Chapter 5
“No, you didn't!” Laura grinned at Nathaniel as she sipped the tea he had gotten for them.
“I did,” he said. “In the middle of the palace, and I didn't care. Someone needed to stand up to the South.”
“Someone needed to stand up to your mouth,” she howled with laughter. “Oh, no wonder you are a legend.”
“I don't think I'm a legend,” he said as he grinned, his feet up on a chair. He had been told Sienna was napping, and although he desperately wanted one himself, he was happy for the distraction. She was funny, full of life, and willing to exchange disastrous quest stories. If he had to sit here in the world's most uncomfortable chair, at least she could entertain him.
“Of course, you are.” She grinned, putting her feet up on the other side of his chair. She had long, beautiful legs that seemed to go on forever, her body sculpted and toned. She was in fantastic shape, likely from the quests she took. He especially enjoyed her from this angle, how her eyes sparkled when she laughed. Desmond was always so serious, and it was rare in the past few days that he had a conversation without sighing. This was a welcome change from the gloom and doom that seemed to follow him. “Devon learns about you in his classes. The first time he saw you across the hangar, he actually pointed and yelped.”
“That's surreal,” Nathaniel said. “Most days, I can hardly figure out that I'm the adult in the room.”
“I know that feeling,” Laura admitted quickly. “Devon asks me questions about mathematics I've long forgotten, and I look around for another Maestro. But then I realized I'm supposed to be the one who is helping him. It's so odd, especially now that he's older.”
“How long have you been training him?” Nathaniel asked.
“Since he was six,” she answered. “So eight years, I guess?”
“Wow,” Nathaniel said. “That's young. He'll be ready to take the tests soon.”
“Shall we check on them?” Laura changed the topic quickly, standing up. “It will be nice to stretch the legs.”
“Sure,” Nathaniel answered, standing up as well. He was a bit puzzled by her reaction, but he didn't want to draw attention to it. Maybe Devon was having trouble reaching the level the tests required. At fourteen, Nathaniel was nowhere near ready. But then, he hadn't become Desmond's Tiro until one year prior, so that made perfect sense. For Nathaniel, fourteen was just the beginning. He had to struggle to remember that, for others, it was almost the end. “Where's yours?”
“I don't know. He wanders.” Laura grinned. “Do you want me to come with you first? Does yours wander?”
“No,” Nathaniel was firm on that as they walked down the hall. “She's usually pretty close to our sides. But then, we usually want to be in arm's reach, just in case.”
“Makes sense,” Laura said as they rounded the corner to Sienna's room. She was about to tell him another joke when they entered the room. It was empty.
“What the…?” Nathaniel asked, spinning in a slow circle. She wasn't anywhere, including the window ledge or the bathroom.
“Would they have taken her for tests?” Laura asked at his confusion.
“No, they would have told me,” Nathaniel answered. “Every test has to be approved by Desmond and me. Where is she?”
“Devon should be here,” Laura pointed to a long row of chairs in the room across the hall where others were receiving IV treatments. But a quick scan with her eyes showed her that he wasn't there either.
‘Sienna,’ Nathaniel wasted no time closing his eyes and reaching out with his bond. She should be able to hear him almost anywhere and answer within seconds. She had been bonded to him since the early days, when her Basic was weak and that was their only way of communication.
There was no answer.
‘Sienna!’ he cried out in his mind again. Maybe she just wasn't listening. But there was nothing.
His eyes flew open, wild as he tried to think.
Just then, Tara walked into the room, a clipboard in her hand.
“Where is she?” Nathaniel blurted out.
Tara stopped dead, looking confused. “What?” she asked.
“Sienna,” Nathaniel repeated, as if she was an idiot. “What did you do, Tara?”
“What in the galaxy are you talking about?” Tara asked. “I didn't do anything to her.”
“You didn't sneak her off to a test without my permission?” Nathaniel's eyes narrowed. “Because I know you've been dying to learn more about the acridid gene, like she's some sort of farm animal on an experimental table.”
“If I wanted to do that,” Tara answered, “I could find better subjects at a much better stage in their lives. How dare you accuse me of such a thing? Why would you think I would risk my medical license to do that?”
“I wouldn't put it past you.”
“Whoa, whoa!” Laura put her arm out between the two of them. “Slow down, you two. Devon's missing, too.”
“Devon's missing, too?” This alarmed Tara. As much as she didn't get along with Nathaniel, she ran a tight ship. Her patients didn't normally wander off.
“Hold on.” Laura closed her eyes, trying to reach out. She was finding it hard to focus with so much anger in the air, and it took her half a second longer than normal. ‘Devon.’
‘Laura,’ came back his cheeky thoughts.
‘You causing trouble?’ She was casual about it, as she always was. Devon never kept secrets from her, and this time was no exception. ‘We're looking for you.’
‘Ice cream,’ he answered. ‘Just in the cafeteria. I was hungry.’
‘Any chance Sienna was hungry, too? Nathaniel's Tiro?’
‘Yep,’ came Devon's reply, and Laura's eyes flew open.
“It's okay,” she said as the world came back into focus. “They are just in cafeteria.”
“What?” Nathaniel answered, outraged. “Why would they just walk away?”
“Because they are kids, Nathaniel,” Laura shrugged. “Shall we retrieve them, Tara?”
“Just make sure they don't fall on the way back,” Tara said, glaring at Nathaniel. “Apologize.”
“This time,” Nathaniel answered. “I'm sorry.”
He was already shaking his head as they walked down to the cafeteria. He wasn't exactly running, but his heart was hammering in his chest.
“Why the hell would she do that?” he asked mostly himself. “She never does things like that. She's never more than four feet from us.”
“She has to grow up some time,” Laura replied. “Besides, it's not like they are breaking curfew or snorting illegal substances. They went to the cafeteria for ice cream.”
“She can't have ice cream,” Nathaniel muttered as they entered the cafeteria. Sure enough, sitting at one of the side tables, drawing attention to themselves with IV poles and Sienna's hospital gown, she and Devon had ice cream between them. She wasn't eating any of it, but her hands were on her chin and she was watching Devon with a look that Nathaniel knew well. It was the same look that he gave Eliza pretty much all the time.
“Ahem,” Nathaniel said behind her, and she jumped about three feet in the air.
“Hey,” Devon looked up at Nathaniel. “What's up?”
“Seriously?” Nathaniel raised his eyebrow. Sienna leaned back against his legs, looking up at him. “What are you doing?”
“Hungry?” she tried, and he gestured at the table.
“I see that,” he said. “You can't just wander off like that, all right? Whose idea was this?”
Laura met Devon's eyes across the table. She did not seem anywhere as enraged as Nathaniel was. Devon shrugged.
“Is it okay?”
“For me, it's fine,” she replied. “But you really shouldn't just take off with someone ease's Tiro, Devon.”
“Sorry, I thought everything was all right,” Devon answered. “Next time, we'll tell you.”
“I don't think there's going to be a next time,” Nathaniel answered as he reached out to help Sienna. “Is that clear?”
She said nothing, silent and probably a little embarrassed. She was clearly unstable on her feet now, the short excursion not doing her any good.
“Yeah, back to the med bay,” Nathaniel said, casting a glance at Laura.
“I'll just stay until Devon is done,” she said, sinking into the seat Sienna had vacated. “Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” Nathaniel replied, not blaming her. She smiled at him, and he managed to smile back as they headed off.
When they were gone, she turned back to Devon. He smirked.
“What?” he asked with a grin. “I'm pretty sure I've been going to get my own food when I was in the med bay since I was eight.”
“I know that,” she replied. “And I'm fine with you running off. But clearly, there are stricter rules for other people.”
“She wanted to go,” he said. “It's not like I dragged her.”
“I hope not,” she replied. “That girl is fragile, so don't do that.”
“Mmm,” Devon answered. “She's pretty neat though.”
“Oh?” Laura raised an eyebrow. “I see.”
“What,” Devon chuckled, and Laura shook her head.
“Just be careful,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
“I'm all right,” he answered, glancing up at his IV pole. “Obviously, I really wanted ice cream, otherwise I wouldn't be out in public with this.”
“Side effect,” Laura answered with a grin. “Ice cream craving was on the list.”
“I'm sure it was,” Devon said as he took the last bite. “I think she's figured it out, by the way. Ninety-nine percent of people don't know what Hydroxon is for.”
“She would,” Laura answered. “She lives her life in the medical system. Did you want her to know the gory details?”
“I don't know,” he answered, contemplating it. “Maybe I'm all right with it.”
“That's your choice,” Laura met his eyes. “I would never tell anyone if you didn't want me to.”
“I know,” Devon smiled. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Laura said as she punched his arm. “Let's go, eh?”
“Yep.” He finished and stood up, following her back to the med bay. As Maestros went, he was pretty lucky.