Sholan Alliance - AU Bk. 02 Ch. 04

Z'Marl laughed at her as she opened the door to the showers. "Come on silly and get undressed. The showers are really nice." She swished her way into the bathing area and water could already be heard. "Hey Crystal Dani should be in momentarily."

When Dani walked in Kingie was working on Crystal's hair and she had her eyes closed and an expression of contentment. "I feel really odd doing this since there is a boy in here. At school the showers were only for either the males or females."

Crystal actually snickered a bit before stepping out and walking out of the shower. She looked at Dani who was just outside the shower door. "If I don't mind Kingie being in here you don't have anything to worry about. He is a really good person." She looked down for a moment. "He has adopted me as one of his little sisters. That was about the only thing that kept me from losing it."

She turned and walked back in and Dani barely managed not to gasp when she saw Chrystal's back. There were trace marks of whips, burns, gashes, and other marks she couldn't identify. If Crystal could do it then Dani could as well. She slowly walked in and turned away from Kingie before stripping and stepping into the shower. She was on the other side of Z'Marl so she had a bit of privacy.

Z'Marl turned so she was facing her and smiled. "Turn and let me get your hair Dani." She started working on Dani's hair and was taking her time. "I can feel your tension. I know much of it is related to your father. I am sure he is going to be okay and later I can give you a good massage to help you relax."

Dani slowly relaxed as Z'Marl worked on her hair and it was obvious she had a good idea of what she was doing. When she mentioned her father she tensed some but managed to keep the tears from flowing. "If you wouldn't mind I would really appreciate it. I am sure you are probably tense as well and maybe I can return the favor." As Z'Marl started working down her back Dani leaned against the wall and groaned slightly. "That does feel good."

Eventually they were done showering and found some tabards for them. For the humans they had covered sides so nothing showed. Dani pulled one on and had to be shown how to seal it. She had to go and look in the mirror and couldn't help but smile. "Well I have to admit it doesn't look to bad on me."

Z'Marl snorted. "Good hell, we might need a few warriors to keep the admirers away." She curled an arm through one of Dani's and they headed across the hall for dinner. When they walked in Z'Marl inhaled but didn't say anything. She simply drew Dani to the table and settled down next to her. "Oh my the Commander isn't holding back."

All of them sat around and ate the food till they were stuffed. Sally was leaned back against Vangie and groaned. "I think I ate too much but goodness that was good." She burped a bit and took another sip of wine. "I have a feeling I am going to sleep like a log tonight." Sally yawned much to everyone's amusement.

Vangie leaned over and mock whispered in her ear. "Not before I am done with you. I am going to carry you in to our room and ravish you and then you can sleep." Just for good measure he purred in her ear before speaking again. "I really prefer my partners to be awake when I ravish them you know." When she turned really pink he simply gave her a low laugh and licked the ear.

They talked for a while longer and there was a definite sense of relief for being here. All of them felt that now that they were aboard the Mother Ship Billy would be fine even if it took some time. There was some sadness for the warriors who had been lost protecting them. Everyone had decided to write some sort of note to the families though they would probably end up being sent to Shola on the Sandi. Eventually they all split up and went to the various rooms assigned.

~~~

The four of them went to the other suite and all had to stop and inhale. Z'Marl shook her head. "The Commander is definitely taking good care of us. This is from the senior officers mess and some of the best food on the ship."

Sally had to smile at Z'Marl's comment since it was a darn good breakfast and she was enjoying it a great deal. "Morning Dani and the surgeon decided to come down and talk to us." She did smile but it was strained since dealing with doctors like this was hard. "He wants to discuss some options on how to treat Pappa. He seems to think there are some viable options for getting the worst damage repaired."

The male gave both an affirmative nod. "I do. It took some time to get the scans I needed due to the cryo chamber but I do have a few options." He refilled his cup before speaking again. "One option would be to simply leave them in cryo and forward them to Shola. The next option is to do the critical repairs here and the sending him back to Shola for the final repairs. That would require the use of the cryo chambers again since healing would continue if he was awake. The last option would be to do all of the repairs here and send him back to Shola for rehabilitation."

He took a sip of his drink and shrugged slightly. "None of the options are better or worse than the others. It is simply a case of what you wish to do. I would have to say the last option would be the last I would recommend. I feel that it would be better for him to do most of his reconstruction and rehabilitation planet side. It usually is considered more therapeutic to be planet side. It gives them the sun and green plants and other things to do." He finished talking and waited for questions.

The two girls looked at each other and Sally leaned into Vangie and Z'Marl curled an arm around Dani. Both were looking at each other and there was a blend of hope and fear in their eyes and expressions. Sally finally spoke. "I think pappa would prefer to do the initial treatment here and then get sent to Shola for anything else."

She closed her eyes and struggled to keep her fears in control. "I think he would like to get as much done of the important work done. The work needed to keep him alive that is. I know he is in cryo but I know that as deep down as he is he is also missing and longing for Tasha. I know that doesn't make sense but I can feel it." She looked at Dani and got a slight nod. "Wake both of them and do what you need to."

Dani nodded as well though she didn't say anything and leaned into Z'Marl's hug. She closed her eyes and leaned into her shoulder and as hard as she tried not to the tears started flowing. Yes she might act mature but she was still barely out of the house and the idea of losing her father scared the daylights out of her.

The surgeon stood up and nodded before leaving the room. He had work to do and bothering to deal with all the emotions could wait. He headed straight for medical and assembled his team. "Ladies and gentleman this is going to be complex and difficult. What we are going to do is..." He started explaining the procedure he was planning. It took some time and his staff tossed possibilities around before he finalized what they were going to do.

"Okay get the cryo chambers ready to be opened. Before they are opened I want premedication applied." He started calling out orders as the chambers were brought into the room. He knew that they were leska's and it was definitely not a good idea to have one awake while the other was in cryo. Satasha would have to remain in the same room as Captain Madlax while he was revived and operated on.

The operating room was a hive of activity as the chambers were brought in and the meds were started. As soon as both were at the end of the resus cycle the teams really started moving. Satasha had been moved to a floater off to one side of the room while Billy was moved to the actual surgical table.

All the others were gathered in the suite that Billy and Tasha had been assigned and were being very quiet. Time seemed to drag and all they could do was wait. Both Sally and Dani were virtually silent during the wait. Sally simply curled up in Vangies lap and Sandi and Jenna had Dani between them and was giving her all the comfort they could.

Eventually there was an alert from the door and everyone started since it was way too early for the surgeon to have finished. That was unless there was bad news. Both girls clutched at the ones holding them while Kingie went to the door. His body posture showed startlement. "Good morning Father. Please come in."

He moved back and Sally was slightly startled as well since it was the priest of Vartra who had married her father and Satasha. She stood up and moved over and gently grasped his arms and leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against his. "Please Father come in. Have a seat and would you like something to drink?"

Nordan returned the nuzzle before he let her lead him over to the table. "A c'shar would be greatly appreciated and thank you." He had a gentle smile on his face. "I came when I heard what had happened to your father. I have sent a prayer to Vartra for his recovery and speedy healing." He took the cup of c'shar handed him and took a sip.

"I was really hoping to see them again but not this way. I understand they are now Leska's? They are blessed by Vartra. To have two different species be so compatible is truly astounding." One or two of the lay brothers had been blessed with God Dreams but they were vague. With many they were hard to understand except when you looked back. Then what they meant seemed to jump out at you.

Sally settled into Vangie's arms again and relaxed with her head tucked into his neck. "They were getting along very well till all this crap happened. The two of them were greatly enjoying the company of each other." She made a face. "Almost reminded me of high school and all the cuddling and stuff. I felt like I was the only adult there." When Vangie gave his slow laugh she smiled a bit and leaned a bit more into him.

Dani sighed. "At least you knew what was going on. I was greeted with a hug and a 'love you Dani' mixed in with 'oh, this is Tasha my mate'." Sandi grinned at her and gave her a good squeeze. Dani shook her head. "I barely know Satasha and am just learning to know Vangie and Kingie. I got dropped in the deep end and then Daddy got shot." She closed her eyes and shuddered at that.

Nordan reached over and lightly stroked her cheek. "What little I felt of your father is he is a fighter. He didn't try and hide his relationship with Lt. Verzilon and stood up for both her and what was developing between them. You have a very strong father and I am sure Vartra will help them."

They talked a while longer before the priest left the suite and they were finally comm'd about what was happening. It was one of the assistants that called. "Good afternoon and I just wanted to update you. Captain Madlax appears to be handling the procedure well. We have his lung repaired, we had to do a venous graft on his sub-clavian artery and repair or remove pieces of his ribs. We are almost done but it is going to be two to three more hours before you can see him."

Vangie took the message and nodded. "We understand but as soon as it gets even close to their seeing Yilly and Satasha please contact us. We will come up and sit in the waiting room so we are there when they come out of the meds." He knew that Satasha was going to be sedated as well since the last thing they needed was her reacting to Billy's pain. Once he had gotten a confirmation he hung up and settled back where he had been. Sally had finally fallen asleep and he wasn't going to wake her for the moment.

~~~

The last thing he remembered was the pain and agony of being shot. He knew that he had managed to get Vangie and Sally out of the way but why was he still here? Billy knew that even if they had a mobile crash unit on hand the chances of saving him was close to zero. As he slowly rose to some sort of consciousness he could feel the pain. It was being kept away by the fog of the meds but it was there just waiting.

When he did finally fully wake he groggily looked around and found that they were back in the isolation room. Next to him was warmth and silky fur and he kind of smiled. He could feel her in his mind though it was mostly a fuzzy sensation. She was curled up on his left side and had one arm across his waist. Tasha's tail was curled around one leg. In the background he could hear beeping and knew he had at least three tubes in him if not more.

When he tried to move he simply couldn't. Something seemed to be tying him down to the bed but he just couldn't gather enough energy to care at the moment. He was just floating in a sea of lassitude. Having Satasha touching him did seem to calm him and sooth some of the pain he was feeling. As he was lying there he heard the door open and slowly opened his eyes. Sally and Dani slowly walked in and he tried to smile. "Hysh girls. Shooting gets stchucks."

For some reason that made him almost want to giggle. "Darsh it, can't talk." He licked his lips for a moment. "Love you." He could feel Satasha starting to move and he smiled and yawned. "Talsh later." He slowly fell back into the welcome pit of darkness where he didn't feel the pain but only the warm fuzzy of Satasha in his mind.

Both girls couldn't help but smile somewhat. "Oh man I wish I could have recorded that. I would have played it for Daddy later." Dani had to shake her head when she said that. "I would ask what good drugs he is on but that wouldn't mean much to me." She didn't want to chance hurting her father so she settled down next to Satasha.

She really didn't know what to say to her at the moment and settled for simply holding Satasha's hand. Satasha seemed to be rather out of it as well since she also yawned and gave her a sleepy smile.

Sally had to smile as well and settled in a chair and stroked Satasha's ears. "Take good care of him and try to keep him from fretting. He really doesn't like hospitals or being tied down in one." Hell he hated anything that would keep him from doing what he felt was his job.

Satasha gave Dani's hand a light squeeze and leaned into Sally's stroking. "I will even if I have to sit on him." Since she was holding Dani's hand she could tell how tired and stressed she was. The bed was more than large enough so she gently tugged Dani's hand till she moved onto the bed and laid down. "Relax Dani and you can wait here for your father to wake again." She pulled Dani's arm around her and was quickly asleep.

Dani slowly settled on the bed and curled against Satasha. Vangie pulled a light cover up to ensure they didn't get cold. The rooms were kept cooler to help reduce the spread of infection though the beds were warmed. "We will check on you later Dani and if you need anything call or have someone call."

Sally leaned over and gave Dani a peck on her head. "We will come and get you before bedtime." They had already eaten though it had been more picking at the food than anything else. All of them needed to start eating better and she knew it but with all the stress it had been so hard.

~~~

All of them had been rotating through the room they were in simply to keep busy. Billy definitely wasn't there when he did wake since he tended to mumble. He was also not tracking very well and needed to be told where he was several times. Eventually though later the next day he did wake up and was a bit more clear headed.

Billy yawned and looked around the room and sighed. It wasn't all a bad dream or nightmare. He was in medical and his right shoulder and side was aching. He was obviously on some meds and they were heavy meds but on a dosage that allowed him to wake and somewhat be there. Billy didn't even try to move other than to find the control for the bed and lift the head some.

When he did Jenna sat up and smiled. "Hey Billy how are you feeling? Before I bother saying much I figure I might as well see if you are even somewhat coherent." She stood and walked over and settled down on a stool next to the bed on Billy's side. "Satasha is in the shower right now but should be out shortly. Z'Marl is helping her since apparently Cryo didn't agree with her and she is shedding big time."

Billy stared at her and frowned as he processed what she was saying and it didn't make sense. "Cryo? When was I in cryo and how did I get here." Obviously it was while he was in cryo but his mind was having problems since human's had given up on the deep sleep once hyper had been discovered. "Oh, good, clean is good and I could use a bath." He was feeling itchy and dirty.

Jenna listened and he did sound more there. "Yes cryo and you won't remember since you were tanked shortly after you were shot. Doctor Desjean consulted with one of our doctors and they both agreed that you needed better medical than earth has. They felt that if they pulled you out of cryo on earth even in a trauma center your chances were slim. She tanked you and then talked to your girls."

Jenna had to stop for a moment and leaned over and gave him a light kiss. "Don't you ever do something this stupid again. Let someone else get shot damn it." Her eyes were moist but she didn't cry. "Vangie captained the ship back to the mother ship and they operated on you yesterday. It was only to repair the critical aspect and the doctor will be in shortly." She looked up as the others came out of the shower.

Tasha smiled at Jenna and then Billy. "I feel better now after the shower. I would ask you to brush me Yilly but that might be a bit hard right now." She settled on her side of the bed and leaned over and kissed him. Just because she nipped the end of his nose after giving it a lick.

Billy snorted at her. "Girl you are going to get it when I get out of this bed." He returned the kiss and smiled when she nipped his nose. "Silly cat my nose is not for nipping. I might have to see if you like cat nip tea." He gave her a tired smile before yawning.

Z'Marl leaned over and gave him a good kiss as well. "Missed you Yilly and it is so good to talk to you and know that you are doing reasonably well." For a brief moment she tucked her nose in his neck and inhaled before moving back. "Jenna and I are going to leave since I can feel the SBA glowering at us. We are under strict orders not to tire you out." Her fingers lightly caressed his face. "Later Yilly and I will let the girls know that you seem to be doing better."

He yawned again and gave them a smile as one of the machines gave him the next dose and he drifted off. Billy was awake long enough to feel Satasha lay down next to him and curl up. He really wanted to tell her how much he loved her but he was gone before he had a chance.

~~~

The next two days were much the same for Billy. He would wake up, talk to whoever was in the room and then fall asleep for a while. On the fourth day after he had been operated on he was mostly awake. The doctor came in and smiled at him. "Good morning Commander how are you feeling?"

Billy frowned slightly. "I am not a commander but if you need a rank I am the captain of the SS Sandi. I am feeling okay for the most part. Obviously my shoulder and chest still hurts but the meds help with that. I really don't like being plugged into all the various tubes but again there isn't much help for that. So tell me what has been done to me? What is going to happen as well?"

The doctor couldn't help but smile slightly when Billy told him to call him captain. "It has been explained to you that your human military recalled you to active service and advanced you. I know you don't remember this but you now have the rank of captain in your military. Since you were given that rank it was decided by our military that you would be given the rank of Commander. That is pretty much the same rank as a Captain in your military. Lt. Verzilon is no longer a lieutenant and is now a Lt. Commander."

Billy had to stare at him when he told him that. He really didn't remember being told that what so ever and was both shocked, appalled, and rather pissed off. The Sholan thing he didn't really care about but they had no right to recall him to active service. His face was furious when the doctor told him that. "I will deal with that later. They had no right. Now tell me what is going on with me medically." His voice was cold and hard. It wasn't the doctors fault but Billy's control of his emotions was rather off.