Terra Nova Quest

Chapter 5

Race pulled up a chair next to Dr. Quest's bed. He planned to spend the night there and had asked Skye to stay with Jonny, Hadji and Jessie. She'd assured him she'd watch after them and had settled in on the couch. Granted she wasn't really much older than they were, but he wanted someone there.

The doc was normally a bit pale, but to Race the doc seemed more so than normal. Blood dripped into his friend and employer's arm. He hoped it would be enough.

"What really happened?" he asked Dr. Shannon when she entered.

"We're not really sure," she replied. "My husband and Commander Taylor will give you a full report as soon as they know." She checked readings, and nodded. "One of the nurses will be in a few minutes to add some fluids."

"Thank you."

Lightly her hand rested on Race's shoulder. "Don't worry. We're taking good care of Dr. Quest."

"I just want to catch whoever did this."

"Leave that to my husband." She smiled. "He's good at catching bad guys."

"So am I."

"You'll have to tell me about that." She removed her hand. "I suggest going home and getting a good night's rest."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"The cots still here." She motioned to its location. "And there are guards posted outside."

"I appreciate that, but I've taken care of Dr. Quest's security for many years."

"You're close."

"We're family."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You need to stop letting your cat roam free," Taylor said as he approached Laura's door the next morning.

"From what I hear," she crossed her arms over her chest. She braced herself for confrontation. "Sheba saved Dr. Quest's life last night."

"That she did," he agreed, a stern expression on his craggy face. "I still need you to be careful about allowing her to roam."

"Have you ever had a cat, Commander?" Maybe an offbeat question would stop the tirade she knew was coming.

"Excuse me?"

"They are very independent creatures, prone to doing what they want."

"What does that have to do with..."

Laura took several steps toward him, standing only a few inches away. She kept her voice firm, like Taylor was a small child. "Sheba knew something was wrong and she defended her territory."

"She could have hurt someone."

"Yet she didn't." She tugged at her tie dye sundress. It needed a bit of adjustment she hadn't had time to do yet.

"You promised me," he reminded her.

"Sheba has done nothing that needs to be of concern." The cat appeared around the corner of the house, a small reptile in her mouth, settling down on the lawn to eat the creature. "Do I need to remind you she's doing a great job at keeping the orchards rodent free?"

His green-blue eyes darted to the snack the cat had just tossed into the air. "No."

"Good. Let's not have this conversation again."

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"How is Dr. Quest?" The more she heard about the man, the more curious she got.