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Through Another’s Eyes

By Deana Lisi

Disclaimer: I don’t own Ardeth Bay, Frank Donovan, or anyone from The Mummy
or UC: Undercover. Safti is mine, as well as Shatira and Chicago PD Chief Morgan.
Thanks to Karri for the title, (she’s so good at those!)  and for begging me to write about a
certain character who happened to fit into this story perfectly. (You’ll see who I mean!) 
And thanks to Shelley who helped me think up character names for the people in the UC case.

Rated PG-13

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“O’Connell!”

Rick looked up at the familiar voice, to see Ardeth Bay dismount from his horse, and walk towards him.

“Hey, Ardeth! How are ya,” he said, shaking his friend’s hand.

“I am well,” Ardeth answered. “I was told that two men and a woman were studying these ruins.” He looked past Rick at the ancient pillars. “And I had a feeling it was you.”

Rick laughed. “You came two days ride on a ‘feeling’ that it was us?”

Ardeth smiled. “You were recognized, by the Med-jai who saw you.”

“Yep,” said Rick. “You know how Evy is when it comes to ancient Egyptian things.”

Ardeth nodded, with a smile. “I do indeed.”

Suddenly Evy came walking around one of the pillars, and stopped when she saw them watching her.

“Ardeth!” she said, coming over. “We’ve attracted your notice, I see!”

Ardeth nodded. “Nothing escapes the eyes of the Med-jai,” he told her, with a smile.

She smiled back, before looking at the pillar in front of her. It contained beautiful symbols that she was trying to read.

“Do you understand these, Ardeth?” she asked, pointing to a cluster that contained a sun, moon, stars, and trees that were swaying, as if blowing in the wind.

Ardeth came closer to look, and sighed. “No one has been able to decipher them for sure. We can only guess why elements of the earth and universe were drawn on them.”

“I bet that’s Med-jai for, ‘I dunno’,” said another voice.

Everyone laughed as Jonathan came walking over. “’Afternoon, Ardeth old boy!” he said.

“Hello, Jonathan,” Ardeth said. “I hope that you have the good sense not to read aloud anything you can understand.”

Jonathan scowled. “Evy was the one who did that, not me!”

“Yes,” Ardeth agreed. “But I am sure she has learned her lesson…”

Evy laughed at their conversation. “Yes, Ardeth, I have.” She looked at the pillar again, and sighed. “But I do wish I could figure out what these are here for.”

“If we find anything that makes sense,” said Rick. “We’ll let you know, Evy.”

She nodded, and continued to stare at the pillar.

Rick and Ardeth walked a short distance away. “So, how’s Med-jai life?” Rick asked. “It’s been, what…a whole two weeks since we saw you last?”

Ardeth smiled. “Life is always eventful when the O’Connell’s are around,” he said. “Whether it be for good or bad.”

“Oh, ha ha,” said Rick, as they stopped at another pillar.

Ardeth saw the same symbols on this one that Evy had pointed out to him earlier, and studied them closely, running his hand over them.

Suddenly a flash of light engulfed the small group of explorers, making them all gasp in surprise. Rick heard a startled cry and a thump, and when his vision cleared from the strange light, he saw his Med-jai friend lying on the sand, not moving.

He quickly knelt beside him. “Evy!” he yelled. “Jonathan!”

His wife and brother-in-law stumbled over, still blinking the light from their eyes, not understanding what in the world had just occurred.

“What in blue blazes was that?!” Jonathan shouted.

“I dunno, but it looks like it hit Ardeth,” Rick said, checking his friend’s pulse.

“Oh dear,” Evy said, kneeling on his other side. “Was it lightning?!” she asked, nervously, checking the pulse on Ardeth’s other wrist, not content to wait for Rick’s assessment.

“Where else do blinding flashes of light come from?” Rick retorted.

“But he’s still alive!” Jonathan said in relief, seeing the rise and fall of the Med-jai’s chest.

“His pulse seems to be all right,” said Evy, nervously. “A little fast, but not dangerously. Maybe it only grazed him?”

“Or maybe it just came so close that it knocked him down?” Jonathan said, hopeful.

Rick sighed. “We’ll probably never know for sure. Get me some water, Jonathan, maybe it’ll revive him.”

Jonathan scurried to their car and brought back a canteen.

Rick slid an arm under Ardeth’s head and lifted him up, tipping the canteen so that the water touched his lips. It had no effect at all; the Med-jai was completely limp, deeply unconscious.

“Rick…” Evy said, her voice tinged with fear.

Rick gently lowered his friend down again, with a sigh. “I don’t see anything wrong with him, Evy. None of his clothes are burned, so the lightning—if that’s what it really was—couldn’t have hit him directly. Jonathan’s probably right, it must’ve just knocked him down from coming so close. Maybe he hit his head when he fell.”

Evy nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

“Shouldn’t we bring him back to his camp?” Jonathan asked.

“We shouldn’t move him until we find out exactly what his injuries are,” Evy told him, shaking her head. “We could do more harm then good.”

Rick nodded. “She’s right. We’ll set up camp here, he’ll probably wake up soon.”

********************

He felt like he was floating, in a sea of blackness. He felt nothing, thought nothing, was nothing.

“Frank!”

A voice, calling someone. It wasn’t his name, so he didn’t respond.

“Frank!”

Suddenly someone was touching his arm. Ardeth slowly opened his eyes, to see a woman with short hair and ice-blue eyes looking down at him.

“Frank!” she said, nervously. “Are you all right?”

Ardeth frowned, as he looked up at her, blinking groggily. He heard footsteps, and saw a man come running towards them, throwing himself to his knees beside the woman.

“What happened?” the man asked her.

“I dunno, I just found him lying here. Frank?”

Ardeth realized that these people thought him to be someone else. His mind was so hazy that he felt that he had no choice but to play along. “I am all right, Alex.” Alex? How did I know her name?

Suddenly gunshots were heard, and the man grabbed his arm. “We gotta get him outta here!”

Alex grabbed Ardeth’s other arm, and they pulled him up, keeping death grips on his arms as they led him at a run out of the strange structure that Ardeth couldn’t identify.

Suddenly bullets were whizzing by their heads, and they quickly dropped behind some large crates, pulling out guns and shooting back.

Ardeth realized that he had a gun too; in a holster not unlike the one Rick liked to wear. He took it out and fired in the direction of the shots, almost stopping in surprise at how different the gun looked then what he was used to.

Suddenly the shooting stopped.

“Got him,” said Alex. “Cody, Monica, it’s clear.”

“On our way.”

Ardeth jumped when he heard the disembodied voice in his right ear. He yanked the earpiece out and stared at it, before realizing something else. The others looked at him strangely when he raised a hand to feel that he had short hair, rather then his usual slightly longer then shoulder length.

“Hey boss, you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, Jake.” How do I know the names of these people? he wondered. This is impossible; I am Ardeth Bay, leader of the Med-jai, not this ‘Frank’ that they think me to be!

Suddenly a van pulled up, and a black woman came out. Strange wailing sounds could be heard in the distance, and Ardeth wondered what they were.

That woman’s name is Monica, Ardeth thought, with growing confusion. She ran over to where he stood.

“What happened to you?” she asked. “We were calling you and you didn’t answer, and then Alex finds you unconscious! Did the guy have an accomplice?”

Ardeth just looked at her, trying to make sense of her words, and the entire situation. They all carried guns, they were running from shooters, and seemed to have the right to shoot back. He realized with shock that he wasn’t in Cairo, from the looks of the surroundings. Where am I?

“Frank?”

He looked back at Monica, realizing that she had asked him a question. “I…am not sure what happened,” he admitted.

She looked at him, concerned. Before she had a chance to say anything else, a voice came from behind him.

“Ah, Frank, looks like you got our man.”

Ardeth spun around, to see what was obviously a police officer.

“Good job,” said the cop, shaking Ardeth’s hand. “He’s alive, and will be put away for a long time, thanks to you and your team. We can never repay you.”

Ardeth had no idea what to say. He realized that he was obviously in some kind of law enforcement, and seemingly higher up then the policeman. “Thank you,” he said.

The officer nodded and turned, going back to where Ardeth could see people kneeling beside the man they’d shot.

Alex came walking back over, Jake behind her. She looked back at the scene, and muttered, “Cop killer.”

Ardeth understood now why the policeman was so grateful.

Someone suddenly came barreling out of the van, slightly startling Ardeth.

“It’s over!” Cody said. “Can we go get lunch now?”

Jake laughed, and they all started for the van.

Ardeth stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what exactly he was expected to do. It appeared that he was the head of this team. I am in big trouble, as Rick would say. He noticed that they left the front seat on the right side empty, so he assumed it was his regular seat. Getting in, he looked around in shock at how different the inside of this vehicle was then Rick’s car. Suddenly it occurred to him that the steering wheel was on the left side, and the people all had American accents! How did I come to be in America?! he thought, in utter shock.

“Where am I going?” Jake asked, as he drove down the street.

“Burger King!” Cody said, from the back.

“Ching Chang’s!” said Monica.

“Marcello’s!” said Alex.

“Wherever we go, can we eat inside instead of going through the drive through, Frank?” Cody asked.

Ardeth frowned, wondering what a ‘drive through’ was. No one protested, so he glanced back at Cody, nodding.

“Wait a minute,” said Monica. “Frank got hurt! You never told me if you were all right,” she said.

“Or what happened to you,” said Alex.

Ardeth sighed. How could he explain to them that he was not the person they thought him to be? How could something like this have happened? he thought. Is it possible that I am dreaming? No, it all seems too real. Ardeth tried to figure out how to correctly phrase his answer.

Jake came up with an opinion for his hesitation. “You get hit from behind?”

Ardeth realized that that was probably the only answer that they would accept. He nodded.

“Ouch,” Cody commented. “How’s your head?”

Ardeth found to his surprise that his head actually hurt. Did ‘Frank’ really get hit, or is it an after-affect from whatever apparently put me into his body? He almost told them again that he was fine, but realized that if they knew him to be in pain, then they might let go whatever uncharacteristic things he said or did; as he had no idea what Frank’s personality was really like. “It hurts,” he said.

Everyone looked at him, in surprise. Is this ‘Frank’ a person who does not usually admit to pain? He thought. That is good; I may get away with more, as Rick would say. He smiled inwardly to see that it was obviously a good thing he’d been around Rick so much, and heard his American phrases.

“Maybe we should go through the drive through,” said Alex, concerned about ‘Frank’.

“I still don’t know where I’m going,” said Jake. “Frank, you pick.”

Ardeth was stumped. He tried to remember the names of the places the team had suggested, and only remembered the odd sounding one. “Ching Changs?” he said.

Cody laughed. “You knew he’d pick that one, Jake. Chinese is his favorite.”

Ardeth inwardly sighed in relief at his luck, in accidentally making the right choice.

They were pulling into the parking lot a minute later, and Jake parked. “Who’s getting the food?” he asked.

Ardeth suddenly realized that if they asked him what he wanted, he had no idea what to say. “We can all go in,” he said.

“You sure?” Jake asked.

He nodded, and they all got out of the van.

Ardeth was in utter shock when he stepped into the restaurant, at the sight of the bizarre Chinese décor. They were seated and given menus, and when Ardeth opened his, he almost dropped it when he realized that most of the dishes were in Chinese. Now what am I to do? he thought.

“Frank, you’re getting the sweet and sour chicken, right?” Alex asked.

That must be what Frank usually orders, Ardeth thought. “Yes,” he said.

“Good, you wanna split that and Moo Goo?”

Ardeth blinked. Moo Goo? He nodded, figuring it must be something Frank’d eaten in the past, for Alex to ask him.

A man came and took their orders, and Ardeth couldn’t help but wonder how ‘his’ team could be so nonchalant at what they had been in the middle of a short time ago. Situations like that must be the norm for them.

When the man returned with their food, Ardeth was shocked at the amount of it. A dish was set in front of him, obviously containing his sweet & sour chicken. He stared at the round shaped things, not seeing any chicken.

Alex reached over and grabbed his plate, spooning half of the round objects onto an empty dish, and replacing them with a pile of…something. She pushed over a dish of orange liquid for him, keeping her own.

Ardeth took his plate back, and watched as Alex cut one of the balls in half, and dipped it in the orange liquid. He did the same, hesitating slightly before he put it into his mouth. His eyes opened in surprise when he saw how good it was, and he ate another piece, before trying the Moo Goo.

Jake started to laugh, and Ardeth looked up to see that Cody was trying to eat rice with two sticks. He frowned in confusion, before he saw that everyone had been given a pair. When he saw the difficulty Cody was having, he opted not to try them himself.

When everyone was finished, Ardeth felt so full, he couldn’t believe it. I understand why this is Frank’s preferred food, he thought.

The waiter came and left a piece of paper on the table, along with 5 small objects wrapped in plastic.

“Whose turn to pay?” asked Cody.

Ardeth felt a flash of panic; he didn’t understand American money. If it was his turn…

“Jake’s,” Alex and Monica both said.

“Yeah, I always get it when we spend the most!” Jake exclaimed.

Ardeth sighed in utter relief, louder then he intended.

Everyone looked at him, in concern for his head; mistaking the sigh for a pain complaint. Jake put the money on the table, and everyone stood to leave.

As they got back into the van, Cody handed something to Ardeth, and he saw it to be one of the small plastic-wrapped objects. He heard crunching sounds, and Alex laugh.

“You will be swept off your feet by the man of your dreams,” she said.

“Ohh, you got a good one,” said Monica. “Mine says, ‘Wisdom is not born, but attained’.”

“Mine says, ‘Confucius say, always look both ways before crossing the street’,” Cody told them.

Everyone started laughing, and Ardeth wasn’t sure if Cody was joking or not. He opened his cookie, and broke it like Cody had. Taking the piece of paper out, he stared in shock at what it said. “You will take an interesting journey,” he read.

“Cool!” said Cody. “Can I come? I could use a vacation.”

Everyone laughed at him.

Ardeth put the paper in a pocket, and ate the cookie. At least I’ll be well fed while I am here, he thought. He watched the passing cars as Jake drove, in awe at the shocking differences in the designs, from Rick’s car and others he had seen. Suddenly a shocking thought struck him. This does not look like 1934…

“Frank?”

Ardeth jumped slightly, realizing that Alex had been talking to him, but he hadn’t heard what she’d said. He turned around to look at her.

“Do you want some aspirin?” she repeated, sounding concerned.

Ardeth realized that he must’ve gasped aloud, at his realization that he wasn’t in his normal time, and she’d thought it was because of his aching head. “Please,” he said.

Alex frowned, as she dug through her purse. She couldn’t understand how he’d been hit from behind; the man they were after was murderous, and would never have let Frank live. But odd or not, she was thankful that he was alive.

Jake pulled up at the nest, and they all got out. As Alex handed Frank the pills, she saw that he looked pale.

“Maybe you should go get looked at, Frank,” she said.

Ardeth looked at her with a frown. “Looked at?”

Alex blinked. He asked it as if he didn’t understand what she meant. “By a doctor, duh.”

“Ah,” he said, as they walked into the building. All he needed was to not recognize his own doctor and not know how to answer any of his questions. They would know something was wrong, and probably keep him in the hospital. “No, I am fine.”

Sure you are, she thought. She hung back and watched him, as he stood looking around as if he’d never been there before.

Glancing back at her, and seeing her watching him, Ardeth picked a direction to walk in, hoping to find water to drink with the pills.

“Frank.”

Ardeth turned to see Monica standing there with two bottles of water, one of which she handed him.

“Thank you,” Ardeth said, in relief that he didn’t have to wander aimlessly now. He watched as everyone walked over to a table, sitting down at it. Realizing that he was supposed to follow, he did, and everyone stared at him as he sat down.

They all waited for him to speak, but he drank his water instead—after figuring out how to open it—stalling, as he had no idea what was expected of him. I am obviously the leader of this team, he thought. As so, they are expecting something of me. He tried to figure out what. We have just returned from capturing a criminal, they must be waiting for me to speak of it. “That man will never kill again,” he said, convincingly, he hoped.

“You can say that again!” said Cody. “He thought he’d get away with killing cops? Not while we’re on the case!”

Ah, Ardeth thought. We are a special unit that works on particular cases.

Jake looked around the table. “Where’s his file?”

“I put it on Frank’s desk,” said Cody.

Frank’s desk? Ardeth thought. I don’t know where his office is… “Would you get it, Cody?” he asked.

Cody nodded, and jumped up from the table.

Ardeth was relieved to see that from where he was sitting, he could watch where Cody went, without it being obvious.

Cody ran up the stairs, and into Frank’s office. Grabbing the file, he ran back, and handed it to Ardeth.

Ardeth looked at it, his nervousness growing. What am I supposed to do? What does Frank do? His head started to hurt worse thanks to his anxiety, as he opened the file. The first thing he saw was a picture of a dead body. There were a lot of papers behind it, and Ardeth knew there was no way he could do what was expected of him, as he had no idea what that was.

Ardeth put the file down and rubbed his forehead. “Would you all mind if we did this tomorrow?” he asked.

The others looked at him in surprise, their concern mounting. “Sure, Frank,” said Monica.

Ardeth got up, and started to walk to Frank’s office. Suddenly remembering the file, he picked it up, and took it with him.

The rest of the team looked at each other.

“Boy is he acting weird,” said Cody.

“He must’ve gotten hit hard,” said Alex. “Number 1,” she said, counting on her fingers. “He admitted it to us. Number 2, he accepted my aspirins. Number 3, he’s holed up in his office, instead of wrapping up the case!”

“Not like Frank at all,” Jake agreed. “I don’t like it.”

“I don’t understand how he only got whacked,” said Monica. “That guy was a psycho cop killer. For him to sneak up on Frank, knock him out, and let him keep his gun, for goodness sake, makes no sense at all!”

Everyone was silent for a minute.

“What if he wasn’t hit?” said Alex.

“Huh?” said Cody.

“What if he passed out or something, from something medically wrong with him?” Alex said.

That statement made them all even more nervous.

“So should we leave him alone, or go see if he’s okay?” wondered Cody.

Alex stood. “I say we go see.”

********************

Ardeth found Frank’s office, and immediately sat down in the chair with a sigh, resting his elbows on the desk.  How did I get here? How do I get back? How will I manage to function as this Frank Donovan? His people will know that something is amiss, if they do not suspect already.

So engrossed was he, with his thoughts, that he didn’t hear the footsteps on the stairs.

“Frank?”

Ardeth jumped, despite himself.

The team all came into the room, alarmed to see him with his head in his hands. Alex immediately went over to him and started feeling the back of his head.

“What are you doing?” he asked, trying to pull away.

“Looking for a bump,” she answered, yanking on his shoulder to keep him in the chair and stop him from moving.

Ardeth sighed, wondering if she would find one.

“There’s nothing there,” she said, “Are you sure he really hit you?”

They never stop asking me questions, he thought. I am not sure if Frank was hit or not. If I tell them now that the man didn’t hit me, after saying that he had, then they’ll think something else is wrong, and take me to a hospital. “Yes,” he said. “He hit me.”

Alex moved her hand lower, to his neck. “Did he hit your head or the back of your neck?

Ardeth sighed. “I am not sure.”

“Wow are you tense,” Alex commented, as she massaged the base of his neck with her thumbs.

Ardeth winced at the pain it caused at first, but then sighed in relief and closed his eyes when it started to feel wonderful. It seemed like it went on forever, but she stopped all too soon. He opened his eyes slowly, to see everyone quietly watching, anxiously. “Thank you,” he said to Alex, wondering at the fascinating gift she had in her hands.

“Anytime,” she said, still giving him a concerned look.

“Why don’t you go home, Frank,” Monica suggested.

Home? Where do ‘I’ live?

The team wasn’t sure what to call the look on his face then, being used to Frank always controlling his emotions in a convincing mask.

“Frank, you’re starting to scare us!” Alex blurted.

Ardeth looked up at her, contrite. “I am sorry,” he said. “I…” he wasn’t sure what to say that they would accept for an explanation. “Tired. I’m tired.”

The team exchanged glances. “Sudden tiredness? That’s a sign of concussion,” said Monica.

“No,” Ardeth said. “I did not get much sleep last night. That’s all.”

Jake shook his head. “Is that why you were snuck up on so easily? You should’ve told us this morning! You could’ve been a liability to us, out there! Not to mention yourself.”

Ardeth didn’t know what to say. These people didn’t know the truth, and wouldn’t believe it even if he told them.

“You seemed fine this morning,” said Monica, suspicious that he was hiding something.

“But that was before he got knocked out,” Cody pointed out.

“Call it a day, Frank,” Jake said, firmly.

Ardeth nodded, realizing that this was his chance to study the file before he had to discuss the case they had been handling. He stood, and walked towards the door.

“Frank, your keys,” said Alex, taking them off his desk and holding them out.

Keys? Ardeth thought, staring at them. I have to drive a car! To an address I don’t know!

Alex frowned, at Ardeth’s strange look.

“Can you drive me?” he asked, bringing a hand up to rub his forehead.

Alex nodded. “Of course.” She looked at Jake. “Follow?”

Jake nodded, knowing that someone had to take Alex back to her car after she dropped Frank off with his.

“Wish we could go home early,” Cody quipped.

“Go ahead,” said Ardeth, as he walked out the office door.

Cody did a double take. “Uh, boss…did you just say we can go home too?”

Ardeth turned to look at him. “Yes. Go home.” He didn’t see any point of them staying there if he—their boss—was leaving.

“Wow, now we know something’s wrong with him!” Cody whispered to Monica.

“Alex,” Monica whispered.

Alex turned to look at her, and nodded, seeming to know what Monica was trying to tell her.

Ardeth let Alex pass him so that he could follow her, as he had no idea which vehicle was Frank’s. When she led him to the silver and black car in the parking lot, Ardeth had to admit to himself that it was pretty nice looking. They got in, and Alex drove off.

Ardeth tried to memorize the scenery, knowing that he needed to quickly get familiar with the city. He didn’t notice the looks Alex kept shooting his way.

He doesn’t even notice that we aren’t going towards his apartment! Alex thought.

Ardeth said nothing through the whole ride, and when Alex pulled into a parking lot, he wondered why she was stopping there. Instead of asking, since Frank would most likely be able to figure it out, he looked at the signs of the buildings. Chicago Urgent Care? That sounds like a medical facility…

“Alex…” he said.

“No, Frank, I don’t wanna hear it! You’ve been acting weird ever since you woke up, from whatever it is that happened to you. If you were in my shoes, you would do the same.”

Jake had pulled in beside them, and gone over to the car. He heard what Alex said, and thought that ‘Frank’ was protesting, so he opened the door and took his arm.

“She’s right, Frank. Now, come with us quietly, or we’ll have you arrested,” he said with a smile, hoping Frank would laugh.

Arrested? Ardeth thought he was serious until he saw Jake’s smile. Seeing that he had no choice, he got out of the car, and they both held onto his arms as if afraid he would suddenly bolt.

“He needs to see a doctor right away,” said Alex, as they reached the receptionist desk.

“He’ll have to sign in and wait his turn,” the woman replied, gesturing to the waiting room full of patients.

Alex pulled out her badge, and stuck it in the woman’s face. “He needs to see a doctor now!”

“Oh, uh…” the woman was flustered at seeing the DOJ badge. “Well,” she picked up a clipboard and a pen. “What’s his name?”

“Frank Donovan.”

“Date of birth?”

“Nov 23, 1970.”

Ardeth’s jaw nearly dropped. 1970? Then what year is it now? He stood there, silently, grateful that the woman was asking Alex the questions, and not himself, since he didn’t know most of the answers.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Someone may’ve knocked him out.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “May have?”

Alex sighed. “We were trying to catch a criminal and I found him unconscious on the ground. He thinks he was hit, but isn’t exactly sure.”

The receptionist looked at Frank. What a handsome man! she thought. “Any strange symptoms?”

Alex sighed again, this time in exasperation. “Yes! That’s why we’re here! Can he see a doctor, already?”

“All right!” The receptionist stood and ran down the hall.

Jake laughed. He’d stayed silent all that time, enjoying watching Alex intimidate the woman.

The receptionist came right back. “Follow me, please.”

Ardeth sighed. As Jonathan would say, I am bloody well doomed! 

********************

“Humm,” said the doctor, as he read what the receptionist had written on the clipboard. “Got a pretty dangerous job there.”

Ardeth nodded, sighing inwardly. Alex and Jake had tried to follow when the receptionist had taken him to a room, and she’d had to practically keep Alex back by force. Is she in love with Donovan, or just protective of her friend? he wondered. Ardeth actually wished they’d let her stay. He was very nervous, knowing the doctor would ask him something that he couldn’t answer.

“So, you got hit on the head?”

“I…think so,” Ardeth answered, lamely.

“Humm,” the doctor said, taking an object that looked like a pen, and shining a light into his eyes.

Ardeth flinched, not comprehending what he was doing. Knowing that the doctor had to be doing it for a reason, he tried to keep his eyes open until the doctor took the light away, and blinked furiously as the doctor checked his pulse. When he checked his blood pressure next, Ardeth couldn’t help but stare in amazed confusion, not understanding it at all.

“What’s your name?” the doctor suddenly asked.

“A—Frank Donovan,” he said, catching himself.

“Age?”

Ardeth paused. Why is he asking me, when he read what the woman wrote on the paper? He sighed. Alex said Frank was born in 1970…what year is it now? He had to say something though, so he gave his own age. “32?”

The doctor looked at him. “You said that as if it were a question.”

Ardeth laughed nervously, and the doctor kept up his examination, so he assumed Frank to miraculously be the same age as he was.

“What day is it?”

Ardeth blinked. Oh no…

The doctor looked at him. “What day is it?” he repeated, thinking he hadn’t heard him.

Ardeth had no choice but to guess, and he felt that his luck had just run out. “Tuesday?”

The doctor frowned. “Noooo.”

Ardeth sighed. Should he go backwards, or forward? “Wednesday?”

The doctor shook his head, a grave look on his face. “What was yesterday?” He watched as the confusion on his patient’s face grew at this new question.

What was yesterday in my own time? “Sunday?

The doctor shook his head.

Ardeth lowered his head with yet another sigh. I seem to be doing that a lot. “I have no idea, doctor.”

“Today is Thursday,” the doctor told him. “Can you tell me the year?”

Ardeth thought for a minute. If Frank was born in 1970, and is 32 years old, then the year would be… “2002?!”

The doctor frowned, at his patient’s apparent shock at the year. He shook his head, crossing his arms. “I found no sign of a concussion…until now. If that is in fact what’s wrong with you.”

Ardeth tried not to sigh. I am doing a bad job of convincing everyone.

“I’d like to take some blood, make sure nothing else is wrong.”

Take some blood?

The doctor saw the apprehensive look in his patient’s face. It only served to make him more concerned; Frank had been in there before with injuries, and the doc knew that he’d been shot, stabbed, and even lost his spleen. It was not normal for the man to be afraid of a needle; after having gone through all that, a blood test should be a piece of cake for him. He got a syringe, and went back over to his patient.

Ardeth watched him like a hawk, wondering what he was about to do, slightly nervous about it.

“Roll up your sleeve.”

Ardeth obeyed, for the first time really noticing the clothes that he was wearing. Black, he thought. At least it is a color I am used to.

The doctor tied the elastic around his arm, and waited for the vein to show. When it did, he stuck in the needle.

Ardeth gasped when he did it; not so much in pain, but in surprise and amazement as he watched the blood fill the tube.

The doctor glanced at him, noting the shocked expression. “You aren’t gonna faint, are you?” he asked.

Ardeth shook his head, wordlessly.

When the doctor was finished, he put gauze and a band-aid over the tiny hole. Looking at Frank, he saw that he was pale, and he assumed it was because of his injury combined with losing the blood; he’d taken a lot, wanting to run a bunch of tests. “Why don’t you lie down for a minute? I’ll be right back.”

Ardeth nodded, and obeyed. He put his right hand over his eyes, blocking out the bright lights in the ceiling. For a minute he didn’t think. The events of the day were too mind boggling, too bizarre. He felt dazed, in a stupor; stuck in a state of staggering bewilderment.

The doctor was talking right outside the door, but he didn’t even notice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Through Another's Eyes - continued