Ryan was nervous as he swabbed Emily’s arm the next morning. He held on to her biceps, staring at her smooth, pale skin. The contrast against his dark skin stood out. “You ready?”

He knew it would work. Why wouldn’t it? Thousands of people in Africa had been saved in the past months using this new drug. It reversed the effects of AP12 within days, leaving the patient completely cured in weeks.

It would work for Emily too.

The two of them had discussed the results that morning at length. He wanted to be sure she had full confidence in his research before they moved forward.

“Yep. Do it,” she said without a hint of trepidation.

He took a deep breath and carefully inserted the needle.

She meant something to him. He’d spent a lot of time with her. He liked her. Perhaps as more than a friend. He had no idea if she felt the same connection, nor was he going to ask, but he enjoyed her company.

His hesitation wasn’t unnatural. He would be worried about giving this shot to anyone who was important to him. Any friend or relative. He would stiffen when he had to give it to his own parents too.

As he removed the needle and lowered his arm, she grabbed his hand. “It’ll work.”

He forced a smile. “I know.” Medically speaking, he had all the confidence in the world.

“I offered to help Michelle work up a plan for what kind of support staff is going to be needed as the rest of the team is reanimated,” she said as she applied pressure to the small square of gauze he set against the drip of blood on her arm.

He knew she was trying to distract him from his obvious fears, and bless her for it. “That sounds like a good idea,” he said as he disposed of the needle and then turned around to lean against the counter and face her.

She sat on the exam table in one of the two patient rooms. The bunker had been built with every preparation for any eventuality, even though it hadn’t been constructed to treat sick people. “I thought I might also take a look at one of the current projects, see if I can get my feet wet, and figure out where the research is heading.”

He frowned. “You sure you’re ready for that much responsibility?” He didn’t think it was fair to ask so much of her so soon.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I’m sick. I’m getting bored. I know I have a way to go physically, but mentally I feel the same as I did before the preservation.”

He lifted a brow. “You do?”

She shrugged. “Okay, not the same. I’m definitely different. It’s disconcerting. Maybe it would be more accurate to say I remember everything. My mind is sharp. If I opened a file from the week before I was vitrified, I wouldn’t miss a beat.”

“That’s promising. But I sense your hesitation.” He had ever since she’d been able to speak. He hadn’t known her ten years ago, but he could tell she didn’t feel quite like herself.

She lifted the gauze and checked the spot before speaking again. “I’m not going to lie. I feel strange. Uncertain about my future. Anxious about reconnecting with my parents. Stressed about bringing your dad out of preservation.”

He pushed off the counter and closed the distance between them. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to be next to her, but he did. He took her arm gently in his hand and lifted it to make sure it didn’t need a Band-Aid. “Worried about this shot too, I’m sure,” he added as he lowered her arm but let his fingers slide down to her wrist.

“A little. Honestly, Ryan, not a lot.” She tipped her head back. “I think it will help if I jump back in and do something. I’m lost. Diving back into research will occupy my mind and help me get a feel for the level of passion I still have for this job.”

He nodded. She was probably right. “Okay. Have you spoken to Temple?” Ryan had known Temple most of his life. He could remember her as far back as a young child. She’d not only been Emily’s boss in charge of the bunker back then but his parents’ too, of course.

She shook her head. “Not yet. I will later today. Michelle was going to speak to her first.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, you’ll let me know. And don’t take on too much too fast. You’ll be more tired than you were previously. At least for a while.” He could see the fatigue in her eyes, but he wasn’t sure what was causing it. Actual need for sleep or stress.

“I have a question. Why is there only one reanimation chamber? Are there any plans to obtain more?”

Obviously, she intended to get in the swing of things starting right now. He smiled. “We couldn’t be sure it would work, of course. It’s an incredibly expensive piece of equipment. It wouldn’t have been logical to create more than one until it proved successful.”

“What about the one at the civilian facility in Arizona? Is it the same?”

He shook his head, still holding her wrist loosely in his fingers. He didn’t want to drop her hand and lose contact for some reason. He was seeing a new side of her for the first time—her professional side, her inquisitiveness, her desire to save people.

He recognized the qualities because he had them too. “No. Their machine was different. We developed ours with very little information about theirs. The chamber we have is one of a kind. In a few months, after we successfully reanimate my father, then we’ll build more of them. By then, it’ll be obvious they’re needed for the future.”

“That makes sense.” She lowered her gaze to the wrist he still held. “You’re anxious to see your parents again. I should’ve known you’d already covered your bases.”

Finally, he let her go, but he dragged his fingers along her thigh before removing all contact. It would be foolish for him to continue to deny that his feelings for her were leaving friendship territory and transitioning into something else.

It was crazy to let himself think of her as more than a friend. It had only been two weeks. He didn’t know her that well yet, and she didn’t know herself right now either. Maybe at some point in the future…

No. That was ludicrous too. He had work to do. She had a life to live. He shook the idea from his head, forcing himself to step back as he wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on his scrubs. “I’d like to wait until we’re sure the cure is working before contacting your parents.”

“Of course.”

He met her gaze again. “I know it must be hard for you. The waiting.”

“It is, but I get it. Even though I’m anxious to reconnect with them, me being alive is going to come as a shock. I wouldn’t want to tease them with it, only to find out I’m not going to live after all. It would kill them.”

He shuddered. “You’re going to live.” She had to.

She smiled. “Of course I am, but we both know that’s the hesitation. We should wait for a high level of certainty before letting the outside world know I exist.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah.” She was right.

* * *

Emily tried to ignore the pins and needles she walked on for the next week, waiting to make sure the cure worked. She kept herself busy, though. After meeting with Temple, she had the go-ahead to help the new team out any way they wanted to use her.

She was currently in her element, sitting in the main lab with not only Michelle, but also two other women from the team—Lieutenant Shelby Markham and Lieutenant Mina Reese. All three of them were career military like Emily had been before she was preserved. They had a lot in common. She was making friends.

“How’s your balance coming along?” Shelby asked. “Michelle said your equilibrium is the worst part about reanimation.”

Emily lifted her gaze from the data she was studying and nodded. “It’s getting better every day. I’m impatient, though. Always was.” She wasn’t kidding. “At least I have some chunks of my personality intact.”

Mina stepped closer, removing the gloves she’d worn to handle a sample. She cocked her head to one side. “You feel like your personality is different?”

Emily sighed as all three women gathered closer.

Mina spoke again. “We’re crowding you. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.”

“No. It’s okay. Really. I should be documenting it or something. The others might have similar experiences.”

Michelle nodded. “I’m sure it’s hard. It’s not tangible.”

“That’s exactly the problem.” Emily spun on her swivel chair to more fully face them, rubbing her arms as if there was a chill. “It’s hard to describe. I don’t quite understand it yet. At least not well enough to put into words. I’m not sure how anyone would document it.”

“You said you can remember everything, right?” Shelby asked.

Emily nodded. “Yes. It’s not about memory recall. It’s more like…” She paused to try and come up with the right words. “It’s like I’m out of body.” She snapped her fingers. “That’s a good way to describe it. As if I’m in someone else’s body. Or perhaps floating outside of this one, watching.”

Everyone’s faces were serious as they nodded slowly, trying to understand.

“I’m sure I’m not describing it quite right. Some things feel normal. Other things are…off.” Like how I feel when I’m with Ryan. The thought popped into her head unbidden. She shivered and rubbed her arms again.

She had been spending a lot of time with him. Maybe he was simply paying close attention to her for research purposes, but she didn’t think so. She was pretty sure he enjoyed her company as much as she did his.

They spent most evenings together in either her suite or his, laughing while she learned about the latest developments in technology or listened to crazy things that had happened in the world while she’d been preserved.

They had yet to cross any friendship lines, with the exception of the fact that he touched her more than a friend would under normal circumstances. He seemed to find an excuse to grab her hand or her wrist or stroke her cheek or her thigh with growing frequency. She didn’t complain.

But thoughts of him were starting to leak into her consciousness when she wasn’t with him. Like now.

Michelle drew her back to the present. “Off, how?”

“I used to eat, sleep, and breathe science. It was all I thought about. Now I feel more laidback. I’ve picked up my head, and I’m taking deep breaths, and I’m thinking about whether or not this is what I want to do with my life anymore.”

Mina nodded. “That can happen to anyone. I don’t think you should be alarmed.”

“Yes, but it didn’t happen over time. You have to realize from my perspective I was working in the lab furiously one day and woke up the next not sure how I feel about medicine.”

They all nodded again. Shelby spoke. “That makes sense. I’m sure it’s weird.”

All the sudden something exploded behind the three women standing in front of Emily. They all spun around to face the other side of the lab.

Emily’s heart raced, nearly jumping out of her chest. Flashes of the past made her knees week while the other three raced forward to assess the situation.

“Shit,” Michelle muttered.

Mina grabbed a broom from the small closet next to the door. “Stand still so I can get the glass swept up before one of us cuts ourselves.”

The door to the room flew open next. Ryan stood in the frame, gripping it. “What happened? It sounded like an explosion.” His gaze scanned the room before landing on Emily. His eyes widened farther. “Emily. You okay?”

No one seemed to notice he singled her out…except Emily. She noticed. Oh yeah. She definitely noticed. She nodded at him and yanked her attention back to the confusion as Mina swept and Michelle put on gloves and cleaned off the counter.

Shelby was leaning over the burner where the beaker had been sitting. Her brow was furrowed.

Emily thought she might faint. She’d been in this exact situation before. The day AP12 had escaped the sterile confines of a beaker, shattering in the same way and infecting everyone in the lab.

Her legs shook. She lowered herself onto the stool to avoid fainting.

Ryan was in her space in less than a second. “You okay?” he repeated.

She nodded, staring at the floor, fighting for oxygen. “What was in the beaker?” she whispered. This can’t be happening again. What if the substance was fatal? Again.

Ryan kneeled in front of her to line up their faces. His hands were on her thighs. Concern made him scrunch his eyes close together.

“Don’t worry,” Michelle stated from across the room. “I hadn’t added the solution to the beaker yet.”

Emily tried to breathe but couldn’t seem to get her lungs to work properly.

“Why did it explode like that?” Shelby asked. “There’s no reason for it. Everything is set properly. The calibrations are right. Do you suppose something was wrong with the glass?”

It was like the world had gone back a decade in an instant—ten years ago which was only months ago for Emily. She was sitting in this very lab again in the past but with a different team of scientists. Their words were eerily the same, though. She could hear the voices of her team even though all of them were currently preserved one story below her.

What caused the beaker to explode?

The burner was set properly.

This shouldn’t have happened.

Maybe there was something wrong with the glass.

At those last words, Emily slumped forward. She was aware of Ryan catching her, but she couldn’t stop herself from fainting.