Chapter Twenty

Friends?

Amanda gave a self-conscious smile. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation," she said resignedly. She told Jason that he wasn't the only one with whom she had had a major falling out. She had also been battling with her father, who had completely taken over the Lazarus Project. He had taken it upon himself to change all of her designs, making them even more unreliable, and dangerous in the extreme. When Curtis announced he was going to continue testing, despite the overwhelming evidence of the project's unfeasibility, she came to realize that Jason had been right all along. Curtis was just as unstable and dangerous as the project itself.

"I got scared," Amanda admitted. "Of the project—and of him. I sent a resignation letter and disappeared. I even changed my name so he wouldn't be able to find me."

"Why?" the Alterran snorted sarcastically. "He may be a homicidal psychopath, but at least he's family."

"That's not funny, Jason!" Dr Spencer snapped angrily, the fear in her voice surprising him. "He cut a man's vocal cords because he refused to physically hurt you. What do you think he'll do to me if he finds out I saved your life?"

The stunned prince mulled this over a few minutes. "You changed your name and came here. Why here, of all places?"

The woman beside him was nonplussed. "Why not?"

"Oh, come on, Andy! I was the one who pulled your funding, remember? And I seem to recall your never wanting to see my lying two-faces again."

Clearing her throat, she admitted, "This isn't exactly how I'd envisioned our next meeting. Anyway, I've been here almost three years, and we've never once bumped into each other."

"And if we did, you'd gently remind me of my own duplicity, right?" Receiving a hesitant nod, Jason grunted. "Blackmail. That's different."

"Actually, I figured Curtis would never dream of looking for me here. And, well…even if you lost your temper, you'd still give me a chance to explain afterward."

Jason fell silent, uncertain as to what to think. Should he believe her? Could he even trust himself to make a decision of this magnitude?

The faraway look in the Alterran's eyes caused Amanda to hope he was reconsidering his original assessment of her, which, in fact, he was. Mentally crossing her fingers, she asked, "Well? Friends? Or Enemies? Which are we?"

"I haven't decided yet," Jason responded softly, his eyes still focused in the distance. "Neutral, I guess."

Amanda gave a small smile. "Fair enough. I can't expect you to—" She broke off when she saw him wince. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that," the physician snapped. She pulled out her scanner and held it over him. Jason immediately took her by the wrist and pushed her hand away. "Andy, I'm fine," he said insistently, only to wince again. His grip on her tightened as groan of pain escaped him.

"Yeah, you look it," Dr. Spencer said caustically, switching the scanner to her free hand. "Look, you mineralogist's nightmare, whatever differences we may have, I'm still your doctor, and I'm reading—" She caught her breath, looking up in alarm. The scanner indicated the Alterran to be in incredible pain.

"It comes and goes," the prince said in a low, strained voice.

"Thorson said you were having some trouble, but really! Inflammation of the joints, muscular cramping, spasms…" Shaking her head, she said, "It looks like your nerve endings are going haywire. Is your head still buzzing?" When her patient didn't answer, the Medical Officer glared down at him in annoyance, repeating the question.

Rolling his eyes, Jason sighed heavily, accepting defeat. "Yes, my head is still buzzing. On and off." With a small smile, he added, "At least I'm not seeing things anymore."

Suddenly the Medical Officer thought she was the one seeing things. The room was filled with a strange wheezing and groaning sound, and a blue shape started to appear out of thin air.

Jason's reaction to this apparent hallucination was completely different. He closed his eyes and moaned, "Why can't he just come through the door?"

The TARDIS had no sooner materialized than the Doctor appeared at the door, looking exceptionally pleased with himself for his pinpoint landing.

"Can't you just come through the door like a normal person?" Jason repeated the Doctor stepped from the TARDIS doorway.

"And start the rumor I was a normal person?" the Time Lord grinned. He glanced over at the desk, doing a double take when he saw the wealth of information still scrolling across the screen. He turned an inquiring gaze in the prince's direction, but it was Amanda who responded.

"Isn't it amazing?" she said in an envious tone. "To be able to remember so much in such exacting detail."

"Fat lot of good it does me now," the Alterran snorted. "Nobody believes a word I say anymore." He glared pointedly at Dr. Spencer, adding, "Between the drugs and the implants, it's a wonder I remember my own name, let alone yours."

"Don't start," she snapped defensively. "You're neutral, remember?"

"I remember," Jason muttered in mock repentance. The rising pain in his body caused him to grab hold of the side of the bed, a groan of anguish escaping him.

"That does it. You're getting something for that," Dr. Spencer stated flatly, pulling open her medical kit.

"You're not giving me—" Jason caught his breath. "—anything." His attempt at forcefulness did nothing but succeed in hurting him more.

"What's been going on in here?" the perplexed Time Lord asked. The last thing he expected to find was this openly adversarial atmosphere.

"Just what did that Amazon give him, anyway?" This was Turlough, who had followed the Doctor from the TARDIS.

Amanda gave a wry smile, throwing the glowering Alterran a sideways glance. "Something akin to an old fashioned truth drug, actually."

"What!" Jason gasped. "You didn't tell me that."

"You didn't ask."

"Why on earth would they give me…?" The prince's voice trailed off and he shot a quick glance in the direction of the computer.

"You were right, Jason," Turlough observed. "They don't give up, do they?"

"I thought I told you to get some rest," Amanda scolded.

The Doctor quickly came to his companion's defense. "That was my doing. I needed some assistance getting Jason's newest accommodations prepared."

"I hope they've got better security than this place," Prince Jason said aridly. "They'll let anybody in here."

The Doctor was puzzled by his friend's open hostility and hoped it was due to his obvious distress. Pain can do strange things to one's personality, and he decided it best to overlook the Alterran's uncharacteristic outbursts.

With a smile, the Time Lord pulled the TARDIS key from his pocket. "Where you're going has the highest security there is," he announced. "You see, I have the only key."

Jason stared at his friend in disbelief. "You're going to lock me in the TARDIS?"

The Doctor's smile broadened. He stepped aside, allowing Turlough to bring out a wheelchair. "In a manner of speaking. We fixed up the Zero Room for you. You'll be able to rest and, hopefully, get rid of that irritating buzzing in your head."

"The Zero Room…" Jason repeated wistfully. "What ever made you think of that?"

Giving his companion a knowing look, the Doctor shrugged. "You might say it just…came to me. Actually, I'm a little annoyed with myself for not having thought of it sooner."

Amanda was reluctant to release Jason from isolation but kept her objections to herself lest she trigger another outburst. She disconnected him from the monitors, doing her best to avoid his piercing gaze. Dropping the side of the bed, she then helped him to sit up, which only added to his agony. Jason let out a sharp cry, catching hold of her arm. He closed his eyes and did not resist when she drew him close and held him in her arms until the wave subsided. When he realized what had just happened, he flushed slightly with embarrassment.

"Your Highness, please, let me give you something for the pain," the Medical Officer begged.

Unable to stand it any longer, the prince agreed, grabbing the end of the bed for support. "I thought it would fade like before," he said in a strained voice, "but I think this is the worst it's ever been."

"Your thrashing around last night didn't help matters much. Those torn ligaments of yours aren't completely healed yet."

The Doctor was relieved when physician and patient started talking to one another in a more normal tone, confirming his earlier observation that the Alterran was snapping out of discomfort rather than animosity.

Keeping her back to the others, Dr. Spencer purposely measured out the drug before the former Healer's watchful eyes. She pushed up his sleeve to administer the injection, hearing a small gasp escape him when he saw the marks on his arms for the first time. He pushed up his other sleeve, seeing a mirror image; scars from the gashes inflicted by the restraints of the extraction couch, track marks from the numerous injections and circular scars where the sensor patches had fused themselves to his skin. In short, he was a mass of partially healed injuries.

"I didn't do all that last night," he said at last, looking up to see a pained expression on Amanda's face. Returning his gaze to his arms, Jason suddenly felt on the verge of tears. Shaking his head, he whispered, "Oh, Andy, what did he do to me?"