Sarah
Lizzie is sedated, hooked up to medication, and there’s a holographic scanner roaming her body every thirty-five seconds to make sure she’s still stable. She’s asleep, and she’s never looked so peaceful. She almost looks like a normal person and not a huge bitch.
“Thanks for the help getting her stabilized,” I tell Tami.
“Anytime,” Tami says. “Although, I’m not going to blame you if you tell me you’d rather just let this one…you know.”
“Let her what?”
“Oh, come on, Sarah! She was terrible to you! She’s always had a grudge against you and now she takes your man? I won’t blame you if you tell me you never want her to wake up.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say,” I insist, turning away from Tami.
“But it’s true,” she says.
I sigh and shake my head. It shouldn’t be true. I shouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Lizzie, and I don’t. I don’t. I want her to heal and to recover and to go on to live a normal, happy life. If that means she gets to be with Blake, that’s fine. I only hope she takes care of him in the way he deserves.
People don’t realize what a gentle guy Blake really is. He’s kind and good and sweet. He’s been through hell and back again and most of the time, you could never even tell. He’s got an easygoing smile and a friendly personality. Blake somehow manages to put everyone at ease, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
It’s one of the things I like most about him.
I like that he’s so calm.
I like that he’s so caring and open.
Finally, I turn back around and look at Tami. She’s sitting next to Lizzie’s bed adjusting a couple of settings on the monitors.
“I don’t want her to die.”
“It’s okay if you do.”
“I don’t,” I tell her. “Even aside from everything the two of us have been through, I would never wish death on a patient.”
“So you’re telling me that you’re okay taking care of the woman who stole your man? You’re much more of a woman than me, Sarah. I don’t think I could handle seeing them together.”
“It has nothing to do with her,” I tell Tami, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed. “And it has everything to do with the fact that I love Blake. I always have. If he needs to be with Lizzie to be happy, then that’s fine. I’ll do everything in my power to support them.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because Blake is the best man I’ve ever met. He deserves to be happy.”
Tami is silent for a long time, and then she smiles slowly.
“You know, I’m glad I was assigned to work with you, Sarah. There are rumors that you’re kind of a softie when it comes to caring for your patients, and I’m pretty sure those are true, but beneath all that butter, you really do have a tough heart: a strong heart.”
“That means a lot to me, Tami.”
She smiles and turns back to Lizzie.
Lizzie is resting peacefully as I start making notations in her holographic file. From what I can tell, she hasn’t been doing her physical assessments with the sports trainer, or she’s been faking them somehow, because her strength has greatly deteriorated from our last exam. She skipped her profile analysis prior to leaving on her latest mission. If she hadn’t, I likely would have caught this issue and been able to treat her before she left.
Now things are much worse than they should be.
Oh, she’s not going to die or anything like that. She won’t be disabled. She will, however, be on bed rest for at least two weeks while we figure out a treatment regime for her illness. The lab work came back instantly that she has three different viruses: all contracted during missions. Left untreated, these can lead to a variety of problems, including anemia and low blood pressure and a bunch of other random things.
She should have come in sooner, but she’s lucky she collapsed in my office and not alone at home.
“You know, Sarah, sometimes I wonder if I’m ever going to find anyone.”
“You mean like a boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would you be worried about that?” I look up sharply at Tami. She’s quiet and shy, but she’s smart and witty and beautiful. And clever. Tami is really, really clever.
“You know,” she shrugs. “Look at her. She’s lovely and she got one of the most incredible guys on the ship.” Tami blushes and looks up at me quickly. “Not that I had any interest in Blake, of course.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s just that he’s really handsome.”
“Yeah, I know,” I roll my eyes. “I’ve seen him, too.”
Tami laughs. “You know what I mean, though, right? Finding someone is hard. Finding someone to love you unconditionally is hard. In another world, maybe I would have met a doctor or found someone I could work side-by-side with while we saved the universe.”
“You can still find someone, Tami. It’s not like your life is about to end or anything. You’re not old, honey.”
“It’s just been a really long time since I felt that way about anyone. Sometimes I wonder if something is wrong with me.”
“Tami, look at me.”
She does.
“Nothing is wrong with you. You are beautiful and perfect and smart. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had. You work hard and you’re consistent and prompt. You’re a really, really good person.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Sarah, has anyone ever told you that you’re a true optimist?”
I laugh. “All the time, but I have to be.”
“I guess it helps with being a doctor. After all, what’s the point in trying to save someone if you just expect them to die? You have to have hope, right?”
“We all need hope,” I agree.
“So can I ask you something really personal?”
“Of course you can.”
“Don’t you think you’re giving up hope with Blake? Don’t get me wrong,” she adds quickly, holding her hands up. “He was a complete jerk, but don’t you think you should give him another shot?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want or what I think,” I tell her sadly. “Blake made his choice.”
“Blake made the wrong choice,” a voice says from behind me, and my body stills. Tami’s eyes are wide and I realize that this is actually happening. He’s standing behind me. He’s come into the room and he heard what we were saying.
Fuck.
How long has he been standing there?
I take a deep breath, and then I stand up and turn around, pasting a smile on my face.
“Blake,” I say. “And Max. What can I do for you?”
They look past me to Liz. “What happened?”
“She’s sick,” I say.
“Did she hurt you?” Blake asks. “We were worried she might have hurt you.”
“She tried!” Tami speaks up. “But Sarah is kind of a badass. Not that you would know,” she glares at him, and Blake has the decency to look chastised.
“I’ve been an idiot,” he turns to me, ignoring Tami’s dig. “And I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m stupid, Sarah. I shouldn’t have treated you the way that I did. You deserve more than that, and I’m sorry for how I reacted when we kissed.”
I blush twelve shades of red as I realize that now everyone in the room knows I kissed Blake and he didn’t like it or want me.
“It’s fine, Blake,” I say, hoping he’ll take the hint. “I’m totally over it.” I turn to Max and jerk my head toward Lizzie. “So, the deal with Lizzie is that she’s sick. She may have picked up a couple of viruses on her last expeditions. Left untreated, they’ve been wreaking havoc on her body. She should have gotten in sooner.”
“I didn’t even know anything was wrong,” Max says. “Didn’t she go to her medical evaluations before we left for the mission?”
“She skipped her last physical here, and I’m guessing her sports physical testing results she either faked or paid someone off. May want to talk to Marv about that.” Marv is the one who handles making sure each member of Extrinsic can run fast and maintain their pace. He checks everyone for endurance levels and strength abilities and makes sure that everyone is in tip-top shape. For this to have slid past him, something has to be seriously wrong.
“I’ll talk to him,” Max agrees. “In the meantime, what’s the status?”
“She needs to be sedated for awhile,” I tell him. “Why?” Now it’s my turn to ask questions. “What’s with the sudden concern over Blake’s girlfriend?”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Blake says.
At the same time, Max tells me, “She’s under arrest.”
“For what?”
“For being a fucking liar, Sarah,” Max tells me. “She completely fucked with our mission and she may be responsible for our team dying.”
“No,” I gasp, my hand fluttering to my mouth.
“Yeah,” Max says. He pulls out a pair of pepperao cuffs and secures Lizzie’s hands.
“That’s not really necessary,” I tell him, but the look he gives me tells me that right now, it’s best not to argue.
“I’m going to have a guy in here constantly,” he tells me. “I know you have nurses and team members who care for your patients who are on bed rest and they need to be protected from Lizzie. Give me five minutes and I’ll get everything set up.” He reaches for his communications unit, and I feel Blake’s hand on my arm.
“Sarah?” He asks gently. “Can we talk?”
“Yeah,” I tell him with a sigh. “What is it?”
“Not here,” he says. “Can we go to your place?”
I look over at Tami, and she grins and smiles.
“I’ve got this covered,” she assures me.
“Fine,” I turn back to Blake. “But let’s make this fast, okay? I’ve got a patient to care for.”