An Alternate Life AU
Chapter 8 Travel Overload
Real
Back in the chamber the next morning, Jeff anxiously tuned in the scanner.
Alternate
Headquarters Omni Control Center was quiet when they landed, but Jeffrey's presence caused an immediate stir.
"I need to see Trevor," Dan said loudly as he stood up.
Jeff coughed and tried to stand also, but fell sideways as his legs buckled.
"What happened?" Trevor Dillon asked Dan as he knelt beside Jeffrey. "Just lay still," he told him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Overload." Dan said as they lifted Jeffrey onto a stretcher.
"Thanks," Jeff whispered as his gaze met Trevor's.
While Jeff was whisked away to the Medical Center, Dan followed Trevor into his office.
"It's not my fault," Dan began immediately. Then he quickly explained how he had picked up Jeffrey and how his omni had malfunctioned.
"All right, I'll have your omni examined, but the boy's status needs to be decided by a Tribunal."
Dan sighed, "Okay, when can we get on the docket?"
"It'll be a week. Until then, you're responsible for him."
"Me? Now that's not fair Trevor! I've been stuck with him since I picked him up!"
"Look, you brought him here, so you're it until a Tribunal rules otherwise."
"But.."
"You don't think I should look after him, do you?"
"No, of course not."
"Then who?"
Dan Steel clenched his jaw before he replied. "Do I need to stay at the hospital with him too?"
Trevor considered him before he spoke. "I think we can assume he'll be cared for as long as he's in the Medical Center."
"All right, but get it on the docket as soon as you can."
He walked out and made his way to the Medical Center to inquire about Jeffrey. The young woman at the Intake Desk was glad to give him information on the boy once he identified himself as the responsible party.
"His diagnosis is Travel Overload. He's stable, but you know the treatment. He'll need to lay flat for a day or two." She paused, "I think he's asleep, you can go in if you want."
"No thanks, beep me if he gets worse, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow."
As Dan left the area he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now for some fun," he whispered and headed for the social complex.
Later that day, Jeffrey opened his eyes to a bright room.
"Well, hi!" said a friendly voice.
Jeff smiled immediately, "hi… where am I?" As he tried to sit up, the room began to spin and a loud buzzing sound reached his ears.
"…it's hard to remember, I know…" continued the voice as Jeffrey opened his eyes again.
"Huh?" he whispered.
"You have to lay flat for at least a day, maybe two," the voice began again. "You have Travel Overload."
Jeff stared at her for a moment before speaking, "what's that?"
"You've taken too many trips through the cosmos in too short a time. You just need to recover."
"Who're you?"
"I'm Jeannie, I've been assigned to monitor you for the first few hours here," she told him and smiled.
"I'm Jeff, and where exactly is here?"
Jeff listened with rapt attention as Jeannie began to explain what had happened to him.
"Is Dan okay? Where is he?"
Jeannie paused, "he left after he checked you in," she said quietly.
"Oh."
The screen suddenly changed and Dan's face appeared. He was talking to another Voyager, a very pretty one.
"I couldn't believe it Sheila, I was stuck with an idiot kid! And then my omni malfunctioned and I couldn't get back!"
The beautiful brunette leaned forward as she spoke, "so what did you do?"
"Well, I couldn't just leave him, and I couldn't take him on missions, so I used the recall function to bring him back here. Nothing else to do really, but now they say I'm responsible for him until the tribunal decides what to do with him!"
"Bringing him back here was a nice thing to do," she told him as she raised her finger to stroke his cheek. Her voice got softer as she spoke, and they leaned toward each other and kissed passionately. A moment later, they stood up and headed for the stairs. As they left the area, the background of the scene came into view. It showed Phineas Bogg playing a piano on the far side of the room for a few seconds before it winked out.