Day After Day

          “What if Jon doesn’t wake up?”

          “He will. He’s tough and Phlox is tenacious. They’re not going to let a few scrapes and bruises bring them down.”

          “Captain, he has internal injuries, broken ribs, a concussion and a cerebral hematoma.”

          “And I’ve seen worse.”

         “I’m pregnant, Captain, again.” They looked at each steadfastly. Mitchell closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

          “Is that good news or bad news?”

           “It’s private news. Very private news,” she emphasized. “You’re the only one I’ve told. And it’s going to stay private news until he wakes up. Or, until I can’t keep it private anymore.”

            “So…when?”

            “February.”

            “I’m considering it good news, despite the fact that I’m going to lose my medical officer.” He got up from the table, made his way around to her side, leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. Then he laughed. “He found a way to steal you back. Congratulations.” The intercom beeped.

            “Phlox to Captain Mitchell.” He pressed the com button.

            “Mitchell.”

            “Would you come to sick bay, Captain?” Mitchell and Riaan looked at each other, then at the intercom, as if perhaps they could glean some information from the grey metal screen.

            “Riaan’s here with me.”

            “Why don’t you both come?”

            They arrived in sick bay side by side. Phlox greeted them before they were 3 meters in the door.

            “We’re done,” he said to them, nodding at Lieutenant Tanner.

            “And?” Riaan asked.

            “Mostly good. No problems with anesthesia, respiration, organ functions. Some bad, I’m afraid. Come with me,” he asked, leading the two into the recovery bay. The captain stood back a bit, and Riaan got as close as possible, taking a good look at Jon. His color looked normal, he was breathing without assistance. He was in a partial body wrap to hold his ribs still for a while; his hair was significantly shorter and a similar bandage to what she’d applied was in place around the surgery site. Phlox had placed monitors on both temples that relayed brain waves to the monitor for a visual record. She noticed he was still wearing a delta wave generator.

            “Delta waves?” Riaan asked.

            “I want to keep him asleep for a few days. The occipital lobe has some edema; I’d like to see it normalize before he starts to use it again. The rest of his body is healing as expected. It will be a few days more. I want to keep the rib-wrap on for at least five days, maybe seven.” The captain stepped up on the other side of his bed, putting his hand on Archer’s arm.

            “The bad news?” the captain asked quietly. Phlox hesitated, glancing from Riaan to Mitchell and back to Riaan. He took a deep breath and looked at the monitor as if speaking to it.

            “I can’t guarantee the admiral’s eyesight will return, ever. There was a tear in the meninges that allowed some movement in the brain case, pulling against the one of the cranial nerves. It was damaged. Nerves are funny things. They don’t always do what other cells do. I harvested a few stem cells from the admiral’s bone marrow and implanted them at the damaged site. Sometimes they take, sometimes they don’t.” He turned back to the officers, changed the image on the view screen, and tapped a button to place a circle on the area he spoke about.

            “When will we know?” Captain Mitchell asked. 

            “Doctor,” Phlox said quietly to Riaan, “you don’t need to stay here.”

            “Of course I do.” She flipped the covers on her cot next to Jonathan’s bed, getting ready for another night.

            “I want you to take a break. When was the last time you saw Ariannaa or Brannigaan for more than 5 minutes?”

            “He should have come out of it by now. Something’s wrong. I can’t leave now.”

            “I told you, and you know that neural tissue does what it wants to. It’s not like a muscle or a bone. It’s unpredictable. He will wake up when he wakes up.”

            “Two weeks. We’re closer to eta Carinae than when the accident happened.”

            “I can’t do anything more. As long as there is brain activity, and there’s plenty of that, it’s just a waiting game. Now let me watch the monitors. And I think it’s time you bring Ariannaa to see him in the morning. She can understand well enough.”

Riaan looked down at Jon, appearing for all intents and purposes, simply asleep. Dr Phlox had removed the delta wave generator, the bandages, and he simply slept, day after day. She nodded at Phlox, and reluctantly left sick bay. She stopped in the mess, got a cup of herbal tea, a piece of chocolate cake, and then took it to her quarters. Ariannaa was asleep in her bed, and Brannigaan on the divan. She finished the cake, then the tea, and found that the pairing was a perfect inducement to sleep.

            Eleven hours passed before she finally awoke. She quickly gathered up Ariannaa and met Brannigaan in the mess for breakfast. It had been a long time since they’d eaten together and had a chance to laugh.

            “Annaa, we’re going to see Papa today. You too, Branni.”