Hope turned to her medical case and removed two items: a hypo and a dark rectangular patch approximately the size of her hand. She pressed the patch against his lower abdomen. She then pressed the hypo against a spot near his heart. Devereux heard the faint hiss as the hypo worked. Hope returned the hypo to its spot in the case and reached for the portable medical scanner again.
For several long moments, nothing happened. Devereux thought she saw a change in the color of the young man’s complexion, but it could have been a trick of the lighting. Hope continued to move the scanner above his body, but made no further ministrations.
For an awful moment, Devereux thought the Aerian physician had given up. Then, the young man’s eyes fluttered open. He gasped for breath and then coughed. Devereux heard him sigh deeply and was at his side instantly, afraid that might be his last breath.
Instead, his eyes flashed around, seemingly unable to focus on any one thing. His breathing, Devereux noticed, was still rapid, but he did not appear to be in distress. Certainly, she realized, Hope was not behaving as though his life might be in immediate danger.
The movements of his eyes closed, focused on a spot near the ceiling. His lips moved.
Was that a smile? Devereux wondered.
His eyes passed across the faces gathered around him, finally stopping on hers. There was no doubt in her mind at that moment that he recognized her. His expression revealed everything to her without words.
Devereux bent forward and kissed him. She had intended it to be a light touch, uncertain how much strength he had after his ordeal. However, relief and passion overruled her logic. Their mouths met and Devereux kissed him with a deep and thorough conviction, the endless months of denied emotions pouring out through her.
Tears ran down her cheeks. She did not care. For this, she was willing to forgo the notion that the Captain of a ship should always try to exhibit a minimum level of decorum at all times.
She released him reluctantly, finding that she needed to breathe.
“Scott . . .” she whispered hoarsely.
She stared down at him, feeling her warm tears beginning to cool on her cheeks.
Standing behind her, Elizabeth was trying hard not to grin. Her eyes were bright. Rusty looked uncomfortable. Not in an awkward sort of way, as if he found the situation somehow embarrassing to witness, but a different sort of personal discomfort. Hope’s expression provided no insight into her thoughts, which was hardly unusual.
“Did you miss me?” Scott asked Devereux.
His voice was an almost breathless whisper. His lips moved in a faint smile and then his eyes abruptly lost their focus.
Devereux’s head snapped toward Hope. The Aerian looked back at her, seemingly unperturbed.
“He requires rest.”
As if prompted by that cue, two security officers entered the cargo hold with a portable stretcher. They placed it on the deck next to Scott and then one of them helped Devereux move Scott onto it. Scott still seemed disoriented, but was still conscious.
The security team lifted the stretcher and headed out of the cargo hold. Devereux started to follow, but stopped when she felt Hope’s light touch on her arm.
“You can do nothing now,” Hope told her. Her dark eyes seemed to study Devereux’s face. “I will report.”
Devereux remained where she stood, watching as the stretcher disappeared into the corridor outside. As much as she wanted to be there, to be at Scott’s side now, she knew that Hope was right.
She managed to fight back the sigh so that it was barely audible. Nodding her understanding to Hope, she turned to Rusty and Elizabeth.
“Secure the ship,” she told them, indicating Scott’s damaged vessel. “I want a full damage report.”
“Yes, Captain,” Elizabeth responded promptly.
Rusty looked distracted. While he was turned facing the ship, his mind seemed to be elsewhere.
“Is there a problem, Chief?” Devereux asked. A frowned formed on her lips.
It took Rusty a moment to answer.
“No,” he said, his attention finally returning to the cargo hold. “I’m on it, Cap’n.”
Devereux studied her Chief Engineer for a moment before looking away.
“I’ll be on the bridge.”
“Yeah,” Rusty said. “I’ll bet the ol’ Fossil been ready to gnaw through a bulkhead to find out what’s going on.”
Although the remark was almost expected from the Chief Engineer, Devereux could tell that he was not putting his full sardonic energy behind it. She looked at him again, but his attention had now turned to the small ship.
Leaving Rusty and Elizabeth to their task, Devereux left the cargo hold, deliberately taking the route that would lead her furthest from the Infirmary.
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