(I’ll Follow You) Into the Dark
Chapter 3
Lexa was prowling
restlessly outside Sickbay when Anya walked up.
At the sight of the Captain, she stopped pacing and inclined her chin in
greeting. “Captain.”“Lieutenant. What can you tell me?”
“We had a stroke of good
fortune in rescuing the Arkadia’s
medical officer, Dr. Griffin. As
instructed, I avoided mentioning where and when we are, but I believe Clarke—Dr. Griffin—was aware that I was keeping
her in the dark.” Lexa’s cheeks colored
at the inadvertent use of the doctor’s name.
“She didn’t tell me much, but whether she couldn’t or wouldn’t is hard to say. She might just be in shock from the attack,
or she might be being deliberately tight-lipped.” Given the mutinous set of Clarke’s—the doctor’s—jaw (why did she keep making that mistake?), Lexa would have put money
on the latter, but she knew that she couldn’t base her report to her Captain on
the suspicious glint in a pair of blue eyes. “She wasn’t happy that I insisted she be
transported to the Polis for
evaluation, she wanted to get right to work treating her crew. She’s feisty,” Lexa remarked, not quite able
to control the twitch at the corner of her lips or keep the note of admiration
from her voice. “I didn’t want to leave
her in sickbay unattended for fear she might try to beam back to the Arkadia.”Anya studied her
subordinate thoughtfully, but her expression gave nothing away. “Dr. Douglas says Captain Kane should be
awake soon, too. Let’s see what they
have to say.” She walked briskly into sickbay.Lexa fell into step behind
her. She felt strangely off-kilter and
found herself wishing she’d had a chance to freshen up before she came
face-to-face with the Arkadia’s
doctor again. She’d tucked her flyaway
hair back into its neat bun, and she’d taken a moment to wipe the dirt off her
face. But her maroon-and-black jumpsuit
was stained with dirt and sweat and grease, and she was sure she probably smelled. She snuck a surreptitious sniff of herself,
gratified that at least she didn’t detect any overtly rank odor. It didn’t occur to her to consider why she
wanted to look presentable for the good doctor, yet her appearance when
briefing her own Captain hadn’t crossed her mind.Sickbay was a hive of
activity. With the Arkadia’s crew receiving treatment, it was far busier than
usual. Nearly every bed was full, and
nurses and orderlies bustled to and fro with hyposprays and tricorders at the
ready.Nyko met them just inside
the door. “Captain, I’m glad you’re
here.” He motioned for them to follow
him over to one of the beds. “Captain
Kane is out of surgery and regaining consciousness. He’s been asking for you. Well, for the Captain,” he amended.Captain Kane lay
half-propped in his bed. His eyes were
closed and there were dark circles under them, but Lexa was relieved to see
that his color looked far better than when she’d seen him on the Arkadia.
She spared him only a cursory glance, though, because Dr. Griffin was
standing at the foot of the bed paging through the patient’s chart on a
padd. Since Lexa had escorted her to Sickbay,
she’d corralled her disheveled hair back with two tiny braids. Her head wound was dressed with a neat
bandage. Her uniform was still a
shredded mess, but she’d scrubbed the grime from her face and hands, and Lexa
realized that her first impression had been all too accurate: Clarke was
stunning. Despite the Captain at her
elbow and the whirl of controlled chaos all around her, Lexa found it difficult
to focus on anyone else. She unconsciously
straightened her posture.
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