Shocked (20 page)

Eventually we leave my room. It’s more to check on Brie than our willingness to separate our mouths. Dr. Ford probably wants to see me again too. If we’re being fair I should include Lucas.

“Lucas,” I ask and lock the door behind us. B sticks to his spot by my right leg. “I’m going to go see Brie now, but I need to see the doc later. Want to meet me there in an hour?”

Lucas leans in close and gives me a final parting kiss. He releases me and gives a quick swat at my behind while I take off down the hall with B on my heels.

Brie looks much better after she gets some sleep. Xavier’s sleeps in Jared’s arms in the corner. Brie motions for me to be quiet but come in. Despite my silent protests she pulls on a robe and her slippers and walks into the hall.

“Are you supposed to be out of bed?” I can whisper in the hallway.

Brie grimaces and then tugs me behind her. “It’s fine. Doc said I can move
whenever I feel like it. I’m going absolutely nuts in that bed. Let the men bond for a few, I need to stretch my legs.”

Stretch them we do. At first Brie’s astonishment of seeing her feet again distracts her. When that gets old it takes her exactly five minutes to hone in on the fact that something’s different about me.

“You’re smiling!” She exclaims and claps her hands together.

“I do that on occasion.” I throw back cheekily.

“Yeah, but you’re
really
smiling. It reaches your eyes and everything. So what gives?”

“Where do you want me to start?” There’s so much to tell.

“At the beginning when you left. I don’t like all this radio silence BS.” One thing about Brie is she never sugarcoats things.

The condensed version takes enough time and our steps slow while she absorbs the first part of our trip.

“So you and Mason are officially Splitsville?”

“Yeah, for a few weeks now—
not
counting my disgruntled stage…it’s hard but I can’t get past it. The trust is gone.”

“You did the right thing. Eventually the lid would’ve blown off that pot and it could’ve been much worse.”

It still hurts a little to think about so I push on and explain the rest of our trip. Brie knows by now that all this info stays between us and Jared. This isn’t her first dance.

“Wow. What are we going to do?” The fear is plain on her face.

She’s happy to hear Dr. Ford’s on the case and already has tested the above ground model successfully. “Dr. Ford rocks when it comes to modifying things. He’ll have it ready in no time.” She says.

“That’s what we’re hoping.” We approach the final steps to her temporary room.

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re smiling.” She says accusingly and glares. Before I can answer she gets that look on her face. “Wait, I think I know.”

Sure enough I see Lucas making his way towards us. There’s that smile on my face again and Brie hones right in on it. “Eek!” She says loudly and clamps a hand over her mouth so she doesn’t wake Xavier. “You better not beat around the bush tomorrow!” She hisses. “I expect you here for lunch and ready to divulge
every
detail.”

“Yes, ma’am,” My words are smart but my tone is playful as I hug her goodbye.

“You two behave.” Brie points at Lucas and back to me before she disappears through her door.

Lucas looks at me in confusion. “Don’t ask.” I tell him.

He gives a small head shake. “Ready to go see the doc?”

“I’m never really ready to go see any doctor. Luckily Dr. Ford also qualifies as a friend.” I grab Lucas’ hand and together we go find out my fate. One Lucas may not even realize yet.

Dr. Ford’s in his lab with what I suspect is more than a five o’clock shadow.
Does the man ever sleep?
It’s doubtful.

Lucas trails in behind me and closes the door. Dr. Ford’s eyebrows shoot up but he keeps any comments to himself.

“It’s okay, doc. I mean, I didn’t tell him everything, but he deserves to know.” I take Lucas’ hand and firmly display our new relationship boundaries.

“Alright, then,” Dr. Ford picks up a clipboard. “Let’s get started. You know the tests we ran through and the concerns we had.”

Lucas slightly tightens his grip on my hand though he remains quiet.

“There’s no evidence of harmful radiation in you. However the changes in your power levels in comparison to those before your exposure are extraordinary. This is probably also the culprit for your lack of sleep and advanced healing. It’s almost like water chemistry, but backwards. I’ve heard of it altering DNA and removing pieces, only yours have built even more than before.” Lucas’ eyes shoot to mine as Dr. Ford makes his last statement.

“I knew you weren’t sleeping, but healing?” He asks, “When?”

“The hole was when I first noticed it, around that time, anyway. First I just thought I was losing my mind. Then I got a really deep cut and it healed before my eyes. I didn’t want to deal with it out there.”

He nods. “I get that.”

Dr. Ford continues. “The increase in power and control are also the probable causes of being able to move tangible objects. I’d like to test that theory more soon.”
At least it sounds like a fun, needle free test. They’re preferred over the pokey ones.
“Overall,” Dr. Ford continues, “I’d like to see you gain a few pounds but you’re healthier than ever.”

I see relief wash over Lucas. His posture relaxes along with the expression on his face, which probably mirrors my own. It’s one less thing to worry about—one less boulder in the mountain of things stacking against us these days.

“Thanks, doc,” I answer and know my grin is huge.

“My pleasure,” He answers.

“Hey, doc? How are the underground pole things going?” Lucas asks.

Dr. Ford gets that excited gleam in his eye like he does with all of his pet projects. “They’re almost done. It was Kat’s idea to place them between the others and it seems like it’ll work just fine. If all goes well we should be able to test them in a few days.”

“If only we have them fit for human use,” My thoughts drift to finding a cure, always.

Dr. Ford tilts his head, “Say that again.”

“I wish they’d work on people. Defense is great but if we can’t stop people from getting infected it’ll only be a matter of time before we lose.” I say the words aloud and make them much more real.

“Can’t we do that though, doc? Make them work on people?” Lucas asks.

We can see the cogs spin in Dr. Ford’s mind as he begins his now famous ramblings. “Not a pole—or even two. It’d be too uncomfortable.” Neither of us interrupts Dr. Ford’s conversation with himself. We know it’s better to let him talk it out. “It has to complete the circuit…there has to be some way.”

Lucas toys with the friendship bracelet Brie gave me years ago when an idea hits him, “Doc, what about a bracelet?”

Dr. Ford stops mid mumble. “That just may work.”

Dr. Ford rushes us down the hall to Captain Jennings’ office. He’s full of excitement from the possibilities of our conversation. Captain Jennings is equal in his astonishment when Dr. Ford slows down enough to make sense. Captain Jennings quickly gives Dr. Ford the go ahead. Dr. Ford rushes back off to his lab. Lucas, the captain and I stare at the door behind him.

“Nice work you two.” Captain Jennings tells us. “This just might be the edge we need.”

“Any word on Carch?” Lucas asks.

“No, although I’m not convinced that’s good news. All reports indicate that she’s pulling back, and we know that’s very uncharacteristic of her. I’m thinking about sending out some scouts to do some intel.”

“It probably wouldn’t hurt. I doubt she’s doing anything she appears to be.” Lucas points out. He’s going into soldier boy mode and it’s almost unnervingly hot this time.

“Um, Kat?”

Whoops!
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” My cheeks warm. Apparently I’m going to have to work on my focus.

“Captain Jennings asked if we want to go check on what Carch is up to.” Lucas has a look of amusement while he repeats Captain Jennings question.

The anger kicks in and my deep-rooted hatred for Carch and all she stands for makes me agree without thinking it through. Not that I’m paying attention as much as I should be.
Focus, Kat!

“…we’ll send you as far as we dare into the northwest quadrant, where she’s believed to be.” Captain Jennings is saying. “Remember, we just want to know what she’s up to—not engage her. She still has far too many hostages to take her out now.”

“Yes, sir.” Lucas answers and glances at me for confirmation.

“I get it. I promise to try really, really hard to not zap her.” It’s the best I can offer.

“I suppose that’s all I can ask for.” Captain Jennings agrees. He’s seen the scars (the visible ones at least) and he knows my feelings for that woman very well.

“Alright, we’ll plan for the day after tomorrow. You two take it easy until then.” Captain Jennings walks us to the door.

B whines on the way back to my place. We take a pit stop outside so he can do his business. It’s still fairly early in the afternoon and my stomach is all grumbly. In fact it’s so loud that Lucas notices.

“Got any more frozen pizzas?” He asks.

“You cooking?” I throw back.

“For you I’ll bake a frozen pizza anytime.” Lucas answers.

“Then I’m sure we can scare one up.”

He raises our joined hands to his lips and gently kisses my knuckles. “Good.”

I call B and see that Mason stares at us a few feet away. There’s no doubt in his expression that he understands the body language between Lucas and me. It’s nothing I’m hiding and
certainly
nothing that I’m ashamed of. It’s the pain in Mason’s eyes that drops my shoulders.

B scampers back to my side and Lucas tenses when he spots Mason too. They have some guy stare down until I have enough and tug on Lucas to follow me.

We almost make it to the door when Mason appears behind us.

“You lied.” He thrusts his finger at my shoulder angrily.

Lucas moves to step between us but I won’t have it. This fight is mine. “I did not!”