Chapter Seven

 

Kromin could feel the sweat trickling down his back as he placed a layer of skinsealer over the miner’s bloody arm. Anya and he had been working on the man for the last two hours, and the arm was the last thing that needed to be closed up.

The situation had been much worse than Kromin had anticipated. When he first arrived, Kromin had thought there was no way the man was going to make it. The miner looked like a mess of blood and bone, and he was screaming in agony despite all of the pain meds that the other miners had given him. The first thing Kromin had done was to anesthetize the man. That had stopped the screaming and the thrashing around, which made life easier for everyone involved. Then, Kromin had started the long, drawn out process of cleaning up the wounds and patching them closed. The amount of skinsealer he’d had to use to get the job done was incredible. Kromin had never seen a man so torn apart. He still didn’t know if the poor guy would make it, but at least he’d done everything he could.

Kromin placed the last skinsealer into position and pushed on the edges until the self-sealing material latched onto the man’s skin. With a sigh of relief, he took a step back and surveyed his work. The miner was bandaged from head to toe, but at least the bleeding had been stopped and the anesthesia was giving him relief from the pain. All the broken bones were set and secured in casts, and now the only thing left to do was wait and see how well everything healed up. Kromin’s work was done, at least for the moment.

He looked up across the man’s body and met Anya’s eyes. She looked as tired and harried as he himself felt, and beneath her surgical scrubs he could see sweat spots. She’d been working just as hard, if not harder, than he had. Kromin suddenly felt shame wash over him for the way he’d been treating her. She was a good doctor. A sludging good doctor. And he couldn’t have taken care of this man so quickly without her help. It would have taken him at least twice as long to finish the job without Anya here, and while no one could say with certainty whether that delay would have been fatal to the miner or not, Kromin knew that working quickly had been important here. The man had been losing so much blood, despite the other miners’ makeshift attempts at tourniquets. Quick action thanks to Anya’s help had very likely been what saved the man’s life.

Kromin pulled off his surgical mask and gave Anya a small smile. “Good work,” he said softly. “Really good work.”

In the small portion of her face that was visible, he saw her blush. She looked down at the miner, then looked back up at him and shrugged. “I’m a doctor. It’s what I do.”

Kromin nodded. Of course it was. He’d been so bullheaded, wanting to get rid of her or anyone else that tried to help out at the hospital, that he’d missed the fact that a lot of people just wanted to help. Just because someone tried to work at the hospital, that didn’t mean they were trying to take over the job of running things. It just meant that they wanted to work hard and do something positive. They wanted to save people’s lives, or at least make people’s lives better.

I’m such a sludging idiot.

“Is he gonna be alright?” a worried voice beside Kromin asked. He looked over to see one of the other miners next to him, peering skeptically over at his heavily bandaged friend.

“His chances are good,” Kromin said. “He needs to rest, and to be kept sedated as much as possible to help with the pain. The biggest worry is keeping out infection. If he can heal up without running into that problem, then he should be good.”

To Kromin’s surprise, the man’s eyes teared up a bit. It wasn’t like Zocronian men to cry, so this guy must have been really close friends with the injured miner. “Well, thanks, Doc. I know it wasn’t easy to get here in that storm, but he wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t come.”

“Always happy to help,” Kromin said. “But speaking of getting places in storms…what are the odds that I’ll be getting out of here and back to the city dome any time soon?”

The miner sighed. “Not good, I’m afraid to say. The storm has only gotten worse since you arrived. We’ll all have to hunker down for at least the night, I’d say.”

Kromin saw Anya peel off her surgical mask and raise an eyebrow. “Is this normal? I don’t remember there being so many bad storms last year. I mean, there were a couple bad ones. But this year it seems almost constant.”

Kromin shook his head. “It’s worse than usual this year. I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never seen a stormy season this bad.”

“Agreed,” the miner beside him said. “And we’re only at the beginning of the stormy season.”

Anya visibly shuddered, and Kromin decided that maybe talking about the storms and trying to get back wasn’t the best idea right now. Anya must be exhausted, and he was, too. If they weren’t going to be heading back to the city dome for a while, then they should go get something to eat.

“Come on, Anya,” Kromin said, starting to take off the surgical cap that had been covering his hair. “Let’s get out of these scrubs and then head to the supply room. We can rest and have some food. I think we both could do with a little nourishment.”

“Anything we should know about taking care of this guy?” the miner asked, pointing down to the injured man.

Kromin shrugged. “Just make sure you have someone staying with him at all times, in case he wakes up and needs assistance. He should be out for quite some time now, though. I’ll be by again a little later to check on him.”

With that, Kromin turned and started walking toward the elevator pod, with Anya trailing after him. In the supply room, they found clean clothes and stripped out of their dirty scrubs. The clothes were plain shirts and sweatpants, kept on hand as extras for times like this, when storms kept the miners from going home. Kromin found his size easily enough, but Anya had trouble finding anything that would even stay on her body. These were all men’s clothes, and even the smallest size in Zocronian men’s clothing was about five sizes too big for her. She finally settled for rolling up the pant legs and sleeves, and cinching the waist of the pants as best she could. She looked ridiculous and yet somehow adorable. Even though these clothes didn’t show off her curves the way her survival suit had, seeing her in them still turned Kromin on. She looked so delicate and small underneath all that fabric, and he felt that primal protective instinct rising within him once again. Besides, there was something about everything being left to the imagination that was irresistibly tantalizing.

Kromin turned away from Anya and started heading toward the shelves where food and drink supplies were kept. His clothes might not be as skin tight as his survival suit, but they weren’t nearly as loose as Anya’s. They fit snugly enough that his stiffening dick was going to soon be obvious, and he didn’t want Anya to notice. How would he explain it if she asked him about it? Hey, I know I’ve been an asshole and tried to kick you out of my hospital, but actually now I’ve changed my mind and think you’re great. Oh, and you’re pretty hot, too. My cock gets hard when I look at you.

No, that would never do. He had to somehow pretend like everything was reasonably normal between Anya and him. Forcing himself to focus on the supply shelves, he grabbed a gallon of water, an assortment of food bars, and a bottle of Eiwort, a favorite liquor in Zocrone.

“Come on,” he said as he handed the gallon of water to Anya. “Let’s go find an open bunk to sit on. We can relax while we eat something and warm up with a bit of liquor.”

The supply room was a large room set up with plenty of food and water, and extra clothes and blankets. There were twenty bunks alongside one of the walls, which gave any miners caught down here for a while somewhere to sleep. Kromin chose one of the lower bunks and sat down, leaning his back against the wall and letting his long legs dangle a bit over the opposite edge. Anya sat next to him, her much shorter legs staying completely on the mattress. There were tables in the room where the two of them could have sat to eat, but Kromin was so tired that he just wanted to sit somewhere soft and relaxing. So what if he got a few crumbs on the bed? He’d brush them off. Besides, he wanted to sit somewhere semi-private with Anya to talk. The bunks weren’t exactly secluded, but they were less in the open than the tables. At least no one could come sit next to them here. They were reasonably on their own.

Kromin cracked open the Eiwort bottle and took a swig directly from the bottle. It was a strong but sweet liquor made from the nectar of the Eiwort blossom, one of the many tropical plants that thrived in the humid rainforest climate inside of Zocrone’s city dome. The liquor burned his throat a bit in a good way, and just the familiar taste of it helped him relax a bit. Today had been one of the more stressful days he’d had in a while, as had yesterday. It felt good to sit down and rest for a minute. He wondered how the patients back in the city dome hospital were doing, but he figured they must be fine. The fact that there hadn’t been any news was good. If there had been any problems, Daxar or Jarmuk would have called him. Not that they could have expected him to get to the city dome quickly in these storms, but they would have called him, anyway.

But thinking about the fact that the city dome was currently left without a doctor made Kromin feel guilty. What if someone needed serious medical assistance right now? Sure, some of the military guys knew first aid. But there was no one back in the city dome who could do surgery. Kromin saw clearly in that moment how much of an idiot he’d been to try to keep himself as the only doctor in Zocrone, and he vowed to himself that things would change. The very first thing he needed to do was apologize to Anya. He took a deep breath, handed her the bottle of liquor to try, and then waited until she’d taken a sip to start talking.

“Listen, Anya. I owe you a huge apology.”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised at his words. And why wouldn’t she be? He wasn’t the type to apologize, and he’d been nothing but harsh with her. But Kromin’s father had always told him that a true man knew when he was wrong, and wasn’t afraid to own up to it. Kromin figured now was as good a time as any to man up.

“Yeah. Let me start out by saying that I never should have gotten onto you about the mistake you made with the steroid shot. It was a mistake, yes, but not a huge one. No harm was done, and I know that you’re normally very precise with your work.”

Anya’s cheeks reddened. “I’m so sorry about that. I feel terrible. I don’t even know what happened, exactly. I was so determined to show you how perfectly I could do everything, and then I somehow messed up on the very first patient.”

“You were putting too much pressure on yourself. No, actually, the right thing to say is probably that I was putting too much pressure on you, which was what caused you to put too much pressure on yourself.”

“Still. I was the one responsible. I screwed up.”

Kromin shrugged. “So you did. But you made a good point when I brought it up this morning: we’ve all made mistakes. I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself, some of them that I was lucky didn’t turn out deadly. And you know when most of those mistakes were made? When I was tired and overwhelmed with too much work.”

Anya nodded slowly. “I know, Kromin. That’s why I’ve been trying to tell you—”

“That I can’t do this alone? I know. You’re right. I’ve been holding everything together by some force of sheer willpower, but honestly the last few days have made me realize that I’m lucky that things haven’t imploded sooner. Zocrone’s population isn’t all that impressive when you stack it up against the rest of the planets in the Seven Galaxies, but still. We do have a decent amount of people here. Far too many people for one doctor to handle.”

“So does that mean you’ll let me stay at the hospital? I promise I won’t try to undermine whatever decisions you make about how to run the place. I just want to work as a doctor again. It’s what I’m good at. It’s my passion.”

Kromin looked over at Anya and gave her a sheepish grin. He took the Eiwort bottle from her and took another long swig before answering. “Yes, you can stay. And I’ll try to be more open to feedback. I hated my last bosses so much that in a sense I let them continue to antagonize me even after they died. Just because they were awful to work with doesn’t mean that everyone is. I’ve been a total idiot about all of this.”

To her credit, Anya didn’t agree with him that he was an idiot. But she didn’t disagree, either. Instead she shrugged noncommittally and grabbed the Eiwort bottle back from him, taking a long sip. Then she smiled at him and said, “Sometimes when someone treats you horribly, it can be hard to get past it. But if you hold on to anger or bitterness, you’re only hurting yourself.”

She passed the Eiwort back to Kromin and he took another swig. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience?”

“Yeah. You could say that. It was a totally different situation, but… I had a boyfriend back on Earth who was everything to me. We made a lot of plans—marriage, house, babies, the whole thing. Long story short, it never happened because it turned out he was cheating on me. And not just with one other woman. He had a whole slew of side ass he was enjoying.”

Kromin felt a surge of anger in his core. “How could anyone treat you like that?”

Anya shrugged again, but Kromin could see the pain in her eyes. “The guy only cared about himself. I thought he loved me, but he was actually after my inheritance. My dad had a lot of money, and most of it had been saved to pass on to me when he died. Somehow, this guy had figured that out and was hoping to marry me and then be part of that big payday.”

Without a word, Kromin handed the Eiwort back to Anya. She drank, and then continued. “I was lucky I figured out what was going on before it was too late. I broke up with him, and less than a year later my dad died. That’s when I joined Nova’s smuggling crew. I felt like there was nothing left for me on Earth.”

“Wow. That must have been hard.”

“It was hard to realize someone I thought I loved wasn’t who I thought they were at all. But in the end everything worked out. I’ve had so many new adventures, both on the Starburst and now here in Zocrone. I honestly don’t think about that guy all that much anymore. But my point is that when people hurt you, you have to move past it. If I had just moped around and refused to ever open my heart to anyone or anything again, then I would have been miserable. Instead, I’ve had some amazing experiences all across the Seven Galaxies. I’ve made new friends, and even had the chance for a lover or two.”

Anya winked at Kromin when she said this, but Kromin felt his blood beginning to boil. He couldn’t stand the thought of Anya with another man, even though this had all been in the past, and he had no claim to her even in the present.

“Wait a minute. How many lovers?” he asked.

She laughed, the melodic sound of it soothing his ears. “A few. Nothing serious, ever. When you work on a smuggling ship, you never stay in one place very long. Zocrone is the longest I’ve stayed anywhere since I left Earth.”

Kromin relaxed slightly, but he still didn’t like the image of her in another man’s arms. He took another generous swig of Eiwort. He was starting to feel a warm buzz, which was welcome after the stress of taking care of the injured miner earlier. He offered the bottle to Anya again, but she waved it away.

“I better not. That stuff affects me way faster than it does you huge Zocronians. I’m already starting to feel the room spin a little.”

Kromin chuckled and handed her a food bar. “Here, this will help. I forget how much smaller you humans are sometimes.”

Anya took the food bar and ate silently for a few moments. Kromin grabbed a food bar as well. His stomach was growling, and if he wanted to continue drinking Eiwort without getting completely sloshed, then even he needed to eat something.

“Anyway,” Anya said, breaking the silence. “My point is that, even though it was a different situation, you shouldn’t let anyone who mistreated you in the past have control of your future. There are a lot of good doctors out there in the Seven Galaxies who can help you. You’re missing out on some great friendships and probably on some awesome collaborations too.”

“You’re right. Now that I’ve finally admitted to myself how ridiculous it was to try to do this all on my own, I’m completely embarrassed by my actions. I hope the people of Zocrone can forgive me. I hope you can forgive me.”

He looked over at Anya, meeting her eyes and waiting to see how she would react. When she smiled at him, the warmth in her eyes seemed to reach all the way to his very core. He felt a stiffening between his legs again as he thought about how beautiful she looked right now, and about how much he wished he could take her in his arms and kiss her, then strip her down right here and make love to her. There were far too many people in the room, though. And besides, he doubted she was interested in sleeping with him after he’d treated her the way he had. The most he could hope for was friendship. Maybe someday, after he’d proven that he did know how to act like something other than a jerk toward her, he might have a chance to be with her. But today, her smile was enough. Just knowing that she didn’t completely hate him was enough.

“I forgive you,” she said. “I understand why you acted so ridiculous. I still think it was ridiculous, yes. But I understand.”

“Thank you,” Kromin said in a voice barely above a whisper. The warmth in his core was now spreading throughout his entire body. He tried to get a hold of the emotions rushing through him, but he couldn’t quite stop the passion that insisted on snaking its way into every last cell.

He wanted Anya. Wanted her badly. And yet, how could he even hope that she might feel the same about him? He wouldn’t have blamed her if she had slapped him in the face when he tried to apologize. He had a long way to go to become a man worthy of love from a woman like her. Oh sure, he was a good-looking guy, and he had a good career. He could be nice when he wanted to be, or even funny. Many girls over the years had tried to chase him down, and now he understood why none of them had ever sparked any interest in him.

He’d been waiting for Anya. Watching her now, some part of him that had never truly been alive suddenly came to life. His body grew warmer and warmer until the heat felt like a fire coursing through his veins. His dick grew stiffer and stiffer until it was a solid rod between his legs. There was no hiding it this time. No turning quickly to walk away so she couldn’t see it. She had already seen it, and was staring down at it with a wide-eyed expression on her face.

“Anya,” he whispered in a husky voice.

At the sound of his voice, she turned to look at him, confusion etched across her face. “But you hate me,” she said, glancing back and forth between his erection and his face.

“Oh, Jupiter, no. I don’t hate you. I’ve been hopelessly attracted to you for a long time. It’s part of why I’ve been so distant. I didn’t want anyone working at the hospital, but especially not you. How was I supposed to focus on anything when you were around, with that pretty little ass always in my view, and those perfect, round breasts always pushing out against your scrubs?”

Anya’s mouth had parted slightly, and she moved her lips like she was trying to say something, but no words came out. Kromin leaned in closer to her, moving slowly so she had no doubts what his intentions were. With one hand, he gripped the bottle of Eiwort tightly so that it wouldn’t fall over. With the other hand, he reached for Anya’s hand. He laced his fingers with hers and leaned in closer, inch by inch.

To his relief and amazement, she did not pull away. Instead, when he had only about an inch left, she leaned in as well and closed the remaining distance between them.

Her lips were like fire on his. They were the softest, warmest, and absolute sweetest thing he had ever tasted. She let out a slight moan, and for the briefest moment Kromin remembered that they were sitting within full view of anyone who happened to be walking through the supply room right then. But Kromin decided he didn’t care. Let every last miner in here see him kissing Anya. Let them start all the crazy gossip they wanted to. All that mattered to Kromin was that for that moment, Anya was his. His erection throbbed between his legs, and he wished then that there was a private room for them to go to. A kiss was such a tease. It only left him wanting more.

All too soon, though, Anya pulled back. She seemed to have remembered where they were as well, because she looked nervously around.

“Kromin, we shouldn’t.”

“Why not? There’s no rule against a man and woman who are attracted to each other enjoying a little kiss.”

“But everyone will stare at us. And I’m not sure I’m ready to be churned through the Zocronian gossip mill just yet.”

Kromin sighed. He wasn’t going to push Anya into something she was uncomfortable doing. As much as he would have loved to growl at her and tell her she was going to kiss him no matter what, he knew that wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do. And after being a jerk for so long, he was determined to at least make an attempt at being a gentleman.

“Fine,” he said, forcing himself to sit back against the wall. “We’ll take it easy for now. But that wasn’t the end of this conversation.”

He winked at her and sat back, taking another swig of the Eiwort. To his delight, she reached over and laced her hand back through his.

“No,” she said, her voice so soft that he could barely hear it. “That definitely wasn’t the end of that.”

Kromin felt a fresh rush of fire shoot through him, and he hoped with every fiber of his being that the storm would let up soon so that he could get back to the city dome with Anya and take her somewhere private. He’d been waiting his whole life for a feeling like this.