TITLE: The Unintended

SUMMARY: After a traumatic event onboard a ship in need of rescue, Harper comes away with more than emotional scars.

RATING: PG for mild swearing and some violence, just to be on the safe side.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Andromeda series, I'm just borrowing.

NOTES: Sorry for the delay the preview mode thingy wasn't working so I'm doing this in html. Sorry for any mistakes!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Lost

"This world is not mine. Have I fallen?"

Ruari's waking words

CY 3982

Trance finished putting the fresh bandages on Harper's injured hand and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Trance," Andromeda said, making her jump slightly.

"What is it?" Trance sniffed.

Andromeda, who had been monitoring Harper non-stop, had noticed the flicker of his vitals. "He's waking up," she said.

Sure enough, Harper was stirring. He groaned slightly and Trance put her hand on his arm but his reaction made her withdraw it immediately. It terrified him, as if he hadn't noticed her presence and she had made him jump. Suddenly awake and alert, he sat up and pulled his body away from her as far as the arm and leg restraints would allow him. His eyes darted around as though he was blind and his breathing was erratic.

"Harper, please calm down, you're home!" Trance urged. "Everything's okay now."

Harper looked at her for the first time. Trance's heart broke when she saw the sadness and horror in his eyes. "Oh god no..." was all he uttered before slowly lying back down on the bed. His eyes glazed over and his body went limp.

"Harper?" Trance spoke his name but he wouldn't respond. He was conscious but it seemed he was in a state of shock. "Harper, talk to me."

He could hear Trance's words but they meant nothing to him. He felt paralysed, like he had lost his senses and in their place was an endless void. When Trance touched his arm he had reacted so violently because he hadn't felt anyone else in the room. He could no longer sense the energy of anything. His mind was trapped after being so free and there was nothing could have prepared him for a pain as great as that.

Despite it being four in the morning, everyone had hurried to med-deck after hearing the news of Harper's wake.

"He's been unresponsive since he reacted to my touch," Trance informed them before they went in. "He's conscious but he's in shock. He just sees right through me, and won't respond to my voice," she added, her personal feelings trying to overcome her professionalism.

It was difficult to tell how each of them were handling the news. Even with two days of preparation they were still struggling to come to terms with what had happened.

"I have to recommend that only one person talks to him at a time. We need to get through to him, not overwhelm him."

"Beka, he'll probably respond more to you," Dylan said. He didn't explain his logic because it was obvious to everyone. Beka was closer to Harper than any of the others. They had been through a lot together.

Beka nodded in response, but she wasn't ready just yet. "Did you figure out how to remove the device from his head?" she asked, stalling for a little longer.

"Not yet," Trance replied. "It's buried pretty deep but since it's deactivated and Harper no longer has his powers, it shouldn't be harmful to him."

Beka still didn't move.

"It's okay, Beka you don't have to go in right away if you're not ready," Dylan assured.

Beka looked up; she had been busted. "No, it's fine. I'll go." She composed herself and entered the room.

It was so quiet. Only a steady beep from one of the monitoring machines could be heard. The AI he had brought from the Nietzschean ship stood silently in the corner. She had proved a useful assistant to Trance over the past couple of days. Harper was lying still on the bed, where he had been for the last two days. She had been to see him frequently, though it pained her to do so. Now he was awake the whole situation seemed entirely different.

Harper looked blankly up at the ceiling, the rest of him lacking any kind of life. As Beka moved over to him, he made no signs of acknowledging her presence. She sat down and realised she hadn't a clue what to say.

After a few moments of extended silence, she finally spoke. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now..." she began, but regretted sounding like such a cliché. "Harper, do you know where you are? You're on Andromeda, you're safe. The Nietzscheans...some of them, got away on The Barbell. But the important thing is that you're home now and we're all here for you. And when you're ready to come back to us we'll still be here." She wondered if he would be reacting any differently if he wasn't in restraints.

"Maybe there's something Trance can do," she continued. "Something to help with...whatever you're feeling. But you'd have to tell her about it. Could you do that? Talk to her, or me? I can send Tyr in if you'd prefer?" she teased, but still failed to get any reaction. It was clear this was going to take a lot more time. "I'll let you rest. But if you need me I'll be by your side in a second, okay?" With that, she left, unable to see Harper in so much pain any longer.

The others were still outside. "He didn't even know I was there," she told them.

"I expected this wasn't going to happen right away, it's okay Beka.," Trance responded, seeing the hurt evident in the blonde's eyes. "Maybe we should wait a while before trying again. He needs to get used to being back to his old self." She meant, of course, in the physical sense. Trance found it difficult to imagine Harper ever being back to his normal cheery, cocky self ever again.

The others agreed and went back to bed, though none of them expected to get any sleep.

"You should get some rest too, Trance," Andromeda told her as she walked back into med-deck.

"I'm not tired," Trance dismissed.

"Well you need to get out of med-deck. You've been exhausting yourself. At least go to hydroponics and get a change of environment."

Trance sighed. Andromeda was right. She hadn't seen her plants in a while. "Alright." She turned to the AI. "Please monitor the patient for me."

"Command acknowledged," the brown-haired woman confirmed.

"Andromeda, let Harper have some privacy," Trance said before leaving.

"Privacy mode engaged."

The room was quiet again. Harper waited a few minutes before turning to the AI. "Come here.," he said. The woman walked over to his side as instructed. Harper hoped she hadn't been reprogrammed since her arrival onboard. "Undo these restraints."

He had known since he woke up what he had to do.

End of Chapter Twenty-Four