Future Prospect (13 page)

“Totally different functions, Lia. Relax, I’m a doctor.” The woman peered down at her with a quirked smile, and Lia tried to settle herself. Nodding agreement, she closed her eyes as a minty fragrance filled her nose, and the foam supporting her arms, back, and legs grew softer and she fell…

* * * *

Colan wasn’t sure why he entered the new medical clinic. There was nothing wrong with him other than he hadn’t found Lia in her office, and the communications person he’d seen in the hall told him she was going to medical. This news had made his blood pressure rise but not to dangerous levels.

He
was
breathing harder as he headed down the corridor toward the only room with a light on, but that was because he’d walked faster to get here. Maybe she’d suffered some sort of delayed reaction to last night’s explosion. She’d seemed fine afterward, but shock waves could do strange things.

He rounded the corner of the room and saw Lia unconscious on a scanbed. He came to an abrupt halt, his heart hammering in his chest. She looked pale and limp, and he scanned the room for a doctor or caretaker of some sort. Stars, what had happened to her?

A tall, redheaded woman popped from behind the scanbed and gave him a curious once-over.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you a doctor?”

“Yes. Are you ill?”

Colan shook his head, stepping closer to Lia and staring at her. He should have walked her back. There was no need for him to have helped with Ermil and Perrin’s interview. What if she’d been lying injured in her room the whole night? He reached out to touch her hand, but the movement interrupted the phasefield circling the bed. It emitted a faint tone, and he drew back quickly.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing a massage and a hot bath won’t cure.”

“What?”

“Hi, I’m Doctor Deval Polin.” The woman held out her hand, and Colan shook it automatically. This doctor seemed unconcerned about the unconscious woman lying between them. Colan scanned Lia’s body. He couldn’t see any obvious injuries, certainly nothing different than the previous evening. What was wrong with her?

“Lia’s too tense.” He glanced at Polin, still confused by what she was saying. “She needs to relax. Have some fun. Maybe eat a little more.”

The doctor wriggled an eyebrow at him and turned her attention to a display. She tapped it twice, and the phasefield around Lia shimmered silver and then disappeared. Colan reached for her hand, and relief filled him when her fingers shifted and circled around his.

She wriggled, and her eyelids tightened once before she opened her eyes. Her gaze caught his, and as she gave him a sleepy smile, Colan sucked in a quick breath, his stomach contracting as if he’d been punched. Lia sighed and stretched, the bedding making little creaks as she moved her legs and hips.

“Hello, Colan. How are you?”

The doctor seemed engrossed in monitoring some displays, so he felt safe keeping hold of her hand. “Just checking on you after last night. Are you not feeling well?”

“I’m fine. Doctor Polin just needed someone to use as a sample as she recalibrates this thing.”

“That’s right. Thanks for your help, Lia. Don’t try to sit up yet, you’ll be shaky from the anesthesia for a few more minutes.” The doctor pulled out a hand scanner and held it up to Colan. “Can I check this one with
your
readings?”

Colan shrugged, not really caring as he watched Lia lying on the bed. The scanners made faint clicking noises as she lay quietly, glancing between him and the doctor all while squeezing his fingers.

“Good, both machines are running clear now. Thanks for your help.” The doctor turned away to review some data scrolling on a wall display. “You can try and sit up now Lia, just be careful not to overbalance. I don’t want any nosocomial injuries because of a medical procedure. It would look bad on my quarterly report.”

Without a word, Colan moved to help her sit, sliding her legs over one side of the bed and supporting her back as she balanced at the edge.

“All right?”

“I think so. I’m just sleepy.” She blinked slowly and tilted her head up to smile at him. He wanted to touch her cheek, slide his thumbs against her temples but instead, moved his hands away from her, regretting his excuse to touch her was gone. Considering how aware he was of her body, a little distance was in order or else he’d crawl on top of her on the scanbed. Then what kind of readings would the doctor be able to record?

“Just stay still for a few more minutes,” Doctor Polin said. “Lia, you’re calorie deficient, you need to eat at least six hundred calories within the next hour. According to your baseline, you’ve lost weight since you’ve arrived on planet. And you’re slightly dehydrated.”

“It’s been a busy morning.” Lia yawned and stretched her arms over her head. Her breasts moved under her thin shirt, a faint outline of her nipples barely visible, and Colan decided to stare at one of the incomprehensible wall displays.

“You just told me you have everything under control. You have time to eat.”

“Doctor, something could have changed for the worse while I was knocked out.”

“In two minutes? So you’ll find out about it after you eat. You’ll do a better job with some nutrition on board. You weren’t knocked out; you were under a very slight sleep inducement. You aren’t getting enough sleep if you were that easily sedated.”

Doctor Polin turned her gaze on Colan and smiled at him. “And you, your heart rate and body temperature are elevated. Localized temperature elevation. If you’d like, I can run a scan on your hormone levels.”

“No, thank you,” he replied quickly, very sure he didn’t need to have the doctor explain he was aroused right now. The worry he experienced when he’d heard Lia was in medical morphed into something beyond relief when he realized she was fine. Fine except for not eating or drinking properly. She really was too attached to that damned datpad.

“Cit. Nestor, would you be willing to assist me?” He tore his gaze away from his study of the way Lia’s braided hair curved around her neck and looked at the doctor with concern.

“Another scan?” Colan shook his head; sure he didn’t want the woman waving a scanner around his genitals.

“No. Take Lia here to the dining facility and make sure she eats a good meal. Slowly too. No rushing or taking it back to the office.”

“Deval, I’ll be fine.” Lia sounded irritated as she slid off the table and stood, wobbling a bit until Colan tucked his arm around her waist, and she leaned against him. Dangerously full body contact, but he wasn’t going to let her fall.

“Right. You’ll be fine after you eat. If you don’t, I’m placing you on leave until you gain back the two point three kilograms you’ve lost. And that means no work.” Doctor Deval Polin squared her shoulders and used the stern medical tone which meant no arguments.

Lia swallowed and nodded. Threatening to take away her work certainly made her a more cooperative person.

“All right, Citizen Nestor, you have your assignment. Have a good time.” The doctor gave him a quirked smile, and he knew she was well aware of exactly how high his temperature was, and she’d likely already monitored his increase in localized blood flow and testosterone levels. Damned nonexistent physiological privacy.

Lia slurped up another slice of succulent tomato and quickly daubed at the juice running down her chin. It was amazing how hungry she was. Maybe that quick nap in medical had made a difference. Or perhaps it was because Colan watched her intently as he monitored her food intake, and she didn’t want him to growl at her.

“This is really good,” she complimented as she reached for another stuffed egg sprinkled with some sort of herb blend that was somehow sweet and sour at the same moment. They were in Colan’s small tree house, and the unique environment hadn’t been able to distract her from the lovely food he kept placing in front of her. Claude might prepare elaborate and innovative meals for them in the living quarters, but Colan seemed to have some creativity in the kitchen as well. “How long have you been cooking?”

“Long time. Not much else to do when you’re working in isolated areas, unless you like stuff squeezed out of a softpack.”

Lia winced at the thought of pre-made emergency rations and stabbed another slice of tomato. No wonder Tila had wanted to save her plants; Lia had never tasted tomatoes with such strong flavor before. “These tomatoes are incredible.”

“Yep. Some sort of nematode in the soil here makes them grow like monsters. They make good jam too.”

“Tomato jam?” By all that was possible in the universe, how had she never heard of tomato jam?

“Sure. You want to try some?”

Lia nodded agreement, thrilled with the idea that Colan, the original grumpy hermit, had made jam. He now slid a plate with a split-open, flaky biscuit slathered in scarlet jam across his small wooden table to her. Picking it up and taking a small bite of the warm, soft, buttery thing, Lia closed her eyes as the rich flavor of sweet tomato filled her mouth. Stars, it was fantastic.

“You made a biscuit too?”

“Actually about a dozen. Ready for more?” Colan watched her with those dark, unwavering eyes, and Lia tried not to quiver with equally dark thoughts. She’d known it for a while now, and it had solidified last night in the moments after the explosion; she was sexually attracted to this man. Not that she was interested in acting upon such a reckless impulse, but all those warm twinges in sensitive areas of her body were exceedingly pleasant. Perhaps that’s why she was suddenly so ravenous; she was sublimating.

“Sure. What’s next?”

Colan finally stopped staring and opened the door to his small chiller to brood over the contents. Lia took the opportunity to glance around his living space; small room with a rounded ceiling, walls lined with stacks of equipment, well-worn boxes, and a hodgepodge of furniture made from odds and ends of things. The house perched on the top of two bent tree trunks above the backyard of the head scientist’s house. She hadn’t realized the day of the bucket blow-up he’d lived there; she’d just assumed it was some sort of play house for the two misbehaving boys. Just climbing up the ladder stairs had made her feel as if she was sneaking away from the adult world and all her pressing problems.

She returned her attention to Colan when she heard another plate slide her way across the table. It was full of cold noodles coated in some sort of orangish sauce and studded with tiny blue seeds.

“Eat it. You might be up to seven hundred calories if you do.”

“Doc Polin said six.”

“Eat it anyway.” He glared at her, and she felt like rolling her eyes, but since he was being vaguely nice as he fed her from his own stores, she restrained herself. The noodles were chewy, and the sauce contained a lot of curry and heat, much more than she’d expected. Taking a big swallow of water, Lia nodded her head.

“What it this?”

“Curry-fried lingon.”

“What’s a lingon?”

“Simple organism from here. Grows in long strands from stoma trees. Lots of protein.”

It tasted all right, so Lia kept eating. “Is this one of the creatures your friend thinks is part of the collective sentience?”

“Probably. And it’s not like she’s a close friend. Not anymore.” Colan stopped staring at some containers on his counter and edged her way, leaning a hip on the counter as he monitored her food intake. He’d had one of the stuffed eggs but nothing else, and Lia wondered if she was eating all his food.

“Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

He shook his head and shifted his hip. The movement distracted Lia, and she put down her fork.

“Do you want to share this?”

Another head shake and now a little line appeared between his brows. Grumpy Colan emerged from hibernation.

“Am I eating what you’d planned for lunch?”

“Stop worrying about me. Eat it.”

“I can’t eat if you’re just staring at me.”

“You want me to go hide in the bedroom?”

There was a bedroom? For some reason she’d pictured him sleeping on the wide, soft looking sofa behind her. Or in the swinging hammock she could see hanging outside through of one of the back windows.

“It’s your house. Don’t let me stop you.” Maybe she was that repellant to him.

Colan frowned, his nice mouth curving into a tight, unwelcoming shape. She took another bite of the chewy lingon and worked on that so she wouldn’t say any more. He took a deep breath and shifted against the counter again. She was eye level with part of his anatomy she shouldn’t make acquaintance with, so she concentrated her attention on the back window and the gently moving hammock. That would be a pleasant perch at night. Swaying back and forth as the night crept in while the day disappeared.

“Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”

“I do like it. I was just thinking about your hammock.”

“I’ll give you a tour after you finish your lunch.” He turned and pulled a container from the chiller and sat next to her at the narrow dining table. Opening the lid and spooning some of the contents onto her plate next to the noodle creatures, Colan shook his head as she opened her mouth to protest. It was some sort of chopped green salad with chunks of dried fruit and nuts, and frankly, she wanted to eat it. He pulled a fork from a container on the table and began to eat the remaining salad from the container.

“I think with that salad I’ll be close to eight hundred calories or over.” Lia decided to tease him, feeling much more comfortable now that he sat and ate and stopped staring, brooding, and leaning all over the place. He grunted and ate a bite of food.

“You need to gain weight. Next time I’ll fry something with some sugar in it.”

Lia stopped twirling a very long strand of lingon. “Next time?”

He poked around in the salad for a few beats and shrugged his shoulders. “If you want to again.”

“If I want to what?”

“Have another meal here.”

“With you?”

“I suppose I could cook, leave it on the counter for you, and go hide in the bedroom while you eat it.”

Lia grinned as he shook his head with exasperation. “You sure want to go to this mysterious bedroom a lot. I’m not sure I even believe it exists at this point. Is it some sort of psychological safe haven?”