few days. Even the last few hours. There shouldn't be a hole in time like this."

The Doctor threw an apprehensive glance at Dr. Albert, who suddenly realized what he meant about Jason being in for a rough ride. "Why don't you get Alex to bed, and then we can talk," he said at last.

His companion closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath. He glanced over to the observation window and suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to run for his life. There was no hiding his anxiety this time as he hugged himself to try and stop trembling.

"Jason, what is it?" the Doctor asked concernedly, going over to the distressed youth and unwittingly adding to his discomfort.

"I don't know," the Alterran said shakily. "You're going to think this is crazy, but…" Giving a nervous laugh, he admitted, "It's the window."

"The window. What about it?"

"I don't know!" Jason replied forcefully. "It's just…it's the strangest…" Sighing heavily, he shook his head, saying finally, "I'm afraid of it."

The Doctor threw a quick glance over to the window and then asked Frankie to go close the curtains. Puzzled, she did as she was asked, hesitating on the other side of the glass a moment before pulling the material across.

The moment Frankie appeared in the window, Jason felt oddly relieved. Not because of what she was doing, but because she was on the other side of the glass where she belonged. Where she belonged? A ghost of a memory pricked at the Alterran's mind and then started to form behind a slowly rising mist. His eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on the strange disjointed image.

The Doctor blinked, not quite believing what he was seeing when his companion abruptly went into a trance. He watched the boy closely, wondering what was going on inside his mind.

What was going on was Jason had suddenly returned in the main tank in the Freeland center and was looking through the observation room. He could see Alex Grove, healthy and smiling, teasing the sometimes too serious Dr. Albert. The image swirled and changed, becoming the night of the break-in. He watched Frankie being left in the airlock to be killed by the Guardian. The Alterran scowled at this distressing memory, recalling his own confusion at the time. Suddenly the words of the High Priest came to his mind like a thunder clap. "We'll let the Guardian have her."

"The Guardian…" Jason whispered, the words echoing through his brain. The violence of the attack and the title overlapped, as did the realization that he was the one expected to kill the helpless woman. But unlike before, when this only served to confuse him, his true personality reacted. He was enraged. How dare they assume he would want to kill anyone!

"No!" the Alterran growled, squeezing the bottle in his hand so tightly that it exploded with a loud pop. Some of the glass sliced into his hand, bringing him back to reality with a jolt and cry of pain. The Doctor was immediately at his side, guiding him to a tall stool to sit down. Looking up, Jason gave his friend a quizzical look. "Doctor, what're you doing here?" he asked dazedly.

The Doctor looked into his blank, inquiring eyes, wondering how best to respond. He was saved the trouble by Frankie, who had returned to the room just as the pill bottle exploded. She grabbed a wad of bandages from the table near the door and applied them to the boy's bleeding hand.

Jason studied her a moment and then smiled as he realized he knew who she was. "It's okay, Frankie," he said calmly, "I can fix it." So saying, the palm of his hand started to shimmer. The bleeding stopped and new skin formed over the gashes. In a blink, it was as though he had never been injured.

"How did you—?" Frankie broke off as his words sank in. "You called me Frankie."

The young man smiled affectionately. "Yes, I know."

Frankie turned in amazement to the equally amazed Doctor.

"I'm not the Guardian, Frankie," Jason went on in the same calm voice. "A lot of things are still fuzzy. But not that." His voice hardened as he repeated, "Not that."

"Don't push it, Jason," the Doctor said quickly. "Just let it come by itself."

His companion gave him a baffled look, glancing around the room as he realized where he was. His face suddenly cleared and seemed to mature as his thoughts came together. "It already has come by itself. Well…part of it, anyway."

"How?" Frankie wanted to know.

"It was the window," the Alterran announced cryptically. "You were on the wrong side. And I was in the wrong form."

The Doctor was still apprehensive. It was obvious that the observation window had served to unlock some of Jason's memories, but not enough to remove the blocks concealing the attacks on the Time Lord himself. This would be a long time coming. If at all. He was startled out of these thoughts when Jason took hold of his arm, examining his discolored and partially healed hands.

"Am I the only one who wasn't affected by this calamity that injured you all?" the Healer asked with a sigh.

The Doctor said nothing, thinking to himself that, in a way, the Alterran himself had been the cause of the calamity. He followed his friend across the room, taking Frankie's place at the table and watching silently as his wounds were tended.

For reasons he could not explain at the time, Jason found it difficult to concentrate, which only served to annoy him. This was such a simple task. It shouldn't be giving him so much trouble. Nevertheless he could not escape the fact that he was apprehensive…no, he was afraid to be anywhere near his best friend. Stranger still were the bizarre swirling images that filled his head every time he came in contact with the Time Lord's aura.

Jason's unusual manner did not go unnoticed by the Doctor, who made as if everything were perfectly normal. As soon as his companion finished his work, he suggested that they move Alex to one of the bedrooms, to which Jason readily agreed. He even had a specific room in mind already. He asked if it could be reconfigured to accommodate his needs, making a quick sketch of what he had in mind. The Doctor was more that happy to comply with the request, saying that he would call as soon as the room was prepared. The Healer nodded approvingly and went into the other room to prepare Alex to be moved.

Frankie followed and watched apprehensively at the foot of the bed. "You're sure Alex will be all right?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure."

Jason's reply echoed through his mind, rekindling the memory of an underwater conversation and his identical response to a totally different question. So happy was he to recall the event with his usual clarity he laughed out loud.

"And just what's so funny?" Frankie asked defensively, thinking him to be laughing at her.

"Pieces coming together." With another laugh, he added, "I remember not being able to remember, if that makes any sense."

It did, in more ways than one. Frankie lowered her eyes guiltily. "Then…you remember being trapped in the tank?"

The Alterran saw the guilty look on her face and his expression softened. He went over to her, gently taking her by the hands. "Oh, my dear Francesca," he sighed in a voice that made her heart jump, "how do I convince you that I still mean you no harm?"

Frankie looked into his eyes, noticing for the first time how incredibly blue they were.

Jason then spoke in the tone Frankie thought she would never hear again, "I remember a very dedicated scientist caring for me when I couldn't. You saved my life, Frankie, whether you believe it or not. I'd be dead now if it hadn't been for you."

Dr. Albert smiled self-consciously. "So…what do I call you? Chris or Jason?"

"Either will do. I have so many names already." He gave way to a small chuckle. "I don't even use most of them. Just a bunch of pretentious titles, anyway." Seeing the intrigued look on her face, he smiled in amusement. "Dr. Albert, allow me to finally introduce myself," he said with a courtly bow. "I am Jason Krystovan."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Jason Krystovan," she replied, inclining her head. "Now… what did you mean about a bunch of pretentious titles?"

In the console room, the Doctor turned on the internal communications system, picking up the end of the conversation. Switching on the microphone, he cleared his throat. "Taking Lord Krystovan out of mothballs, are we?"

Jason looked up sharply, turning in the direction of the voice. "It's not polite to eavesdrop, Doctor," he scolded playfully.

"Perhaps not, but it can be very educational," the Doctor replied aridly, adding, "Your room is ready."