A ‘New Captain Scarlet’ story
By jojojojo01
Part 2
Doctor Bishop had shown up in the control room while Scarlet and Blue were in the lab taking a look around. He had been watching the captains on the monitor with Gold and the Spectrum security men, when suddenly there was a bright flash on the screen before the image went dead. Then they heard the sound of an explosion from the other side of the building where the laboratory was located. Bishop grabbed a medical kit and left the control room, followed closely by Doctor Gold and Sergeant Moss. The three men ran through the corridor towards the lab; when they had arrived, they found Lieutenant Amber clearing the debris from the doorway. Between them, Amber and Moss were able to clear a pathway through, so that the doctors could get to the fallen men.
Gold went to examine Scarlet, while Bishop went to Captain Blue. Bishop began to carefully examine Blue for any obvious life threatening injuries. He could find no broken limbs or damage to his neck. But without a more thorough examination, there was no way of knowing if he had suffered any internal injuries. The most obvious injury was the wound to Blue’s forehead, which had bled profusely, covering the blonde man’s face and hair in blood. Bishop took some gauze, which Moss had handed to him and pressed it firmly on the wound.
“How is he?” he heard Gold ask from his position next to Scarlet.
“He’s unconscious; it looks like he might have hit his head on the bench as he went down. I think he may have dislocated his left shoulder, probably from when he landed on it, as well as some cuts and bruises. How’s Scarlet?” he enquired looking over at Gold and Scarlet.
“He’s suffered extensive burns and lacerations to the back of his body,” Gold informed him. “Hey, why is he wet?” Gold looked around, confused. It was clear from the small fires that had been burning when they had gotten to the lab that the automatic sprinklers had not activated after the explosion. Then Gold remembered seeing the water tank on the video feed. Looking over to where it was, he noticed that it was severely damaged. In fact, you didn’t need to be an expert to know that that was where the explosion had originated.
“Doctor Bishop, what was in the tank that was in that corner over there?” Gold demanded, hoping that now they might actually get some real answers about what was going on here.
“Nothing to be concerned about, Doctor Gold,” Bishop informed him. “I assure you that what we were working on was nothing that posed a threat to anyone. Otherwise, your men would not have been allowed in here without protective gear.”
“Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it,” Gold muttered almost to himself as he continued to treat Scarlet’s wounds.
“Excuse me?” Bishop retorted, offended by Gold’s comment.
“You also told us that nothing had been tampered with, yet if that had been the case, then this would not have happened.”
Next to him Scarlet groaned.
When Scarlet opened his eyes, his vision was blurred and he felt dizzy and nauseous. His ears were ringing and he could hear his heart pounding in his chest. As he took in a breath; the smoke irritated his lungs causing him to cough uncontrollably. It was then that he noticed the excruciating pain radiating down the entire length of his body. Grimacing, he tried to move but realised that there were hands gently holding him still.
“Easy Captain, try not to move.” It was Doctor Gold.
“Doctor,” Scarlet mumbled, his voice pained and weakened. “What happened?” he managed through gritted teeth as he turned his head to look at Gold who was kneeling over him.
“There was an explosion...”
“...Adam?” Scarlet managed, his voice hoarse, but the fear that his friend was hurt or worse was evident too; desperately, he tried to free himself from the doctor’s restraining hands to get to his friend.
“It’s okay, Scarlet, he’s alive,” Gold told him as he looked over at Captain Blue, who was being attended by Doctor Bishop. “We’ll get you back to Skybase. Everything will be okay.”
“Is Adam okay? Scarlet insisted. “You said he was alive, but how badly...” His words were cut off as pain gripped him.
“I won’t know how badly his condition is until we get back and I can examine him properly,” Gold told him. “But it looks like he has dislocated his shoulder and will have a nasty concussion when he finally regains consciousness.”
Scarlet nodded to let Gold know that he understood as his eyes closed; the pain clearly too much for him.
“Just rest Scarlet,” Gold whispered to him. “You’ll be fine soon enough.”
With the help of Doctor Bishop and the Spectrum security team, Doctor Gold was able to get both men onto stretchers. They were then escorted back to the airbase where they had landed in the Hummingbird earlier that day. However, because of the circumstances, they were unable to return to Skybase in the aircraft they had arrived in. Instead Doctor Gold, upon informing Colonel White of their situation, had requested a medical jet to pick them up. Although Doctor Gold had had to inform the colonel of injuries to members of his staff before, for some reason having to tell him about this was harder. He put it down to the fact that this time both Captains Scarlet and Blue were injured, and because of the circumstances surrounding their visit to the lab in the first place.
“An explosion?” the Colonel had said. He couldn’t believe what Doctor Gold was telling him.
“Yes Colonel,” Gold replied. “Both Scarlet and Blue were in the vicinity when it occurred...”
Gold could have sworn that the colonel’s features paled somewhat at this news. “Are they okay?” he asked, not giving the doctor chance to continue with his report of the situation. “Were they injured?”
“I’m afraid so, sir, although I won’t be sure of the true extent of their injuries until I get them back to Skybase. But for the moment they are both stable.” The doctor then went on to describe both men’s injuries as he knew them from their initial treatment after the explosion had taken place.
Colonel White nodded his head and let out a small grunt of understanding.
“Lieutenant Green, I need a medical jet dispatched to DragonTech laboratories immediately.” Gold had heard him say, and immediately he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
“S.I.G. Colonel,” Green had replied, before she opened a channel to dispatch the requested aircraft.
“Doctor, keep me informed of their condition.”
“S.I.G.,” Gold said, signing off and closing down the communication.
Lieutenant Green turned in her chair to face the colonel. “How bad is it, sir?”
Colonel White got up from his desk and walked over to where Green was seated at her console. “Adam has a severe concussion and has dislocated his shoulder.”
“And Paul?” She looked up at her commanding officer and White saw a hint of fear in her eyes.
“His injuries are a little more serious. But I’m sure it’s nothing for us to worry about, he’s been through worse.”
“S.I.G.,” Green said. She knew like the rest of them that because of Scarlet’s retro-metabolism that he would be back to his normal self in a few days, but she was worried about Captain Blue. Although nothing had actually happened between herself and Adam, she knew she cared about him as more than just a friend; part of her was even convinced that he felt the same way about her too, although neither of them had actually admitted anything to each other.
“Don’t worry, Serena, they’re in good hands,” White said, noticing the concerned expression cross her face. He gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before returning to his desk. She really hoped that the colonel was right because she had an uneasy feeling about this situation which she just couldn’t seem to shake.
‘Thank goodness the trip back was uneventful,’ Gold thought to himself, as he followed his medical technicians while they wheeled the stretchers carrying Scarlet and Blue from the hangar to the medical bay. He ordered his team to run scans on Captain Blue to rule out any other life threatening injuries, while he personally oversaw Scarlet’s treatment.
The doctor had removed Scarlet’s uniform tunic while he was treating him back at the laboratory after the explosion had occurred, and placed a temporary dressing over the wounds on his back to keep them clean during transport. Since it had been almost a couple of hours since the incident itself had taken place, Gold was expecting there to be some signs that Scarlet’s wounds had begun to heal.
“That’s odd,” he commented out loud to himself.
“Doctor?” Surprised, Gold turned round to find Colonel White standing in the doorway to the treatment room. Although he was aware that White had been informed of their arrival back at Skybase, he had not heard him enter the medical bay.
“Sorry, Colonel, I did not realise that you were there.”
“No need to apologise, Mason. Is something wrong?” The concerned look on the doctor’s face had prompted White to enter the room and he moved to stand next to the doctor.
“There does not appear to be any signs of improvement in Scarlet’s injuries,” Gold clarified.
“But doesn’t it usually take several hours for the retro-metabolisation to be completed?”
“Yes, Colonel, or longer still depending on the severity of the injuries. But there is usually some sign that healing is taking place, yet his injuries look the same as they did when I first treated him back at DragonTech.”
The colonel’s eyes skimmed over the prone figure of Captain Scarlet as he lay in the bed in front of him. He was lying on his front so that his injuries on his back could be treated and White could only see the right side of his face. Scarlet looked unnaturally pale, his colour making the bruising on what White could see of his face and neck even more obvious. Even though Scarlet’s eyes were closed, the colonel was sure he saw pain in the younger man’s face too; but looking at how extensive and severe the wounds were on the back of Scarlet’s body, it was easy to understand why.
Colonel White had witnessed Scarlet after past incidents, times when he had been shot, had fallen out of the sky, even been exposed to fatal amounts of radiation as well as a lethal virus. The colonel had even see Scarlet brought back to Skybase already ‘dead’, but nothing could prepare him for this. Yes, he could certainly understand the pained expression on Scarlet’s face. The injuries to his back were horrific and evidence of how close he must have been to the blast when it had occurred.
“How’s Adam doing?” he asked the doctor, unable to tear his eyes away from Scarlet’s injuries.
“He was lucky,” Gold answered, not even looking up at the colonel as his attention was focused on his patient in front of him. “If it hadn’t been for Scarlet here, I have no doubt that his injuries would have been a lot more severe. Perhaps even fatal,” he added quietly. The colonel nodded.
At that moment, a low, visceral groan emanated from the bed as Scarlet began to stir; his body trembled with the effort as he tried to move.
“Doctor?” he asked. His voice was nothing more than a pain filled whisper.
“Easy, Paul,” the colonel said, There was softness in his voice, something that his subordinates did not really get to hear very often. “Try not to move.”
“Colonel...” Scarlet muttered, moving his head a fraction so he could just see his commanding officer in his peripheral vision. “...back on Skybase?” His words trailed off as he spoke. His breathing was becoming laboured from a combination of both the pain he was experiencing and because he was lying on his chest.
“Yes, Captain, you’re in the medical bay,” Gold answered him.
“Where’s Adam?” Scarlet asked, panic rising in his voice was he tried to look around once more for his friend.
“You need to calm down, Captain,” Gold instructed him. “Captain Blue is okay. Because of what you did, he is going to be fine.”
Hearing the doctor’s words seemed to calm Scarlet and he visibly relaxed. “Where...?”
“He’s resting in another room,” White told him.
Doctor Gold noticed the panicked expression return to Scarlet’s face after hearing the colonel’s words. “He’ll be fine, Captain; he suffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, that’s all.”
Just then, a commotion outside the room drew their attention away from Scarlet momentarily. Destiny Angel could be seen outside the room where she was having a heated argument with one of Doctor Gold’s medical technicians. The colonel had informed her as to what had happened when Scarlet and Blue had visited DragonTech; he had also told her that he would update her on their condition as soon as he knew what was going on himself.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t go in there at the moment, Doctor Gold is still...”
“It’s okay,” the colonel said as he moved towards them and placed his hand on the technician’s shoulder. The young man took a step back.
“S.I.G., Colonel,” he said before walking away and leaving them both alone. Colonel White then turned his attention to Destiny. Although he had a stern expression on his face, when he spoke his voice was soft.
“Destiny, I thought I told you not to come down here...”
“I’m sorry, Colonel, but I couldn’t stand not knowing. How are they?” the desperation she was clearly feeling was evident in her tone. The colonel led Destiny into Doctor Gold’s office and updated her on everything he knew.
“So Adam’s okay?”
The colonel nodded.
“But Paul’s...” She drew in a gasp, clearly struggling to accept what was happening. Colonel White was about to speak again when he was interrupted by the door opening and Doctor Gold entering the office. He looked troubled.
“Destiny,” he said.
“Doctor, what’s going on?” she demanded, her voice shaking from a mix of fear and anger.
“I’m running some tests at the moment to try to find an answer to that question. It appears that Scarlet’s not healing like he usually would and I want to know why.”
“When can I see him?” she asked looking up at the doctor, her expression desperate.
“I’ll take you through in a moment. But Destiny, I should warn you that the injuries to his back are extensive.” The doctors voice softened as he continued, “I have left his wounds uncovered so that they can be treated with a biomedical gel which I am hoping will help start the normal healing process.”
“Okay, thank you, Doctor,” Destiny said, her voice still trembling slightly.
Gold gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Unfortunately, it’s not a pretty sight.” He felt Destiny tense up at his words. “Come on, I’ll accompany you; I want to check on a few things anyway.”
Slowly, Destiny got to her feet and walked towards the door.
“I will head back to central control, Doctor” White said. “Keep me informed.”
“S.I.G.,” Gold said as he turned to follow Destiny out of the office and towards the room where Scarlet was being treated. “I should have the test results in a couple of hours.”
A couple of hours later, Colonel White was sat at his desk, when he was interrupted by a very agitated and angry Doctor Gold.
“We need to contact the lab and find out what the hell it was they were working on,” he spat as he paced back and forth in front of the colonel’s desk.
“What’s going on?” the colonel asked, confused by the doctor’s sudden outburst.
“The test results.” Gold thrusted a small computer pad into the colonel’s hand. White looked at it but he was none the wiser.
“I’m sorry Mason, I don’t understand...” he began to ask, as the doctor interrupted him.
“Whatever it is they were working on in that lab is killing Scarlet, and I want to know how, why and if there is anything that can be done to stop it,” the doctor demanded.
“Lieutenant Green, get me Doctor Raymond Bishop at DragonTech... Now.”
“S.I.G., Colonel,” Green replied as she swiftly snapped to action, fulfilling White’s command. Moments later she added: “Patching him through to you now, sir.”
On the small screen in front of the colonel, the face of Doctor Bishop appeared, filing it.
“Colonel, what an unexpected surprise…” The doctor stopped, the look on the colonel’s face had him concerned. “Is everything alright, Colonel? Are Captains Scarlet and Blue doing okay?”
“Doctor Bishop, I have Doctor Gold here with me,” as he spoke, Doctor Gold walked around the desk to stand behind Colonel White so that he could see the video screen.
“We need to know precisely what it was you were working on in that lab, Doctor,” Gold stated bluntly.
“But I don’t have permission...” Bishop stuttered, shocked by Gold’s demand.
“I’m well aware that you haven’t been given clearance to go into detail, Doctor, but a man’s life depends on it.”
Confusion crossed Raymond Bishop’s face. “I don’t understand. I don’t see how knowing about our research could possibly help with what is happening here.”
Frustrated, the colonel typed in a command to the control panel in front of him. When he was done, he returned his full attention back to Doctor Bishop.
“I have sent you Captain Scarlet’s test results. As you can see...” White let his words hang in the air as he saw the doctor’s attention turn away from him for the moment, as an alert could be heard in the background, indicating that the doctor had in fact received the file the colonel had just forwarded to him.
A look of horror and confusion crossed Bishops face. “This isn’t possible, Colonel.” He clearly couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Doctor, I’m sending a Hummingbird to collect you and bring you to Skybase.”
“But...” Bishop started to protest at the colonel’s words.
“Doctor,” Gold interrupted, “we need you to help us to understand what is going on here and it will be easier to do that face to face. Besides, you need to be here to tell us everything.”
“But I’ve told you already, I’m not authorised...” he tried protesting again.
“Believe me, Doctor, by the time you arrive at Skybase, you will be authorised. And as Doctor Gold says, it would be better to do this face to face than over the comm. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Reluctantly the doctor admitted defeat. “Very well, Colonel, my wife and I will come to your Skybase and see if there is anything we can do to help.”
“Your wife?” Gold asked, confused.
“Yes, Doctor, we worked this project together.”
“Very well, thank you, Doctor. We appreciate your co-operation in this matter. You will receive further instructions shortly. I suggest you get yourself ready. Skybase out.” With that, Colonel White ended the communication.
“Lieutenant Green, I want Captain Magenta to take a Hummingbird back to DragonTech to pick up the Bishops and bring them back to Skybase ASAP. Is that clear?” White ordered abruptly.
“Yes, sir,” Green replied. Under normal circumstances, she would have probably felt a little hurt at the colonel’s tone. But she understood perfectly how important this situation was; as well as how worried the colonel was about Scarlet even though he may not admit it to anyone under his command.
“I better return to my patient, Colonel,” Gold said before making his way towards the lift which would take him back to the medical bay. The colonel watched as his friend left central control. He certainly did not envy him the burden he was so obviously carrying. He knew that the doctor would do everything he could to save Scarlet’s life until he could do no more. In comparison, White, despite being the commanding officer on Skybase, had pretty much done all he could for his part.
All except...
“Lieutenant, put me through to the office of the World Security Council... now.”
He now knew he was going to have a fight on his hands to find out the exact reason why one of his men was dying.
Doctor Gold returned to the medical bay. When he had left to speak to Colonel White, he was hoping that he would be returning with some answers. Instead he felt like he was returning with more questions.
Just what was it that DragonTech was hiding? Gold prayed that the colonel would be able to gain the authorisation needed to obtain that information. He also hoped that Doctor Bishop would be able to give them a solution, and soon. Because if he was being perfectly honest, Gold had no idea how much time Scarlet had left. So they needed answers quickly.
But Gold had to admit that Bishop’s reaction to Scarlet’s test results had him worried. The Doctor genuinely did appear shocked and confused by them. So either he was wrong when he said that it was safe for them to be in the lab, or the Mysterons had done more than just cause the laboratory explosion.
Unless, Gold thought as a third possibility occurred to him, Doctor Bishop had lied to them and it wasn’t safe after all. Besides, if he had, then he was a really good actor, because the reaction he gave when he received Scarlet’s test results was Oscar worthy.
No. Bishop seemed genuinely confused by what was going on, so until he had any evidence to the contrary, Gold decided he was going to give the man the benefit of the doubt.
When Gold reached the medical bay, he immediately went to check on how Scarlet was doing. As he got nearer Scarlet’s room, other than the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor, he could make out the hushed voices of Destiny Angel and Captain Blue. Stopping in the doorway, the doctor cleared his throat before he spoke.
“You should be resting, Captain.”
Captain Blue, who had been sat next to Scarlet’s bed with his back to the door, carefully turned around so that he could see the doctor. The blond man’s paler than normal features only served to highlight his own injuries.
“I’m fine, Doc, really... Besides, I wanted to check in, see how Paul’s doing.” He looked back at his friend and a wince crossed his features. Gold couldn’t tell if it was because of his own injuries or from looking at those his friend had sustained. “It kind of takes your breath away, doesn’t it... seeing him like this, I mean,” Blue finished, his words confirming Gold’s previous suspicions about the real reason for the blond captain’s reaction. But unsure of how to respond, the doctor just nodded sombrely.
“I see he’s still sedated,” Gold commented, pointing out the obvious. His eyes did a quick scan over the readouts from the medical devices surrounding Scarlet’s bed, before resting on Scarlet himself. “Although under the circumstances, it’s probably for the best.”
“Still no developments, Doc?” Blue asked him.
“The colonel is trying to get us more information, and he has sent Magenta to DragonTech to bring Doctor Bishop back to help us.”
Both Destiny and Blue knew that Colonel White would do whatever he could to take care of his people. But Blue wasn’t naive and he knew that the colonel wasn’t either. They were both military men and they understood that sometimes sacrifices were unavoidable. Sometimes they needed to be made for the greater good. The question was whether or not those on the Security Council thought that it was worth risking something that could potentially end the war with the Mysterons, for the life of one man?
But Scarlet wasn’t just any man. He was vital in Spectrum’s fight and everyone on Skybase knew that. Hell, even those on the Council knew how important Scarlet was. In the end, all Blue cared about was getting the help to save his friend’s life, regardless of the consequences. Even if it made him appear selfish, only thinking of his friend rather than the greater good.
“Do you think they will let us know what’s really going on?” Destiny asked, interrupting Blue’s train of thought. “I mean, what would happen if they don’t...” Her voice choked up as she spoke; she really didn’t want to think about what would happen.
“Then we’ll find another way, right, Doc?” Blue asked, trying to sound more confident and reassuring than he actually felt.
“I promise you both, I will do everything I can to help him.”
“We know you will. Thank you, Doctor,” Destiny replied, her voice quiet and strained.
“Now then, Captain, you need to get some rest...” Gold held his hand up to silence the young man before he could protest. “I’m willing to let you to go back to your own room, if you promise to get some sleep.”
“Don’t worry, Doctor, I know someone who will keep an eye on him for you.” A wry but forced smile crossed Destiny’s face. Blue shot her a look, then he too smiled when he realised who she had meant.
“Don’t worry, Doc, I’m not planning on doing anything crazy anytime soon.” He lifted his arm which was in a sling slightly, then regretted it when a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. It was obvious that Doctor Gold noticed by the raised eyebrow he sent his way.
“Okay, Doc, I’m going,” Blue said, chuckling, his uninjured hand raised as if in defeat. Slowly he got to his feet. “Would you at least let me know when Doctor Bishop gets here?” he asked as he made his way towards the door. “Or when Paul wakes up.”
“Of course, Captain,” Gold told him. The doctor then indicated to one of his medical team: “Could you help Captain Blue to his quarters?”
“Yes, Doctor,” the assistant replied making his way towards Blue. The captain was about to protest but the look the doctor gave told him not to bother. Instead he just nodded in agreement and slowly left the medical bay with his escort in tow.
Captain Blue reluctantly returned to his quarters. Not that he had much of a choice since he had had an escort, courtesy of one of Doctor Gold’s assistants. Yet as much as he had tried to convince the doctor that he was fine, the moment he stepped into his room and the door closed behind him, he realised how tired he really felt. But he would never admit it to Doctor Gold.
Slowly, he lowered his tired and aching body down onto his bed. He carefully rearranged his pillows so he could prop himself up, and reclined back into them, an involuntary sigh escaping his lips. Within minutes, he was asleep.
A while later, Blue was awakened by the doorbell to his room, chiming. Groggily he called out: “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal Lieutenant Green. She walked in, a huge smile on her face. But the moment she saw Blue lying propped up in his bed, the smile faded and she stopped.
“Sorry, Adam, did I wake you?” she asked, although the way he was blinking, as if he was trying to wake himself up, answered the question for her.
“Let me guess, Destiny asked you to check up on me?”
Green chuckled. “She wanted me to make sure you were resting and I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I’m okay, thanks, Serena.” He shifted slightly, trying to sit himself up a bit more. Stepping forward, Serena plumped the pillows behind him and fixed them so that he could make himself more comfortable. “Thanks,” he said, smiling up at her. His eyes fixed on hers, and for a moment neither of them moved.
“Any news on how Paul’s doing?” he asked Green, breaking both the silence and eye contact.
She shook her head. “Doctor Gold told the colonel that he had been sedated.”
“Yeah, he had,” Blue confirmed. “But I’m not sure how long the doc was planning on keeping him under for.”
Green took a seat on the edge of Blue’s bed; her hand was inches away from where his was resting. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to reach out with her hand and place it on his. To Serena, it looked like he needed the comforting touch of another person. She could never begin to understand how he was truly feeling right at this moment after everything that had happened. Especially when Adam was used to Paul being the one who couldn’t get hurt, and now he was the one who was fighting for his life in the medical bay. She could see from the look on his face that Adam was trying his best to hide how he was truly feeling at the prospect of losing his best friend, but he couldn’t fool her; she knew he was scared.
“How are you holding up?” he asked, shifting his focus from thoughts of his friend to her instead. He hadn’t missed the concerned and worried expression on her face as she walked into his room and he knew that it was because of him and Scarlet.
“I’m doing okay,” she answered him. In part she was telling him the truth. Physically she felt fine, but other than that, she was feeling as worried as everyone else was right now. Not only was she worried about losing a friend, she was worried about how, if it did happen, it would affect Adam. From a professional perspective, she was worried about how Scarlet’s loss would affect their fight against the Mysterons.
“I think the worst part is the not knowing,” Blue said with a sigh. “I mean, we don’t know what was going on in that lab to begin with... What it was they were working on... and if it was such a danger... Why wasn’t anything said...”
“It’s okay, Adam.” Serena could tell that he was starting to get angry and frustrated, so she tried to calm him down.
“How is it okay, Serena?” he snapped. “Paul’s in the medical bay dying and no one will tell us why... How is that okay?”
“I don’t know, Adam,” she admitted. “I know that the colonel is doing everything he can...”
“That’s another thing I don’t understand. How could there be something going on in that lab which is linked to Spectrum and the colonel doesn’t know anything?” Blue ranted, anger seeping in to his words.
“I don’t know,” she said again, trying to calm him. “But I’m still willing to put my trust in the colonel until something tells me otherwise.” The sceptical look that Blue gave her hinted to Green that he may not be so willing to trust their commanding officer quite as freely as she was. “Come on, Adam, surely you can’t believe that the colonel would have sent you to that lab if he knew the danger he was putting you both in... Especially Paul.”
“I want to believe that, Serena, I really do... But after everything that’s happened... I just don’t know what to think at the moment,” he told her, his pain clear. She desperately wanted to hold him in her arms to comfort him, and was about to do just that, but at the last moment, she realised that because of his injuries, that simple gesture could cause him more pain. Instead she placed her hand on his. As if grateful for the contact, he gripped her hand in his. For an instant, both of them looked down at their hands, then back up at each other. It was then that she saw the fear and pain in his eyes and she knew it wasn’t only because of his own injuries.
“I know you don’t want to lose him, Adam, none of us do.”
“How is Destiny, have you had chance to speak to her?” he asked, changing the subject suddenly. He clearly didn’t want to talk about the possibility of losing his best friend.
“Not really, she was on duty earlier when I was and I know that the colonel has offered to let her take some time off, but I think she is just wanting to keep busy,” she replied with a small sigh.
“I know how she feels, if it wasn’t for this stupid thing,” he said indicating the sling on his arm. “I’d be on duty myself rather than sitting here...” he finished, his voice trailing off.
“Adam, you need to rest, you could have died in that explosion too... if it wasn’t for Paul...” She stopped; she knew that she didn’t need to finish that thought. Blue just nodded at her; he then let out a sigh of his own, which quickly turned into a yawn. He tried his best to hide it but it was too late.
“I’ll leave you to get some rest, and don’t worry, I’ll let you know if anything happens, okay?”
With that, she got to her feet and turned to face Blue, once again adjusting his pillows.
“I’m glad that you’re okay,” she said quietly as she leaned forward and gave Blue a quick kiss on the forehead. Then she froze and a look of embarrassment crossed her features at the same time as her cheeks turned a subtle shade of red. With that, she turned and swiftly left his quarters.
Blue leaned back into his pillow and closed his eyes, and for the first time since this nightmare had began, a smile formed on his lips as he drifted back off to sleep.
Destiny had just completed another shift and was about to head to her quarters to freshen up when she suddenly changed her mind. Instead, she headed to the medical bay to see how Paul was getting on. The truth was she knew that there couldn’t be any change in Paul’s condition, otherwise Doctor Gold would have informed her. She just really didn’t want to be alone in her quarters right now.
As she entered the medical bay, she made her way over to the room which Scarlet was being kept in and entered just as Doctor Gold was finishing up his latest examination.
“Hey, Doctor, how’s he doing?
“Oh, hi, Destiny,” Gold said looking up from Scarlet to greet her. “There’s no change, I’m afraid. I’m just waiting for the sedative to wear off.” Regret was clear in his tone of voice as he spoke.
“Is it okay if I sit with him for a little while?” Destiny asked. Although she was tired and knew that the best thing for her to do would be to go to her quarters and rest, she knew that there was no way she would be able to sleep properly anyway right now. She was too worried... and scared.
“Of course, Destiny, but don’t go overdoing it. I want you to make sure that once you’ve finished here, you go to your quarters and get some sleep.”
“Yes, Doctor,” she replied, trying her best to keep the annoyance she was feeling out of her voice. Although she knew that the doctor meant well and that he was only concerned about her health, she also knew that her reaction was because she was feeling tired and scared.
Destiny entered the room where Scarlet was and took a seat next to his bed. As she sat there, she gently held onto his hand, needing the contact with him. The room was silent apart from the sound of the heart monitor beeping quietly in the background. Scarlet was still under the effects of the sedative that Doctor Gold had given him several hours earlier. As she sat there holding his hand, Destiny thought about how her relationship with Paul had changed over the last year. She realised that if it hadn’t been for what had happened when Scarlet and Black had first encountered the Mysterons, and if the Mysterons hadn’t changed Paul, then he would have died in that explosion or many of the other situations he had faced while with Spectrum. It also meant that Conrad would not have ‘died’ and her relationship with Paul wouldn’t have begun.
At that thought, Destiny felt a pang of guilt, but her thoughts were interrupted by movement coming from the bed.
Paul was waking up.
To be continued...