Chapter 18

Scarlet tried his best to look up at the newcomer standing next to his bed, but due to his position and his injuries, it was a struggle. A look of confusion crossed his features but only for a few seconds before his brain caught up

"Yelena?" he asked weakly, unsure if he was seeing things or not

She nodded

"You two know each other?" Gold asked surprised by what he was seeing

"From many years ago" Doctor Bishop answered, her gaze still locked firmly on Scarlet. Yelena couldn't believe what was happening. She had never imagined that Paul Metcalfe would end up back in her life again and yet here she was walking back into his. Over the years she had often wondered what would happen or how she would feel if she ever saw him again. Would he hate her for how she left?

'Well' she mused 'if he doesn't hate you already, he will when he finds out that you're the reason why he's in this mess'

Subtly she shook her head to try and clear the crazy thoughts that were rattling around in it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Scarlet, more to break the awkward silence than anything else, as it was very clear that he was in some considerable discomfort and pain.

"I've been better," he told her. It pained her to hear how weak he sounded, the man she knew always sounded so strong and confident when he spoke.

"If you two will excuse me," Doctor Gold said in a hushed tone "I'll go and check on your husband," he told Yelena before he left the room

"Your husband," Scarlet asked, surprised that she was married

She nodded "Raymond Bishop, you met him when you were at the lab"

"Yeah, I remember. Why are you here?" he asked her

I'm...I mean we are here to try and fix this" she gestured to Scarlet. "You see my husband and I are the ones responsible for your situation...

"What happened at the lab wasn't your fault" he managed, his voice starting to sound more and more strained

"...but we are the ones who created the Nanotech which is currently..." she stopped unable to say what she was thinking

"Invading my body" Scarlet winced, finished the sentence for her.

"For lack of a better word, yes" she nodded "If we had understood your situation then we would never have allowed you to enter the lab in the first place, not without protective gear" she went on, her voice wavering slightly as she spoke due to the guilt she was feeling.

"And if we knew what it was you were..." Scarlet's voice trailed off as his whole body suddenly tensed as a spasm of pain hit him, overwhelming him and stealing the air out of his lungs. As the spasm passed, Scarlet drew in a ragged breath

"Paul?"

When he was finally able to speak again his voice was barely more than a whisper "Can you stop this?"

"Honestly, Captain, I'm not sure yet" Raymond Bishop said as he entered the room to stand next to his wife "We will have to run some tests and scans of our own before we will know for certain" With that a couple of Spectrum's medical technicians entered carrying trays containing different pieces of medical equipment, they then went about taking some more blood samples from Scarlet so the Bishop's could run their tests.

"But we'll do everything we can Paul I promise," Yelena told Scarlet as reassuringly as she could. What neither of them noticed was the look in Raymond Bishop's eyes when he heard his wife talking to Scarlet in a familiar manner.

A short time later, once the technicians had finished taking their samples, both Doctor Bishop's were in the room with Scarlet when the door hissed open. They both turned expecting to see Doctor Gold entering the room but were surprised when a tall, blond man wearing a Spectrum tracksuit with a blue trim entered. His face was cut and bruised and his left arm was in a sling. He walked past the two doctors and came to a stop alongside Scarlet's bed

"Adam" Scarlet's voice was hoarse as he greeted his friend

"Hey Paul" Blue replied as he took a seat next to Scarlet

"Ah, Captain Blue" Raymond Bishop said, suddenly recognizing the rooms newest occupant "I'm glad to see that you're doing okay" The expression on Blue's face changed from one of concern to that of disgust in a matter of seconds as Raymond Bishop spoke.

"No thanks to you Doc" he spat as his gaze moved over to the Doctor who was standing over the other side of the bed

"I was not the one responsible for the explosion Captain" he spat back, clearly not liking what Blue was insinuating

"If you had told us what you were working on" Blue yelled

"It was out of my control. I told you I wasn't able to give you any details...you didn't have clearance..."

"Clearance?" Blue replied his voice getting louder as he was getting angrier

"Gentleman please" Yelena snapped quietly, yet her voice was loud enough to get the attention of both her husband and Captain Blue "This is not the time or the place" she scolded

"Sorry Paul" Adam said sheepishly, looking down at his friend

"It's okay Adam" Scarlet replied and despite the pain, he was in, he managed a small chuckle in response to his friends' obvious concern. Scarlet knew that the only reason that Blue was angry wasn't he had suffered some injuries in the explosion. His anger was because he was scared to lose his friend.

"I think we owe them the truth Ray," Yelena Bishop said as she placed her hand gently on her husband's arm. This contact drew his attention away from Blue and his posture seemed to relax under her touch.

Reluctantly he agreed

"I believe that Colonel White will want to hear this too," She said, directing her words towards Blue, who nodded and left the room to contact his commanding officer. When he returned, he informed them that the Colonel was on his way to join them.

Several minutes later an apprehensive Colonel White entered Scarlet's room. Both of the Bishop's stood on one side of Scarlet's bed, while Blue and Doctor Gold were on the other. The Colonel could feel the tension as soon as he walked in

"Gentlemen," he said, trying to ease the awkwardness in the room "and Doctor Bishop" he added, looking over and nodding a separate acknowledgment to Yelena Bishop.

"How are you feeling Paul?" he asked Scarlet as he came to a stop at the foot of the bed. There was a real concern in his tone and features as he spoke. Despite having seen the injuries which Scarlet ad sustained in the explosion, they still seemed to take his breath away and he had to work hard at keeping his repulsion in check.

"I'm okay, thank you Colonel" Scarlet replied, his voice strained and thick with pain. Hearing the indestructible Captain Scarlet sound so weak felt so wrong to the Colonel. Just like anyone else who knew Scarlet, they knew how strong and authoritative that voice could sound; and not for the first time the Colonel inwardly cursed those had kept this weapon so secret. Especially those who knew precisely what it was that the Bishop's were working on and who also knew about Scarlet's unique situation...surely some sort of warning had been warranted.

"Colonel" Yelena Bishop began, drawing White's attention away from Scarlet "I understand that what we are about to tell you will mean we will be violating our contract with the World Council. However, under the circumstances..." her gaze moved down to Scarlet momentarily and White could have sworn that he saw genuine affection and concern there. He was sure that her husband had seen it too because the expression on his face darkened considerably – if only for an instant before he composed himself

"Besides Colonel" Raymond Bishop continued "As you are already aware of the nanotechnology..." his shrug said the rest.

White sighed "Okay Doctor's when you're ready"

Yelena Bishop took a deep breath and began