The sound of a mobile buzzing across the nightstand snapped Jack awake at 5:10 in the morning. He didn't actually remember falling asleep, but Ianto was next to him, snoring lightly, so he must have. He grabbed it before it had the chance to vibrate across the table.
"Martha, what's wrong?" he whispered to keep from disturbing Ianto.
"It's been rough, but he's stable, and his temp has finally dropped. We're wiped, Jack; I can't go any further without sleep. Can you come stay with him while Hank takes us to his place?"
"Uh, yeah, but you have hotel rooms or the TARDIS, why Hank's?" He sounded and felt betrayed.
"He offered, just get in here, alright"
"I'll be right there," he answered sharper than he intended. He rolled over and traced a finger down Ianto's jawline before giving him a quick peck. He couldn't help smiling at the Welshman grumbling not now in his sleep. The thought of all the things he'd like to do at that moment broadened the smile. None involved slipping quietly out of bed, but he did. He had just pulled his braces up when Ianto raised up on one elbow looking at him with concern.
"Go back to sleep, he's okay. They just need me to stay with him while they get some sleep."
"I can come, Jack. I don't mind." His voice was still husky with sleep.
"No," Jack answered as he crossed back over to sit next to his partner. "The Americans have all gone home. I'll be fine."
"You'll call if you need me -- right?" Ianto sounded unsure.
"Yes, go back to sleep. When you're ready, just tell the old girl what you want, and she'll guide you to the galley."
"Really, just say -- what; is there a phone or something?"
Jack chuckled at the thought. "No, just think it or say it out loud, and then follow the path she makes."
He started to grab his great coat, but then traded it for a jacket, feeling half dressed as he walked out without his equivalent of a security blanket.
Ten minutes after she called, Jack stood outside the unit's doors, taking deep breaths to make sure his emotions were under tight control. Only a few hours ago, he'd walked out feeling useless and angry. With his hand on the door fingers spread wide, his mind raced with emotions he thought buried years ago. Every time that he wished, the stupid blue box would just appear in the Hub and when it finally did ... Jack had to admit, he wasn't just angry with Hank, he was jealous.
How pathetic was that?
Spending time with Ianto had helped him past the fury. He no longer wanted to put a fist in Hank's mouth, but he wasn't quite ready to play nice with the man either. He took another deep breath, shook the cobwebs from his brain and shoved the feeling under a rock. He pushed the button and entered when the door buzzed open. The girl sitting behind the desk seemed the only staff around. Common sense told him otherwise. The sight of the girl dressed in a scrub shirt with Halloween characters and jeans brought a snort from Jack. The outfit made her look about twelve. Jack chuckled inwardly. He had shoes that were older. He flashed a smile at the monitor tech as he stuck his wrist up to show his orange wristband. She barely glanced up as she took a swallow of her soft drink and nodded.
"You must be Jack Harkness," she said as she put the bottle down. "Cass said you were coming back. Let me know if you need anything, just wave at the camera, I'll see ya'." She sounded disgustingly cheery for so early in the morning.
Jack just nodded as he walked to the room feeling a bit as if he were headed for execution. Shadows fell across the bed, giving the room a creepy look. Thete looked as fragile as the vase Ianto had given Gwen at last year's Christmas party. His chest sank in a bit with each laboured breath fogging his mask as he inhaled the medicated mist. Jack could hear him struggle from the doorway. Despite the oxygen, a clip monitor on his finger measured his oxygen level at just ninety-two percent. How he could be stable when he looked as bad as the night before.
"Had it rough," that's what Martha had said.
Rough, hell. Not only had they tied him down, but they'd left him in the dark. Dressings covered old IV sites. New IV's replaced the old. Jack's eyes traced the tubing from a large bag of irrigation fluid going.... Jack winced at where it was going. His heart rates were too fast, but at least they were regular. Jack sucked in an even deeper breath, pushing his boiling anger and the urge to yell at Martha away. Why hadn't she called and tell him that he'd obviously gotten worse?
Jack shifted his focus to the stranger sitting next to him, nursing a cup of coffee while trying to read the local paper with a penlight. They could have at least waited for him to show up before leaving him with a stranger. Jack swallowed hard when the man looked up and then rose to meet him.
"You must be Captain Harkness?" the stranger extended his hand.
Jack returned the handshake, "And you are?" Jack replied tersely.
"Mike Leland. I'm the State Trooper assigned to his protection detail during the day. My predecessor's wife went into labour, so I was called in. I like the kid, it wasn't a problem to come in early."
"Why's he tied down like that?" Jack forced a deep breath to remain calm.
"He got a little ambitious. Everybody thought he'd finally gone to sleep, so they stretched their legs. He decided to use the alone time to go fishing. He yanked his IV's and catheter out, pulled his leads off and climbed out the end of the bed. He almost made it to the door, before collapsing. I guess it was a mess. Cass said he barfed all over Hank and some guy named Rory."
"They weren't supposed to leave him alone." Jack snapped.
"I don't think he was alone for long. From what John said, it was a rough few hours. They needed to stretch."
"John, who's John?"
"My predecessor. He felt bad too."
"Martha should have called. I would have come back sooner." Jack's voice was borderline cold.
"Maybe, they thought you needed your own alone time. From what I heard, you were pretty wired."
Jack flashed a quick look of anger at the officer and then re-focused on Thete. "Yeah -- I suppose I was," he admitted.
Leland chuckled softly. "Anyway, I'm guessing, he thought that fishing sounded like a better idea than staying in this place, especially at three in the morning. When you're delirious, and you think people are out to get you, well you just don't want to hang around. I was tied down for three weeks after I was ambushed."
Jack paid little attention to the officer's rambling.
"They actually videoed his torture for their viewing pleasure." Jack's hate-filled voice was barely audible. "He was already gone by the time the locals took us on the raid of that hell hole. They had hours of videos of hurting him over and over. They'd planned..." He swallowed hard. The last thing he intended was unloading on a stranger. "Sorry, didn't mean to ...." Jack sucked in a lung full of air.
"Not a problem." Leland stood and stretched. "I'm going to top off the coffee, and then I'll be outside." Leland turned to face Jack, "Captain, from what I've been told, most of the people who did this are in jail, right?"
"Yeah, most of them, why?"
"From what I understand about Eastern European justice; it tends to be swift and one way. Not a lot of appeals. My advice to you -- focus on helping Thete get well, not plot revenge." The officer flashed a knowing smile as he left. "Just a thought," he called from the doorway.
Jack stared at the man, shook his head, and turned his attention to Thete. His own heart pounded as he walked up to the bed. For just a tick, he hesitated before leaning over to kiss Thete's bruised, damp forehead. "Sorry about the whole Rose thing. I've got your back, you silly sot -- always. Don't you dare give up. Besides, if you do, apparently, it means that River would get the TARDIS since she's the only one of us who can fly her. Imagine her, bouncing all around time and space, hey?"
He studied Thete's face. His eyebrows knitted together, his eyes quivered underneath his lids. His fingers tried to scrunch his sheet. He was dreaming.
Reaching out to his mind, Jack felt nothing, but fear and overwhelming pain. He caught glimpses of a whip singing through the air followed by a woman's maniacal laughter. Rhythmic moans and a child's screams echoed across Thete's mind. Jack jerked back from the start of a full-blown, fever-induced nightmare.
Jack took a breath and tried again. This time, he projected a picture of the Doctor alone in his TARDIS with the lights low, and soft music filling the ship. The ship floated in the vortex, calming the Doctor's jagged nerves. Slowly, the blackness gave way to a field where warm breezes tickled the tips of red grass. As soon as he was sure that the Doctor was at peace, Jack stepped back from his mind. He should never be able to reach inside his friend's mind. The fact that it was so easy scared Jack. His Time agency training didn't come close to equalling the Doctor's telepathic abilities. Between K'Nar and those bastards, they had caused so much damage.
When Jack opened his eyes, he was relieved to see Thete shifting to get comfortable. He reached over, untied the wrist restraint, and chuckled when he immediately curled on his right side and tucked his free hand up under his chin. He looked more like a Thete than the Doctor. Jack half expecting him to plop his thumb in his mouth.
"Is there a reason his hand is untied?"
Jack looked to see Cass standing in the door, carrying a bag of IV fluids. He winced under her withering glare. Not only did she look exhausted from a tough shift, but she also looked in a particularly foul mood. Her dark hair had come loose from her ponytail, and specks of dried blood spotted her scrubs Maybe -- tough shift was not the best description of an obviously lousy night.
Jack couldn't resist a cheeky grin. "Good morning. I figured as long as I'm here, he might as well look comfortable."
"We had him secured for a reason, Captain," she spoke brusquely. "It was to protect him. By untying his hand, you put him at risk, and I really don't appreciate that. You folks really aren't into asking permission before you do things, are you?" The young nurse stepped around him as she changed his fluids, and checked Thete.
"He's had a very rough night, and he needs to be protected from any more excursions." While she glared at Jack, silently daring him to intervene, she gently secured Thete's hand
"What will they do to the nurse who left him?" Still angry, Jack expected someone to be punished.
Cass turned back to face Jack open-mouthed. "Excuse me? I don't think I heard you correctly."
"She left him. What will they do to her?"
"First of all, I took care of him all night, and I didn't leave him. We had a patient code." Cass almost snarled the words, obviously struggling to keep her voice low. "Second, everyone, especially me, feels horrible for what happened. Last, but not least, it wasn't anyone's fault. Your friends and Hank needed to stretch and went for a cup of coffee -- in our lounge! Everyone thought he was asleep. He was delirious and chose to use the time to escape fuzzy creatures. It happens. Doctor Jones was here immediately, changed his meds and figured out why he was in trouble. No one -- left him! Don't you -- dare suggest that we would neglect him!"
Jack frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest -- I'm sorry. No one called me." Jack held his hands up defensively. "No one told me how bad he was." Jack wondered if this girl might somehow be related somehow to Donna Noble or worse Jackie Tyler. He half expected a resounding thwack across his cheek.
"Maybe? Maybe, they didn't call you because you threatened him, for whatever reason that you thought that was a good idea. We care about Thete a lot, Captain. He's very sick, and sick people sometimes do stupid things, even under constant monitoring. Now, I need to finish up for the shift."
Cass turned back to Thete's IV pump, drew a breath and then turned again. "I wasn't happy when Doctor Jones said you were coming back. If I had my way, you would not be allowed back on this unit. I didn't get a vote. Mrs Carson and the Munsons are exhausted," she said with a hard-edged professional tone. "You can stay if you behave; otherwise, I'll have Officer Leland take you for a cup of coffee until they can come back."
Jack tried to act properly chastised. "Yes ma'am," he answered simply. He'd still give Martha an earful, though.
It was almost seven when a proper parade of individuals started. First, the middle-aged woman who smiled and chatted as she gave Thete a breathing treatment. Other than a groan, Thete paid no attention. That worried Jack. Her scratchy voice and southern accent alone should have gotten some kind of response. When she stuck a catheter in his nose, Jack couldn't help his own reflexive gag. It didn't matter how many times he saw someone do that, it still looked nasty. Thete barely woke, and promptly went back to sleep when she finished.
By seven-thirty, he had been X-Rayed, had blood drawn and a needle stuck in his artery. Three different doctors, none of whom Jack recognised were in to check on him. In the few minutes that they were in, Jack learnt nothing. Thete never moved. Shortly after the last doctor, someone named Nevis left, a new nurse walked in carrying fresh linen and towels. Her blue scrubs barely hid the promise of a shapely figure. The lack of make-up and blonde, curly hair contained with just a clip made her look impossibly young, Jack jumped up to greet her. "Hi, I'm..."
"Hello, Captain Harkness," Abby greeted. "Cass told us about the cranky guy without a British accent during report."
"Yeah, well that encounter didn't go too well." Jack scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"So I heard. You should know; I expect you to behave while we give him a bath," she said with a warm smile.
"Yes, ma'am." Jack nodded. "I will do my best. How are his vital signs? He's still having a hard time breathing."
"His temp is down a bit, staying between 101 and 102 when you adjust for his differences. Doctor Jones left us a chart to follow his temp. His X-ray is actually a bit better. We will do an ultrasound this morning to check his abscess. When I left, I really was hoping he'd have a better night."
"Yeah, so did I. Why doesn't he wake up?"
"Part of it is his pain med. He had a dose of Morphine and Ativan about five. He's still having bad headaches and not coughing from his chest hurting. His whole body hurts. The rest is because of his fever."
"I know that Martha said his head injury wasn't that bad despite having his head slammed every time he said no, but he complained a lot about headaches last night. Why are they still so bad?"
Abby walked over to Thete. "Not every head injury shows on a CT scan, Captain. They can be normal in a mild head injury. The main symptom is still a headache. You add stress and sepsis; you have confusion and headaches."
Jack marvelled at her gentleness as she brushed damp hair back out of his eyes. "Thete, honey, can you wake up for me," Abby crooned.
Jack watched Thete turn toward Abby, like a bee to a flower. Even asleep, he reached for her hand. It was a relief for Jack when he saw Thete blink sleepily, and heard his raw husky voice. "Abby -- feel bad," he mumbled, oblivious to Jack.
"I know Hon, but your X-ray is better this morning. I'm going to give you a bath and get some sweat off of you. Your friend is here -- from England."
Thete turned his head, blinking at the strange face, "Don't know him, Abby," he muttered sleepily then closed his eyes.
Jack's heart sank. He wanted nothing more than to have some sign the Doctor knew his face. He sighed heavily as Abby shot him an apologetic look as she started his bath.
When a second nurse came to help Abby turn Thete over, Jack audibly gasped, unable to stop the profanity. He wasn't prepared to see the Doctor's back covered in deep, black bruises, and lacerations from his beatings. Deep, angry, red welts and cuts still covered the back of his thighs and bum. A night of delirium made them look sore and raw. Only sheer will power kept Thete upright while waiting for them to show up. Jack ran his hand through Thete's hair, noticing the missing patches for the first time. Someone trimmed his hair trying to make it look -- better. Jack sucked a lung full of air but couldn't stop his tears.
"Damn, Doc, what did you think you were doing going off by yourself? Why didn't you come get me? I swear to you, they'll pay. I will hunt them down and make sure they all pay."
Abby flashed Jack a smile of support. She finished his bath, changed the drainage pad under his bum and tried to make Thete as comfortable as possible. "If you need me for anything," Abby said as she finished straightening Thete's sheets, "just --"
"Wave at the camera," Jack finished for her. "I know."
"You can hit his call light, but the speaker is off. You'll just need to give us a minute. Captain," she said reassuringly."Thete survived the worst last night. His new antibiotics are working. I will be back in about thirty minutes for his next set of checks."
"Thanks, Abby."
True to her word, Jack looked up twenty-nine minutes later to see Abby come in with a new tech. This time they made him step out while they did an ultrasound. Jack stood in the doorway and watched as Thete mumbled in protest but otherwise continued to sleep.
Maybe, he'll slip into a healing coma. Jack hoped.
That wish died when it took Abby to hold his arm as he groaned and tried to pull away from the lab tech drawing more blood. Doctor Wilson came in at nine, listened to Thete's chest and chatted. He tried to reassure Jack that things were looking up. Jack liked Wilson: he was smart, professional and cared about the Doctor, but Jack decided that he would kick the next person that used those words. Every doctor that had stuck their head in, used those words, but Thete was still congested, still had a fever and still looked awful.
"Hi." a soft voice interrupted his reverie. "Doctor Wilson says he's better, but he still looks awful, don't you think?"
Jack looked up to see a young woman dressed in street clothes with an orange wristband standing in the doorway. She hesitated just a second before almost gliding toward the bed. Jack rose to greet the petite, graceful young woman. Her blue eyes sparkled with an inner joy that Jack rarely saw in another person. Her black hair hung in one long braid. For just a moment, Jack thought K'Nar had walked in the room. At the very least, this beautiful young woman looked enough like K'Nar to be her older sister.
"Hello." Jack greeted; unable even to be cheeky. "I'm..."
"Jack Harkness, I know. I'm Annie Gleeson. I talked to Sarah last night and again this morning. I promised I'd check on Thete before I went to work."
"Sorry for staring, but you look so much like someone we know."
"It's okay," Annie smiled as she walked over to the bed, "I know that I look like K'Nar. Thete thought that I was her when he first saw me. Sarah said that he was really sick during the night. She said Hank was still upset when he came home." She giggled slightly, "I hear you two had a bit of a dust up," she said without a trace of anger or resentment.
Jack just groaned at her comment. They must be the topic of gossip.
"I'm glad you could come in," she continued as she stroked Thete's forehead. "He doesn't do well if one of us isn't here."
Thete turned toward the sound of her voice, stirring just a little. "Annie?"
"Hey, Thete," Annie crooned. She sounded like a mom talking to a baby. "I came to give you, your quiz before I go to work. It's a toughie today."
"Not today. Don't feel good." The mask muffled his words.
"Ah, that's why we're doing it. We need to wake your brain up; get your juices flowing. Here, it is; what's baryonic matter?" Annie looked at Jack and grinned.
"That's not fair; I'm sick," Thete whinged.
"Come on, I bet -- you don't know the answer. I bet -- I beat you this time."
"It's dark matter whose presence can be inferred from its gravitational pull on visible matter. It includes non-luminous gas or very faint stars. Short answer, 'cos I'm sick."
Jack couldn't help chuckle. This must be the girl who hung the pictures on the wall.
"Good answer. I got that one from Wikipedia. What's 956x354?"
"338,424," Thete mumbled as sleep began to take him again.
Jack grinned at the young girl. "How often do you do that?" he asked quietly.
She kissed Thete's forehead. "We download four or five a day. It's a game now, but it did help remind him that he's smarter than all of us put together. Even Doctor Wilson didn't know any of this stuff. It's kind of interesting. The baryonic one didn't make a lot of sense."
"How did you get involved in all of this?"
"I was in the café with my baby waiting out the storm. All of a sudden Hank jumps up cussing and bolts out the door. We all look up to see this soaking wet guy pressed against the window, shaking so hard he barely could stand. When Hank and a couple of guys got him in, he kept begging to go to the Plass. When he heard my baby cry, he threatened to beat us all up, and then told us that we could take him back to hell if we just would leave her alone. We could do anything to him as long as no one hurt her."
She kept stroking Thete's head.
Jack smiled as she ran her fingers through Thete's hair sending him back into a deep sleep.
"I've never seen anyone so beat up and he kept worrying about Emily. I have to ask, Mr Harkness, what's the Plass?"
"It's a plaza that sits down on Cardiff Bay. Our offices are in a building called the Millennium Centre. It's where I live." Jack had to swallow hard to keep his voice calm. "He was trying to come home."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Annie looked up at him, "I didn't mean to upset you. He kept saying he wanted to go home, but he couldn't tell us where it was. Have you caught all the people who did this?"
"You didn't upset me. The slime that did this is another thing and no I haven't caught all of them, but I will. You keep massaging his head, he'll start purring." Jack chuckled again.
Annie took her hand off, laughing nervously. "He does kind of like it. Hank sings, Nan and Sarah mother, and I do scalp massages." She kissed his forehead again. "He's still warm, isn't he? You will make sure he comes back to visit us, won't you? He's like my long-lost, British cousin now."
Jack stood up and walked around to Annie and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "You're the first one to recognise we're taking him home. There is no way that he wouldn't come back to see you. I'm guessing; he'll figure a way to show you Britain. If he doesn't, I will. I'll even get a pushchair with Emily's name on it."
"What's a pushchair?"
"You know -- one of those stroller things you put a baby in."
"You guys really have weird names for things, don't you. Okay, I have to get to work." She kissed Thete's head one last time. "I'll be back at lunch to check on him. It was really nice to meet you, Mr Harkness. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why do you sound American?"
"I'm Canadian," he lied as he hugged her goodbye. For the first time, he didn't feel like the enemy. He liked Annie. He couldn't help wonder why she wasn't at university. She was too smart a girl to be stuck in a shop. That had happened to Rose. Why did such smart kids wind up in shops instead of a university?
Alone again, the only sound in the room was the monitors and Thete's breathing. Jack felt more like a worried parent than a friend. He found himself lost in watching Thete's chest rise and fall. At least his breathing was easier than when he arrived. If he stared long enough, maybe Thete would finally feel him and open his eyes. Jack was oblivious to the door opening and Sarah coming in. He jumped when she spoke, her southern accent as cultured as any Londoner.
"He isn't going anywhere, Captain."
Jack jumped, "Mrs Munson I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
"Years of teaching taught me to walk very quietly," she teased. "It was a long night for everyone; how are you doing today?"
"I'm fine; I'm not going to slug your husband if that's what you mean." Jack smiled tightly.
"I never thought that you would. Hank was wrong for not talking to us, but he feels responsible for Thete. That night in the ER when he thought he was going to be... Well, it nearly killed Hank. It was like seeing one of our boys lying there. When he flipped out again yesterday and then his heart stopped; it almost sent both Hank and Nan to their knees. Nan's son, Derek died in Afghanistan from a roadside bomb. She feels like God sent her another child. The thought of losing him is almost too much."
"I don't know what to say, Mrs Munson."
Sarah came around and laid a hand on Jack's arm. "I just wanted you to understand why they feel the way they do. Have you tried to wake him up yet?"
"Annie was here. Nice girl, by the way. She got him to wake up for a couple of minutes, then he was back out. I've just let him sleep. When he's awake, he doesn't recognise me."
Sarah chuckled, "He will -- sooner or later. You all need to give him time. Now, it's past noon. He needs to wake up a bit. He was exhausted, but we don't want him awake at midnight, do we?" Sarah crossed over to Thete's left side. "You know, he doesn't hear too well on the right. His right eardrum was ruptured. I knew that he would make it. Thete, Honey, it's time to wake up. You have company."
Thete rubbed the mask away from his face, wrinkled his nose, and shifted in the bed. Jack couldn't help chuckling when he licked his lower lip and scratched the top of his head. He looked kinda cute waking up. Sarah called him again, "Come on now, it's time to wake up."
Thete turned to the sound of her voice. "Sarah?"
"I've got some home-made broth that Doctor Wilson says you can try."
Jack grinned when he saw both green eyes blink and then stare at him in confusion. His expression made Jack's heart sing.
"Sarah, why's he here?"
"To visit, silly. Now, wake up and talk to him. I'll go heat your broth." Sarah ordered gently as she kissed Thete's head. She smiled and left Thete to remember his best friend.
For a few seconds, Thete stared at the man next to him. Still groggy, his eyebrows knitted in confusion at the sight of the stranger. "You're Jack? From Cardiff?" he asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I am. How are you feeling?" Jack kept his voice soft and calm.
Thete tried to look around, "Jack?"
"Yeah, that's me." Jack chuckled, hiding the heartbreak from the look of suspicion on Thete's face.
"Where's Hank?" Thete asked with his eyes locked on the door
"He took everybody home and put them to bed," he said hoping Thete didn't catch the bitter disappointment in his voice. "They were knackered. They'll all be back soon."
"Why are you sitting there?" He asked with uncertainty
"It's my turn to have bedside sitting duty." Jack swallowed a snort as Thete cocked one eyebrow up looking distinctly uncomfortable by his presence. Finally, Jack broke the silence with the most idiotic question he had ever asked. "So -- how are you feeling?"
"Tired, my head hurts, but I can breathe better, I think.
"Well, I guess that's progress."
"God, my head really does hurt." Thete pushed the palm of his hand first against one eye and then the other. "When's Hank and Nan coming back?"
"This afternoon. Do you want something? Should I get Abby?"
"No. Why are you here?" he asked again, still unsure of this stranger.
"I told you why."
"No, I mean, why are you here? I don't know you, why would you come?"
Jack dropped his head trying to hide his disappointment. "My friend went off by himself and got into trouble. I came because he's sick, and it scared me to death. Which for me, is really hard?" He looked back at Thete's questioning face "You are that friend."
"I don't remember you -- any of you: I tried. Sometimes, I feel like I've been blown apart."
"I know, but eventually it gets less scary."
"How would you know? You don't have a hole in your head."
"That's not true. A long time ago, I lost two years of my life that I've never gotten back. Yours will come back, eventually. But first, you just have to get well. When you're stronger, bits and pieces of memory will flash that, I will admit, is scary at first, but I promise -- eventually, it will come back."
"You sound like Mike; that's what he said."
"Sounds like a smart guy; let's start with something simple. What do you remember about last night?"
Already tired, Thete stared at his wall of pictures. "I remember you lot coming ... I remember the guy with the nose --"
"Rory." Jack filled in and tried not to laugh.
"Right, he helped me stand up when no one would listen." Thete hitched a breath. "I remember Abby trying to explain why I was so beat up, but then it got really hard to breathe, and then it gets all fuzzy again. Except for Rory. It was nice of him to listen. Actually, he's the last thing I remember from last night."
Jack felt Thete's rising anger and frustration. He remembered when he woke up with his own two years missing with nothing, but a headache. "Do you remember Amy or River?" he asked, hoping to distract him.
"Amy is the ginger; she said that I was her best friend. I don't remember ... Nan said you would know." Thete turned back to look at the man next to him. "So -- what the bloody hell happened to me, and how did I get here?"
***
K'Nar jerked awake just as she had most nights since coming home. She lay staring up at the images the family artisans carved in her ceiling before she'd moved from the nursery. For most of her short life, the images from her favourite stories brought comfort to her whenever nightmares invaded the night. But not anymore The images belonged to a child that no longer existed. Not after everything that had happened.
After what felt like an eternity, she sat up, drew her knees to her chest and shifted her gaze to the double doors leading to her balcony. Out there, the air would be cool, bordering on cold, but she would be able to see the stars. His stars. The healers and her parents had told her to stay in bed when she woke up during the night, but she couldn't. Lying in bed, cut her off from him. Out on the balcony, she could at least talk to him. She stood a chance that the breeze might carry her words to him. She finally tossed the coverlet back and headed for her lounger on the balcony. Sitting there, she could stare at the black, midnight sky. The largest of Vshak's three moons shone bright tonight; its light reflected back on the pond just outside the perimeter of the terrace. She'd heard him again, calling to her. Every night it was the same. He called to her in dreams. K'Nar are you safe, can you hear me? Run, K'Nar run.
She wanted to call back, I'm safe, my Lord. I have nowhere to run.