Julia knew things were different on G889, but she could still be surprised at just how different. (Prompt: 001 Disease)

Earth 2 is the copyrighted property of Amblin Entertainment and Universal Studios. This fiction item is intended for entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been received or will be accepted for it, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended or should be implied.

Heal Thyself

It wasn't until Devon left the med-tent, taking Uly with her, that Julia safe to let down her guard. Her legs promptly collapsed, but somehow, she managed to make it to a camp stool before she fell.

Tetanus boosters were normal procedure for puncture wounds. They had been for centuries.

She hadn't even thought twice about giving the shot to Uly after he'd crashed into the side of the Trans Rover while playing with True, gouging out a deep wound on his arm. G889 was a safe place, yes, but it wasn't exactly sterile. There was no way that the battered metal surface of the vehicle wasn't crawling with bacteria. A prophylactic dose had definitely been indicated, and she'd administered one as soon as she finished closing the gash.

Devon hadn't questioned it either, until Uly had turned pale and collapsed two hours later. They'd rushed back into the med-tent and a test had shown a sky-high white blood cell count. It had taken nearly another hour before they'd finally figured out that he was reacting to the tetanus shot. Apparently, it inhibited the healing properties associated with whatever the Terrians had done to his DNA.

Well, Devon had said. It makes sense that Uly's connection to the planet would mean he'd react differently.

It hadn't exactly been an accusation, but guilt had raged through Julia anyway. She'd thrown wide-spectrum antibiotics and antihistamines into his system, and they'd seemed to work well enough to let his changed body take over the rest of the process. His white blood cell count was still high and he was exhausted, but Uly had been conscious and lucid enough that, by midnight, she'd felt comfortable discharging him.

Taking a deep breath, she clenched and unclenched her fists several times, until her hands felt steady enough to reach for the medical logs. Her face twisted in a grimace as she entered the diagnosis code for this latest event. Iatrogenic anaphylaxis. An allergic reaction caused by something a doctor had done.

"Julia," said Yale.

She hadn't even heard him open her tent flap. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Waiting." He came in and sat down. "You must not blame yourself for this. There was no way you could have known."

"Couldn't I? Tetanus probably doesn't even exist on G889. But I didn't even think twice before I —"

"Chose to use long-established protocols? Practiced medicine the way you've studied and been taught for years? Even Devon understands there was no way for you to anticipate what happened."

She thought about the forced softness in Devon's voice, wondering how he could be so sure.

"She knows," answered Yale, as if she'd asked the question out loud. "She's just upset. And she got used to being hyper-vigilant about his medical care when he had the Syndrome."

"When he was symptomatic," she corrected absently as she keyed in the rest of the log. "He still has it. It's just been rendered harmless."

"Then it could easily have been something related to that, couldn't it? Were there records of any other Syndrome children reacting poorly to tetanus shots?"

"No," she answered. Then she realized what she'd just said, and stopped what she was doing. "No," she repeated slowly. "We avoided giving them any routine vaccinations for fear of triggering a reaction, and they were never healthy enough to do anything that could lead to a puncture wound."

"Then," he pointed out, "it was perfectly appropriate to use the standard protocols. You did everything right."

Iatrogenic anaphylaxis. With her name down as the healer that caused it. She took a sharp breath, meaning to keep arguing, but let it out again when she realized that he was right. No known physician had ever had to operate under conditions like those on G889. She might technically be at fault, but she hadn't done anything wrong. This would have happened to any physician from Earth.

Yale took the log chip out of her hand. "Come over to the dome," he said. "You can finish that up later."

"It's late."

"I know. But I've kept your interrupted dinner warm, and now it's time to eat it. It wouldn't be a good thing if you collapsed from lack of sustenance."

Despite herself, Julia chuckled. "Physician, heal thyself?"

"Something like that, yes." He smiled too, standing up and motioning for her to walk ahead of him.

She still wasn't completely sure, but her legs were working again and her breathing had evened out. With one last shake of her head, she followed him out the door.