By: Mera 491

"Daddy?" moaned fourteen-year-old Seja as she walked into the teamroom of the Christa.

Radu was playing a game of Minbar chess with Harlan. He looked up when his daughter entered the room.

"I don't feel good." Seja whimpered.

Radu glanced at Harlan worriedly, stood, and walked over to her. He took his right glove off and gently placed his hand on her forehead.

"You do feel a little warm." he said. "And you are a little pale. Let me see your ears."

Without a word, she pulled back her long brown hair and showed her father her spiral Andromedan ears. They were bright red.

"Okay," Radu said, putting his hand on her back. "Let's get you down to medlab."

Seja's eyes widened. "What for?"

"I want Rosie to have a blood test done to make sure you don't have any infections. Especially any ear infections." he answered

. "Please, Daddy!" she pleaded. "No needles!" She looked terrified.

"Aw, needles aren't so bad, Sej." Harlan said, standing and walking to them.The trick is, you just don't look when Rosie sticks you. And try to take your mind off the thing, too. I always sing a song." He grinned at her.

"Yeah," Radu said sarcastically. "And I have a headache for the rest of the week!"

Down in medlab, Seja whimpered and whined to no avail. Radu led her to the examining chair and said, "Sit."

Instead, she looked up at him with sad grey eyes, the same shade as his. "Don't you love me, Daddy?" she asked pitifully.

Radu laughed. "Of course I love you! And I also know that you're smart enough to realize that the old, "If you love me, you won't make me" trick stopped working when you were five years old."

That seemed to shut her up. She sat quietly and Radu knelt bside the chair. She seemed alright.

Until Rosie showed up with a syringe that had a needle about a foot long. Seja's eyes widened and her heart began to pound.

Radu looked up in surprise when he heard her heart pounding. He quickly reached up and put his hand on her arm.

"Shhh. Sweetheart, it's okay." he soothed. "Come on, baby. It'll be over in a few seconds."

Then she turned to him and said in a whisper that only he could hear, "Please, Daddy. I swear, I'll stay in bed, I'll rest, I'll drink lots of fluids, I'll use ear drops, I'll eat chicken soup, I'll gargle salt water, I'll even take some of that nasty cough syrup. Just please don't make me do this!"

He looked at her and realized just how scared she was. He thought for a moment.

"Rosie?" he said, looking up. "Could we just prick her finger and get the blood from there instead of her arm? Would that still work?"

Rosie smiled. "Sure, Radu."

Radu looked at Seja. She nodded weakly and whispered, "Thank you."

He winked at her and looked back at Rosie.

"Okay," he said. "Let's do this quick, before she canges her mind!"

Ten minutes later, Radu and Seja were in Seja's bunkroom, with Seja's bunkmates, Emillie and Valleri. They were waiting for Rosie to come back with the test results.

Radu began to pace after a while. How long would this take? Finally, Rosie walked in, frowning.

Uh-oh! Radu thought. That doesn't look like a good sign.

"Rosie, what is it?" he asked warily.

"Well, it's the test results..." Rosie began.

"What did they read?"

"Well..."

"Rosie, come on!" Radu cried out. "I mean, this is my child's health we're talking about here! Tell me NOW!"

"Well, it looks like she's got a combination of a throat infection, an ear infection, and the Andromedan flu."

"Oh, just terrific!" Radu muttered.

Seja was told to stay in bed for at least a week. She felt miserable. Her ears hurt all around the rims, and they were even more sensitive to noise than usual. Her throat was dry and scratchy. She felt sore and weak all over. She hated every second of it.

She told her friends this as the three girls prepared for bed that night.

"Well," Valleri said. "Look on the bright side! At least you've got Radu as your devoted servant!" Vall had a humongous crush on Radu, and envied Seja because she spent so much time with him.

"That just makes me feel worse!" Seja moaned. "I mean, he's always so nice to me, and when I'm sick, he acts like I'm royalty or something, and he's just my butler. I always feel so guilty, because here he is being SO nice to me, and I'm just a pain in the quaizar!"

"You're not a pain in the quaizar." Emillie said gently. "Radu likes doing things for you."

"How do you know?"

"Seja, why would he do it if he didn't want to? Especially since you always scold him for doing it!" Emillie exclaimed with an exasperated look on he face.

"Yeah!" Valleri said. "You always say, 'Daddy, please stop doing so much for me!', and he just smiles his gorgeous smile and says, 'I can't! Don't you know that a father's main job is to keep his little girl happy and healthy?' I mean, Sej, you got it made in the shade!"

"Doesn't feel like that to me." Seja whispered. She snuggled down under the covers and said, "Lights out." She was asleep in moments.

In the teamroom, Radu was playing a game of Minbar chess with Bova.

Rosie came in with a terrified look on her face. Bova quickly jumped up and rushed to her side.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is Valleri all right?"

Rosie nodded. "Vall's fine, Bova."

"Then what is it?" he asked. "Is it Mary, or Sandy?"

"Bova, all of our children are fine." she said. "It's Seja that's in trouble."

"What?" Radu stood up quicky. "What's wrong?"

"Well," she stammered. ""I was wrong. I was looking over the test results again, and she doesn't have the flu or either type of infection."

"Then what is it?" Radu asked in a panicky voice.

"Well," Rosie hesitated, then rushed on. "It's a virus that's extremely deadly to Andromedan biology."

Radu felt his legs go numb. "What are you saying?" he whispered shakily.

"If we don't get the cure for it, and fast," Rosie said. "Seja's going to die."

Radu sank to the floor. He couldn't breathe. "Do you have the cure here on the Christa?" he whispered, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Rosie shook her head. "No."

Radu looked ready to cry. "What are we going to do?" he whispered.

The next day, Seja was pale, weak, and sore. She could sense that there was something terribly wrong with her, not only by the way she felt, but the way Radu was treating her.

He stayed by her side at all times, and he got her anything and everything she needed or wanted. She could tell he was worried, and scared, much more so than he would be if she just had the flu and throat and ear infections. But he wasn't telling her anything. Which scared her.

If Radu had had any idea that Seja could tell something was wrong, had any idea that he was scaring her, he would have told her in a heartbeat. He loved his daughter more than life itself, and he would do anything for her.

"There is something REALLY wrong with Sej." Peter said worriedly. He shook his blond head, frustrated. "Why do these things always happen to Seja? I mean, she was the first to get the chicken pox, and the measles, the mumps, and.......... What else has she had first?"

"Lots of stuff." Emillie said. "But I have a feeling that this is something far worse than the chicken pox or the measles. I heard Rosie talking to Radu last night, guys." She paused, not knowing how to tell them what she had heard. "She has some sort of virus that can and will kill her if they don't get the cure into her soon."

The other kids looked shocked. In a way, Seja was their leader. She couldn't die. She just couldn't.

The Christa were coming close to a planet that the crew hoped would hold the cure to the girl's illness.

The others went out in search for the cure to Seja's disease.

Would she still be there when they returned?

She didn't know.

And neither did anyone else.

"I just know we're going to find it today!" Vall said, a bit too cheerfully. Bova hugged his daughter.

"I hope so, sweetie." he said. "I hope so."

Six hours later, they were still empty-handed. Suddenly, Bova's communicator link buzzed.

"Bova!" Rosie's panicked voice came from the little speaker. "You have to hurry! Seja's already reached the coma stage. I don't know how much longer we can keep her alive!"

"Oh, no." Bova whispered. "How's Radu doing?" he asked softly.

"He hasn't eaten in two whole days. He's so worried. He cries his eyes out. Please hurry. I don't know what he'll do if Seja dies."

"All right, we'll be back as soon as we can. Over." Bova called out to his crew members. "Come on, you guys! Seja needs us, and she needs us NOW!"

The crew rushed to where Zack was, but as soon as they got there, they all stopped dead in their tracks.

Zack had found the "Miracle Plant", alright, but someone else had already claimed it.

Seth Goddard's lip curled when he saw who it was.

Reaver.

"Well, Seth Goddard!" Reaver said. "We meet again! You and your kiddie crew still wandering through space trying to find the Starcademy?"

"We found the academy years ago." Goddard growled. "We just decided that we'd rather stay out in space."

"Ahhh, I see." Reaver said. "And now your kiddie crew has a kiddie crew of their own!"

Goddard glanced back at his crew members and saw them holding their children close to them, trying to protect them from the old space pirate. Then he glanced at his own son, whose eyes flashed with anger. Peter had learned about Reaver as a young child, being warned never to trust a space pirate. Goddard also knew that Peter had a bit of a crush on Seja, and was not going to give up the "Miracle Plant" without a fight.

Suddenly, Zack pulled himself from his father's grasp and rammed into Reaver, knocking him over. Peter chose this moment to help him tackle the pirate. Valleri pulled a knife from her pocket and quickly cut the plant's stem. Bova saw what his daughter was doing and cried, "Run, Vall, run! Take the plant to Mom! Quick! Seja can't wait much longer!"

Valleri ran as fast as she could, while the others tied Reaver up. They felt proud of themselves. It had been so easy!

So easy that they hadn't noticed Ubi watching them from a nearby tree........

"Is everything all right?" Rosie asked Bova.

"Yes, everybody's fine," he replied. "How is Radu doing knowing Seja might not survive?" Bova asked her, dreading the anser.

"Horrible!" Rosie cried. "I was in there a few minutes ago and he was... Not taking it too well... He won't eat, he won't sleep; all he does cry and worry." Rosie told him.

"It's all over." Radu came in whispering.

"What's all over?" Rosie asked worriedly.

"Seja's life. She died in my arms." he whimpered.

Rosie ran to the Medlab, where she found Seja lying motionless in the bed. Then she noticed something. The girl was breathing. Her breath was so delicate that even an Andromedan wouldn't be able to here it.

"Wait a minute!" Rosie cried. "She didn't die, Radu! She's in shock!"

Radu closed his eyes, and tears streamed down his face. He was so relieved to know that his little girl was still alive.

Rosie murmured to herself, "Come on Val, please get here soon,"

Suddenly she heard a voice behind her scream, "MOM! Here it is!"

Rosie turned to see her daughter standing there, breathless, holding the "Miracle Plant" in her hand.

"Oh, Valleri!" Rosie cried with happinness. "Just in time!" She grabbed the plant from her daughter's hands and quickly began to drain its juice out of the stems and into a cup. Radu watched anxiously and squeezed Seja's hand.

"Vall, hold Seja's mouth open for me!" Rosie instructed as she brought the cup over to the bed.

Vall did as she was told, and Rosie carefully poured the syrupy liquid down her throat. Seja unconsciously swallowed it down.

"Now all we can do is wait." Rosie said gently. She and Vall began to leave the room, but hesitated, then looked back at Radu, who was still sitting by Seja's side.

"Um, I think I'm going to stay here with her." Radu murmured in a low voice.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Rosie, Vall, and the others (who had arrived shortly after Vall had brought the plant to Radu) were waiting nervously in the Team Room. At the slightest noise, Harlan and Bova would jump up, and everyone would look expectantly at the door, hoping Radu would walk in and say Seja was okay... Nothing happened.

Just when Commander Goddard had put his face in his hands, giving up all hope, they all heard a bellow come from the Medical Center.

Everyone sprang to their feet and ran towards the scream, not knowing what to expect.

When they reached the Med Center, they saw Radu holding Seja in his arms. She was awake! (Though, clearly, very groggy.) Everyone rushed forward, hugging both father and daughter happily, most of them with tears in their eyes. Seja was safe!

Suddenly, Valleri sneezed, accidentally shooting a bolt of electricity out of her fingers.

"Uh oh, Vall," Bova said in a brooding voice. Valleri paled and looked scared. Could something be wrong with her too? The way it had been with Seja?

"What?" she whispered, sounding terrified.

"Well," Bova said to his daughter, "I think you might be allergic to Radu..."

Everyone burst out laughing as both Valleri and Radu blushed. Everything was back to normal!