CHAPTER 12

 

Ray visited Rose on her way back to her evening Medbay shift to check that she had at least made some effort to patch things up with Dane. She had slept like a dead thing but, unused to messing with sleep cycles, still felt she could use more.

As it turned out Dane was visiting the girl’s barracks when Ray arrived, the pair were lounging on Ray’s bed watching a talk show on the Datacom. Rose smiled as Ray entered and beckoned her over. She pointed at the monitor

“This guy is part of a group who are campaigning to set up a human colony on Diana. That woman is a CDSE spokesperson who has just said that CDSE is exploring all possibilities for the further development of Diana. The worst thing is they are all nuts. The guy reckons that the redder light from Proxima Centauri will have a rejuvenating effect on Humans. He thinks they will live forever down here.”

“I could take him to the hospice as soon as he gets here. Look at the old folks.” Ray replied smiling, “He would see that that is not even remotely true.”

“It would be cool though, huh?” Dane joined in looking much recovered from his bad mood the evening past. “More people. A proper town with shops and places for us to go. I would love to go to a proper Nightclub.”

Ray watched the zealot ranting for a while without really concentrating, then said her goodbyes and continued towards the Medbay. She was happy that Rose and Dane were back on speaking terms for now at least.

Bones was fussing about when she got there. Clearing mess away and prepping for weaning Jonah. Ray could hear immediately the improvement in Jonah’s breathing. He breathed deeper and the crackle was now only evident at the very end of each breath. Prudence waited out of the way in the corner and gave Ray one of her friendly smiles as she entered.

Bones put Ray to work getting restraints ready in case Jonah flipped out when he came around.

“I’ve never seen it happen,” Bones reassured her, “but better safe than sorry. He will be disorientated for a while when he wakes and may say some strange things. Just get Prudence to keep talking to him. Keep telling him where he is. Keep him oriented as the Earth doctors say.”

Bones pressed the page button on the monitor as they continued, eventually summoning Melanie Kravitz, also back on shift at Harvard Medical on Earth.

“Hi Bones,” Melanie said as she appeared. Bones typed “Hi” on the keyboard and gave Melanie some time to review the day’s vitals. “Looks good,” Melanie said, looking up over the rim of her reading glasses, an affectation that was still popular among some professionals. “Reduce the Sedamorph by tens over the next hour, maintain the AB for 48 hours. As usual, any problems just call.” Bones and Melanie smiled, and Bones waved goodbye as the screen flicked back to the user interface. Bones turned back to Ray.

“Well here we go then. We’ll be good for the first half hour then we had better grab Prudence and one of the guys from the hospice in case he gets confused.”

Bones talked Ray through reducing the sedative, noting the changes in Jonah’s breathing as his consciousness began to return.

He came back to slowly. The man Ray had commandeered from the hospice stayed for about twenty minutes until Jonah was present enough to stop pulling at his tubes and trying to get up. Prudence turned out to be very helpful. She had a calm reassuring voice and was able to keep Jonah quiet and non-combative. He started answering her questions around the time the day shift was eating dinner.

“Jonah do you know where you are?” she asked

“Not really,” Jonah replied looking distractedly at the walls. “I was going into hypersleep.” He spoke in what Ray recognized as a posh British accent.

“You came out of hypersleep a week ago, Jonah, you were not well. You are on Diana now, in hospital.”

“Did I fall down?”

“No, you got an infection in your lungs.”

Ray came over to try and move his hand away from his nose tube which he was reaching for again. Jonah flinched noticeably as she approached and tried to block her hand as she reached towards him. His face changed from confused and fearful to a smile as Ray’s face moved into his field of view. He turned back to Prudence.

“Why is my cousin here?” he asked. He turned back to Ray. “Hello Beatie” he said. “Beatie is my favorite, favorite” he said to nobody, staring up at the roof with goofy smile spread across his face. “So pretty…pretty red hair…showed me her boobs.”

Prudence couldn’t suppress a laugh and looked at Ray who was blushing furiously. Jonah’s face went deadly serious and he looked back at Ray “Don’t tell Aunty May, she won’t let you come and play anymore.”

“This isn’t your cousin Jonah, this is Ray. She is looking after you.” Prudence explained patiently. “Do you remember where you are now?”

“Yes,” said Jonah confidently. “I’m at Beatie’s house and she’s going to show me her boobs again.”

Prudence rolled her eyes at Ray and Bones. “What is it with guys and boobs huh?”

“I’ll show you mine,” Jonah offered helpfully.

“That won’t be necessary,” Prudence suggested calmly.

Luckily, before Jonah could action his plan, a coughing fit took hold of him after which he slumped into sleep for a spell. Prudence gradually bought him around and during his lucid moments, she continually reintroducing Ray and Bones. Ray was thankful he didn’t mention Cousin Beatie again.

A couple of hours later, Ray sat halfheartedly reading her book. A dog-eared western that had been passed around most of the population she suspected. Jonah had been sleeping since Prudence and Bones had left. She looked at up at him as she had done routinely throughout the night, but this time found him wide eyed, alert and watching her intently. His face was calm but there was aggression behind his eyes. Ray smiled and waited for him to initiate. After a pause, throughout which Jonah continued to stare, Ray relented. She turned the nearest monitor towards him and wrote in large letters, ‘Pain?’

Jonah looked at the word and pointed at the keyboard making a beckoning motion. Ray frowned in confusion. Jonah shook his head and made a tangle of strange signs with his fingers. Ray typed,

“I don’t understand.” At which Jonah pointed more animatedly at the keyboard and made to get up out of bed. Finally, Ray understood, motioning him to lie back down. Jonah flinched a little as she reached towards him. Moving a little slower, Ray unlocked the wheels on his bed and rolled it so he could reach the keyboard. Jonah typed one fingered,

“NO PAIN.” and sat back still frowning at Ray as if trying to figure her out.

Ray frowned back and typed, ‘I’m not deaf. You can talk.’

Jonah’s nervous expression faded slowly and gave way to an embarrassed grin.

“Oh Shit,” he said, then grinned again. “Stupid,” he added.

‘Drugs,’ Ray wrote and pointed towards the infusion pump.

“That must be it,” Jonah responded,” I do feel a bit weird.” He looked around the room as if taking it in for the first time, his expression of discomfort and the frown from before returned as his eyes scanned the room. Ray thought she detected a glint of green coming from his eyes and speculated he was trying to engage his VI. This was technology that Ray knew from media, but had never actually seen in real life.

“How much do you remember?” Ray inquired and added. “Can you tell me where you are?”

“I’m on Diana,” Jonah answered before Ray could finish typing. “I am sick from hypersleep but I’m going to be OK.” He phrased the last sentence like a statement. “You are Ray,” he added after a pause.

Ray nodded, secretly pleased he remembered her. She made the sign for “Ray” at which he frowned and shook his head, not understanding. She wrote ‘Ray’ on the monitor and signed in front of it. Then she wrote ‘Sun Ray’ and signed, right finger drawing a horizontal circle by her right shoulder followed by the sign for Ray towards her hair. Finally, she wrote ‘Red’ and ‘Sunset’.

Jonah’s confused frown vanished, “that’s your name…Ray” he said the name out loud and repeated the sign. “After your red hair, red like a sun ray.”

Ray nodded.

“That’s so cool,” Jonah added slumping back into his pillow. “I have no idea what Jonah means. There was some guy in the Christian bible who got eaten by a whale but I’m pretty sure I’m not named after him…Do many of you have red hair?”

Ray shook her head no and held up one finger.

“Only one.” said Jonah, “I guess that makes you pretty special huh? What’s my name in sign language?”

Ray wrote “No word. Have to spell it” which she proceeded to do in signs.

“That’s no fun,” Jonah complained. “You’ll have to give me a better one than that.”

Ray thought for a second then held up her right fist, knuckles facing Jonah. She pushed her hand backwards, past her right ear and opened the fingers like a spray. She followed this with her pointer finger hooked on her chin.

“What does that mean?” Jonah asked.

“Wale Food,” Ray wrote.

Jonah burst out laughing, eliciting a coughing fit that doubled him up for a while. Ray grabbed a tissue and handed it to him to spit the sputum he’d coughed up into. “Whale food, I like that.” he gasped, surveying the room.

“How long will I be in here?”

Ray held up seven fingers.

“A week huh?” Jonah surmised. “Aymes is gonna give me hell.”

Ray wrote, “She scares me.”

“No shit she scares you,” Jonah agreed. “She’d scare a wildebeest. One time, when we were on patrol, I didn’t notice her hat on the pole and barged in on her while she was on the bogger doing her business. She just stood up, fatigues around her ankles and knocked me out. One punch and gone. I woke up on the dirt outside. Totally pissed myself as well.”

Jonah noticed the slightly embarrassed half smile on Ray’s face and desperately tried to back pedal. “I didn’t look or anything…besides she was that hairy I couldn’t see…”

Ray’s eyes creased, her smiled widened and her shoulders shook in the Dianian equivalent of laughter. Jonah shut his mouth so fast his teeth clicked together and stared at her, clearly worried that she was having some sort of seizure. His concerned and confused frown only served to make Ray laugh harder.

Once she managed to bring herself under control they stared at each other for a while, both blushing, before Jonah spoke again.

“I don’t suppose we could start over, I’m not usually this much of a clod. Hi, my name is Jonah”

“Hi, my name is Ray,” Ray signed.

“It’s truly lovely to meet you Ray,” Jonah replied extending his hand. Ray shook it, smiling easily. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.