Chapter 16 Wilson's Story

The next morning, Skylar knocked on the door again and was followed in by Wilson and a therapist.

"Wilson!" Jeff said in a surprised tone and moved to give him a hug, "what're you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Phineas," Wilson answered.

"And we've got a date with the swimming pool," the therapist added, pointing to Jeff.

Jeff glanced back and forth between Bogg and his visitor. "Convenient timing," he thought cynically.

His expression must have betrayed his thoughts, because Bogg's next words were, "do it for me?"

How could he refuse that? "Yeah, I'll go," Jeff answered quietly, staring at the floor. He was dying to know the details of their discussion, but if it was about Bogg leaving him here, he didn't mind waiting.

Phineas narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the kid. He definitely didn't look right. He'd been unusually quiet since yesterday. He was about to ask what was wrong, when Jeff started walking toward the door. "Let's go," he said to the therapist.

After Jeffrey left, Wilson and Skylar sat down beside the bed.

"After I left you yesterday, I was scheduled to see Rick Wilson. While we were talking, I realized your stories overlapped a bit. I hope you don't mind that I shared your concerns with him."

Bogg stared at Wilson, "Rick, huh." Wilson nodded.

"Would you tell Phineas what you told me yesterday?" Skylar asked.

Wilson cleared his throat and began. "I made a huge mistake, and let Drake get me off instead of facing up to it. Then he threatened to expose me if I didn't help him. At first it was small things, but they got bigger, more serious. Pretty soon, I had done so much that he was blackmailing me into doing even worse. I got farther and farther away from being a Voyager. I'm not proud of it."

Here he stopped and looked down for a bit. "I may have lost track of what I was, but once I realized Drake was planning to kill you, I knew I couldn't cross that line, so I took the bullets out of my gun. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I knew I wasn't going to be the one to pull the trigger."

He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "But it wasn't until you shot the omni out of his hand, that I really understood how I felt. You could've killed Drake. Easy. And then, I would've run, and been hunted down and banished. But from the second your bullet hit that omni, I realized that deep down, I was still a Voyager and knew I had to save both of you from Drake. That's why I got to you first, so I could help you. That's why I didn't hesitate when he pointed his gun at the kid. I'd already made my decision. If you hadn't shot the omni, I would've had to decide when Drake was about to pull the trigger, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but, I might not have reacted fast enough."

Skylar held up his hand for Rick to stop, then allowed the silence to stretch out for several minutes.

Finally Phineas looked at him, "some treatment," he whispered.

"You didn't know it, but when you chose not to kill Drake, you not only saved Jeff's life, but Rick's too," Skylar said. "And you taught Jeff that Voyagers don't kill, in a way he'll never forget. He knows you could have put that bullet anywhere. He's not stupid."

"Oh, I know that," Bogg answered.

"He's worried about you. I can see it in his body language."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him," here Bogg turned his gaze toward Wilson, "thanks."

The man nodded.

"What's happening with your trial?"

"I don't know yet. I made my confession. They have to weigh all the evidence. My attorney will let me know if there will even be a trial."

"Well, that's all the time I have right now," Skylar said as he stood up, "I'll stop in tomorrow."

"Skylar?" Bogg said, and the therapist paused at the door and looked back at the Voyager, "you're some therapist."

"I have my moments," Skylar replied.