Space Bunnies!

Chapter 49: Medical

Kai was still spooked, but he had no choice as Tommy quickly but gently grabbed hold of his wrist and injected him with the medication. Kai winced as the needle entered, performed its duty, and then exited his skin. Cam crossed his arms in disgusted horror. "How dare you. You aren't a doctor!"

"Neither are you," Tommy shouted smugly as he capped the hypo, the prejudice being held. Kai observed bad blood between the two. "Get out! And don't come back until you can control your temper!" Cam ordered Tommy, and he pointed toward the door with fury. Tommy backed off, his anger still seething, and he dropped the needle on the ground. As the door closed behind him, Kai watched him depart. He disappeared into the bright void, well beyond Kai's vision scope. Cam recycled the needle that Tommy defiantly dropped onto the floor in a receptacle, his face still marked by the conflict between following medical ethics and his frustrations.

Kai, now under the influence of the painkiller, felt a gradual easing of the throbbing pain in his body. The room's stark white walls and medical equipment felt less intimidating in the softened glow of the overhead lights.

"Sorry about that," Cam mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "Your... he means well. He's... confused."

Kai, still wary but feeling the physical relief, nodded weakly. Now that he wasn't bothered by pain. Kai's eyes darted around the room. He drew a shaky breath as he realized his bed was the only one. "W— I'm not alone... my brother... Where's my brother? He was right behind me. I have to find him!"

Cam sighed, pulling a chair closer to Kai's bed. "Easy." Cam warned, "You were both injured pretty badly. He's fine physically. But he's absorbed a lot of smoke."

Kai's eyes narrowed as he tried to process the information. "What do you mean, physically?"

Cam hesitated, choosing his words carefully. He rubbed his hands together. "Well... he needs surgery; he's being prepared right now. And I assure you, we'll do everything we can to help him."

"Surgery? Bodi is a generation one. He doesn't have internals!" Kai was babbling that he didn't even realize that his brother's name had returned to him as he'd never forgotten it. "I know. But whatever you did? He lost a lot of vitallium, and his nervous system has been almost destroyed. We have to replace both. Donors from all over the station are willing to give their samples."

"Replace..? You can do that?" Kai asked; the tears flew down his cheeks. The only person he sorrowed for was his brother; he was the only family he had left; he could not lose him. "Yes! At least... we hope so! With the help of my droid friend and a medical assistant, she mentioned knowing you. Narr? She's helping me develop a new procedure that will save his life. And there's a Dynamic Patrol ship here lending its resources— I can't promise he'll survive... but the chances are high. He's still being prepared for the operation. But I'll send my other friends to check on you while he's in the OR."

Kai nodded. Cam was honest but hopeful; that was all Kai wanted him to be. A side effect of the killers was sleep, and plenty of it; Kai blacked out shortly after they took effect. He woke up hours later to find Bodi peaceful. After his accident, it was determined that he'd taken a massive blow to multiple areas of his body, which knocked his morphogenic properties out of alignment, his nervous system was shot, and nearly all of his blood needed to be replaced. All of the various 500 Omeocoon who were on the station donated as promised, and Narr and the Droid's procedure worked. He could hold solid form, but... he was in a comatose state. He was connected to various machines; two medical suction cup-like readers were attached to his cheeks, monitoring different impulses displayed on six monitors, three on each side of his bed. An IV was inserted into where the cephalic vein would be if he were a solid. And he rested peacefully; his bruises were healed. Kai respectfully requested Bodi be moved beside him now that he was more lucid. And sure enough, they shared the same recovery room; Kai would not let him go.