CHAPTER 18

WAKING, SLEEPING, AND VISIONS

While the exhausted Jason slept peacefully in his chair, Alex finally managed to fight his way awake. He opened his swollen, blackened eyes as best he could and looked around fuzzily. He realized immediately that moving was out of the question, feeling nothing but pain throughout his entire body. Suddenly Frankie was beside him telling him to be still and he stared up at her in silent wonder. Even when she squeezed his hand and told him he would be all right, he was certain he was dreaming. The effort of simply staying awake proved too much for him, however, and he sank contentedly back into unconsciousness.

Two hours later, Jason's pleasant dreams were again invaded by nightmares. The swirling, disjointed memories and bizarre, unfamiliar emotions he experienced while ill, delirious, and amnesiac overlapped and jumbled together. Through it all came an image of burning hatred and all-consuming rage that was inexplicably aimed at the Doctor, who was just as powerless against these forces as Jason was at controlling them. Eventually, they consumed them both.

The figure in the chair became restless, whimpering from time to time and becoming more and more agitated. The Doctor shook his friend awake, his touch only serving to galvanize the image into one of terrifying reality. Jason cried out in anguish waking himself in the process. Dazed and shaking, he put his head in his hands, trying to get control of himself. The Doctor spoke his name and he looked up in shock, grabbing him to make certain he were real. "Doctor! You're alive!" he cried.

"Of course I'm alive, dear boy," the Time Lord replied mildly. "You're cooking isn't that bad."

His companion gave him a blank look, completely missing the point of the jest. "No, Doctor, you don't understand. I just saw me…murder you. I saw it as clearly as I see you now."

"It was a dream, Jason," Frankie injected reassuringly.

The Alterran shook his head. "No, it was a memory. Or…a fragment of one. I'm positive of that." He looked into the Time Lord's worried face, saying hesitantly, "I tried to kill you, didn't I? In the console room?"

The Doctor made no reply as his companion continued to chase after the fleeting images in his mind.

Releasing his grip, Jason sat back, a hand to his spinning head. "I was angry and—No. No, that's not right. I went berserk."

"What else do you remember?" the Doctor asked gently.

"Isn't that enough?"

Suddenly realizing the Doctor wasn't trying to dissuade him that he had only been dreaming, Jason's eyes narrowed. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You actually went out of your way to make me lose my temper."

"Yes."

"Why! Doctor, how could you do that to me?" Holding up his hands, Jason rephrased the question, "Why would you need to do that to me?"

The Time Lord turned a meaningful glance in the direction of the injured Alex Grove and his companion sighed resignedly. He closed his eyes, silently accepting the now obvious answer.

After a long silence, Jason said quietly, "You took an awful risk getting me mad like that. You're lucky I only threw you across the room. I could've—"

"I know. I didn't hurt you, did I?" the Doctor asked with a grin.

"Only my pride. Purchased servant indeed," the Alterran aristocrat snorted.

"Oh, I don't know. I rather liked the idea."

"You would," Jason grunted, going over to check on his patient's condition. Frankie told him of Alex's brief period of wakefulness and was relieved to hear that this was encouraging.

As if on cue, Alex opened his eyes again, looking groggily up at the young man at his bedside. "Good morning," the stranger said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, confused…"

"Alive?" Frankie ventured from the other side of the bed.

Alex blinked up at her. "Frankie…" he breathed. She took hold of his hand and he squeezed it. "Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me, you silly oaf. Honestly, I can't let you out of my sight for two minutes before you get into trouble."

"You should…talk…" he admonished painfully.

"Alright, enough of that," Jason cut in quickly. "You need to rest, not fight." Looking up, he said, "And that goes for you, too, Frankie."

Within a few minutes, Alex was asleep again. Jason tried to persuade Dr. Albert to go to one of the guest rooms to get some sleep herself, but she flatly refused to leave. In the end, she agreed to try to get some rest on one of the sofas. As the Healer suspected, she was asleep almost immediately. He covered her with the blanket the Doctor had used on him and then turned down the lights.

Finally the time travelers were able to speak privately. The Doctor knew what was coming the moment Jason turned to him. He stated bluntly that he did not believe his companion was ready for the whole truth. Much of what had gone on while he was ill would have to wait. Period.

Jason reluctantly accepted this condition, knowing it would be useless to argue. Suddenly the Doctor was firing questions at him, being most interested in what the young man actually did remember, since he was obviously still fuzzy on some things.

The Alterran thought a moment. He remembered becoming ill and instructing the Doctor to restrain him, recalling the chills and fever that followed almost immediately after that. Then… there was nothing but a jumble of disjointed images until he came partially to his senses in the main tank at the Freeland Center. He had felt as if he were in limbo most of the time, and was able to recall some of the events leading up to the break-in. This seemed a pivotal event, as everything that followed was perfectly clear; from his rescue of Frankie, to their journey to the temple that led him to the Doctor and Alex.

Jason did not—or more accurately could not—bring himself to tell the Doctor of the overwhelming feelings of hatred, resentment, and jealousy from his dreams; feelings that were so inexplicably aimed at the Time Lord himself. Nor could he shake the terrifying, gnawing feeling that his friend would reject him outright were he to find out about them, banishing him from his presence forever. Something he could not bear at this uncertain point in time.

Giving way to an involuntary shudder, the Alterran quietly said, "How you knew forcing me into a confrontation would help me get my memory back is beyond me."

"If I could've avoided it, you know I would have," the Time Lord informed gently.

"I know. Mt. Jason erupts yet again." Jason lowered his eyes and shook his head. "My temper's been a curse to me for as long as I can remember. But if it weren't for that, Alex would probably be dead now."

The Doctor remained silent. This was indeed true, as were a number of other things of which his companion was still unaware. Seeing Jason stifle a yawn, he suggested, "I think you should get some sleep yourself. I'll keep an eye on Alex for you."

Jason awoke with a start and sat up, looking around as if expecting to be somewhere else. The first thing he noticed was the Doctor had gone and he wondered why his friend had left without waking him. He got to his feet, checking on his Teggellan friends. Frankie was still sleeping soundly, as was Alex.

The Doctor returned while the Healer was checking his patient and crossed to him. "Good morning," he said in a hushed voice. "Sleep well?"

"No nightmares, if that's what you mean," Jason replied in an equally hushed tone. Turning his gaze to the woman on the sofa, he added, "I hope the same holds true for her."

This was not to be. Within a few minutes, Frankie's sleep was invaded by nightmares. Jason was beside her just as she began whimpering, a cry of terror escaping her when he touched her. In tears and trembling, she sat up and hugged him in relief.

"You're alright," Jason soothed. "It was just a dream."

"Oh, Chris, when are they going to end?" she wailed, not realizing she had called him by the wrong name.

"I don't know," the Healer said gently as he wiped away her tears. "Healing takes time."

"Perhaps a little something to eat might help," the Doctor suggested.

Jason nodded. "That's a good—" He broke off when his extraordinary hearing picked up the sound of Alex stirring. He turned to look across the room. "I think there may be four for breakfast," he remarked, rising to his feet.

The sound of Frankie's cry had roused the sleeping Alex who was fully awake by the time Jason arrived at his bedside. "Good morning," the Healer said happily. "How are you feeling today?"

"Awful," came the blunt reply.

Jason chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You took quite a beating."

"I was an idiot," Alex moaned painfully.

"You'll have plenty of time for recriminations, my dear Alex," Jason admonished as Frankie came up beside him. "You're going to be laid up for quite a while. I should think that will curtail any further heroics on your part."

Puzzled, Alex threw a questioning glance in Frankie's direction before asking, "Who are you?"

"Jason Krystovan. I'm you're doctor."

The injured man snorted painfully. "You're just a kid."

With a grin, the Healer replied enigmatically, "You of all people should know that nothing is as it appears on the surface."

The Security Chief was even more puzzled.

"Do you think you could handle a little food?" Jason asked.

With a small smile, Alex replied, "I think I could handle quite a lot, now that you mention it."