PINA

I polish off my snack in the kitchen and am ready to get down to some serious work. I head for the infirmary, knowing I still need to update my notes on both Tommy and Zedd. It's both exciting and sad that I seem to be the only person in the universe that has thought that humans are worth studying - well, outside of a cage or body bag. Plus, I keep hoping that Hayley will have broken the code already and sent the information back. Not knowing where Zedd is at the moment, I can't ask if he's gotten a return email so for now, I'll make do with what I do have.

I enter the infirmary and am surprised to find Tommy there. Sitting in a corner, eyes closed, I have no idea why he'd be in here, apparently meditating, rather than his or Zedd's room. Torn between talking to him and leaving him alone, I hesitate. I suddenly realize that he probably knows I'm here and will talk to me if he wants to, so for the moment I'll let him be. I head for my desk to work. I'm barely seated when he abruptly stands up, goes in the bathroom and shuts the door. I make a mental note of his behavior and turn to my notes. Less than a minute later, the infirmary door opens and Zedd and Dar come in.

Without preamble, Zedd speaks. "Rita called about a half an hour ago. She wanted to talk to you, but I told her you were unavailable. She said that she'd be unreachable herself and she'd call you back. She said that it has something to do with Thomas."

I sigh, knowing this means delays in my work. I don't want to get too deep into it, only to have to stop when she calls. "I don't suppose you've heard from Hayley yet, have you?"

He shakes his head. "Although I haven't checked my emails in a while. It's been a busy day." I raise an eyebrow questioningly and he answers my unspoken question as Dar hops up on the table to listen. "After you called that Dar had returned and you were getting some sleep, Thomas and I composed the message to send to his friend. After that, his new clothes arrived. I left him to put them all away while I dealt with some business calls that came in."

"Sorry, boss" Dar cuts in.

Oddly, Zedd waves it away. "So you've missed a day of work in what - five years? I'm not worried about it. Anyway, I got finished before him and went to hunt him down. He wasn't quite finished yet - he'd gotten distracted by some things he found in my room."

Dar and I exchange an unseen look, but wisely say nothing as Zedd continues, wandering around the infirmary as he does. "We went to my office to start his training. It occurred to me that some of the things in there might stir some memories, so I reminded him that I'm no longer that person before we went in. He looked around my office and locked on my staff and stared at it for several minutes."

Okay, now you have my undivided attention. "He said nothing about what the staff might have invoked and we moved on, since he didn't seem troubled by it. We tried to work on his writing and letter recognition, but we both became frustrated. Since he is otherwise physically healed, I took him outside and we sparred for a bit. He did quite well at that. On our way back in, we decided to make a schedule for his lessons so that no time is spent on any one thing too long and we get frustrated again. I asked him why he froze when he saw my staff and he denied such a thing had happened. He thinks it's a side effect of the medication. We worked out the schedule, had an argument and I went to the hanger bay to work on some things. Oh, and he's had a few memories return."

"Wait - back up a minute. You two had an argument?"

Zedd waves his hand, as though to brush that aside. "It was a stupid thing to argue about. I - said some things I probably shouldn't have and certainly didn't mean."

Which actually explains the boy currently hiding out in my bathroom, he must have either heard them coming, or used his bond to feel Zedd's approach. Just as I'm about to question him, Dar speaks up. "I've been thinking. There must be a better way to teach him his native language than what you've been doing."

Zedd and I both turn our attention to him as he continues. "Granted, I don't know how you've been doing it, but what if you were to use, say, computer programs instead of doing it hands on? That way it reduces the tension between you two, but he still learns."

He looks to me for approval and I must say, it's brilliant. "Transfer his negative emotions of the process to an inanimate object? That would work for language, but it won't do anything for his motor skills."

"It will if we get him an Earth computer and a - what's it called? - a typing program. That will help his fine motor skills and if we get some programs for letter recognition and reading-"

Zedd finishes Dar's thought. "Then he'll be back up to his old skills in no time. We'll have to run it past him and see what he thinks. He could do that while I work and I can take care of his physical training."

What Dar says next completely blows me and Zedd away. "I have no love for the boy, we all know this. But - what if I handle the computer and language lessons, Zedd his physical training and Pina takes him out in the woods and garden?"

Well, that would divide the work up nicely. But why - suddenly, I know. As far as Dar's concerned, the quicker we get Tommy better, the quicker we can send him home and get back to the way things used to be.

I could see that Zedd wanted to say something, but he apparently thought better of it. Instead he said, "Thank you, Dar"

Standing and giving a nod, my mate seems suddenly just a tad less worried and hostile than he had been earlier in the day. "I'll go see about acquiring the programs and system in case he agrees."

"I appreciate it." Zedd remarks with a slight smile. "Drinks are on me next time we're out on a supply run."

"I'll make you regret that offer." The comment thrown over his shoulder as he leaves, my mate has certainly thrown me for a loop, however not in a bad way, and not one that I'm currently focused on unlike what Zedd had stated earlier.

With Dar now gone, I turn to my boss with an inquiring gaze. Dryly, I ask, "What exactly did you say that you didn't mean?"

I watch carefully as shame and guilt flash across his face before he responds, "Nothing really, just…you look very nice today, did I mention that earlier?"

Scowling and shaking my head I'm not going to be swayed. "Zedd."

"Your mate and I patched things up a bit." He's reaching now, and badly.

"I saw. Now what did you say to Tommy?"

Heaving a sigh and looking at anything but me, he gives a small shrug. "I said that maybe I should have left him where I found him."

I feel the blood drain from my face. He didn't. He wouldn't. But the look on his face and shamed posture makes me realize he did. "Are you out of your mind?!" I hiss in what could be a mix of worry and rage. "What in all the hells possessed you to say such a thing?"

"I don't know," he shrugs helplessly, looking much like a scolded child. "I didn't think." No kidding.

I take a deep breath, gathering my thoughts and far too aware of the boy hiding in the bathroom and probably hearing every word. When I speak, it is dangerously quiet. "Who exactly are you mad at here, Zedd? Me? Dar? Tommy?"

He chews on the question a long time before he answers carefully. "Not so much mad, I think, as frustrated. Mostly at myself, I suppose, with the three of you thrown in the mix."

"And without thinking, you took it out on your boy."

"Yes." Zedd wanders around the room restlessly as he speaks. "I don't even know what possessed me to say such a thing. I'm not sorry that I retrieved him from that place. I'm not sorry to be helping him. I was just so aggravated and frustrated with everything and he chose that moment to start arguing with me."

He stops when he sees me shaking my head, as I more than anything wish to smack him in his. "Zedd, this is Bond Mates 101. Your bond mate was hurt and you were unable to prevent it. The bond wants him healed as quickly as possible and both it and you are frustrated by the slowness of the process."

Zedd frowns. "You speak like the bond is a separate entity."

Now I frown. "The bond is a branch of your own mind that is starting to awaken. Like most young things, it wants to see what it can do and it's frustrated by its inability to do so. Part of that is also because Tommy has chosen to keep you blocked out for the time being so that he can adjust. The bond can't really understand that the difference in species is part of the problem. Once he adjusts and allows you more access, I believe that a large portion of your frustration will subside. But Tommy needs to know that it's no one's fault."

"But how do I make him believe it?"

"You don't. Either he will or he won't. That fact of the matter is that his species is less evolved than ours and has to adjust differently. It's not a fault issue - it's just the way things are. Really, it probably wouldn't have mattered whether he was hurt or not, he'd still have needed time to adjust. Hopefully, when you talk to him about this, he'll use the link and feel that you're being honest with him."

"That reminds me. Speaking of honesty, what did you not tell us about Thomas' treatment?"

Uh-oh. Now my turn to look like the caught child, I begin casually straightening the papers on my desk. "I don't know what specifically you're referring to."

"No games, Scorpina," Tone one of warning, I know I'm not getting around this. "Does his medicine have side effects or not?"

Delicately, Pina. He's a half step away from losing his mind again. I sigh. "Every medication has possible side effects, Zedd."

"If I know what to expect, I'm not caught by surprise."

I stop him before he can continue. "And if you know what might happen, you'll spend all your time looking for it instead of focusing on the tasks at hand. It would make you jumpy and him nervous and it just isn't necessary. That's why I told him to let me know if something was off. I know what to worry about and what not to."

Not surprisingly, he doesn't seem pleased by this answer. However, he doesn't comment on his irritation. "I mentioned that he stared at my staff for several minutes and that he denied having done it. Is that a side effect?"

"It is. But it's a good one. It means that the medication is working faster than I anticipated. According to what I've read, that state can speed his healing - as long as it's natural."

"What do you mean?"

"If I were to drug him into that kind of state, it could stop the healing process entirely. Which means that he would never - and I mean never - get better. If it's happening on its own, it's a good sign. We just have to be sure that the periods aren't too long."

"What's too long?"

I frown. "The paperwork says brief periods. I have to double check the medical databases to confirm what they mean by brief, but the episode earlier today is nothing to worry about."

Just then, my computer chimes that a call is coming through. Zedd sighs. "That's probably Rita and I've no desire to hear her voice again today. We'll talk later."

As he leaves, I make my way to my desk to answer the call. I sigh heavily and pick up. "This is Scorpina. Go ahead."

It is, as expected, Rita. "Hello, Scorpina. I wanted to let you know that I've done all the checking I can, but it seems that in Tommy's current condition, there is nothing we can do to help him."

I can feel my brow furrow in puzzlement. "But, Rita, I am helping him. I have found a treatment that will counteract the drugs the humans were giving him, we've begun to retrain him-"

She interrupts. "I'm sorry. I meant that since he's no longer a power holder, there's nothing that we can do."

I pause for a long moment, weighing my options. Do I tell her or not? "What if he were still a power holder?"

A long pause on her end. "If he were, we might be able to help him more quickly than you can. Unfortunately, that's just not the case."

My hackles rise at her pitying attitude and, unfortunately, my mouth runs unchecked. "Might? That's pretty weak, especially since you're wrong. He is still a power holder. The power has simply gone dormant. But don't you worry about it, Rita. We'll take care of him. I guess Zedd was right. It was absolutely useless to contact you after all."

Disgusted, I disconnect the call in the equivalent of slamming the phone down. Suddenly, my brain catches up with my temper and I realize that Tommy is still in the bathroom - or was. I look up to see Zedd's boy standing in the doorway. Uh oh.

"Tommy?" He continues to stare blankly for a good minute and a half, then turns his head as if someone were calling him. He turns back to me, confusion on his face.

"Pina, I feel strange."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugs, frowning. "I'm not sure. I don't know how to explain it."

"Will you let me scan you again?"

He shrugs again and hops up on the table while I snatch up a scanner, recalibrate it and begin the scan. As I watch figures scroll across the screen, I can't help but grin. If I'm reading this correctly, all the remnants of the other drug should be out of his system. It also looks like the power reading has risen slightly. He's making progress more quickly than I had dared hope for.

The scan finishes and I look at him. "Good news, Tommy. All the bad drugs appear to be gone. In a few days, I want to do a detailed brain scan to see what progress the new medicine has made."

To my surprise, he frowns. "If things are better, why do I feel strange?"

I'm uncertain how to answer him as there are far too many possibilities. "What exactly feels strange?"

"My head."

I hesitate. "My first guess would be because this is the first time since you were hurt that there are almost no drugs in your system. You've gotten so used to how you feel with them, you feel odd without them."

He considers this for a long minute. "Okay." He hops off the table and heads for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Not sure, but I won't leave the grounds." With that, he's gone.

I realize I probably should find Zedd and Dar and tell them about Rita's call. Yeah, and won't this be gangs of fun. As if nature agreed, I hear the deep rumble of thunder outside.