Chapter 7

It had been another three days and Alexandria still hadn't woken up. She had begun to breath on her own almost immediately and that bolstered his spirits some but he still worried she would never wake up. At least now the wires had been removed from her head and she looked like the Alex he knew, not some hideous experiment. Wendy kept telling him they had withdrawn the drugs that kept her in the coma and now the rest was up to her. She explained it could take days, even weeks to wake from even a short term induced coma, Alexandria had been in one for six years. Lucas never had, had any patience. He thought that this was worse than when he had been working to disable the chip. At least then he had been doing something. Now all he could do was sit by and wait. He didn't like it one bit.

Wendy had tried to convince him to go back to his quarters but he wouldn't. He stayed by Alexandria's side, talking to her, telling her all about what his life had been like in the last six years, what had happened in the world, anything he could think of. It had become a stream of consciousness of sorts. All the while this undefinable well of emotion was filling up inside and he couldn't figure out why. He only stopped when he fell asleep, slumped in his chair or his head propped on her bed like it was now.

He was soundly asleep and at first he thought he was dreaming. He kept thinking there was something gently fingering his hair, like a breeze. He ignored it in his sleep thinking he had imagined it but it persisted, slowly he woke groggily. He turned his head and looked up at Alexandria. It took him a moment to realize that it was her who was fingering his hair. He sat straight up in the chair, he couldn't breath or speak for a second, then he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Praying he hadn't imagined it somehow. Her eyes fluttered open and a weak smile played on her lips. He had wanted to see those green eyes for a week and a half.

"You're alive! You're awake!" he exclaimed ecstatic. She looked detached still, as if she wasn't really sure if what was going on was real or not.

"Lucas are you real? Or am I dreaming?" she asked in a barely audible rasp. Lucas had gotten to his feet at some point, he didn't even realize he had done it. He was grinning from ear to ear, holding onto her hand as if, if he let go it would all have been a dream or she would slip away again. He shook his head.

"No,no. It's me. It's not a dream," he assured her. She looked utterly relieved at the news, her weak smile brightening. Lucas was still grinning like a Cheshire cat. He pulled her into a sudden hug and she huffed. She patted at his back and wheezed.

"Lucas I can't breathe," she managed to get out.

"Oh. Right, sorry," he apologized. He backed off gently laying her back on her pillows.

Neither noticed Dr. Smith leaning on the door frame watching from afar a smile on her face. She thought it would be best if Alexandria had time to adjust with someone she knew present, rather than surrounded by strange medical staff. She could watch her vital signs just fine from here or her office.

"I thought I heard your voice and Sanborn was trying to strap you down. Did I dream that?" Alex asked leaning on the pillows, even awake she still looked like she might blow away in a stiff wind. Lucas had sat back down, her hand firmly clasped in his and she didn't seem inclined to remove it.

"Yes. You did. You woke up briefly. I might not have gotten away from him if you hadn't," he told her. Her expression was far away, she was awake but she wasn't part of the here and now yet.

"I wasn't sure, I thought it was another nightmare. Can.. can I have something to drink?" she said softly.

"Sure. Here," he said. Lucas took his own glass of water from a side table, holding her up off the bed and held it to her lips so she could drink. She drank long and slow. When she had, had enough he lowered her back on the bed again.

"You could hear what was going on around you? When you were...in the coma?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't know if mentioning the coma would upset her, but she seemed to take it for granted.

"Yes. I know I did now. I thought I was dreaming. I don't know how much I dreamed and how much was real. Is this the seaQuest? I thought I heard you say something about it," she asked him. He nodded.

"Yes. I'm Chief Computer Analyst on board. I've been on board for close to four years now," he answered her. She crinkled her brow thinking.

"Four years? What year is it?" she asked, she looked disoriented, like things were disconnected and had an unreal quality to them still.

"2022. You were in a coma for six years Alex." He wanted to make everything right now, make her back into her old self now. It pained him to watch her lying there like she was lost.

"Six years. Say it again," she asked him. He didn't know why but he did it anyway.

"2022." he said again. She shook her head gently.

"No, say my name again. I like it when you say it. I haven't heard anyone say it in a long time."

"Alex. Alexandria Northman. Alexandria Kay Northman," he said for her. She winced and grinned.

"I thought I told you never to use my middle name?" she chided and chuckled softly , leaning further back in the pillows as if she were already tired.

"Yeah, I know," he said smiling softly in return, he squeezed her hand again affectionately. Dr. Smith took the pause in conversation to step in.

"Hello Ms. Northman. I'm Dr. Smith. I'm glad to see you awake. How are you feeling? " she asked her smiling.

" I'm glad to see me awake too. I feel..odd.. things don't seem quite real. Alex please, Ms. Northman just sounds strange to me," Alexandria answered. Wendy nodded, looking over the monitors connected to her, checking them for anything she might have missed before.

"That's normal. Your mind isn't quite sure where it is yet, it had become used to the coma. Since that was your reality for so long it will take a little while for things to seem real to you. But they are I promise," she assured her as she checked her over physically, being sure reflexes, eye dilation and the like were all within normal parameters.

"Alright, I'll just have to take your word for it. I think I'd like to sleep now. I won't dream will I?" Alex asked.

"No, I'll give you something to prevent you from dreaming. It's not something I can give you all the time but at least you can rest in peace for a while," Wendy said loading a hypo-spray with medication. The wave of fear that emanated from Alex was palpable to her.

"You just woke up and you want to sleep? Wasn't six years enough?" Lucas asked exasperated. His incredulous tone covering the fear that if she went to sleep she would slip back into the coma, but Alex was already drifting off.

"Lucas, she will be fine. It's normal for her to be very easily tired. Her coma wasn't peaceful. She needs the rest and so do you. You need to get a real night's rest and that's an order!" Wendy told him firmly. Lucas looked like he was about to protest.

"No buts Lucas. I mean it. She isn't going anywhere and when you come back she'll be ten times better than she is now. I'm going to give her some medications that will help speed her recovery, help restore her muscle tone to something that she can work with. Now rest!" she told him. Lucas looked deflated, but he relented.

"Alright. Alright. What are you my Mother?" he complained. He gave Alex's hand a final squeeze and left for his quarters.