Jeff Moreau slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings. After a few moments, he remembered where he was and why: in the med-bay for emergency surgery because he'd broken his leg. Again.
Fucking brittle bones. This is going to be a long, very boring summer.
He slowly turned his head to the left, looking around the med-bay and was very surprised to see his best friend occupying the bed next to his. Last he'd heard, Katie had been on Earth, visiting her cousin and uncle.
Beneath the dark red curls that spilled across her pillow, a myriad of bruises in various stages of healing joined the childhood scars that crossed her freckled complexion.
Jeff looked across the bed to see Admiral Hackett sitting beside it, holding Katie's left hand in both of his. He remembered his father saying the Admiral had left the ship more than a week ago, though no one had known why. But whatever had happened to Katie, clearly he hadn't left her side in several days. He looked beyond exhausted, the bags under his eyes and graying stubble on his chin aging him considerably.
Jeff groaned and slowly sat up in his bed.
Hackett looked up and gave him a tight smile. "Afternoon, Jeff. Glad to see one of you is finally awake. Are you in any pain?"
Jeff shook his head. "No, sir. Not really. Not yet anyway."
"Your father is coming back in a couple of hours. I told him since I was here for the foreseeable future, you weren't going to be alone when you woke up so he should get some rest."
"Thank you, sir. Can I ask, what happened to Katie? Was she here when I came in for surgery?"
Hackett shook his head. "We've only just got back a couple of hours ago, while you were in surgery. Came in on a medical transport from the Citadel. As for what happened, Marcus finally got his revenge."
"You mean he finally tried to make good on his promise to kill her and Ryan?"
"Oh, knew about that, did you?" Hackett sighed. "Don't know why I should be surprised. Doubt you two have had any secrets since the day you met. But no, it wasn't that. Honestly, I think somehow that may have made this easier if that were the case. He nearly made good on his apparent promise to kill Jason and myself, actually. Jason is in Solana Beach, recovering from a shot that came damn close to his heart. Katie on the other hand," he swallowed hard and sighed. "Katie took two bullets that were meant for me. One in the chest and one in the abdomen."
"Damn," Jeff muttered.
"Marcus went down a moment after that with a bullet between the eyes," Hackett said darkly.
"Good. Does this mean, sir, that you and Jason finally know, and more importantly believe, the whole truth?"
Hackett nodded. "Jason got it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. That's what started the whole thing. Katie tricked Marcus into telling Jason the truth. Then Marcus decided Jason had to die, so he shot him, kidnapped Katie and…" another sigh was pulled from the Admiral's lips as a haunted look passed over his face. It was gone as quickly as it had come. "I found her a week ago, tied up in an apartment Marcus had rented on the Citadel. She recounted to me the events that led up to that moment. He came back in just after that; I'd shot him and thought he was dead," he said bitterly. "As he fired at me, Katie pushed me out of the way."
"I'm... not surprised," Jeff said quietly. "She may have been carrying a lot of hurt and anger with her all these years, sir. But through that, she's always loved you."
Hackett nodded. "I know."
"Steven!" a sharp voice barked from the end of the med-bay. Hackett and Jeff looked up to see Dr. River, the ship's chief medical officer, hurrying from her office, looking furious. "Why didn't you tell me one of my patients was awake?"
"Sorry, Melody. We… had to talk," Hackett said defensively. Jeff nodded in agreement. "I assure you, I would have called you if something was wrong."
The doctor rolled her eyes. "Did you go to medical school, Steven? No, as I recall you went into officers training. So you'll excuse me if I don't trust your judgment calls on my patients." Jeff tried unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter at this statement and she glared at him before turning back to the Admiral. "You need sleep," she added in a kinder tone. "Proper sleep in your bed, not sitting beside Kathrine's."
"I can't leave her, Melody, not until I know for sure she'll be all right."
"Steven, you won't be doing her any favors if you go down when she needs you most."
Hackett tried again. "But –"
"I can sit with her, sir," Jeff offered. "With your permission, of course," he added hastily as he looked hopefully at Dr. River.
She nodded. "That's fine with me. I certainly don't want her waking up alone, and you're stuck in here for the long haul as it is. Might as well do something useful."
Hackett sighed. "Fine. And thank you, Jeff. Still, you should know I'm doing this under protest, Melody."
Dr. River chuckled lightly. "I'd wonder who the hell had replaced you if you weren't, Steven," she teased. "But that's the beauty of being a ship's doctor; I can order even you around, when necessary. Now get out of here. I don't want to see you back here for at least twelve hours." Hackett looked as if he was going to say something again and the doctor added, "Unless Kathrine wakes up."
Hackett leaned down and kissed Katie's forehead before he nodded curtly at Dr. River and Jeff and left the med-bay.
Jeff looked sadly at his life-long best friend as Dr. River began examining him. "How long has she been like that?" he asked quietly.
The doctor sighed heavily. "She's been out for close to six days now. She slipped into the coma shortly after she came out of surgery."
"Will she be okay?" he asked in alarm.
"Oh, yes," she said confidently. "It's only a matter of time before she wakes up again. The doctors on the Citadel wouldn't have allowed her to be moved if there had been any indication she were in danger. Her body has been through so much trauma, and in such a short period of time, it just needed the uninterrupted rest. I'm kind of hoping she stays unconscious for at least another six to eight hours, so the Admiral will get some sleep."
"I guess he told you what happened?"
She nodded. "Yes. Brave thing she did. Don't know many fifteen-year-olds who would take a bullet for anyone, much less for the father they've had a strained relationship with their whole life. Then again, I've honestly never met anyone quite like Kathrine Hackett." She cleared her throat. "All right, your scans check out, so you can sit with her."
Jeff nodded. "Thanks, Doc."
She helped him get out of bed and walk to the chair between the two beds. He took Katie's hand and gently squeezed it as he settled in for a long vigil.
Nine hours later…
Katie shuddered as she finally woke; when the fog of sleep lifted, she realized in a panic that she didn't know where she was, but it was obvious she wasn't in Marcus' apartment anymore. She felt a hand holding hers and looked down to see Jeff asleep with his head on her hand, her fingers entwined with his. She squeezed his hand and he raised his head after a moment.
"Hey cutie," he said with a small smile.
"Jeff? Where am I?" she asked hoarsely.
He looked at her with concern. "You're home, Katie."
"I can't… I can't remember…" Her eyes filled with tears. "Where's my dad? Is he okay?"
Jeff reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Shh," he whispered soothingly. "Your dad's fine. The doc made him leave to get some sleep."
She frowned. "Why are you here?"
He shrugged. "Same old, same old. Another day, another accidental broken bone. Look, I swore to both your dad and Dr. River that I'd let them know when you woke up," he said as he typed a message into his omni-tool. He kissed her cheek and very slowly got up. She reached out and grabbed his wrist, her eyes wide with panic. He gently pried her fingers from his wrist, kissed her hand and said, "I'll be right back, Katie. I promise. I'm not leaving, just going to get the doc."
He grabbed his crutches and slowly limped to the end of the med-bay and knocked on the door. A second later, Dr. River came out and they slowly walked back to Katie's bed together, talking in low voices. Katie guessed Jeff was telling the doctor about their conversation and how long she'd been awake.
Dr. River smiled as she came over to the side of the bed. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake, Kathrine. How do you feel?"
"Groggy and hella sore," Katie said, taking Jeff's hand as he resumed his seat on the other side of her bed. "Memory's a lot foggy too."
"That's perfectly normal," the doctor said reassuringly as she began doing scans. "You've been unconscious for close to a week. I wouldn't expect you to be completely clear-thinking the moment you woke up."
Katie was dubious but nodded.
Dr. River looked across at Jeff. "You sent a message to the Admiral?"
"Yeah. But since he's supposed to be asleep, I dunnno –"
"I'm right here," Hackett said from the doorway. He looked at Katie and smiled. "Hi, sweetheart. How are you?"
"Okay, I guess," she said. Then she frowned. "Daddy, what happened to Marcus?"
"He's really dead this time," Hackett said darkly as he sat next to her bed. "I promise."
"Thank God."
Dr. River cleared her throat. "Did you sleep, Steven?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You certainly don't look like a man who has just woken up. Though I will admit you do look more rested than you did before."
"I think I slept for about seven hours," Hackett said. "But, I've been talking to Jason for the last hour."
Katie looked at her father. "Is he okay?"
Hackett smiled. "Yes, sweetheart, he's fine. He's out of the hospital, resting at home, and his doctor said he'll be able to travel soon. He and Ryan will meet us when we dock at Arcturus in a week."
"And what about me?" Katie asked, looking at Dr. River.
"If you stay out of trouble, you and Jeff will both be able to leave by the time we get to Arcturus."
Hackett chuckled. "Melody, remember who you're talking to. These two will be causing trouble within the hour."
