Chapter 13: Jake

I leaned back against the doorframe to Gary's room and watched them in the pool. It was really good to see Tori playing, and I was glad there was another girl aboard who was at least close to Tori's age.

Sid came around the corner and whapped me in the stomach with the back of his hand.

"You comin' in, Bro?"

"Nah- maybe later." I was content to watch, for the time being.

I was surprised when Joanne climbed on Sid's shoulders and Simone climbed on Henri's, and they started having chicken fights. Tori and Saralinda stayed out of the way, but both were giggling. I was even more surprised when Saralinda got on Sid's shoulders, Tori got on Henri's, and Simone got on Joanne's, and they did a three way fight.

Now Sid is kind of buff, but Saralinda was really going wild. She was never unseated, even when the other two teams ganged up on her. She was yelling and laughing, just like a kid.

When the other teams decided to quit, Saralinda kept cajoling them and razzing them. When she finally gave up, and she slid down from Sid's shoulders, the two of them stood awfully close together for more than just a second.

I began to get worried.

After dinner it was worse. Saralinda was drinking at something like twice the pace she'd done at previous meals. And she was very friendly with Gary, even dragging him up to dance to a song I was sure she didn't know. Her eyes were wild, her smile never left her face.

I went over to Moira, who was talking with Simone. I laid my hand on her arm, and when she turned to me, I whispered in her ear.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk with you."

She looked surprised, but apologized to Simone and came with me. I led her to the far end of the room where we could watch and talk and not be overheard or noticed.

Moira had a questioning expression on her face, and I motioned with my head to the scene at the table.

"I'm worried," I said to her.

"What? Everybody seems like they're having a good time. What's the problem?"

"Have you been watching Saralinda?" She was currently dancing with Sid.

"Sure, she's probably having the best time of them all," she said cheerfully.

"Moira – she was suicidal less than a week ago..."

I could watch the gears turn. She began to look solemn.

"You're thinking mania?"

I said nothing.

"In everything she's said, she never mentioned anything that sounded at all like a manic episode..."

"It could be her first. You aren't born bipolar. She may have had a series of depressive episodes, culminating with her suicide attempt earlier. She could be finishing a swing through to mania now..."

"Damn it, Jake. I'm the one who's supposed to be the ship therapist..." She sounded mad at herself. "I knew I was getting too close to her for objectivity. I was just so fucking grateful I didn't have to deal with suicidal depression for more than one day."

"So what do we do?" I asked, unhelpfully.

"Lithium or Seroquel, only we can't do that until Hawaii – tomorrow – and we'll have to get her into treatment, which she may not want to do. I'm sure she's feeling 'just great' right now. It's a lot easier to start treatment on your way down."

"Will she be alright tonight?"

"Let's talk to Gary. I really don't want her doing something stupid..."

"I could slip her a Mickey," I offered. "Just something to nudge her towards sleep."

"Gary first."

"Right, boss," I said. Gary happened to look our way just then, and I waved him over.

As he approached, his grin faded. "Hey, why the long faces?"

"Saralinda," Moira said simply.

He furrowed his brow and looked back at the party. Saralinda and Tori were dancing together; close, fast and happy. Simone was dancing with Joanne, but she was mostly just watching the two young women with a look of amazement on her face.

Gary turned back, puzzled. "What's the problem?"

I sighed. "Gary – Saralinda was suicidal five days ago. Tori's taken most of a year to get to this point. This isn't natural."

"You mean, like, she's high on something?"

"I don't think so – this has been coming on gradually for the past two days. No, I think she's entering a manic phase."

Gary turned to Moira, still looking confused.

"Jake's right – she could well be bipolar. This might be her first-ever manic episode, though. We think she's entering a phase where she feels like she's God – everything's great, she feels awesome, she has more energy than she's ever had before. What we're worried about is two things. First, she might do something really stupid tonight. And second, we need to get her into treatment as soon as we get to Hawaii, and if she's manic, she might not want to. Hell, if this is her first mania, she's never felt this good in her life."