Love Me Gently

Moonbase Alpha's status report, 900 days after leaving earth's orbit Dr. Helena Russell recording. Diagnostic is now full of patients, all with the same symptoms. They are running a high fever, with dry mouth, fatigue and headaches. There are forty patients admitted so far with twenty also being treated at home. Dr. Mathias and most of the nurses are busy going from one patient to the other. Commander Koenig has called a command conference, and the entire medical section has been quarantined. Some patients have been confined to their quarters.

The group sat around the table all reading the reports anxiously before the conference began. Koenig had not yet arrived.

Bleep! Bleep!

Helena's comlock was beeping.

"Dr. Russell." It was Dr. Vincent, calling from the lab. He had been running tests on blood samples taken from each patient.

"Yes, Ben."

"Can you come to the lab it is urgent?

"The conference is about to start. Can it wait?"

"It's a virus doctor and a very deadly one."

Koenig walked in just then, looking a little piqued. "Sorry, I'm late. Let's begin."

"John, Dr. Vincent has the results from the first round of tests. Can we postpone the meeting?"

"What has he found?"

"A very deadly virus."

"OK, I'll go with you. We will meet later at 1400 hours. Dr. Russell will have more information by then."

Helena and Koenig both left at a brisk pace. She called Dr. Mathias to meet her at the lab.

They all entered the lab together. Dr. Vincent beckoned to them and they all came over to look at the slides.

"This is very hard to believe. Dr. Vincent, are you sure this is a blood sample from one of the patients?" Helena said while looking through the microscope.

"What is it?" Koenig asked.

"Bob," she said letting him look at the slides.

She looked at him.

"Well?" asked Koenig.

"It seems to be some type of malaria. But that is impossible, where would we come in contact with malaria," Bob said.

"Malaria," Koenig was dumbfounded.

"OK Bob, Ben see if you can find out what this is. Let's find a cure. Call me if you make any break throughs. I will be in my quarters," Helena said.

"Helena, when was the last time you got some sleep?" Koenig asked.

"Oh John, I'm alright," she said.

"Look at me."

She turned to him.

"How long has it been since you slept?"

Helena looked at him. He was genuinely concerned, so instead of being annoyed, she smiled at him. "I just need to take a shower, John. There are people in the medical center who need me," she said while heading for the bathroom.

Koenig sat down while she showered.

Malaria, he mused. He was sure she hadn't slept in two days, neither had he for that matter. He might have to order her to rest.

She came out in a fresh pair of uniform, her hair pinned back. She had put on her makeup and looked better, but tired around the eyes. He went to her.

"Helena."

She looked up at him smiling.

He leaned down and took her lips, kissing her ardently. She responded. She had been waiting for this all along. She anticipated it when she saw that he was coming with her to her quarters. She could not help wondering if they were ready for the next stage of their relationship. She loved him, but this just was not the right time.

His hand wondered down to the small of her back. His hand sneaked slowly under her tunic. "John," she said, breaking the embrace, "I'm not ready for this."

He looked at her, eyes smouldering. "I want you, Helena."

"I want you too, but there is just too much at stake here. I know we made a commitment to each other but I don't know about the next level. The first time I was intimate with a man was my wedding night. My husband has been my only lover."

Koenig looked at her. She was so beautiful. She was driving him crazy. It was all he could do to release her. He brought his emotions under control. He let her go. He looked at her. She looked at him. She swallowed hard, how was she to keep up with this. She wanted him here and now but she just could not.

Koenig stepped away, "Try to get some sleep, OK."

"OK," she said.

The meeting was well on the way when Mathias walked in and handed Helena the latest report. She nodded and opened the report as he left. She persed her lips and continued speaking.

"We have found so far that the virus is indeed different from malaria but similar. I think we were exposed to it when Alan went on that last recognisant flight to that asteroid. It was probably laying dormant waiting for a host. Patricia Arnold's temperature sky rocketed this morning and I am afraid she might not make it," Helena said.

"Is she the only one in danger?" John asked.

"No, five others are critical?"

"Helena, do you need my help?" Prof. Bergman asked.

"Could you assist Dr. Vincent in the lab, Victor? That would free Dr. Mathias to help me in diagnostic."

"OK."

"Thanks Helena," Koenig said, "keep us posted on what is happening. Meeting adjourned. Helena, a word with you?" Koenig gestured to her.

"Did you rest?" he asked.

"John, I had no time to do so."

"Helena, don't take that tone with me. You and I know that if you get ill or you are not on form your patients could suffer."

"Are you saying I am a danger to my patients, John?"

"Do not take it personally, I am only concerned about your welfare."

"I'm fine."

"Do not let me have to order you to rest."

"Order me."

"Yes order you. I will if I have to."

Their eyes locked.

He is such an obstinate man and so infuriating, she thought.

I want her here and now, he thought.

She turned on her heels and walked out. He said nothing.

Helena headed for her quarters calling Dr. Mathias on the way. "Bob, I will be in my quarters. Can you get over to diagnostic, Professor Bergman will be by to help Dr. Vincent and I have been ordered to rest."

"OK, doctor," he said with a smile.

Helena was frustrated with not only what was happening with her patients but also what was happening with John and her. Something had to give. She entered her apartment and let herself in. She loosened her belt and sat down. The bed certainly looked good to her. She layed down and promptly fell asleep.

"Computer locate Dr. Russell," Koenig spoke into his comlock.

DR. RUSSELL IS IN HER QUARTERS, it said.

Koenig smiled.

"Ben, what have you found?" She came at a run having gotten only ten minutes worth of sleep.

"Look at this," Bergman said.

The virus was moving faster. "Ben, when did this start?" She looked through the microscope.

BLEEP! BLEEP!

The monitor next to her came on. She opened the channel.

"Dr. Russell, we had our first casualty, Tony Lyon, just died," Bob said.

"I'll be right there. Ben did you check the other patients blood?" she asked.

"Not yet," he replied.

"See if the same thing is happening to them. Check to see if any of them is resisting it as our only hope is a serum now."

Helena entered diagnostic at a run. "Bob, what happened?"

"The virus growth just sped up out of no where and he started burning up. His blood pressure peeked and he had an aneurism."

"Let's do the autopsy and see what else we can find."

John Koenig was not feeling too great. He felt that he should order himself to rest. He tried to remember something that was nagging at him. Alan did not go on that recognisant alone if his memory served him right he went with him. That was two weeks ago. He took out his thermometer. After a while he looked at it. It had gone up by two degrees since the last reading. He could not afford to be sick with this virus.

Koenig headed for his quarters leaving Main Mission. He was now off duty and feeling a little better. He had been fighting this virus now for three days, if it was the virus. Maybe he should tell Helena.

Koenig decided to take a shower maybe that would cool him down. His head ached as he went into the shower. He reached for the aspirin in his robe, popping three in his mouth and drinking from the shower.

Koenig headed for the bed after that, but he still was not feeling any better. He layed down, but he felt something was wrong, he felt strange. It was as though the blood was rushing into his ears and his adrenaline was pumping. Not only that, he felt aroused. His blood was boiling.

Koenig realized he wasn't even thinking straight. He began having a vision as his temperature soared. The virus speed up in his blood and he could feel that it had gone haywire within his brain.

In the vision he saw Helena coming towards him; he took her in his arms and started making passionate love to her. Some how Koenig was feeling out of control and his mind was reeling, he wanted Helena and he must have her. But he new it was the fever and now he regreted not going to medical instead. He could be dead by morning.

Helena was walking towards Koenig's quarters. She was looking at the results of the tests Dr. Vincent and Prof. Bergman had just handed to her. Along with the other two deaths, this report was grim, but she had to inform John on or off duty.

Bleep! Bleep!

"Yes!" came the harsh response. Koenig's face appeared on her screen.

"May I come in, John? I know you just got off duty but I need to discuss these findings with you."

"Go away, Helena." Koenig's mind was burning up and he felt Helena was in danger from him of all persons.

"John?"

The doors opened and she hesitantly walked in. The room was semi dark. She spotted John across the room. He looked strange and Helena hesitated.

"John, what's wrong?" she said running over to him.

"Nothing, Helena," he growled.

She looked at him. Koenig's head was spinning. Here she was the object of his affection. He reached for her. He held her close, too close.

"John, you're hurting me and you are bburning up with a fever," she said.

"I want you, Helena," he whispered.

"What's wrong with you? You have the virus?" she said.

Koenig started kissing her fiercely, bruising her lips in the process. Helena was now petrified. He was out of control, clutching at her and getting even more irrational. Koenig threw her to the bed. She screamed his name trying to get him to listen.

"John don't! John no!"

Koenig heard but he didn't hear. She was now in a panic. She tried to reach for her comlock to summon help. She could see he was roasting with a fever. She had to get through to him.

John could feel his adrenaline rushing. He looked down at her, she would be his at last. His heart was racing, and his head was pounding. He felt himself reel; he clutched the bed then became motionless. John struggled to speak, but no sound came. He crumpled unto the floor. Helena sprang into action then. She knew what was wrong. John's heart had stopped.

She started CPR. Pounding his chess in a panic, she breathed and pounded until she got a pulse.

"Dr. Mathias!"

"Yes, Dr. Russell."

"A medical team to Commander Koenig's quarters please, he has the virus and has gone into a cardiac arrest."

What the medical team found when they entered was a very distraught Dr. Russell trying to keep the Commander stable.

"I'm alright." she said as they assisted Koenig and strapped him to the gurney. They wheeled him to the Medical Centre. Helena tried to pull herself together. She was petrified.

Why had he not said something about his illness? She hurried to the Medical Center. Her legs were like jelly beneath her. If John died she was dead too. She loved him above even her own wants or needs.

Helena entered to see Bob administering meds and hooking Koenig up to the monitors.

"How is he?"

"Stable."

"Take his blood Bob, and rush it to Ben for testing."

Helena looked down at John. His temperature was down but it was touch and go. He was still in danger. How could she have not seen that he was ill? She was tired. Was that it? She had endangered a patient and it turned out to be John.

Alan, she thought, John went with Alan.

"Alan Carter, please."

"Yes, Helena."

"Alan, we need a blood sample from you. Tell Dr. Vincent I sent you."

"Right away, Helena."

Three hours later, they had the results. Alan had developed a resistance to the virus. Koenig had been fighting it for days. A serum was made from Alan's blood and administered to the sick patients.

In three days, the patients began recovering. Helena sat by Koenig's bedside. She wanted to be the first person he saw when he awoke.

Later that evening Koenig opened his eyes and saw Helena sitting by his bedside.

"What happened?" he asked groggily.

"You had the virus," she said, "sleep, you need to rest." She kissed him gently on the cheek.

Koenig's recovery was quick and he was out of the sick bay in no time. He did not remember what happened and he had not seen Helena since the first day when he opened his eyes.

Why is she avoiding me? He did not know but he was determined to find out.

Koenig decided to go to her quarters first thing to find out what was wrong. Dr. Mathias said she was confined to her quarters to rest.

Did she get the virus? He wondered.

Bleep! Bleep!

"Helena, may I come in?"

Helena knew this moment would come but she dreaded it. She had to tell him about his behaviour when he was ill, that would throw him for a loop. She could not hide anything from him.

"Come in, John."

Koenig entered the room. It was dim. Some thing came to his mind of another dim room, his.

"Helena, did you get...." He stopped in his tracks he was remembering something. Seeing her here was jogging a memory.

"Helena, what happened you never came to see me after the first time I awoke, is all OK?" John asked anxiously pushing through the memory.

"It's nothing to worry abou,t John. I'm just resting," she said shrugging it off and walking away from him.

John stopped her retreat. He knew something was wrong.

Koenig reached for her as she stepped away from him. Memory flooded back to him and he remembered. He had hurt her physically. She stepped even futher away from him.

"Helena, did I hurt you badly?"

"No, you didn't John." Koenig buried his hand in his face realization coming to him in floods of regret.

Helena walked over to him. She placed her hand on his head leaning in to him as he sat down. She kneeled in front of him and caressed his face. She kissed him on the lips. He pulled away.

"Are you sure you were not hurt?" He looked concerned.

She held his hand. He looked at her. She looked at him. "I forgive you, John. It was the virus, not you. I love you and you didn't hurt me. The bed broke my fall. I'm alright."

Koenig was beside himself. He tried to protect her but he could not protector her from himself. He wanted her and he almost lost her. He was a fool.

"Helena, I'm glad you weren't hurt. Let me look at you." He stood pulling Helena up with him. She was in her robe. He just became aware of the fact. He saw the bruises on her arm and on her wrist. He grimaced.

"Your wrist?"

"It's fine. It is healing nicely," she smiled.

"Helena, are you telling me the truth? Did I..." she stopped him.

"No, John, you had a heart attack."

John sat down disappointed in himself. "Are you sure you're OK Helena? Why are you even taking to me?"

"I love you John, and I'm alright."

Koenig got up and hastily went through the door.

"John," she called. The door closed as Koenig headed for his quarters.

After resting in his quarters for three days, Koenig went back to work. He was crass and angry. He gave everyone at Main Mission a headache he was so demanding. Everyone wondered if it was a side effect of the virus. He snapped at everyone. Meanwhile Koenig wondered who knew what took place that day. He could not look at Helena, he did not answer her calls nor did he let her in when she came to his quarters.

For weeks, Koenig was upset. Helena was angry also.

When will he forgive himself and let me back into his life. It's not my fault nor is it his. Why is he punishing us both, not to mention the staff?

"This has gone on long enough," she said and left hydroponics, where she and Dr. Vincent were looking at some plants used to treat viral infections.

Helena enter Main Mission and all heads turned in her direction. She had not been in here for a week. This was going to be interesting the staff thought as she strode purposefully across the floor and to Koenig's office.

Bleep! Bleep!

"Commander, may I come in?" she asked.

Koenig knew he could not leave her out there so he let her in. No one looked up as the doors opened. All heads went up as the doors closed.

Helena paused as she looked at him. He looked gaunt. He looked as though he had not eaten much or slept very well.

"John."

Koenig did not look up. She had returned to work last week. He assumed she had rested sufficiently to be back at work.

"Yes, Helena."

"We need to settle this. You are being stubborn and pig headed. Stop shutting me out." Her voice broke then and she stopped speaking not wanting to start crying. Koenig was up and out of his chair in a second. He held her in his arms and she rested her head on his chest. Her arms went around his waist and she held him tight. When she calmed herself, she pulled away from him. She looked at him. He looked at her.

"How can you ever forgive me?" he said.

"I love you. I forgave you. Can you forgive yourself, it was the virus John, and nothing happened?"

Koenig was still distraught. Forgive himself. Wow. He looked at her. He loved her. She came into his arm. She kissed him long and hard. "I love you," she said reassuringly then left.

Koenig knew he was not just upset because of the bruises on Helena's wrist. He was upset because of his passion for her as well. It had spilled over into him delirium and almost cost him his relationship. Until he could keep his emotions in check she was off limits to him.

Helena was worried. She felt she was now at that level of intimacy that John craved. He was however avoiding her still. She was at a lost as to whether he cared for her or not. Her comlock bleeped. She looked at the monitor, it was John.

"May I come in?" he asked.

She let him in. They both started to speak at the same time.

"Helena I....."

"John I....."

"You first," he said as they both started laughing.

She approached him. Her hands went to the side of his face as she looked at him.

"I'm ready for the next stage of our relationship," she said.

"Oh God, the very words I long to hear and it's too late. Helena, I came to tell you that we should wait. I'm not ready. I need to know that you are more than this passion I feel for you. I want a long lasting relationship with you. I want to know that if this passion dies we still will love each other."

"Oh John, that was so beautiful. Are you sure you want to wait?" Her eyes lit up when she said this, clasping her hands before her.

"Oh honey, I'm not sure of anything, only that I love you and I want you for all eternity."

Helena smiled. She had wanted to move on for his sake and he wanted to wait for hers. They must be a match made in heaven.

Koenig looked at her and he knew he had made the right decision. They would have plenty of time in order to do everything, there was no hurry. He would wait for her, no matter how long it took.

They kissed ardently.