MOONBASE ALPHA - 30 MINUTES LATER.
From inside Main Mission, everyone watched the screen hoping for some sign of Eagle One. There was still no conatct and the level of concern had risen over the past few minutes.
Tony stopped his pacing. "If only those damn lights would….." and he stopped in mid-sentence as suddenly the lights dimmed.
"Finally," Helena sighed with relief.
Tony stabbed a button in front of him. "Alan, those lights are back to normal. Get out there and see if you can get a visual on Eagle One."
"On my way Tony." Alan replied and fired the engines. The craft rose into the dark sky.
With the main screen back to normal, they all watched as Alan's eagle came into view, heading in the direction of the emergency signal from Eagle One.
Alan scanned the sky in all directions and saw Eagle One. "Alpha, I have a visual on them. Eagle One is intact, but they are just drifting."
Tony turned to Paul. "Are they on auto pilot by chance?" he asked.
He checked his console and lifted his head. "Yes, they are. We should be able to bring them in."
Tony sighed with relief. " Can you get them down safely?"
"Yes Tony." he told him and moved to Alan's console.
"Good, bring them down on launch pad two. Helena, you might want to get your team together and meet me there."
She nodded and left the room, her heart racing. Comlock in hand, she called ahead to Bob Mathias and had him get things ready for her. Victor met her in the hall and she filled him in on the developments.
Maya got to her feet and met Tony at the doorway. "Sandra, tell Alan to follow them in and we'll meet him there."
"Alright," she replied and did as Tony requested. Beside her, Paul was operating the remote controlsand bringing Eagle One back to alpha.
Everyone hoped that nothing serious had happened to the two passengers.
Some ten minutes later, Eagle One was safely on launch pad two. Helena was pacing anxiously waiting for the docking and decompression sequence to complete. Once the green light flashed overhead, the doors slid open with an almost silent hiss. No one was sure what to expect. Being out there in those lights like they had, almost anything could have happened.
Weapon in hand, Tony stepped into the craft with Helena close behind. Inside the pilot section, John Koenig set in the pilots seat, slumped forward.
"John…" Helena questioned kneeling beside him. She reached for his wrist, checking for a pulse. "He's alive," she sighed with relief.
"Hel…Helena…" John groaned weakly.
She held his face in her hands. "Take it easy John, you're back on Alpha now." she told him.
"Lauren," he whispered. "Is she…."
Tony glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah, where is she?"
From the passenger section, Victor had entered the craft with Maya, and they stood together, both staring at the pair of hands extending from behind the seats.
"Uh Tony," Victor called and motioned him back. "Weren't John and Lauren the only two people on this Eagle?"
Tony turned his attention from John and walked back to Victor. "Yeah, why?"
Helena left John for a moment and joined the others in the back. Victor pointed down at the hands.
"What the hell…?" Tony mumbled, and took a cautious step forward. Helena looked over his shoulder.
They both recognized Lauren, but not the young man beside her, at least not right away. Helena stepped past Tony and knelt by Lauren. She checked for a pulse and stated she was alive as well. Looking over the man beside her, when Helena turned him over, she gasped as she recognized him.
"..Lance….?" she questioned
"Who?" Tony stated.
Helena checked him over as well and got to her feet. "Well, they are all alive. We need to get them to medical so I can further evaluate their condition.
"Who is Lance?" Tony asked again.
"Lauren's boyfriend." Helena replied. "She showed me a photo of him once."
Tony stepped aside as stretchers were brought in. "Victor, do you have any idea what is going on here. This is like something out of the Twilight Zone."
Victor scratched his head. "No Tony, I don't, but I'm sure it will all be explained in good time."
Tony shrugged and threw his hands up in the air. "First the lights and now a mysterious passenger."
Maya reached for his hand. "We all want answers Tony. As soon as they wake up, they'll tell us what happened."
"Yeah…I just hope we don't have to wait too long."
Once back in Medical, Helena got her patients in bed. Of the three, only John was semi-conscious. Helena stood over him, her stethoscope against his chest. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled.
"Helena," he said weakly. "Is it really you, am I back on alpha?"
She smiled, placing her hand on his forehead. "Yes John, you're in medical. You have some injuries."
He nodded and felt the dull ache in his chest, a reminder of what he had been through. His thoughts drifted to Lauren.
"Lauren, did she make it back with me?"
"Yes, she's resting with a couple of minor injuries." Helena told him.
John tried to raise himself up in bed, but Helena pushed him back down. "I don't know how you sustained a chest injury and broken ribs John, but you are not getting out of this bed right now." Helena stated. She moved aside so John would have a clear view of Lauren, not to mention Lance.
He stared at the two other people laying bed as he was. He was silent for a long moment before he spoke. "Lance, he made it back as well."
Helena was confused. "You keep saying back John, what do you mean?"
He took her hand in his and she set on the edge of his bed. John looked into her eyes, remembering the other Helena, the one who grew to love him, the one who made love with him three times. He was back with his Helena now. "What is it John?" she questioned.
"I was on earth Helena, so was Lauren. We were there for almost a week, before Breakaway happened."
"Earth?" Helena questioned. "John, you and Lauren were in Eagle One coming back to the base, we lost contact with you for 30 minutes because of those….those lights and.."
Again, John attempted to set up but Helena stopped him. "John, I don't know what happened in that 30 minute time frame, but we'll figure it out. Right now the best thing you can do is rest."
John sighed. Helena was right. Things didn't have to be explained now, his thoughts and memories were jumbled anyway. He watched as she prepared a sedative for him and walked back to his bedside. "Helena, would you just stay with me for awhile?" he asked.
Her smile was warm and genuine. "Of course I'll stay with you John." She kissed him and injected the sedative. John had been through some ordeal and she hoped to make sense of it all when he woke. She watched the steady rise an fall of his chest, wondering just why she had the sudden urge to lay in bed beside him.
Helena stayed with John until she was satisfied he was sleeping soundly, then left to update Tony and the other command center personnel on the condition of her patients. Everyone had questions, everyone wanted answers. Helena assured them they would get them in time.
A couple of hours passed before she returned to the medical center. She was surprised to see Lance awake, standing over Lauren. He held her hand in his. A gesture that caused Helena to smile.
Sensing someone was near, Lance turned to look over his shoulder. "Dr. Russell…" he stated.
"Yes," Helena answered, nodding her head. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked walking closer to Lance.
He shook his head. "Yes, I'm okay aside from a nasty headache at the moment." He knew who Helena was, but she obviously didn't know him. Or did she?" Lance extended his hand. "My name is Lance Heston."
Helena's smile was warm and friendly. She shook his hand. "Yes, I know who you are, Lauren showed me your photo one time. I'm pleased to meet you."
Lance had met Helena for only a short time when they were on Earth, but he could see differences between the two of them, not just the personal appearance, but the Helena before him, seemed more at ease. Maybe because of the situation they were in and the way of life they had to adpat to.
Helena could sense that Lance was uneasy, not sure where to go or what to say. "Would you like to go to my office and talk for a while? I'm sure you must have plenty of questions."
Lance looked down a Lauren, then back to Helena. "Sure, that would be nice."
Helena stopped long enough to check on John, then showed Lance to her office and they both took a seat.
"I have to ask to make sure I'm not dreaming…but, I am on Moonbase Alpha, right?"
Helena nodded. "Yes, you are..although I'm not sure how you got here."
Lance sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, that's not easy to explain. Maybe Lauren and Commander Koenig can explain it better, but they were on earth for close to a week. I found Lauren on the beach not far from my house. The commander was in a hospital with injuries from a crash. I'll let them fill in the details, but there was the existence of two moons that they talked about."
Helena shook her head. "Two moons and being on Earth?"
"Yes, I met you back on Earth, just briefly and an older gentlemen, uh….Professor Bergman I believe."
"Victor?" Helena questioned. "I know I must sound crazy talking about this, but it's the truth Dr. Russell."
"No, no, not at all Lance. Some of the cirsumstances we have found ourselves in on alpha have been very unusual. So, I do not for one mniute believe you are crazy."
Lance smiled and rubbed his head again. "Thank you."
"I can give you something for your headache. It's probably caused from shock of the ordeal that brought you here. Your vitals were all okay once we had you here and I could check you out. I think you just need some rest."
Lance agreed. "Yeah, you're right. I just woke up all of a sudden, no one was around, so I wandered around for a few minutes, checked on the Commander and then Lauren right before you came in. I hope that was okay?"
"Of course. I know you're a doctor, so I think you will be a nice fit here."
Lance smiled as they both stood. "I'd like that. I don't know much about space medicine though."
Helena laughed. "You'll be alright once you've had time to adjust to things here on alpha."
She followed Lance back to his bed, gave him something to help the headache and he layed back. Suddenly, he got up and walked to Lauren's bed and stretched out beside her.
"I just want to be next to her when she wakes up." he explained. "She needs to know I made it back."
"That's fine Lance, just close your eyes an rest. We can talk later when both John and Lauren are awake."
Lance did as she asked. The love he had for Lauren was obvious. She left them alone and walked back to John.
Looking down at him, she leaned closed and kissed his cheek. She was surprised when John grasped her hand.
"Hey…" he said, his voice a soft whisper.
Helena smiled at him. "How do you feel?" she asked. Always the professional John thought.
"Aside from a headache and a dull ache in my chest, I'm okay." he told her.
She set on the edge of his bed, taking her stethoscope from the pocket of the jacket she had on. With the flat part against John's chest, she asked him to take a couple of deep breaths, listening closely to his breathing, but also watching his face. "I think that dull ache hurts worse than you're admitting to me John."
He was beginning to remember parts of the ordeal he'd been through. A faint smile crossed his face when he thought about the times he made love to the other Helena.
"What are you smiling about?" she asked.
"We'll discuss it later." he told her.
As much as Helena wanted to know what had happened with John and Lauren, she knew right now he needed rest. She got to her feet and walked over to a supply cabinet, prepared a hypo and walked back to him.
"What's that?" John questioned.
"A sedative, you need to rest right now John. You have broken ribs and a nasty chest injury that I have no idea how you sustained. A lot of people want answers and would like to talk to you, but I won't allow it until you're strong enough."
John sighed. Was he going to relive on Alpha the exact same scenario he just went through on Earth? He hoped not.
Helena pressed the hypo against his arm and injected the medicine. John grabbed her arm and pulled her close, they kissed as he closed his eyes, then she stood. Once again, she had that strong feeling of wanting to stretch out beside him. She just wished she understood why.
Satisfied her patients were all resting for the moment, Helena returned to her office. What did John mean by "they would discuss it later" she thought silently to herself, not to mention her talk with Lance and the facts he told her. None of it made sense. She wondered if it ever would. Shrugging it off for now, she took out the charts on her patients and updated her notes. Hopefully everything would make sense once they were rested and fully awake.
A couple of hours later. Lance woke feeling movment beside him. He looked down at Lauren, then got to his feet as her eyes slowly began to open.
"Lance?" she whispered, making it sound more like a question.
With a smile, he answered, "..yeah babe, it's me."
Something was different she thought. Looking about the room as her eyes began to focus, she realized they were back on alpha. She set up, not sure what to say or do next. Feeling dizzy, she grabbed her head and Lance eased her back down.
"Take it easy," he told her. "We're okay. I've been up already so I know what's going on. Dr. Russell gave me something for a headache and I layed down beside you so when you woke I would be here with you."
Lauren nodded. "What about Commander Koenig?" she inquired.
Lance moved aside so Lauren would have view of him. He was still asleep from the sedative Helena had given him. She was relieved to see he was back as well.
"The last thing I remember was standing outside with you, Commander Koenig and Dr. Russell. We were watching the sun set and after that nothing."
Lance set down beside her. "Yeah, I have to admit when I woke up here, I was pretty much convinced I was probably dreaming, but after a few minutes, I realized all this was real."
Lauren reached for his hand, holding it tight in hers. Silent tears fell down her cheeks.
Lance wiped them away. "Why are you crying?"
Lauren smiled. "Because I am so happy that you traveled back here with me. If we had remained apart, I don't know how…"
"Lets not start worrying about "what we'd do". Lance interrupted. "For whatever reason, we are here together and that's all that matters. We spent too many days trying to make sense of what was going on. All I want to do is concentrate on our future here together."
Lauren set up again, more slowly this time, wrapping her arms around Lance. They shared a tender kiss, then she let her head rest against his chest while Lance hugged her close.
Helena had been gone for a few hours to get some rest herself and something to eat. As she returned to the medical center, she was surprised to see John attempting to set up and get out of bed.
"John," she cried out. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked, hurrying to his side.
"I just needed to stand for a few minutes Helena. I'm fine."
Lance looked up and over in the opposite direction. He left Lauren to give Helena some help. "Commander, you really should take it easy." Lance told him.
Helena smiled. "Maybe he'll listen to you Lance."
Lauren joined them and Helena questioned her as well. "I'm glad to see you awake Lauren, but you shouldn't be out of bed either."
"I feel fine Dr. Russell." she told her.
"Maybe so, but until I can exmine you,,,back to bed."
Lauren sighed and turned to Lance for help, her eyes pleading. "Sorry," he told her. "She's the doctor. I'd do as she says."
Lauren shook her head and walked back to her bed. John decided he should do the same.
Helena looked at both her patients, then at Lance. "How did you mnagae that, I figured I was going to have an argument with both of them about staying in bed."
Lance shrugged. "I don't know.."
Helena laughed. "Okay, why don't I have something sent up for you to eat, I can examine Lauren while we wait, then we can all set and talk about the ordeal you went through."
John nodded. "That's fine, but can we please talk somewhere other than here? I have been in a hospital bed for a week and I don't want to spend the next few days doing the same thing."
Helena looked at John, the expression on his face told her he wanted to be alone with her after they talked. She nodded back. "That can be arranged John."
He smiled at her and closed his eyes. Helena turned and walked in Lauren's direction. She obviously wasn't happy. Laying back on her bed, she was frowning, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Do you have a headache Lauren?" Helena asked her.
She decided not to argue. "Yes, and I feel a little dizzy." she admitted.
"I'm not surprised. Both John and Lance complained of the same thing. I assume it's from the shock of whatever ordeal you all went through."
Lauren winced as Helena checked the wound on her shoulder. "I don't know how that happened Dr. Russell."
Helena sighed. "It's alright, nothing serious, but it will be sore for a few days."
Lauren nodded and set up, but made no move to get out of bed. Lance and John had been talking, but they looked up as Helena approached them.
"Lauren will be fine, I think just rest for all of you is the best thing. I'll have some food brought up and then we'll talk. I'll let Tony, Victor and the others know you are all awake."
The three of them watched as she walked into her office. John noticed the uneasy look on Lance's face.
"You have nothing to worry about Lance, your surroundings may be different, but everyone on alpha will welcome you with open arms. Everyone here has a place and I know Helena will make you more than welcome here in medical."
Despite being told to stay in bed, Lauren stood and walked over to Lance. She took his hand in hers and he smiled at her. "I have Lauren here with me, so I'm okay. Just might take me a little while to fit in, so to speak."
Helena stood in the door of her office, watching her three patients talk among themselves. There was a certain closeness between, almost like a bond, and for whatever reason, it made her smile. One they all had a chance to set and talk, perhaps it would all make sense.