Sorry for the delay posting this I kept forgetting to do it...oops

Happy New Year

Chapter 9

Thank goodness the trip back was uneventful" Gold thought to himself as he followed his medical technicians as they wheeled the stretchers carrying Scarlet and Blue from the hanger to the medical bay. He ordered his team to run scans on Captain Blue to rule out any other life threatening injuries, while he personally oversaw Scarlet's treatment.

The Doctor had removed Scarlet's uniform tunic while he was treating him back at the laboratory after the explosion had occurred and placed a temporary dressing over the wounds on his back to keep them clean during transport. Since it had been almost a couple of hours since the incident itself had taken place, Gold was expecting there to be some signs that Scarlet's wounds had begun to heal

"That's odd" he commented out loud to himself

"Doctor?" Surprised, Gold turned round to find Colonel White standing in the doorway to the treatment room. Although he was aware that White had been informed of their arrival back at Skybase, he had not heard him enter the medical bay.

"Sorry Colonel, I did not realise that you were there"

"No need to apologise Mason. Is something wrong?" The concerned look on the doctor's face had prompted White to enter the room and moved to stand next to the doctor.

"There does not appear to be any signs of improvement in Scarlet's injuries" Gold clarified

"But doesn't it usually take several hours for the retro-metabolisation to be completed?"

"Yes Colonel or longer still depending on the severity of the injuries. But there is usually some sign that healing is taking place, yet his injuries look the same as they did when I first treated him back at DragonTech"

The Colonel's eyes skimmed over the prone figure of Captain Scarlet as he lay in the bed in front of him. He was lying on his front so that his injuries on his back could be treated and White could only see the right side of his face. Scarlet looked unnaturally pale, his colour making the bruising on what White could see of his face and neck even more obvious. Even though Scarlet's eyes were closed, the Colonel was sure he saw pain in the younger man's face too; but looking at how extensive and severe the wounds were on the back of Scarlet's body it was easy to understand why.

Colonel White had witnessed Scarlet after past incidents, times when he had been shot, had fallen out of the sky, even been exposed to fatal amounts of radiation as well as a lethal disease. The Colonel had even see Scarlet brought back to Skybase already 'dead', but nothing could prepare him for this. Yes he could certainly understand the pained expression on Scarlet's face. The injuries to his back were horrific and evidence of how close he must have been to the blast when it had occurred.

"How's Adam doing?" he asked the doctor, unable to tear his eyes away from Scarlet's injuries

"He was lucky" Gold answered, not even looking up at the Colonel as his attention was focused on his patient in front of him "If it hadn't been for Scarlet here I have no doubt that his injuries would have been a lot more severe. Perhaps even fatal" the Colonel nodded

At that moment, a low, visceral groan emanated from the bed as Scarlet began to stir; his body trembled with the effort as he tried to move.

"Doctor?" he asked, his voice was nothing more than a pain filled whisper

"Easy Paul" the Colonel said, a softness in his voice that his subordinates did not really get to hear very often "Try not to move"

"Colonel..." Scarlet muttered, moving his head a fraction so he could just see his commanding officer in his peripheral vision "...back on Skybase?" his words trailed off as he spoke. His breathing was becoming laboured form a combination of both the pain he was experiencing and because he was lying on his chest.

"Yes Captain, you're in the medical bay" Gold answered him

"Where's Adam?" Scarlet asked, panic rising in his voice was he tried to look around once more looking for his friend

"You need to calm down Captain" Gold instructed him "Captain Blue is okay. Because of what you did he is going to be fine" Hearing the doctors words seemed to calm Scarlet and he visibly relaxed

"Where...?"

"He's resting in another room Paul" Doctor Gold noticed the panicked expression return to Scarlet's face after hearing the Colonel's words about where Captain Blue was.

"He'll be fine Captain; he suffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, that's all"

Just then a commotion outside the room drew their attention away from Scarlet momentarily. Destiny angel could be seen outside the room where she was having a heated argument with one of Doctor Gold's medical technicians. The Colonel had informed her as to what had happened when Scarlet and Blue had visited DragonTech; he had also told her that he would update her on their condition as soon as he knew what was going on himself.

"I'm sorry ma'am but you can't go in there at the moment, Doctor Gold is still..."

"It's okay" the Colonel said as he moved towards them and placed his hand on the technicians shoulder. The young man took a step back

"S.I.G Colonel" he said before walking away and leaving them both alone. Colonel White then turned his attention to Destiny. Although he had a stern expression on his face, when he spoke his voice was soft

"Destiny I thought I told you not to come down here..."

"I'm sorry Colonel but I couldn't stand not knowing. How are they?" the desperation she was clearly feeling evident in her tone. The Colonel led Destiny into Doctor Gold's office and updated her on everything he knew.

"So Adams okay"

The Colonel nodded

"But Paul's..."she drew in a gasp, clearly struggling to accept what was happening. Colonel White was about to speak again when he was interrupted by the door opening and Doctor Gold entering the office. He looked troubled

"Destiny" he said

"Doctor, what's going on?" she demanded, her voice shaking from a mix of fear and anger

"I'm running some tests at the moment to try to find an answer to that question. It appears that Scarlet's not healing like he usually would and I want to know why"

"When can I see him?" she asked looking up at the doctor, her expression desperate.

"I'll take you through in a moment. But Destiny I should warn you that the injuries to his back are extensive" the doctors voice softened as he continued "I have left his wounds uncovered so that they can be treated with a biomedical gel which I am hoping will help start them healing...normally"

"Okay thank you Doctor" Destiny said, her voice still trembling slightly

Gold gently placed a hand on her shoulder "Unfortunately it's not a pretty sight" he felt Destiny tense up at his words

"Come on I'll accompany you, I want to check on a few things anyway"

Slowly Destiny got to her feet and walked towards the door

"I will head back to central command Doctor" White said "Keep me informed"

"S.I.G" Gold said as he turned to follow Destiny out of the office and towards the room where Scarlet was being treated "I should have the test results in a couple of hours"