Martian Rescue
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: None
Characters: Neal, Peter,
Warning/genre: AU Science fiction, hurt/comfort, angst, survival scenario, alien abduction, rescue mission
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Author's Notes: This story was written to fill the ‘Alien abduction’ square on my H/C Bingo card.
Word Count: ~1300
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Neal loses contact with his teammates, left on a desolate planet, can he survive?
Story can also be found on AO3.
Neal imagines himself sipping on a nice glass of wine. It is an excellent year and he swirls the wine in his glass between sips. He can taste the tanginess, it has been a long time since he such a good vintage.
When he swallows, his throat hurts, it is parched. He shakes his head and is back in the here and now. The environment surrounding him is bare, dusty, hostile.
The memories flood back, he missed the spaceship for its return home, it is a death sentence in itself. He can end his suffering quickly, just taking his helmet off would end it all instantaneously. But it turned out his will to live is stronger than he had thought, or is he just a coward? He likes to think he is a survivor.
He rethinks the last couple of hours, but he comes to the same conclusion, he is out of options. His air supply is almost depleted, he can feel the rush of oxygen deprivation in his head. It won´t be long anymore, not if he is already hallucinating.. He can only hope it will be quick, so he can see Kate again. He pushes away the images of the exploding spacecraft and instead thinks about their last night together. He can see her, hear her, smell…
* * *
Neal gasps when his helmet is removed, he starts coughing, he can´t breathe. His heart races when he feels hands on him and he gulps for air. He wants to open his eyes, but they just seem too heavy to open. Now that he thinks about it, his whole body feels weighted down.
Something isn´t right, somewhere deep down Neal knows something is amiss. He does his best to struggle but he can feel hands clinically holding him, restraining him.
Did they come back for him?
They must have. He giggles. It must be the oxygen deprivation, he guesses. When he tries to talk, someone answers him, but Neal doesn´t seem to understand what they are saying. He does his best to understand; but he suddenly has a sinking feeling. He is being submerged in a liquid, no, it feels like Jell-o. The moment the stuff reaches his mouth, he panics and starts struggling for dear life.
There is a light tingling feeling rippling through the water and Neal can feel his mind and body relax. There is a sort of floaty feeling that is comfortable and safe and Neal relaxes into it.
* * *
Neal becomes more aware with his body healing. He hears voices, but they seem far away. The floaty feeling stays. Slowly, he can feel his fingers and he moves them, next are his toes. But every accomplishment tires him and Neal falls back in a dreamless state. He doesn´t know how long he has been like this, but suddenly he can blink open his eyes, just like that. And with it comes panic. He is underwater. He…
He can breathe…
His mind is still trying to process the fact, when his eyes dart to the movement he catches in the corner of his eye.
His heart seems to skip a beat, because there is an alien studying him.
Wait… not one, there are several ones.
Neal checks out his surroundings and he appears to be suspended in a clear Jell-o like substance. Neal is aware that the beings are studying him the way he is doing them. They are tall, taller than Neal and slim, but Neal has difficulty describing them. They are not humanoid, they resemble to wasps. They are talking to each other and Neal realizes that is what he heard while unconscious or maybe he was in stasis since he could hear them?
‘Can you hear us?’
Neal starts, he hears them in his head.
‘Nod if you hear us, don´t try to talk.’
Neal nods his head.
‘Good, it took us some time to figure out what species you are and to recalibrate our equipment to your language.’
Neal lifts his shoulders in an effort to clarify he has questions.
‘Sorry I wasn´t clear but we can hear your thoughts, so what do you want to ask?’
‘Who are you?’
‘Again, sorry, I am called z’tic, what is your name?’
‘Neal. Neal Caffrey.’
‘Welcome Neal, you are on board of our vessel.’
‘What happened?’
‘We found you on Mars. We scanned the surface but you appeared to be alone and your life support system was depleted. When we encountered you, you were seizing to exist.’
‘Yeah I was. My oxygen supply ran out. Thank you for rescuing me. What is the stuff I am in?’
There is a strange shrieking sound and Neal recognizes it as laughter.
‘It is a biosphere we created to maintain your body. It needed all sorts of nutrients and it needed to be repaired. The “stuff” you are in, is called oo’nus’ and it makes sure your body receives everything it needs.’
Neal nods his understanding. He wants to know what they are planning to do with them.
‘Your body indicators tell us it needs rest.’ The creature evades Neal´s question.
‘I´m not tired.’
The tingling feeling he felt before is back and Neal recognizes the relaxed state of his body and mind. Before he can think of something, he is out.
* * *
‘Neal? NEAL!’
Neal groans. He pries open his eyes, but the lights are too bright.
‘Shit, call Peter.’ He hears another voice order.
Peter, that sounds good to Neal. Peter will know what to do.
‘Let´s take him to the infirmary. Call Sara. Are you with us, Neal?’
He does his best to nod and he can hear the happiness in their voices when his crewmates talk.
He is being lifted and carried somewhere. Next thing he knows, he is laying on a table. Infirmary, he thinks. Sara, Sara is here, he can smell her perfume. She starts connecting monitoring equipment to his body while talking to him. It is mostly nonsense but he glad to hear her voice and he lets it wash over him. Blood is drawn and he wants to tell Sara that he is fine, but for some reason, his mouth is still not in sync with his brain.
‘How is he?’
Peter. Peter is here.
‘Surprisingly well, bloodwork is clear, vitals are stable and within normal parameters. He is not even de-hydrated.’
‘Isn´t that odd?’
‘Well not more odd than the fact that he is here.’
‘P’ter’ Neal croaks.
‘Hi Neal, good to have you back.’
Sara feeds him some water and Neal greedily drinks to lubricate his throat.
‘Was I gone? What happened?’
‘What is the last thing you remembered?’
‘We needed to evacuate and I didn´t make the set time. I tried to take care of things, but there was nothing I could use to prolong the life support system.’
‘Well, you must have managed to make back to the ship in time, because here you are. Jones and Blake found you in one of the cargo bays.’
Neal is fairly sure he didn´t make it, that he was left to die on Mars and that he was rescued by aliens. But nobody would believe him. Maybe he did make it, but deprived of oxygen he just didn´t realize it. At least that sounds more plausible.
‘Yeah, I must have.’ Neal admits slowly.
‘Well, I am glad that my crew is complete, saves me a lot of paperwork.’ Peter laughs, ‘just kidding. Rest, Sara will take care of you.’
Neal nods while closing his eyes.
* * *
‘Did you get him onboard?’
‘Yes, just like you asked.’
‘Good, then the other humans will take care of him. Did you mark him?’
‘Yes, just like you asked. It won’t be difficult to track him down.’
‘Good work. Let´s continue with our mission then.’