Dominic had checked on Tyran a few times over the last couple of hours and then had settled himself back onto the couch. Not realizing he was so tired, he nodded off.
Tyran opened his eyes and slid off the bed. He snuck away from Dominic, and went into the room where he had seen Jaya looking at the picture. He sat down and started feeling under the table. Soon he found the secret compartment. He quickly replicated a copy of the photo and then put it back where he'd found it. After that, he went back to his bed, hiding the copy he'd made in a book he'd brought over with him.
Not long after, Jaya returned and saw Dominic asleep. She smiled and went to check on Tyran. As she entered, she could feel he was awake, but looked asleep.
"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.
"Better, I can go to work." He mumbled and turned on his back looking at her. His eyes had an unnatural glaze, and his cheeks were red. Beads of sweat were on his forehead.
"Nope, I don't think so," she said as she took a seat beside him. "Besides Sarah and I closed the bar tonight. Tomorrow Danayal will be back and he can handle things. You are going to rest," she said with a smile.
"I have rested... enough. I'm better. Ask Dom. I can work, no one will stop me. I'll open the bar again. You had no right to close it." He sat up, angry.
Dominic hearing the commotion came into the room.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"I'm better; I'm going to the bar." He stepped from the bed, walked two paces and then fainted.
"He's quite stubborn, isn't he," Jaya said as Dominic helped her get Tyran into bed once again.
"I'm afraid so," Dominic smiled. "But he should be feeling much better tomorrow."
"Would you come back and check on him again?" she asked. "I just want to make sure that he's all right."
"You care a great deal about him," he said.
She smiled and nodded. "He's the first person in a very long time that's reminded me what it's like to live again."
Dominic walked with her into the other room. "So how did you know about it being Andorian Flu, you never did give me a full answer."
She paused. "I use to be in the medical and science field long ago. In another life," she added with a soft, bittersweet smile.
He thought it over, and didn't question her further. After all, there were many reasons a person would chose to leave the profession.
"And how's your injury?" he asked her.
She shrugged her shoulders a bit. "It's okay. Still hurts a little, but that's to be expected, right?" she said.
"Yes," he replied. "One of these days you'll have to tell me the story of what happened."
"Well, the story is long, complicated and sad... Not one worth telling," she replied.
"Only in your opinion," he replied with a smile. "Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow."
"Thanks," she said as she saw him to the door.
"You know, Jaya Bourne, you are quite the mystery."
"So I've been told," she smirked.
With that, he laughed and left. She returned to Tyran and sat with him.
Tyran slept from exhaustion and slowly the fever dropped to an acceptable level. He was dreaming, a feverish dream where he kept saying a name. "Suse."
Jaya listened to him all night, not sleeping. She had a cool damp cloth she periodically wiped his face with.
He opened his eyes once, staring at her. "Susette... why did you leave me?"
Knowing he was lost in a delusion, she didn't try to dissuade his belief of who he was seeing. She just took his hand. "I'm here now," she said softly. Not knowing what else to say.
"No. You can't be here. You're dead." He mumbled.
"Shhhhh... don't think about that," she said softly. "Rest. You need to rest." Tenderly she caressed his face.
His eyes closed, and he slept again, deeply, until the early morning.
Jaya hardly left his side and barely slept, but she was use to limited sleep when she was needed.
Suddenly a hand grabbed hers, rather tightly.
At first she was startled, but then looked down at Tyran.
He was still sleeping.
She sensed his dreams... he was dreaming about his wife... There were conflicting emotions. Some things struck her too close to home, though she didn't pull her hand away. She merely closed off her mind to his, so that she couldn't sense his emotions for the moment.
"Suse..." He mumbled and opened his eyes. "No. You're not Suse... you are."
She smiled. "Jaya... its Jaya," she said softly as she finally caressed his face.
He smiled slightly. "Yeah... Jaya."
"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.
"Better, I can go to work today, but I had the craziest dreams..."
"What did you dream?" she asked gently.
"I dreamed Suse was back, and taking care of me. Telling me it was alright if I loved you."
She smiled gently. "You did say she'd be happy if you found someone else." she said softly. "Maybe she was just confirming that."
"Yeah and she said something else. That David and Emily were safe."
For a moment, she was stunned into silence. "Whose David and Emily?" she asked, though she looked away so he couldn't see her eyes or expression.
"I don't know them. She said; tell Jaya Bourne that David and Emily are safe."
"Wow... very strange," she said. "At least you're feeling better, right?"
"Yeah. Who are David and Emily?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "How about you rest a little more. The virus still isn't out of your system."
Suddenly, her communicator chirped. She sighed and she retrieved it.
"Yes... Yeah, I did... I'm doing okay. Recovering... Now?" she replied. "All right." As she closed the channel, she looked into his eyes. "Do you think you'll be okay here if I left to take care of something? I should be back in a few hours, and Dominic is supposed to come by and check on you too."
"Where are you gonna go?" He asked her, worry evident on his face.
"I need to meet someone for lunch. Don't worry, I'm not going off planet. They know I'm not ready to be sent anywhere. Right now I would make a better target than assassin."
"Alright then." He lay back in the pillows and closed his eyes. He planned to go find out who was in the picture as soon as she left.
She leaned over and kissed him tenderly. "I'll be back soon," she said. "You can count on that."
With that, she left.
He'd kissed her back and smiled. But as soon as he heard the outer door close, he slid from the bed to the room where she had her computer terminal.
He opened the book he took out the photo, looking at the image. It was the photo of a man holding a little girl of about six. He had a picture and two names. He had enough to try to find some answers.
"Computer, scan picture and reference all available data with the names David and Emily." He said and waited.
It took only moments to assemble the information. The first two references meant nothing. But the third was a news article and contained a photo. The photo was of a man named David Avante and his daughter Emily.
He began reading the article.
October 11, 2379
In what can only be called tragic, Dr. Christianna Avante was killed with her husband David and daughter Emily this morning. Thought to be the work of the Dark Shadow, the scientific community can only mourn for one of their brightest minds and her family. Christianna and David Avante were married for 12 years at the time of the assassination, their daughter was on the verge of turning 7. It's truly a loss for not just the surviving family and the scientific community, but a loss for us all.
There, however, was no photo of Christianna Avante.
"That's odd." He mumbled. "Computer, search Starfleet database for Christianna Avente."
The records appeared. Again with no photo. Only a notation that the woman was deceased. There was also many commendations and awards listed for her.
"Computer, give a physical description of Christianna Avante."
<There is no description listed for Christianna Avante> the computer replied.
"Anything on her in an encrypted database?"
<Searching>
<Access Denied>
"Alright." He sighed. He half thought of try his old codes, but understood that Jaya would be able to see that he'd used her terminal and why. He heard someone at the door and sprinted back to bed. The excitement had made his fever rise again.
Dominic entered the house, having been given the code by Jaya. He immediately noted that the comm was on. He went over to it, noting the name on the search. With a shrug, he shut down the console and went into the bedroom.
"So you were feeling good enough to do some poking around on the console I see," he said as he scanned Tyran. "However, it seems your fever is rising again. Ms. Bourne was correct about having me come back." He immediately readied the hypospray for another dose of medication.
"Uh... no, Dom, no need to make me sleep. I'll stay in bed. I promise." He pleaded, but he wasn't planning on keeping that promise.
"This is another dose of medication for the flu virus," he said. "I would suspect by tomorrow you'll be feeling like your old self again." He smiled as he administered the medication. "So why were you searching for information on Christianna Avante?"
"That's none of your business, Dom. But if you have any information on her, it would be welcome. I know you must know her, because before you came to Serenity to enjoy your old days in peace, you were a very good CMO in Starfleet."
"Well, almost everyone knew of Christianna Avante," he replied. "She was working on several vaccines, from what I remember. She found a cure for Spackle's Disease and something else... Rhys-Waines Syndrome I think. She was quite accomplished."
"What did she look like, do you know? I searched through the whole database, but nowhere is there a picture."
"Unfortunately, I never met the woman," he replied. "She was quite a private person from what I understand."
"Hmm, do you still have that pile of medical journals at home?"
"Of course," he laughed. "Do I ever get rid of anything?"
His house was filled with clutter than he had collected over the years and each piece was important to him, telling the story of his life.
"Good, because since that's in print, there should be a picture of that woman in those papers somewhere. That's something Starfleet can't put a label on and call it classified. You're a hero, Dom, for never throwing away anything," he smiled.
"Why are you so obsessed on seeing a photo of this woman?" he asked curiously.
"If my theory is correct I'll tell you why right away. For now I don't want to say anything."
Dominic sighed. "Have it your way," he replied with a laugh. "I wonder what Jaya would think. You searching for another woman." He laughed again.
"I don't think she'll mind since that woman's dead." Tyran said sleepily.
"Perhaps you're right. By the way, where is the beautiful Ms. Bourne?" he asked looking around.
"She went to meet someone... for lunch. I haven't eaten yet either... not hungry." He mumbled and fell asleep like a brick. The medication was taking affect.
Dominic smiled and went into the other room.
A couple of hours later, Jaya walked in the door.
"How is he?" she asked Dominic who was busy reading a medical journal.
"He's doing much better. But you were right, he did need another dose of medication today. I must say you do know your stuff."
She smiled at the compliment.
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