Chapter 12

Jamie was surprised it took Harry half an hour to arrive. By the look on the admiral's face, the doctor surmised Nelson had received a call from ONI. He could still detect a small amount of steam coming from the man's ears.

"Admiral Johnson?"

"That man's a jackass. Wants to know how soon Lee can be debriefed. Said they need to know what secrets he revealed or if Decker gave any idea where he was going. I told him Lee was comatose.He suggested pumping him full of drugs to 'snap him out of it.' I take it back, to call that man a jackass is an insult to all jackasses."

"You've got to calm down or I'll have two patients. Now, if you are finished with your rant, I'll update you on the captain's condition." Jamie knew that would settle the OOM down.

"How is he?"

"I was able to identify the strand of infection and came up with the most effective antibiotic. Best of all I was able to isolate some of the chemicals in the drugs he was given. I was correct in believing the captain was subjected to some type of brainwashing or mind control based on these chemicals. I can now safely give him a mild pain medication. You might as well come with me, Admiral, you'll want to check on him. Chip said he kept talking to Lee during the flight back, trying to break through to him. You might as well give it a try, it can't hurt."

Picking up the two filled syringes, the doctor and Nelson entered the room where Frank was finishing taking vital signs. Jamie instantly noticed the change in Lee.

"He's asleep."

"Of course he is. He's been that way for hours."

"No, admiral. He's asleep - not comatose. His eyes are closed, his body is relaxed. That's a very good sign. We'll let him wake up on his own now."

As if he knew they were talking about him, Lee stirred and turned slightly to his side, his eyes half open. The doctor walked over to the IV but as heprepared toadminister the antibiotic, an air-cast hand knocked both syringes out of Jamie's hands. Startled, Jamison turned towards his patient, stepping closer, intending to quiet Lee. What he saw was a pair of terrified amber eyes darting between Nelson and the doctor.

"Easy skipper, you're safely aboard Seaview. There's nothing to worry about now that we've got you back."

If Jamie thought his words would calm the captain he was greatly mistaken. Instead it sent Crane into a frenzy. Lee lashed out at the doctor, pushing him away, and then tried to pull out the IV. Failing that, he turned to the other two shocked men. With his hands pretty much useless, he tried to push himself out of reach by his elbows, crawling higher towards the head of the bed, his bandaged feet unable to help very much. Lee twisted his head around attempting to keep his 'enemies' in sight as Nelson stood at the foot of the bed with Frank and Will on each side of it.

"Come on, Skipper, calm down," Frank pleaded. "You're among friends."

"Lee, it's Nelson. Don't you recognize me? You're safe. Decker can't get to you now."

All Lee heard and saw were men surrounding him who had declared their intention of killing him. Frantically he looked around for anything he could use to help defend himself. Every time someone reached out, he stuck out at them, causing obvious pain to his already damaged hands.

Chip, where are you? Help me. Oh God, what did they do to Chip?

The doctor finally was able to grab both arms and leaned across Lee's chest. "I'll hold the arms while you get the straps on the waist and legs! Then we can get the chest secured. Don't want to do it, but we got to stop the captain from hurting himself."

The corpsman finished buckling the straps that normally were used to keep a patient safe in turbulent seas. The admiral was handing over his end of the waist restraint when Chip appeared.

"What the hell's going on?"

Chip barreled into the room, practically yanking the doctor off Lee, who was desperately trying to reach out to his friend.

Chip slipped an arm under Lee's shoulders and raised him up, saying quietly, "Lee, it's okay, you're here on Seaview, you're home." He could feel the taut muscles relaxing and the breathing slowing as Lee rested his head on Chip's forearm.

"Give us a minute, please, sir?" he asked of Admiral Nelson.

Nelson hesitated, pleasure at Lee's return warring with his desire to know everything that had happened. However, the need for privacy won out. "Of course, Chip."

As Frank reached out for the straps, Chip stopped him. "Leave the straps; I'll take care of them."

As Nelson was the last one out, he closed the door, pausing to look through the glass before walking out of sight. I swear this is the last time he comes back to us, to me, hurt. How much can one man continue to endure?

Chip was just about to lower Lee back onto the pillows when he felt the first teardrops fall andthe shaking begin. Chip held his brother closer, reassuring him in a comforting voice. Once the trembling stopped, he managed to get Lee back onto the bed. He took a step towards the end of the bed to remove the restraints but Lee attempted to grab his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to free your legs, I'm not leaving."

Suiting action to his words, Chip unbuckled the restraining strap, tucking them under the bed out of view. He checked for more damage to the skipper's body, luckily finding none.

In the corridor, out of Lee's line of vision, Jamie crooked a finger towards Chip, beckoning him.

"Lee, I'm going to the door and open it."

Lee wrapped both forearms around Chip's waist, desperately shaking his head, refusing to let him go.

Chip paled at his friend's actions. What the hell did Decker do to you, Lee? What hell did he put you through for you to act this way? When we track him down, I'm going to be first in a long line to get my revenge. "Easy buddy, I won't leave the room. Just going to talk with the doctor."

Lee became more frantic in his refusal to let Chip walk away. There was something else thatChip had just become aware of.Throughout all the struggles, Lee hadn't uttered a sound. No yelling to let him go, no cursing to take the hands off him, no screams of terror. Not. A. Sound.

"Here, let's raise the head of your bed. See, you'll be able to keep an eye on me the entire time. I'll even tell Jamie he has to stay away from the door so I can slam it and prevent anybody from rushing in. Is that okay with you, Captain?" Uses his rank, his position. Let him make the decisions. Let him be in charge. Allow him to get control back of his life.

Lee silently nodded again.

What I wouldn't give to be told not to be a wise ass right now! Keeping his hand on the door, Chip opened it halfway.

"Think it's best if you stay away, doc. Just tell me what you want."

"We'll only worry about major things right now. How is his breathing? Is he coughing up any blood?"

"No, and when he calmed down, his breathing slowed."

"Good, keep an eye out for any difficulty. His ribs are bandaged, so we got lucky. Check the fingers of both hands to see if they are cold. He should be able to gently wiggle them except the two that are taped. He gave out several good blows with the air casts. They're durable but not made for fighting."

"I'll check that out. What's in the IV? He keeps trying to pull it out of his arm."

"If you can talk Lee into oral antibiotics and eating reasonable meals you can discontinue it once both bags are empty, about another 30 minutes I would guess. I want one full treatment of intravenous antibiotics. The other is for dehydration and malnutrition. It appears they gave him a little bit of sustenance, just enough to keep him conscious."

"I saw the two hypos on the floor…"

"Yeah, that's what set the skipper off. They contain pain meds and antibiotics I'd planned to add to the IV.I'm guessing from all the needle marks and bruising on Lee's arms, he was getting drugs through an IV."

"Jamie, did he say anything when he came to? Make any sounds?"

"No, and it has me worried. I didn't see any bruising or marks on the throat and he's breathing all right so I don't think it's any damage to the larynx. Try to get him to tell you what happened."

Chip gave Jamie a 'you're kidding' look.

"You know what I mean. Ask him yes and no questions so he can shake or nod his head. They could've injected some drug into his throat."

Chip looked back and saw Lee was getting anxious. "I better go. I think it's safest if I use the phone to contact you. Don't understand why Lee is terrified of the admiral and you, but it's best to stay away."

"O'Brien is handling things; Nelson said you should stay with Lee until we figure out what's going on. Chances are once the drugs wear off he'll be more rational."

"I sure hope so."

Chip called out to Lee, drawing his full attention to the secure shutting of the door. It was only a couple steps to the bed but Lee was already messing with the IV.

"Leave that alone. Jamie said it has to stay in until it's finished."

Lee shook his head, trying to yank tubes out of his arm. Chip grabbed him and carefully untangled the lines and air cast.

"You pull it out that way and all kinds of bad things will happen. Now listen closely to me. There's nothing in the IV that will harm you. You know your body, take a minute. Do you feel dopey, strange? Think, if anything bad was going to happen the drugs would have affected you already."

While the skipper lay back on the bed considering what Morton has said, Chip checked for blood in the urine bag and the circulation in Lee's fingers. He even managed to obtain a set of vitals without upsetting his patient. The relief was evident on Chip's face; the struggle had not caused any further damage.

Chip left his friend resting as he looked around the newly established recovery room. He had seen the blueprints but was TAD for the last month of construction. Jamie had to be psychic to have pushed so hard for the change at this point. This room would be perfect to give Lee his privacy during his recovery.

When it was time, Chip deftly removed the IV having seen it done way too many times. Lee's eyes follow Chip's every move.

"All right, the deal is no IV but you don't fuss about eating. You know Cookie's going to knock himself out making your favorite dishes. You also need to take oral antibiotics twice a day. There are several cuts on the soles of your feet that are infected."

The skipper's eyes lit up at that but a look of fear quickly replaced the pleasant thought of eating.

"Easy Lee, you're safe. I'm right by your side. No one is getting past me. I won't let anyone hurt you. Come on, let it go, it's over, you're free and safe with me."

Once again, Chip had his arms around Lee, talking in a soft calming tone. The shaking slowly diminished and Chip helped his friend back down on the bed. Lee tried to pull the blanket up. Chip quickly came to his aid, tucking the covers around his shoulders.

"Cold? Want another blanket?" At Lee's nod, Chip grabbed one off the other bed placing it on top of the first one. "This will help; you just had a bit of a shock. How about something warm to drink?"

Chip called the galley for some hot cocoa. In less than five minutes, Jamie was standing by the door with a tray in his hand. Morton hurried over.

"I think he had a flashback or some sort of spell. Why don't you send up something to eat in about 45 minutes and I'll try to get him to eat? And no, I haven't broached the subject of not speaking. I've got to move slowly."

"Don't worry, Chip, you're doing fine. You'd better take this; he's sending me daggers with his eyes."

Chip set the tray on the table and pushed it closer. Pouring out a cup three quarters full he held it to Lee's lips.

"Don't think you can manage holding this, I'll go nice and slow so you won't choke."

The captain twisted his head away refusing to drink. His eyes darted from the cup to Jamie's withdrawing back.

"You love Cookie's hot cocoa. What's wrong?"

Lee pulled away a little, eyes growing wider. It finally dawned on Chip what the matter was. He raised the cup to his mouth and took a sip.

"See, the drink is fine, in fact, I think it'sone of Cookie's better efforts. Give it a try." Chip once again offered the cup to Lee who this time took a small swallow. Lee smiled as the delicious mixture hit his taste buds. Chip put the cup to Lee's mouth again and this time he took a large sip. Soon the mug was empty.

When Lee's eyes started to droop, Chip lowered the head of the bed allowing for a more comfortable position. The captain seemed to be calming down. Chip sat on his own bed ashe decided his friend had a smart idea, 40 winks sounded good right now. Hestretched out on the rack. After lunch, he would try to get some answers about Lee's inability to talk.

When the lunch trays appeared, the XO rolled the IV stand out of the door so the used items could be properly discarded. He had already disposed of the syringes. Returning with the food, Chip uncovered a cup of chicken noodle soup and half a ham and cheese sandwich plus a bowl of peaches for Lee. Checking out his own tray he saw the same selections but in larger quantities. Once again, Chip acted as taste tester, and then fed Lee.

"The swelling in your fingers should be down in a couple of days. You will be able to start eating some things on your own."

Once lunch was finished Chip set down next to Lee's bed.

"We need to find out what's made you lose your voice so Jamie can fix it. Your neck showed no sign of bruising or swelling. Do you remember what happened?" A small nod was the answer. "Jamie didn't examine your throat so we can't tell what damage Decker did. Were you injected in your throat with a drug?" Lee shook his head. The skipper was repeatedly shaking his head, confusing the XO.

"You're saying Decker didn't cause the condition?"

No response came from Lee who turned away from his friend andonce more becoming agitated. Chip sat silent, realizing it was useless to push. Lee's body was becoming tense again. He would wait, allowing Lee to work through this at his own speed.

A couple minutes later Lee faced his friend with what Chip interpreted as a self-conscious look. His eyes moved away from his buddy, took a deep breath as if to gain courage, and looked straight into Chip's face. As he pointed to his throat, Chip nodded to show he understood. Lee opened his mouth and pantomimed screaming, and screaming some more.

"You were yelling?"

Lee gestured by putting his hands to his mouth and throwing his arms outwards.

"Screaming, you were screaming and lost your voice? Is that it?"

The captain nodded with a look of shame on his face.

There was no way Chip would allow his friend to feel guilty. "Now, you wait one minute, Lee Crane. You were held prisoner, tortured and you're ashamed you were screaming? Are you out of your mind? I can't even begin to imagine what that psycho Decker did to you. You have no reason to be ashamed of having a very human response." Chip stopped his rant as a memory popped into his head. "Remember Captain Durban's favorite quote from Homer's The Iliad? We had quite a discussion one night if I recall. 'Even the bravest cannot fight beyond his strength.' Do I need to say anything else?"

Lee shrugged his shoulders with a small grin on his face. There was no doubt the point was taken.