Show me the way home

Posted on Sun Dec 1st, 2019 @ 4:22am by Admiral Deela T'Lar & Captain Jack Solomon
Edited on on Sun Dec 8th, 2019 @ 11:28am

2,953 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 101 - Peace During War
Location: SB400 - Sickbay/Infirmary
Timeline: MD02 1800hrs

Sickbay

As the Biobed hummed away, recording and reporting on his vital signs, Jack Solomon lay on the bed, still and unmoving.

Dressed in patient fatigues, the Stations Chief Engineer lay on the bed in a comatose state after being caught in an explosion from a nearby control panel in Engineering during the recent Typhon Pact assault on the station.

Whilst his body lay motionless, his brain remained active, although showing minimal activity on the various monitors attached to the bed.

In his mind, Jack fought to stay alert and alive. He clung to the one thought in his mind that was giving him the drive to fight, to fight to stay alive.

"Deela"

He tried his best to call out her name as he felt his energy begin to fade. He was scared and he didn't want to be alone. He knew he had made a promise that he must keep and he was giving his all to keep fighting to stay alive to keep that promise.

"Deela!"

Feeling the fight he was putting up to stay in this world, begin to stutter...to struggle, Jack knew he needed her now more than ever and he did his best to channel his energy.

"DEELA!"

Jack lay there motionless to the outside world.

T'Lars Quarters

Deela was in her quarters, taking some time for herself. Brandon was playing a game with his sister Raivyn in the bedroom. She was meditating, trying to get her mindset in the proper state. She thought Brandon was calling her and meditating was not happening. She got up and went inti the room. "Hi mom. Are we being too loud?" He knew how well his mother's hearing was.

Deela shook her head, "No, I thought you called me. Sorry. Carry on."

Brandon looked at his sister and shrugged. They continued playing. Deela sat on the floor mat again and closed her eyes again just trying to clear her mind. She was just beginning to relax once more when she heard her name called. She got up and went back into Brandon's room. Brandon! do you really think that you are funny? I am trying to meditate and you keep interfering."

Brandon looked at her funny, "Mom! What are you talking about? We haven't been doing anything but playing a game. You said not to disturb you and I haven't." Raivyn nodded in agreement, "That's true mommy. We're being very quiet."

Deela was baffled. He would never lie to her because he knew that she'd know if he was. She sighed, "Sorry guys. I must be losing my mind. I thought I heard my name being called."

Deela walked out, still wondering what was going on. She decided that meditation wasn't going to happen. She laid down on the couch and put on some soft, soothing music. She relaxed once more, hoping that she would be able to resume her mediation. She felt her whole body begin to relax. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, her heart racing.

Deela got up and ran to Brandon's room again, "Brandon, I need to get to sickbay. Watch your sister. If you need anything, Alex is close by."

"I think I'm old enough to watch her. We'll be fine. Go see Jack." Brandon smiled at her, "Now go."

Sickbay

Deela left and immediately made her way to sickbay. She ran over to Jack to see if he was conscious. He wasn't. But now, something was different. She could tell that there was some sort of inner struggle going on with him. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. She took his hand and observed him, "Jack, I'm here. You can wake up now. Please wake up." She waited for some kind of physical response.

Jack was doing all he could to try and make sure that he kept some spark of life clear from his mind to make sure that he could reach out to Deela again. He was scared and feeling alone and the only person he felt he could reach out to was Deela.

He was about to try and reach out to her again when he suddenly felt a spark run through him, something that felt like a spark running through his body. He reached out once again and put as much energy as he could muster into his message.

"DEELA, I'M HERE!"

He couldn't feel any part of his body as he lay comatose on the bed, however his brain was remaining alert and he needed help to come back home. He was scared and he'd made Deela a promise that he intended to keep.

Deela could hear his voice in her head. She could tell that he was trying to reach out to her but then she started to wonder if this was her wanting him to reach out to her. She couldn't be sure. Her abilities had never been tested to the limit. Telepath and empath, she had the best of both words.

Deela moved closer to him and talked into his ear, "I'm here Jack and I love you so much. I know you are trying to get back to me but what is holding you back? I need you to fight whatever it is." She looked for some kind of response, anything.

Jack felt another spark flow through him suddenly. This time it felt different, this time it felt like it gave him something back. After his time of fighting to hold on, he felt as though some of his energy had returned if only a small amount.

He started to think and wonder if Deela had come to him, if she was there beside him, if she had heard his call. Could it be that she had found a way to hear him and come to his side?

Jack summoned up what energy he could gather as he lay there. He needed to get through to her, to somehow find a way to get her to help him come back. He never expected the explosion to cause him the injuries he'd suffered and he as scared of leaving Deela in this way and breaking his promise to her. He wasn't done yet and wasn't ready to leave this world.

He summoned up what he could.

"DEELA! I'M ALIVE!! I'M HERE!! HELP ME!!!"

After he called out to her in his mind, he felt a sudden shock run through him. Jack reacted on the biobed.

Jack reacted with a slight jerk. Deela felt this overwhelming feeling but it was one that she couldn't describe in words. She needed to delve into his mind but that would require a mind-meld. The last one she did, didn't go so well. She remembered what Dr. Hades told her and how she promised that she wouldn't do it without someone being there. She thought about doing it anyway and started to place her hands in the correct position but then pulled away and walked away.

Deela paced back and forth, scared what it might do to her or worse, to him. Jolting him out of an unconscious state could cause problems. She looked over at Jack, wanting to go to him but her fear was stopping her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she struggled with what to do. It was like an old fashion cartoon playing in her head. Hades was on one shoulder telling her that 'this is a bad idea' and on her other shoulder, Deela facsimile, telling her to 'bring him back'. What was she going to do?

Jack laid there drained. He hadn't realised how much this last try had taken out of him and he was scared once again. He was trying to call out to Deela again, however, each time he tried nothing happened. After his third attempt, Jack started to try and relax.

He was taxing himself too much in this state and he knew that without the help of others, he now may well lose this fight and that wasn't an option. As his body lay still on the biobed, all he could do was try to see what energy he could regain for one last try.

He'd made a promise to Deela, to the woman he loved, to the woman he'd asked to marry him. He wasn't ready to leave this world yet, he couldn't leave her now. Even worse, if he did lose this fight, there were the children to consider. He couldn't let so many people down and he refused to let so many people down.

In the darkness of his mind, he heard a familiar. A voice he'd not heard in many many years since he was back on Korriban. He heard the voice of his best friend Luke Walker.

"Solomon, you're a Starfleet officer. And a damn fine one too. Now, get off your arse and get the job done!"

Jack felt another sudden shock run through him, a larger one this time and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he felt pain.

Deela looked over at Jack again. Something was telling her to go back to him. "Sorry Dr. Hades, I have to do what is best and if it saves him, then it was worth it." She looked around to see if anyone was around. They had already checked on him and wasn't due for another hour.

Deela pushed the chair away from the bed and she stood over Jack and placed her hands on his face once she put herself in the proper state of mind. He was unconscious so uttering the usual words would not help. She would have to delve deeply into his mind. She was struggling, trying to get through his subconscious mind. Five minutes had passed as she pushed her mind into his to connect with him. It was already draining her.

Jack was trying everything he could to reach out to Deela. He needed to find a way out of this. He needed to be awake and alive with her and he knew he was losing fast to the light that kept tempting him away. He needed to show her that he was there and that he wanted to come out of this scary and terrifying state.

For minutes, he tried to find a way to reach out to her, he tried to figure out a way. He was using up what energy he had and each time he kept slipping away

He was about to reach out again when he felt a new sensation. He looked towards the light that was growing ever brighter and brighter and he began to feel a pull towards it. He stared at the light and suddenly realised that he wasn't leaving.

He saw Deela before him in his mind and he smiled.

"Deela?" he asked as she seemed to appear before him. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it is me. I have missed you. You have to come back to me. I need you, we need you." Meaning her and the kids. She pleaded with him, "You made a promise to me and you cannot break it." She tried to get through to him how much she loved him.

Jack looked back at her and, for what felt like the first time, smiled. "You came for me. I've been so scared... I've been so scared that I broke my promise to you and the kids..." he admitted.

He looked into her eyes as if a Paradise had been revealed before him and was waiting for him. "I didn't know that the panel would explode... I didn't know that this was going to happen. I broke my promise to you and the kids and I'm scared that you...they...all of you won't forgive me," he said.

"I don't want you to hate me for what happened, it was something out of my control."

He kept looking into her eyes. He suddenly was picking up on the fact of how much he had missed her and then suddenly wondered a burning question. The two of them were in the same place... in his mind.

"Wait... how are you doing this? how are you getting through to me?" he asked, concerned.

Deela hesitated for a moment, "Mind meld. I'm sorry Jack. It was the only way to get through to you. And we don't hate you. That is why they are called accidents. Forget about it. Just come back to me." Deela was getting exhausted and didn't know how long she could keep this up.

Jack looked at Deela and felt a tear run down his face. He now realised what she had done to reach him and to get through to him. "You mind-melded with me? Deela that's so dangerous..." he began. Then the realisation hit him. The kids, Deela, everything that had happened before the attack on the station and now he was lying here, with his beloved using up all of her effort, her energy to reach him.

"Bring me home. I'm so sorry... please, show me the way home. I want to come back now... I don't want to be here anymore," he admitted to her. He looked into her eyes.

"Show me the way home beloved. Please. I want to come back now. I can't leave you alone anymore. I can't leave you and the kids alone any longer."

He reached out in his mind and touched her face. At the same time, a jolt moved through him. On the Biobed, Jacks had moved to take hold of Deel's arm with a firm grip.

On the verge of total exhaustion, she used the last of her mental strength and took his hand, "You will be okay. This way." She pulled him along with her. But right before she could get his mind back to reality, she lost her grip at the last minute. Then everything went dark. She showed him the way but it was up to Jack now to find the door .

On the Biobed in Sickbay, Jack was motionless as his eyes fluttered for a moment before opening. He blinked several times as his eyesight began to re-adjust to the lighting in the room and that fact that they had been closed for the past several days.

He began to sense feeling begin to return throughout his body as he laid there. He could hear the Biobed alarms starting to playout as they confirmed he'd regained consciousness again. He allowed his eyes to begin to focus again as his senses returned.

What he couldn't explain was the sudden uncomfortable weight he felt upon him. Jack started to move his head slowly, having been laid still for so long. Once he was able to move, he looked down to see Deela slumped upon him. Shock began to flow through his body as he realised that she had mind melded with him to bring him back.

"Oh god no... Deela... Deela!" He said as he tried to shake her or move her. With his voice croaky and dry, Jack kept trying to both call her name and call for help.

"Someone, anyone, please... Help us!" He called out as best he could. Tears began to run down his cheeks. Jack had fought so hard to get back from his state only to find his love slumped and unconscious before him.

Deela began to stir. She could hear the loud noises around her. She tried to move but her body felt like rubber. A nurse ran in. The scene she walked in on might have been funny if it wasn't for a comatose patient waking up and the second in command on top of him, "Lt. Commander Solomon, you're awake! What the heck is going on here?"

Jack blinked his eyes again as he focused on the Nurse now talking to him. Then he tried to point to Deela. "She saved me. You have to help her... She saved me.." he kept saying to the Hurse.

The nurse ran back and got some help. They all came back and put Deela in another biobed. The nurse looked worried, "Dr. Hades is going to be upset." She went back over to Jack and examined him, "Vitals are good. Headaches? Body aches? Anything?"

Jack smiled for a moment. "I feel a little stiff and I could really do with a glass of water, otherwise I'll be fine. Please, look after Deela, she saved me," he pleaded.

Deela opened her eyes and looked over at Jack. She weakly smiled at him, "You found your way back." Wincing, she put her hand on her forehead. She was the one with a massive headache. The nurse ran over and checked on Deela, giving her something for her headache.

Jack turned his head to see her laying in the bed next to him. He smiled again. "You showed me the way home. You saved me," he said. "You heard me and you came for me... I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Let's hope you never have to find out." She closed her eyes, "Right now, nurse, go away. Just give me 10 minutes to rest."

The nurse exhaled, "I'm going to have to report this to Dr. Hades." She left in a huff.

Deela didn't care what the nurse did. She just wanted to rest her mind.

Jack smiled as he laid his head back down. He felt a new lease of life surround him and he felt even closer to Deela now. It was a new day & he couldn't wait to spend time with both her and the kids again...before returning to duty.

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