Saving the Ambassador (Part 2)

Posted on 19 Dec 2021 @ 10:09pm by Cadet Senior Grade Jody Scott & Lieutenant Mikail Kolmak

1,395 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Empty Creche
Location: Sickbay, USS Redemption
Timeline: ED2 0800

ON:

The Ambassador was hanging on to whatever dear life he had left, with his vital displays showing unfavourable results. Doctor Kolmak was hopeful that the hardworking technician would get the alien blood to him as soon as the centrifuge completes the separation of protein properties and DNA to prevent the antigens from attacking once the blood is infused into Sutherland's body. Mikail did not like death to beat him first. He tried to prevent the grim reaper from appearing anywhere near his patients. Time is the enemy.

He was also concerned about the Cadet Scott’s well-being with sleep and stress.

Nearby, Jody began to stir in the bed Dr Kolmak had allowed him to sleep in so that he could be close to Daniel. His sleep had not been perfect; he had woken up several times in the six-or-so hours that had passed since his conversation with the doctor. As his eyes opened, he noticed that the lighting in the intensive care unit had increased in luminosity so that it is was in-keeping with shipboard daytime standard, unlike the gloomy atmosphere of the preceding night shift. He raised a hand to his unkempt short, brown hair and ran his fingers through it to try and make himself more presentable. Once he was content, he pushed himself into a seated position and took a moment to come to full consciousness.

Seeing the Cadet was waking up, Mikail smiled as he approached him. "We are starting the treatment, cadet, and giving him the special blood. It will take some time to see any changes. How was your sleep?"

"It could have been better," he replied as he slid off the bed onto his feet. His eyes were directed towards Daniel as he tugged down on his grey and black uniform tunic to smooth out the creases. "Thank you for the use of the bed, by the way."

"Not a problem. Now is the time to wait for results on the Ambassador. I would suggest you get some food," Mikail said, continuing to glance at the monitors on the wall.

The thought of food made Jody's stomach grumble, reminding the cadet that he hadn't had anything to eat in nearly twenty-four hours. Despite hunger-pangs, however, he decided to spend at least a few minutes with Daniel before he left sickbay. Jody stepped past the doctor and approached Daniel's bed, looking down at the ambassador who remained peacefully asleep. He resisted the urge to take Dan's hand in his own, feeling uncomfortable doing so in the presence of Doctor Kolmak; this was for no reason other than Jody's dislike of publicly showing affection.

"When," the cadet started to say, glancing over his shoulder to Kolmak, "do you think we might start seeing some results?"

Mikail glanced at him. "Soon, I hope. I would say within four to six hours or maybe less. Skipping meals is a very bad thing to do for the body and I don't care of your youth can handle it. Go eat, that's an order," he paused to put away a padd that was left out on a nearby tray. "I will call if something changes, okay?"

"I could just grab something from the replicator here in sickbay," Jody said, pointing at the device recessed into the wall beside Doctor Afton's office, "and sit with Dan. I just don't want to leave him until I know he is going to be okay."

"Okay," the doctor said. "There will be a nurse in here to monitor him from time to time. I will be in and out as I have other patients to attend to." The thought of food made his stomach rumble. He remembered that it has been a while since he last ate. Mikail didn't want to spend too much time eating so he grabbed a bagel with cream cheese and an apple from the replicator.

Two hours went by as Jody slowly picked his way through a tuna and avocado salad that Doctor Kolmak kindly replicated for him. The cadet forced himself to eat as much of the meal as he could, fearful that Kolmak might return and force him to leave sickbay to get a proper meal elsewhere on the ship. As Jody wasn't in the mood to mingle with his fellow officers he made do with the salad as he sat at Dan's bedside, patiently waiting for any small sign that the doctor's new treatment was working to cure the ambassador.

And then it came.

Jody had almost drifted off to sleep when he caught, out of the corner of his eye, the slightest flicker in Dan's left hand. It was a 'blink and you will miss it' kind of moment, but Jody had seen his hand move. Not quite sure what to do, he immediately called out for help: "Doctor Kolmak," he shouted, knowing that the acting chief medical officer was not too far away.

Mikail came running into the ICU and went straight to the patient. "What did you see, Cadet?" He glanced at the monitor to read the vitals and was surprised at the changes, which showed a slight improvement. He lifted the Ambassador's eyelid to see if the dilated pupils have returned to a normal size just as a nurse came into the room to assist.

"I," Jody said, excitedly, "saw his hand move. Ever so slightly." He pointed at Daniel's left hand.

The doctor slipped his left hand into the Ambassador's and leaned over, putting his face close to his head. "I'm Doctor Mikail Kolmak," he raised his voice. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

At first there was nothing; Jody watched as Kolmak attempted to elicit a response from Daniel. The ambassador's hand didn't move again, despite Kolmak waiting patiently for a few minutes to give him time to respond. Jody was furious with himself, doubt setting in that he had even seen Dan's hand move in the first place. Refusing to give up, Jody indicated to the doctor that he wanted to approach the bio-bed and try for himself.

"Maybe you should give it a try with your voice, as he will recognise you instead of me," he removed his hand and backed away to give some space for Scott to try.

"Uhm, okay," Jody said with more than a little hesitation in his voice. He approached the side of the bio-bed and gently rested his hand on top of Daniel's. Without giving it much thought, he started to speak to him. "Dan, I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I have to believe that you can. I need you to wake up. Do you hear me? I can't," he paused, aware that the doctor was listening in to their conversation but chose to say what he needed to say anyway. "I can't do this anymore without you. So, you see, you have to wake up."

Mikail kept anything he hears to be a patient confidentiality as he monitored the vitals.

Jody felt Dan's hand beneath him twitch. The cadet immediate turned his head to face Kolmak's. "Doctor?" he said with excitement in his eyes.

"Looks like it is working," the Russian doctor said, keeping his eyes on the monitor. "Keep talking to him. Looks promising," he said, not having high hopes yet until the patient fully recovers.

"Dan," Jody said once again, louder than the last time he had spoken his name. He allowed a few moments for the ambassador to respond, but this time there was none. Jody's heart sank as he considered the possibility that Dan's movements were autonomic, rather than a reaction to his presence. His hope had all but evaporated when, without warning, the cadet sensed another presence in the room with him. "Daniel?" he asked this time.

Dan's eyes fluttered for a moment.

"It definitely looks promising," the doctor smiled. He picked up a hypospray and injected medication to boost his energy. Coma patients tend to lose a lot of nutrients."

"J... Jody," muttered the previously comatose Ambassador. Daniel's eyes did not open, but his lips quivered as he repeated the cadet's name. "Jody?"

"I'm here," Jody replied excitedly. He squeezed Dan's hand to make it clear he was there by his side. Without thinking Jody then leaned into the Ambassador and pressed his lips gently against Dan’s. “Welcome back.”

OFF.

 

RSS Feed