Mindy held Mork's hand and tried desperately to remember any slivers of information about Orkan biology he might have mentioned during the three years he'd been living on Earth. She knew he had three hearts, and that there wasn't one located where humans had theirs, because they had a doctor examine him once and he couldn't find a heartbeat with his stethoscope. She knew Orkans were made of membranes, and not to give Mork cold capsules or he would shrink again. She knew on their birthdays they needed to re-energize with a gleek. But none of that would help with a head injury. The tears flowed down her cheeks and she had never felt so helpless.
There was a quick knock on the door and her father stuck his head into the room. "Mindy?" He quickly entered and shut the door, kneeling down on the other side of Mork, "Has he woken up at all?" Mindy shook her head, "We can't call an ambulance or a doctor, if they find out he's an alien who knows what they'll do to him!" Fred rose, "Well, I don't think we should leave him laying on the staircase, let's move him to the floor, you take his feet." Mindy rose and took up a position at Mork's feet while Fred climbed the stairs and got behind him and got a hold under his shoulders. "On the count of three, one... two... three!" Mindy and Fred lifted him up and slowly moved him down off of the stairs and laid him down on the floor behind the sofa. Mindy let his feet down and Fred said, "Come around here and support his head while I get an ice pack." Mindy moved around and Fred lowered Mork's head gently into her lap as she sat on the floor, and then went into the kitchen to make an ice pack. When it was done, he handed it to Mindy who placed it on the bump on the back of his head and Fred grabbed the afghan from the sofa and covered Mork with it. Mindy sobbed, "What can we do, Dad?" Fred shook his head, "I don't know, Mindy, I don't know if there is anything we can do. Is there any way for you to contact his superior, Orson?" She shook her head, "I've done that a couple of times but Mork always initiated the contact, I don't think I could do it when he was unconscious." She started stroking his hair, moving it off of his face, holding the icepack against the bump in his head and praying he'd wake up. Fred sat down on one of the bar stools at the counter and waited. There wasn't anything else for them to do but wait.
After about an hour, Mork stirred, letting out a soft groan as his head shifted to the side. Mindy started, "Dad, Dad! He moved, I'm sure he moved on his own!" Mork's eyes began to flutter and then blinked open, and he groaned loudly. "Min... Min-dy?" He sounded groggy, like he had just woken up. Mindy laid her hand over his forehead and said, "Mork, don't try to move too much, you took a really bad fall and hit your head." His eyes locked onto hers and she could see them go from glassy to clear as he became more aware. "I fell? Well, I guess I've taken falling for you to a whole new level, ha-ha-ha, ouch, damn no laughing, it hurts." His eyes fluttered closed, and Mindy's eyes shot up to her father. Mork had laughed like a normal human instead of his normal Orkan Ar-Ar-Ar, and said damn instead of Shazbot. Something was definitely wrong here.
"Mork, what's the last thing you remember?" His eyes opened again and he frowned, "You were calling me down for breakfast and I was coming down the stairs and.... then it's a blank." Mindy nodded, "Yes, the rope broke and you fell. I don't know what to do, should we call Orson?" Mork frowned up at her, "Who?" Mindy's eyes widened, "Orson, your boss?" Mork closed his eyes and sighed, "There isn't anyone named Orson at the day care center, I don't know who you're talking about." Mindy glanced up at Fred, who looked puzzled. "Mork, do you know where you are?" Mork opened his eyes and refocused on Fred, "I'm in our apartment laying on the floor." Fred sighed, "And where do you live?" Mork said, "Boulder, Colorado." Fred shrugged, "Well, he remembers you and he remembers where he is, that's good, but why doesn't he remember Orson?" Mindy shook her head, "Mork, where did you live before you moved to Boulder?" Mork shifted his eyes back to her, and they grew glassy again, "I.... I don't... I don't remember, Mindy, the first thing I remember is meeting you at Boulder Lake when your date stole your jeep. You felt sorry for me, being new in town, and let me stay here. I fixed up the attic into an apartment for myself and you let me stay. Could I have a drink of water, please, I feel very thirsty." Fred jumped up and went around the kitchen island and got a glass of water. He knelt down and held it next to Mork's hand, expecting him to stick his finger in and drink it. Mork frowned, "My mouth is up here, Mr. McConnell." Mindy glanced at her father, surprised Mork didn't call him Pops or Dad or something similar, even Fred, before looking back down at Mork, "I don't think you should move your head much, Mork, I think it's OK to drink with your finger just this once." Mork frowned even more, "Mindy, don't be silly, how on earth would I drink anything with my finger? What do you think I am, an alien? Maybe you fell and hit your head too." He pushed himself up on his elbows, and Fred brought the glass up to his lips to drink. Mindy looked at her father in horror. *Mork doesn't remember he's an alien from Ork?*
Mindy's mind raced with the implications of this. The one person who might be able to help was Orson, but only Mork knew how to contact him. If he didn't remember that he was an alien, he wouldn't remember how to contact Orson. *This is bad, really bad!* Mork sighed, "It's a good thing its the weekend so I don't have to go in to work. I really don't feel very good." Mindy said, "Would you like us to help you lay on the sofa?" Mork said, "Yeah, that'd be great, Mindy, I don't think I should try the stairs until I feel better." Together Fred and Mindy helped a shaky Mork to his feet and onto the sofa. He laid on his side, and Mindy wedged the ice pack between his head and the back of the sofa and tucked him in with the afghan. "You just rest there, Mork, and I'll come check on you in a bit." "OK, Mindy. Good night." Mork drifted off to sleep.
Mindy pulled her father into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Dad, he doesn't remember he's from Ork! He laughs wrong, swears wrong, and said 'Good Night' correctly! He thinks he's as human as you and me!" Fred nodded, "It seems that way. Maybe its just temporary amnesia caused by the bump to his head, and it'll come back to him in a couple of days." Mindy began to pace, "But what if it doesn't? How do I handle a human Mork?" Fred sat on the bed, "Well, honey, it would probably be easier than handling an Orkan Mork, wouldn't it? I mean, he wouldn't go around saying nanoo-nanoo to people or saying the wrong thing or sitting on his face or all of those other crazy things." Mindy shook her head, "No, Dad, he wouldn't, but all of those things are part of the Mork that I fell in love with. This is just like when he became too Earthling-like and the Elder had to come fix him." She snapped her fingers, "The Elder! Maybe he could come back and help Mork again!" Then her head fell, "Except I have no idea how to contact him either." Fred pulled his daughter down to sit next to him on the bed, "Mindy, don't make a mountain out of a molehill yet. Give it a little time and see what happens. Now, I need to get home to Cathy, I ran out the door to the car without any explanation when you called." He gave her a peck on the cheek and quietly made his way past the sleeping Orkan and out the front door.
Mindy quietly returned to the kitchen, taking time to put the bowl of pancake batter in the fridge and put away the rest of the cooking ingredients she had left out. She then sat down in the chair closest to Mork's head and watched him sleep. She wished more than anything there was a way for her to contact Orson and get some kind of help. She knew it was possible, they had done it before. She just had to give it a try, even if Mork didn't remember how. She just had to remember what to do, was it hold his ear and put her finger in his nose? No, it was the other way around. She sat down on the floor in front of Mork's face, and gently pinched his nose with her left hand and put her right finger into his left ear. Closing her eyes she began to whisper, "Mindy calling Orson, come in Orson. Mindy calling Orson, come in Orson. This is an emergency. Mindy calling Orson, come in Orson!" She tried to remember how it felt falling into Mork's mind before, and soon felt the same falling sensation. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and found herself standing in a large black space wearing a spacesuit like Mork's, and Orson's booming voice calling, "Orson calling Mork, come in Mork. Orson calling Mork, come in Mork!"
Mindy cleared her throat, "Uhm, hello sir, this is Mindy McConnell on behalf of Mork responding. There has been an accident and I need your help." There was a pause before Orson replied, "I've been trying to contact Mork for awhile now. His beacon stopped sending a signal." Mindy tilted her head, "Mork has a beacon?" Orson said, "Yes, it allows us to monitor all Orkans when they are off-planet. When his signal stopped, I was notified and have been trying to contact him ever since." Mindy nodded, "Well, he fell and hit his head, Orson, he was out for at least an hour, and when he woke up, he didn't seem to remember anything about being Orkan. He thinks he's human!" Orson said, "Now that I have access to his mind, let me look around and see what's going on." There is a long pause as Mindy starts to pace back and forth in the darkness. Orson's voice finally returns, "Well, I see the problem, all of the knowledge and memories of Ork have been locked behind a door in his mind." Mindy starts, "You mean like he used to have his emotions locked up?" Orson said, "Exactly. I don't know why on Ork he would do something like that, it's like he is trying not to be an Orkan anymore but wants to be human." Mindy thought for a moment and then froze as she remembered what she said to her father on the phone earlier that morning. She groaned, "I think I know. I made a comment to my father this morning that life would be easier if I had fallen in love with a human instead of an Orkan, I bet Mork overheard me right before he fell." Orson sounded displeased, "Yes, Mork had reported to me about this "falling in love" experience a couple reports ago. Are you saying you don't want to be in love with Mork?" Mindy shook her head passionately, "No, Orson, not at all! I was trying to tell my father that Mork is the person I love, whether he was human or Orkan didn't matter. Being Orkan is just a part of who he is like his curly hair and blue eyes. I love him for the person he is, not because of what he is or isn't. But Mork probably didn't understand what I meant if he was listening in from the attic. I bet he thought I meant that I'd be happier being in love with a human. If he was thinking that way when he hit his head, maybe that's why he's locked away his Orkan memories. How do we unlock them, Orson?"
Orson sighed, "I don't know if we can, the will of an Orkan can be quite strong, even Mork. Somehow you'll have to convince him to open the door and accept his memories back, just like you broke down the door that was containing his emotions. I'm surprised you were able to contact me if he doesn't remember being Orkan, how did you manage it?" Mindy shook her head, "I don't know, I did what I did before to connect to his mind, and repeated the same words he uses when he calls you for his reports. Maybe his body remembers even if his mind doesn't? Or maybe because you were trying to call him too and his body tried to answer and I was trying at the same time? I just don't know. I know so little about Orkan biology, will a bump on the head cause any permanent damage?" Orson said, "It shouldn't cause any physical long-lasting damage. However, if he doesn't regain his memories, he'll be useless as an observer on Earth and we'll have to recall him." Mindy turned pale and nodded, "I understand, Orson. How long do I have?" Orson replied, "His next report is due in just two days. If he misses two reports in a row he'd be subject to recall." Mindy relaxed a little, "So I have nine days." Orson replied, "No, you have two days. Mork didn't submit a report last week as scheduled." Mindy groaned, "Great, no pressure, thanks a lot, Mork. OK, I'll do my best, Orson. This is Mindy, signing off. Nanoo-nanoo." She felt awkward tweaking her ears, but it seemed to have worked in disconnecting her as she could feel herself falling back upwards and back into her own body. She came back to her senses with a rush and took a deep, gasping breath. She opened her eyes to find Mork looking at her in confusion, her hand still pinching his nose and her finger in his ear. With a very nasally voice he said, "What are you doing, Mindy?"