Electric Storm

Treatment 1

Julian approached Samantha the next morning.

'I may have discovered another treatment for us to try. It's new, recently discovered on Vulcan. It could help you as well. First though, we have to wait until the current drug is out of your system before trying it. Are you prepared for what that means?'

'Yes, I know exactly what that means. I'm as prepared as I could be for this.'

'Would you like a tour of ops? I know you didn't get one, you miss that part of orientation because you were in here.'

'Why not?'

Julian thoroughly enjoyed touring Samantha around the station, her insatiable thirst for knowledge was amazing. She knew most of the station from her job in engineering but some parts she hadn't worked on yet. Julian took her to ops, wanting to introduce her to Sisko and Major Kira. She would find them both quite interesting to talk to.

They went through the lift to Ops, she gasped at the sight once it came into view. Julian smiled at her enthusiasm. Most people wouldn't act like this, everything is so new to her.

Worf, Dax and Kira were at ops when they arrived. Julian showed her the various control panels. Suddenly, her face turned really pale. Samantha collapsed into Julian's arms. He placed her safely on the floor and took a giant step back before the seizures began.

They were dreadful to behold. The sheer violence of them shocked even Julian. He had seen the notes from the other doctors, but nothing could have prepared him for this. Worf took a step closer to her.

'Worf, don't! She could injure you in her struggle. They should end in a couple of minutes. Ten minutes later, the seizure ended. Samantha lay there, unconscious and barely breathing, Julian approached her carefully, watching for a sign that another one was going to start. She remained still. Julian picked her up gently and called for transport to Sick Bay.

He placed her in a medically induced coma to give her body a chance to rest. She would still seize but it would be easier on her.

Julian took a deep breath as he watched Samantha sleep. She looked so young to have been through so much. The ventilator made a gentle, rhythmic sound. Julian ran his hands through his hair. This was so much worse than what he was anticipating. The only bright point was that the meds were out of her system much faster than the original plan.

Garek showed up in the doorway of the room. Julian had started to give Samantha a sponge bath. Once Garek saw what he was doing, he turned his back to the bed.

'Doctor, how's the patient?'

'Not good. She had a ten-minute-long seizure while at ops. The drugs wore off within days, much faster than what we had thought. I had thought that it would take a week so Samantha could mentally prepare herself for it. It happened so soon. I worry about what is going to happen if my new treatment doesn't work. She could lose everything that she has done. She could lose her ability to live a life. She could lose the ability to walk, do anything but lay in a bio bed.'

'Doctor, I think you are far too hard on yourself. Many doctors have tried to find a cure for her. You have only been on it for less than a month.' Garek left with that thought.

Julian decided to go for a run to work off some energy. He needed to find something to do besides worrying about Samantha. He was finding himself falling in love with her as he did with some of his patients. Sure, it seemed silly but looking at her wonder at the world was something else.

He found himself in a deserted part of DS9 where only engineers would go. He found himself sitting with his hands in face. He sat there, cross-legged and found himself wanting to go to the Bajoran Temple on the station.

Julian found himself wandering towards the temple at an unholy time of night. He kneeled on the floor of the temple and prayed to the prophets.

'Please, if you're listening to me. Help me to cure Samantha, give her a chance to live and love someone. Maybe if I'm lucky that person will be me. I just want her to get better.'

Two days later, Julian found himself in Sick Bay, hanging up the treatment that he had devised. Samantha was lying there, conscious and waiting for the ball to drop. Once it was done, they both looked at each other waiting to see what would happen. A reaction could happen at any time.

Five minutes into the treatment, Samantha began to seize again. This time it was much more violent, and Julian was knocked off his feet with one of her arms. He fell hard against one of the walls of the room. He stayed at a distance until the seizure subsided.

Samantha eventually was still and lay there, sweating. Julian took a deep breath and felt the back of his head. It wasn't bleeding but it definitely hurt. He felt hurt, knowing that this was a complete failure that had made things even worse than before.

Julian knew that he needed to do the right thing, but he didn't know the right thing to do. If he put her in another medically induced coma, then he would have to wake her up soon, and she would suffer more. He needed to find a cure for her. Samantha opened her eyes slowly and looked at Julian.

'I guess it didn't work then. I still have hope that you will find something. I haven't given up hope yet Julian.'

'Thank you, we're going to have to keep trying. This didn't work and made things worse. I'm sorry.'

Julian placed a gentle hand on her right shoulder. She smiled and joked.

'Sonic shower time? I need it.' Julian laughed in spite of himself. He knew what was she hinting at. The problem was that she lacked the strength to stand.

'I think I can arrange a second-best alternative. How about a sponge bath? Keep you from feeling too gross.'

Julian kept his feelings towards Samantha well hidden as he bathed her. One of the nurses could have done it, but Julian knew of her reluctance to show people any more of her body than she had to.

Instead, they spent the time trading stories from the academy. The one time where they both found a great deal of knowledge. Julian was finally able to talk with someone about how much he struggled to know how far to hide his genetically enhanced abilities. Samantha spoke about how much freedom she had on the campus. She had a monitoring device that would transport her to Sick Bay if anything happened so within the campus she could wander to her heart's content.