Sarah
“I’m fine,” I insist to Diana at breakfast the next day. We’re in the cafeteria used by most of the Extrinsic team and their families. Oh, some of the citizens of the ship eat in their own units each day, especially the ones with families, but then there are those of us who want something else, who want something a little bit different.
We’re the ones who head to the cafeteria.
The chefs who run it are from several different planets: Sapphira, Orchid, Mirroean, and even Earth. Each chef brings their own planet’s unique dishes to the table, which means each meal is an incredible combination of different foods from different places.
It’s unbeatable.
Diana reaches for a Yeapleam and bites into the bright, juicy fruit. A little bit of the blue juice catches on her lip, but Diana just giggles. Kenny reaches for his own fruit and squishes it between his fingers. He proceeds to suck happily on his hands while Diana just smiles at him.
Then she looks back at me.
“I’m not dumb, Sarah. This isn’t my first day being your friend,” her words are stern, but there’s a touch of laughter there.
“Hey, this is serious,” I say, squishing my own fruit. Like Kenny, I prefer to squish the Sapphiran breakfast treat between my fingers before I eat it. Somehow, having everything pre-squished makes it taste that much better.
“I know it is,” Diana seems to focus as she continues to feed her little one. “And that’s why I want you to know that I’m here for you.”
“I know you are.”
“I’m serious,” she says firmly. Now her attention is focused completely on me. Kenny’s reaching for more Yeapleam and she’s not even trying to stop him. “No matter what you’re going through, honey, I’m always going to be here for you.”
I know that she means it, too.
Diana has been through hell and back again. After her treasure-hunter father was killed, she was taken by the men who murdered him. They held her captive until Max and Blake and a team of badass Extrinsic boys pulled her from the cage she was locked in. I treated her in the days after her rescue, and I’ll never forget how I cried for her.
Here she was: this sweet, innocent girl, and she had been through the worst kind of torture I could imagine. She had been brutalized, yet when she woke up, she didn’t let it ruin her. Diana make a conscious choice to keep moving forward with her life, and I need to do the same thing.
I need to be strong.
“You know what, Diana?” I tell her. “Thank you. That means the world to me. You’re an incredible person, and I’m lucky to have you.”
“Um, what?” Diana looks around, as if to see who I’m talking to. “I repeat, what?”
“I’m the serious one now,” I promise. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you how I feel, but I’m not going to hold back anymore. I love you, Diana. You’re closer to me than a sister, and I value your advice and input.”
“Um, I’m glad,” she says, still looking confused, but I smile and stand up.
“I’m going to go now,” I tell her. “I’ll see you later.”
I turn and stride right out of the cafeteria. I’m not sure why I left so dramatically. I certainly didn’t need to be that loud or bold when I left, yet somehow, I feel empowered by speaking with Diana.
So what if Blake doesn’t like me?
So what if he’s got a newer, prettier girlfriend?
So what?
Blake deserves to be happy and I have no need to stand in between him and Lizzie. If that’s what Blake needs to be content, then so be it. I want him to have a good life, even if it’s not with me.
Making my way down the hallway to the medical unit, I say hello to the patients I recognize. Almost everyone has to come to the medical bay at some point, and I do my best to remember names and faces. Still, it’s not always possible. Today, I’m happy that the patients I do recognize seem happy. They seem like they’re all just going about their days in a happy way, and I hope I can find that, too.
So what if Blake doesn’t like me the same way I like him?
There are other people. Will there ever be anyone quite like Blake? Well, no. He’s one of a kind: completely unique. I’ll be okay, though. I’m a strong woman, and I’ll survive without Blake. I’ll miss him like hell, but I’ll survive.
When I arrive at the medical unit, I’m surprised to see Tami, my medical assistant, already in the office.
“Tami?” I ask, looking at the time on my communications unit. “Why are you here so early today?” Usually, I work alone for a couple of hours before Tami joins me, and then later, I’ll see patients.
“Oh, you know,” she shakes her head. “Just a lot of stress going on at home. You know how it is. I needed to get away.”
Well, fuck.
I hate to see Tami in pain and feeling stressed, but I also can’t have her here instead of home. The last thing I need is a distracted medical assistant who could make a mistake while we’re dealing with patients, so the smart thing to do would be to send her home until she’s able to get her personal life together.
When she looks at me, though, I know that I can’t send her away.
Tami needs this, I realize.
She needs to be needed, and she needs to be able to help me with everything I’m doing today. Having an extra set of hands on board will be really helpful, I realize, and I decide that instead of going by the books on this one, I’m going to let her stay.
“All right,” I tell her.
“Really?” She seems as surprised as I am, but I nod confidently.
“Yep,” I tell her. “Let’s start with the Porataleane file and go from there.”
“You got it,” Tami says with a smile, and then she’s off to start going through the file, documenting the information we need to talk with the patient today, and finding out what sorts of analysis data his work department needs. Each of the team members has to undergo rigorous training and physical exams on a regular basis, and part of my job in the clinic is to make sure they’re all ready to pass those exams.
While Tami gets to work, I take a deep breath. I’m going to be totally fine today, I tell myself.
And for a little while, everything is.
I make it through all of my paperwork and I see my first two patients: a little boy with a sprained ankle and a little girl with a chronic cough. When my third patient comes in, I don’t bother to look at the chart before I call her back, and I’m surprised when I look up and see Lizzie.
She does not look happy.
What the actual fuck?
I’m not interested in playing catty high school games. I’m too old for that, and I’m pretty sure she is, too. No, I don’t want to pretend to discuss anything with Lizzie. She’s obviously not here for her health. She hates me and hasn’t been to see me in ages: not since the scar on her hand.
“Elizabeth,” I say politely, motioning toward the chair beside me. “How can I help you today?”
She doesn’t sit down.
Instead, Lizzie sneers at me down her sharp, narrow nose, and she spits at my feet.
My first instinct is to slap her across her pretty face and to tell her to grow the fuck up. That’s my first instinct. Lizzie is a terrible person. She’s mean and rude and unkind to everyone she meets. I’ve known this for awhile, and it’s why I’ve never interacted with her, but Lizzie doesn’t seem to notice or care.
Instead, she just keeps glaring at me, like she’s gearing up for a fight.
I’m not interested in that.
“Lizzie, just go,” I turn back around and gather up a file in my arms. When I turn to leave, I’m surprised to see her fist flying toward me, but I manage to block her punch and keep my hold on the file at the same time.
“You’re a fucking whore!” She screams out, trying once more to punch me. This time, I do drop the file, although I manage to avoid her punch again.
So this is about Blake, I realize.
I figured it was. After all, why else would she come to see me after all of this time? She doesn’t actually hate me because of the scar. She hates me because I’m close with Blake and she’s jealous of that relationship.
Well, too bad.
He doesn’t want me, and that’s fine.
He can have Lizzie.
He can have whoever he wants.
Now, I might be a medical doctor, but I’m also used to dealing with big, snarling aliens who are afraid of needles and who faint at the sight of blood. Am I actually threatened by little miss perfect?
Not at all.
A few quick moves and I’ve got Lizzie pinned on the floor beneath my very tall boot.
“Now,” I say as she catches her breath. “You may politely tell me what you came here for and I’ll let you know if I can help.”
“I…I…” She’s breathing heavily, and it’s not a pretty look on Lizzie.
This makes me happier than it should.
“Spit it out, Lizzie. Some of us don’t have all day.”
In fact, I shouldn’t even be wasting this much time on dealing with her, yet somehow, I can’t help myself.
She just makes it too easy.
“Stay away from my man!” She finally hisses.
“Your man?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Blake,” I roll my eyes. “Obviously.” I keep staring down at her and I don’t move my boot. Somehow, I like this position of dominance over another woman. Perhaps this is why dominant females always seem so put-together. Maybe having this much control over another person is really an incredible feeling.
Maybe it’s something you can’t turn back from once you start.
“He’s mine,” Lizzie insists, and I’m not quite sure how she’s still talking. Her scrawny body is wiggling, and I realize suddenly that Liz has almost no muscle strength. In fact, for an Extrinsic team member, there really shouldn’t be any way I could have gotten her pinned so easily.
“Have you been faking your physical evaluations?” I ask her suddenly. Everyone who is a part of Extrinsic’s exploration and extraction teams has to undergo regular physical training and exams, including blood work.
“What?” She blushes brightly. “What the hell, Sarah? Why would you ask me that?”
“Get up,” I move my leg and release her. Then I reach for Lizzie and pull her to her feet. I grab my scanner and run it up and over her arms.
“What are you doing?” She says, trying to sound mean. All she sounds is afraid.
“Fuck!” I growl when I look at my scanner results, but it’s too late. Lizzie’s already flushed and sweating, and if I don’t hurry. I won’t be in time to save her. “Tami!” I call just as Lizzie collapses into my arms. “I’m going to need a little help!”