May I Enjoy My Life: Entry 20

Entry 23: Day 52

I can’t see. My left eye…it’s gone. I guess I’m a pirate now. 

Fuck. At least Sussurro is here. I hurt everywhere. Maybe that was all a bad idea. 

Never mind. Rope came to see us. She’s in a wheelchair. Couldn’t save her legs. But she’s alive. She talked, a lot. I tried to listen. It hurts so much. Couldn’t. But she’s alive. She’s happy.

She’s…she’s a real person. A kid, really. I think she’s nineteen? I forget. So young. There were younger ones, there in the O Ward. 

I can’t save them all. I guess…I just save the ones I can. 

It just…it hurts so bad. And I can’t see. 

I guess I can see Sussurro. She’s here, with me. I think she’s proud of me. But I need to rest. 

Entry 24: Day 53

Even though it hurts, they wheeled me to the trauma ward and made me use my arts. I needed help standing up, but I healed half a dozen people of near fatal injuries. I feel a little better, now. My left eye is still useless, though. Will I get vision back in it? God I hope so. Damn hard to perform surgery with just one eye. 

Pissed out three kidney stones today. Small ones. It just hurts so bad. My hands are trembling all the time. My right one has little spikes growing out the back of it now, and it’s stiff. Sussurro had to hold the knife for me. I couldn’t use it.

Texas came back today. Didn’t talk much. Gave me a bar of really good chocolate though. I didn’t ask about SWEEP. She sat with me, quietly, while Sussurro and Exusiai went and got something to eat. 

She’s a good friend. I told her that. She shook her head. 

“No. We’re family. Not friends. Go back to sleep. You’re being stupid.”

Yes ma’am. 

Entry 25 Day 54:

Well, today I’m not being such a little bitch. Maybe it’s the access to unlimited morphine. Or, just possibly, maybe it’s the fact that Warfarin showed up and injected me with some shit that made me jump.

I was laying there, in a drug fueled haze. Sussurro had stepped out for something, I was too out of it to really know. It was just Exusiai, cleaning her guns again. Those things must be sparkling inside and out. 

The door hissed open, and Warfarin strode in, her fangs barred in a grin. “There’s my favorite intern! Still malingering in the hospital? We do need to fix that. Back in my day, we fired interns for being so lazy!”

“Warfarin,” Exusiai said, her tone tilting between weary and hostile. “What do you want?”

“To put some vim back in this boy’s vigor!” she leaned over my hospital bed and grinned. “Now, Jimmy the Wunderkind, do you want to lay in bed and feel bad about yourself, or do you want to do some SCIENCE today?”

“If I can hear the capital letters, is that bad?” I asked somewhat groggily.

“That means that we are on the cusp of greatness, Jimmy! However, I have, unfortunately, learned about this thing called ‘consent’, and more importantly, I don’t want Sussurro to try to murder me if I just start injecting you with things. I mean, she couldn’t, but it would be a waste of my time and hers. So, I’m going to ask you again: Do you want to lay in bed like a bitch, or do you want to do SCIENCE?”

I sat up slowly, and Exusiai came over to stand beside Warfarin. “Ok, Warfarin. Two questions on behalf of Lucia. First, is this dangerous?”

“Less dangerous than letting lover boy here die. But I won’t lie and say it’s safe. It’s untested and even I get things wrong sometimes. That said, I’m certain enough that it’ll work that I’m willing to chance it.”

“Ok, second, what the hell is it?” Exusiai demanded. “And keep it simple for those of us who don’t have advanced medical degrees.”

“I have an advanced medical degree,” I offered. 

“Haha! That you do kid, that you do. However, I don’t think yours will help you much here, so I will try it in layman's terms.” Warfarin opened up the messenger case she had slung over her shoulder to reveal a small metal case, which opened in a hiss of pressure and a wave of cold air. From it, she withdrew a vial that glowed a frankly disturbing orange color. 

“This is, to make it simple, extract of originium slug. Now, don’t make that face, we’ve derived medicines from them before. This one, however, would probably kill anyone but you. So, let me explain: I know you metabolize originium. Well, what else does that? Simple: Originium slugs, and related lifeforms. I also know that we need to kick start you doing that, because your levels are at a dangerous tipping point. You’re at .51 u/L and all the way up to an extremely lethal 20% originium cell integration. You should be fucking dead. However…”

Warfarin flicked the syringe, peering through it so her face seemed to turn orange. “You respond oddly to arts amps and suppressors. So, I have synthesized an Arts Amplifier that would, again, be lethal to anyone who DIDN’T have the biology of an originium slug. I’ve tested this on slugs, and it’s like giving them methamphetamines. You know those, right?’

“Uh, yeah, that’s…a very dangerous type of drug,” I said, feeling a bit sick at the thought. Or maybe just generally sick because I hurt all over. “But it does have pharmaceutical uses, like in the treatment of ADHD and Obesity with Desoxyn.”

“Right, but we call it Lythanol. So, I think if I give this to you…it will not only make you feel a whole hell of a lot better, it will also speed up your metabolism, amp your arts, and possibly help you not fucking die. Because, I am, of course, a genius, and the best damn chemist alive or dead.”

“Meth? I know that…it’s pretty dangerous,” Exusiai said, glancing at me. “I think we should wait for Sussurro…let me page her.”

“Ugh, I told you, he’ll be FINE!” Warfarin said, rolling her eyes. 

“No, Chief. I…I want to ask Lucia. I’m not…I’m not in my right frame of mind,” I said, laying back down. 

“Fine. Call Lucy and tell her that her Chief is a genius and is going to cure her boyfriend,” Warfarin huffed. 

Sussurro arrived a few minutes later with Texas, and immediately rattled off a lot of the questions I should have thought of. How would this drug interact with the other medications I was on, especially the morphine. Had she trialed it on anything aside from slugs? What were the possible complications? You know, reasonable, sane questions.

“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted to her. “What do you think?”

She examined the vial, then looked Warfarin dead in the eyes. “Do you swear this will help him?”

“You don’t get as old as I have by fucking up much. You know why all the old Vampires aren’t Infected?” Warfarin asked. 

“Because the ones that aren’t careful die young,” Sussurro said with a sigh. “Alright. James…I’m going to recommend we try this. Low dosage. Carefully monitored and controlled. Because we need you feeling well enough to use your arts, and to do so a lot.

I nodded, and closed my eyes. “Do it.”

Warfarin injected it straight into my IV, then stepped back. Almost instantly, I felt it working. It spread like fire, and made me itch. I sat up, my heart beginning to race, but feeling a whole hell of a lot better. 

“Right, get him casting, STAT. Right to Trauma,” Warfarin ordered. “You stick on him like a shell. Have him casting until he drops, because as long as that’s in his system, his arts are turbo charged and he’s got the stamina of a swiftbeast. Oh, and if you want to ride him like one, that’s probably fine. Don’t blush, I know you’re thinking about it. Now get moving!”

They got me into scrubs and a labcoat, and I could feel that originium in my body humming with potential power. We jogged up to trauma, where a team was just returning from a Contingency Contract with a couple of wounded. I had their bones knitted and their muscles restored in a heart beat, even fixed up a woman’s intestines. 

After that, I lost track of time as I did healing after healing. For hours on end, I was replacing organs, regrowing limbs, and even cured a couple of people of cancer I think. I sort of lost track of it all. It was amazing. Pain? That was gone. I felt wonderful! I felt invincible, like I had enough energy to run a triathlon, like I was king of the world.

And then, the dose ran out. And I crashed. I crashed hard. The pain came back, so severe that I curled up in a ball and started weeping. I felt like weights had been placed all over my body, and I could barely move. They had to put me back in a hospital bed, as I grabbed at Warfarin and pleaded, “Please, another dose! Just…just one more! I…I can heal some more people!”

“Hell no,” she declared, jerking her hand away. “You’re not getting another dose for at least a week, maybe a month. For one thing, this shit will kill your liver unless I miss my guess. Kidney’s too, probably, and yours are already fucked up. Good news is, you’re down to .43 u/L and 16% cell integration unless I miss my guess. So, we do this once a week or so, you get an amazing high, I get beautiful data, and in a month, you go cure some other sob story and we do this shit all over again. Well, until you die.”

“Warfarin!” Sussurro growled, her little fangs barred. 

“Oh relax. I’m going to my lab to refine the formula, I think I have some ideas. Give him a sedative and let him sleep it off,” Warfarin ordered. “And you go get some rest. That was 15 hours, you haven’t slept in 26. Go crash.”

And so, I fell asleep. It’s two days later and I just woke up. That was some shit. I have to confess…I’m worried. I…I think I’m an addict, now. Worse…while the spikes on my hand are gone, I’ve still got the tremors and it’s real stiff. And my eye…well. I still can’t see. Maybe once my levels drop a little more…

Entry 26: Day 57

I’m up and at  ‘em again. I spent the morning in the hospital with Sussurro healing again. My arts are still potent, but I am far short of that sublime height I was operating at when I was on that super drug. Warfarin says she’s calling it Solvignis, and might even be able to create a blend that normal people can take without, you know, dying a horrible and painful death. 

“For now, my special baby is just for you, Jimmy boy! And no, I’m not giving you any more. It’s under lock and key and out of your reach. Sussurro’s too. Only me and Director Kal’tsit can dispense it. So don’t come looking for a fix before I’m good and ready to give you some more.”

“I…I want more, but…” I swallowed. “I’m worried I’m becoming an addict…”

Warfarin snorted and folded her arms. “Become nothing, you are. You’re already addicted to dope. No, don’t cringe, it’s fine. You’ve got Lucy and me to manage it. Just keep with the healing. You’re doing the work of half the damn OR, and saving lives even I couldn’t. Enough to make a girl jealous, really.”

Then she flounced off, humming happily to herself. 

“Is it just me, or is our chief of medicine real fuckin’ weird?” I asked Sussurro. 

She sighed and nodded. “I’ve been saying that to myself since the day I arrived here and she asked me what flavor my blood was. I think she does that to everyone just to get a reaction.”

“Well, I’m starving and it’s lunch. Should we just go to the cafeteria?” I said, glancing over at our two persistent shadows. It’s a bit eerie how used to having Texas and Exusiai looking at me all the time. There have even been times I’ve caught them coming into the bathroom with me if it’s a public one. No one has said anything, probably because they’re both heavily armed. 

“I could eat, and they’ve got Lateran salad on the menu!” Exusiai said excitedly. Sussurro made a face, while Texas flicked her ears in obvious disgust. 

“Dare I ask what Lateran salad is?” I said as we headed that direction. 

“It’s fruit salad! I don’t know why people act like it’s a crime,” Exusiai said with a laugh. 

“You call that abomination fruit salad?” Sussurro said, sounding disgusted. 

“What’s it got in it?” I asked. 

“Oh, you know, pears, oranges, grapes, pineapple, and cherries!” Exusiai said. 

“...that sounds pretty good,” I said slowly. 

“She’s not telling you what’s really in it,” Sussurro said with a shake of her head. 

“It also has candied pecans and walnuts,” Exusiaia added. 

“Ok, that still sounds pretty good,” I agreed, glancing at Sussurro who was making a face. 

“In a sauce of marshmallow cream, sour cream, and whipped mayonnaise,” Texas said, her lip curling. 

“Oh. So it’s just Marshmallow Salad. We used to have that at Papa Huey and Grammy Debbie’s in Minnesota," I said with a nod. 

Sussurro and Texas both looked at me aghast, but I high-fived Exusiai, who was giggling in delight. “What? It’s pretty good. I mean, it’s a dessert, but it’s tasty.”

“She thinks it’s a real salad,” Texas huffed. “It’s not.”

“I mean, at least it’s not Snicker Salad,” I said with a grin. 

“Snicker Salad?” Exusiai asked curiously. 

“James, don’t you dare. That’s weird alien knowledge!” Sussurro warned. 

“Nah. Ok, here’s how you make it: First you, get a package of instant pudding, usually butter scotch. Mix that up with some milk, usually like 2%,” I said. Exusiai had taken out her phone and was quickly writing this down. Sussurro looked like she wanted to perform an exorcism, while Texas was gripping the hilt of her sword like she might need to use it. 

“Then you mix that with a tub of CoolWhip. That’s fake whipped cream,” I said, and Exusiai nodded. 

“Yeah, we call it Puff Cream, but I know what you’re talking about,” Exusiai said, motioning for me to go on. 

“You mix that with a pound, er, half a kilo of bite sized Snickers bars. But you can probably use any chocolate candy bar with filling,” I told her. The looks of comic horror on Sussurro and Texas’ faces were priceless. 

“Sounds yummy! What else?” Exusiai prompted. 

“Cut up three green apples into small chunks and mix it in. You know, so that it’s healthy,” I said, and Exusiai nodded and gestured grandly. 

“Of course!” 

“...I am dating a heathen,” Sussurro muttered. 

“Hey, it’s a dessert! Only Uncle Phil claimed it was anything else. That’s a recipe I actually know since my mom used to make it for potlucks since I liked it so much,” I explained. We were in the cafeteria now, waiting in line with a few others to get our lunch. It looked like Mac and Cheese, fowlbeast tenders, and the aforementioned Lateran salad for dessert, with the usual actual salad bar. 

The guy ahead of me in line had apparently been listening. He looked like a zalak, a bit on the short side with pointed ears and a long, fluffy squirrel tail, along with prominent buck teeth. “That’s an old Colombian recipe that my grandma used to make. Hey, you’re that doctor everyone’s talking about, aren’t ya?”

“Uh,” I glanced at Sussurro, who grimaced. 

“Announcement was made while you were unconscious. Rumor mill has been working overtime,” she whispered. 

“Kasper Vólzek,” the man said, extending a hand, which I awkwardly took in my still stiff right. 

“James McCoy,” I said by reflex. 

“I’m visiting on business. I work for Oricentia Health Partners out of Max DC. I hear you’re a Columbian boy yourself. Trimounts?” Kasper said.

“Uh, yeah, near there,” I said vaguely. 

He nodded. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’re they paying you here? Oricentia has a very competitive compensation package.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I glanced at Sussurro again. “What are they paying me?” Then I decided it didn’t matter, so I shrugged. “Eh, the food’s free and pretty good and I got a place to stay.”

“Eh, this stuff? I mean, it’s alright, but you’re from Trimounts! You know what good food is. Plus, the berths here? Shabby. You could be staying in a penthouse that overlooks a real cityscape.”

“I got out of the rat race for a reason. Uh, no offense,” I said, remembering he was Zalak at the last second. “I like it here at Rhodes Island. They’ve been good to me.”

“Not so good if they’re making you stay in a little cubby hole. You wanna make some real money…here’s my card,” Kaspar said, pressing a business card into my hands and then slipping out of line. 

I looked at the card, then at Kaspar’s retreating back. “Did he…just try to headhunt me? Geeze.” I crumpled up the card and tossed it in the trash can, though, as I am no Kobe, it bounced off the rim. So I went over and picked it up for a dunk. I’m not a slob. 

“You didn’t even look at what they were offering for pay?” Sussurro asked me. 

“Well, would you move to Trimounts?” I asked her, raising an eyebrow. 

She blushed slightly and shook her head. “No. Oricentia has a reputation of putting profits over care. We have to work with them because they’re one of the largest purchasers of our pharmaceuticals, but they’re bastards.”

“Well, fuck ‘em. I’ll stay here with you, thanks. Like you’ve mentioned, the Island is family. And you don’t walk away from family,” I said. To my mild surprise, Sussurro slipped her hand into mine, her tail wagging back and forth, until we finally came to the front of the line and loaded down our trays. 

I was just dismissing Kasper and his weird pitch as a random kook while we sat at a table, when before I could even take a bite, a middle-aged kuranta woman with an auburn mane of hair in a pantsuit sashayed up to us and flashed a pearly white smile at me. “Dr. James McCoy, I presume?” she said in what I would have called a Polish accent, though her Victorian was excellent. 

“Uh, yes, who’s asking?” I said, lowering my food to my tray. 

I am Rozveta Kryszanowska, from the Sanatura Group,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder and running it down towards my back. I flinched away, and Texas’ arm shot out, not so gently shoving her away. 

“Hands off,” she growled. 

Sussurro was shooting a look of anger at the woman, tail bristling, and I managed, “Uh, I’m sort of eating at the moment, can this wait?” 

Despite Texas still having a grip on her forearm, Rozveta smiled at me. “Mmm, if you want to go somewhere more private, darling, I’d be happy to schedule a meeting. I saw you talking to that rat Kaspar Volzek and-”

“That’s sorta racist,” I said, instantly deciding I didn’t like this woman. She blinked at me in confusion for a moment, and I didn’t clarify. 

“Well, if you want to make real money and be treated like an asset such as yourself deserves, the Sanatura Group-”

“Is nothing but a second rate bunch of horse traders!” a new voice, also Polish, said. This one belonging, ironically enough, to another kuranta, this one only a few years older than me by her looks, and wearing a rather low cut dress. “I’m Calvera Strzemińska with Heloré Biomedical Solutions. We can offer you a starting salary of ten million-”

Exusiai put a gun in Calvera’s face, and her eyes crossed. “James is busy. And we’re leaving. You two hussys stay right here. Don’t even think of following us,” Exusiai said in her normally chipper tones, which sounded scary as hell in the present circumstances. 

“We were simply-” Calvera began, but then Exusiai racked the bolt back on her machine gun. Probably entirely unnecessary, but it did drive the point home. 

“I’m always available,” Calvera said in breathy tones, then hurried off. Texas shoved Rozvelta away and ignited her beam saber, glaring around the room as I got reluctantly to my feet with Sussurro, who had my arm in hers. 

“What about the food?” I said plaintively. I was pretty hungry. 

“I’ll cook lunch. Leave it,” she ordered. 

I let her drag me away, wondering just what the hell was going on. Right up until a nervous looking feline man was waiting outside my bedroom door. “Ah, Dr. McCoy, I’m Angus Syndey from Rim-”

Exusiai actually shot a hole in my door, and Angus actually yowled like a cat and jumped about three feet in the air. “I’m Lemuel Exusiai, and I’m the Sankta who blew up her school 17 times before she graduated. Do I need to add a bunch of corporate head hunters to my list?”

“I can see you’re very busy,” Angus said, clutching his hat to his head and scurrying off. 

Sighing, Exusiai lowered her gun, while Sussurro and I looked at her wide eyed. “Darn. Now I’m going to have to call maintenance. Oh well, you don’t mind sleeping in Sussurro’s room for now, right?” 

“I, uh, no?” I managed, glancing over at Sussurro. 

“I was planning on asking James to move in with me anyway,” Sussurro said, her tail slowly rising. “Thank you for chasing off the pest. Though, perhaps, discharging a firearm indoors isn’t the best for our hearing?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess! It’s basically just a very firm no in Laterano if you shoot at a solicitor," Exusiai said with a shrug. 

“A reasonable stance,” Texas said with a nod. “I’ll wait outside. You eat first, Exusiai.”

“You want me to wait outside too?” Exusiai asked when we arrived at Sussurro’s door.

“No, I’m just making lunch. Though if you try and come in this evening, I may borrow your gun so I can try to shoot you,” Sussurro said with a completely straight face. 

Sussurro was halfway through making some hot pepperoni sandwiches when Texas stuck her head in. “Blaze is here. With her team.”

“What?” I said, standing up as Sussurro turned around with wide eyes. Before we could do anything, Blaze stepped inside with a wide grin on her face. 

“Heya! Mmm, smells good! So, what’s this I hear about an accidental weapons discharge that resulted in the new hole in Bones’ door?”

“Oh it wasn’t an accident,” Exusiai said in a completely shameless fashion. “That was definitely on purpose.”

“I see,” Blaze said, leaning up against the door as Texas took a position behind her. “Why don’t you explain to me why that happened, and why we got two very angry executives claiming a lupo and a Sankta tried to assassinate them. 

“If I’d wanted to kill them, they’d be dead,” Texas said quietly. 

Blaze shook her head, though her grin had turned grim. “I’m aware, Cellenia. What I want to know is your side of the story before I start collecting heads.”

“Those zoccola were trying to headhunt James!” Sussurro snapped, having gone back to cooking lunch up on her stool. She had on this really sexy apron with bacia il cuoca on it, which I had been reliably informed by Exusiai meant “kiss the cook,” so I had. 

“Oh?” Blaze said. 

“Er, it was really weird. As soon as we went into the cafeteria…” I laid out what had happened, with Sussurro providing a few interjections, mostly about Rozveta and Calvera who she really didn’t like, and finished up with, “and then Exusiai uh, warned off Angus.”

“He had a knife,” Exusiai said with a shrug. 

I had to do a double take, and Sussurro stopped cooking for a moment to turn around. 

“What? He did!” Exusiai protested. 

“In his jacket. Had his hand on it. I’ll check him out later. If he’s a problem, I’ll deal with it,” Texas said quietly. 

“Yeah, unfortunately, as much of an asshole as Argus Sydney is, he does work for Rim Billington’s medical department, and as such, you can’t just kill him. He was actually probably going to offer you a nice Bowie knife as a gift. He collects them,” Blaze said with a sigh. She ran a hand through her hair, looking frustrated. “Right. You’re banned from the cafeteria.”

“What!? Lemuel didn’t do anything wrong! I mean, OK, maybe pointing a gun at someone is a bit much, but that’s like, cultural!” I protested. 

Blaze gave me a sad look. “Exusiai isn’t banned, Bones. You are. Not because of anything you’ve done. Well, that’s not true. It’s because you’re the cure for Oripathy, and people have figured it out, even if Amiya didn’t name you specifically in her announcement. I should have known this would happen. Pack your stuff. Well, after lunch, wouldn’t want you to miss that. But pack your stuff. I’ll send some boys to help you move. I’m putting you on the executive level where I can keep a better handle on security. And you are not, under any circumstances, to go ANYWHERE without Exusiai or Texas with you. Preferably both. If, for some reason, they need a break or are incapacitated, you sit in your rooms until I personally assign you a new set of bodyguards.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling rather low. That meant I’d be away from-

“I’m moving as well,” Sussurro said, putting five sandwiches on the table, along with a fresh salad she’d made. Not the marshmallow kind, just some fresh greens with a light vinaigrette. She didn’t meet Blaze’s eyes, but she was blushing. “James will need close medical supervision.”

“And you’re sleeping together,” Blaze said with a nod. 

“Yes,” Sussurro said, meeting the big cat’s eyes. 

“Not a problem. Texas, Exusiai, your quarters are changing as well. Sorry, I know all this is happening fast, but, well, I should have seen this coming. I just had hoped…” she let out a frustrated growl.

“Sit, eat,” Sussurro ordered. “I would have made some for your team outside, but I didn’t have enough.”

“Oh I sent them away once I realized what was probably going on. But thanks! Don’t mind if I do,” Blaze said, and took a seat with us. 

“Let’s pray,” Sussurro said, and I blinked. She hadn’t done that before. But Exusiai immediately closed her eyes and grabbed Texas’ hand on one side, mine on the other. I took Sussurro’s hand and closed my eyes as well. 

“Bless us, O Law, with  thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Saints and Angels, amen,” Sussurro and Exusiai recited.

Then we all dug into the delicious meal, which was as excellent as always. Sussurro leaned in close while Blaze was telling a somewhat loud story of one of her exploits and whispered, “Sorry, I should have asked you first, I just…I don’t want to be away from you.”

“No, it’s alright. More than alright. I…I sleep better, when you’re there. Plus, now I can take advantage of you.”

“We can still order takeout, James. I’m not cooking every day.”

“I wasn’t talking about your cooking,” I said, and waggled my eyebrows. 

“Maniaco,” she muttered and swatted my leg. Then she rubbed it, tail swishing behind her. Maybe she wasn’t so adverse to the idea after all. 

Blaze was true to her word, and before I’d even finished washing the dishes, a dozen sturdy operators showed up with boxes. 

“Right, pack everything up boys, up to E27-D. His room too,” Blaze ordered, pointing at me. “Help out Texas and Exusiai, put them in E27-F. Sweep for bugs before and after.”

They were remarkably efficient, with all of Sussurro’s belongings swiftly put away, then trucked up three levels to a somewhat more spacious and open hallway that looked out over the direction the landship was heading. To my surprise, we had a welcoming committee. 

Standing before the window was Amiya. She wasn’t dressed in her usual attire, but instead in jeans and a green blouse. She had her hands clasped behind her, looking out over where Rhodes Island was slowly travelling beside a couch and house plant. When she heard us coming, she turned and smiled. 

“James, Lucia, please. Join me while your rooms are arranged,” she said, gesturing to the couch. 

We did so, with Exusiai and Texas taking up a position at a polite distance where they could very much still keep an eye on things. Even with just Amiya there…

“First, I’d like to apologize for what happened today,” Amiya said with a sad smile, taking a seat on the couch across from us. There was a carpet and a small coffee table between us, and the view out the front of the landship showed green rolling hills that we were moving along at about a walking pace. 

“It’s not your fault,” Sussurro said, taking my hand. She was trembling slightly. Was she nervous? “It’s not anyone’s fault, really.”

“Doctor warned me that you’d garner attention. I thought that at least, here, on the Island, your lives could continue to be normal,” Amiya said with a gentle smile. “But that was a foolish hope. I’m afraid, James, that from now on, you will no longer be able to walk freely, even on this Landship. That was already the case with Cellenia and Lemuel having to escort you everywhere, but you’ll no longer be able to go to the cafeteria, or even the public shopping places. At least, not openly.”

“So, no more dates?” I asked somewhat plaintively. Sussurro had laid her ears back and looked rather disappointed as well.

“We can, perhaps, arrange for you two to have some private time at Frankies or Dreams and Spices if you go out in disguise. You'll still have an escort, naturally.”

“Yeah, naturally,” I said, feeling rather miserable.

“Additionally, I'm afraid I have to ask…what did they offer you, Dr. McCoy? I know monetarily, Rhodes Island doesn't offer the highest salaries, but we could-”

“Stop,” I said, shaking my head, and Amiya paused. I gave her my best dopey grin. “I didn't even look. I don't care. As long as you keep me in milk and Wheaties, and morphine, I'm good. I don't need more money. You…generally know my story, right?”

“I am aware you are an Earthling, and that you graduated from a medical institution on Earth,” Amiya said with a nod.

“And you know about, er, Arknights,” I said uncomfortably.

A distant look came into Amiya's eyes, and a small smile played on her lips. “That was what Kal'tsit called us, back when we founded Rhodes Island. This ship was to be our ark, and we, its defenders. The Arknights.” 

She shook her head as if to clear away her memories. “I am aware you possess what has been colloquially termed ‘weird alien knowledge.’ And that this made you familiar with Rhodes Island's mission.”

“Basically. And I can safely say there is nowhere on Terra I'd rather be. I believe in the Mission of Rhodes Island, but more importantly…I have a family here.” As I said that, I squeezed Sussurro’s hand, and she squeezed back.

Sussurro spoke up. “I don't think you have to worry about this one, Leader. James is…well. He's a true believer. And he's one of us. Earthling or not, weird alien knowledge or not.” 

“That's good to hear. I confess… I was willing to do nearly anything to keep you with us, James. It would be difficult for me to match the salaries Oricentia or the Sanatura Group could offer. You are, perhaps, the most valuable medical asset on the planet.”

That made me pretty uncomfortable, and I shifted awkwardly in my seat. “I mean, I'm just an idiot R1 who keeps getting himself into trouble…”

“Fortunately, you have a very dedicated attending,” Amiya said with a laugh as she stood. We both got to our feet as well, and Amiya gave us both a hug.

“Thank you. I'm sorry I've had to restrict your movements so much, even here on the landship. But I'm concerned. If people are already targeting you with the soft sell…when word gets out that won't work, the hard sell won't be far behind,” Amiya said grimly.

Hard sell? Oh. If soft selling were a bribe…then someone would be willing to not ask, but take. Shit, a few had already tried it.

After that Sussurro and I went into our new rooms, our entire daily schedule having been thrown off. Texas and Exusiai went to unpack themselves once we promised not to go anywhere without telling them, their own smaller cabin right next to ours. I looked around at our meager possessions, all neatly boxed up and piled in the corner of the small sitting room.

This apartment was a lot larger, and instead of mostly bare metal and linoleum, it had wood paneled walls with carpet. There was a small sitting room with an open kitchenette and table for four to dine at, then in the back a bedroom with a queen sized bed and a private bathroom that had a full bath and sink with a vanity and mirror.

“Well, at least it's nicer?” I said, putting an arm around Sussurro.

She nodded. “I didn't ever think I'd rate a private cabin like this on the executive level. This is for foreign dignitaries, department heads, and Doctor, Kal'tsit, and Amiya. Not a regular doctor and a medical intern.”

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded and squeezed her shoulder.

We set about unpacking things. There was a lot more of Sussurro’s stuff than mine, but even she didn’t have all that much. It was pretty impossible for us to acquire a lot of possessions on Rhodes Island, not just because of the lack of availability and pay, but because you’re cooped up in a tiny little space. All she really had was some cookware, a few sets of clothing, and miscellaneous stuff like toiletries and some small electronics. Though since she’s a woman, the amount of toiletries is…impressive. I didn’t even know they made separate shampoo and conditioner for “extra fluffy tails.” 

“James,” Sussurro said, looking up from a box she was sorting through. It appeared to contain her wall decorations, which included a painting her grandfather had done, pictures of her family, and her medical degree. “Do you think we’re going too fast?”

My mind first went to me curing people of oripathy. On the one hand, uh, yeah, I probably should stop trying to kill myself from super cancer. On the other…well. I didn’t want to think too hard about all the people in the O Ward who were dying, even now. 

However, based on the fact she was looking at a picture of her little sister…I think Sussurro was thinking of something else. 

“It’s been what, seven weeks?” I asked, coming over to sit cross legged beside her. “Hard to imagine. On the one hand, Ursus feels like a lifetime ago. On the other…it seems like just yesterday we were hiding in Igor’s basement.”

She nodded, absently smoothing a bit of hair from her face away. She was letting it grow out a little, and I liked it. She held up the picture, and I took it. It showed her, her mom and dad, her brothers, and her little sister. They were all sitting around the dinner table and smiling, a cake with buon compleanno and a candle shaped like one. Everyone was wearing silly hats, Sussuro’s sister sitting in a high chair and grinning, some cake already smeared on her face and a place where grubby little hands had swiped some frosting early. 

“Murmura’s first birthday. The little scamp stole a bit of the cake I’d made for her,” Sussurro said fondly, touching the picture frame. She closed her eyes and sniffed, and I put my arms around her. She clutched at me, and I heard the hitch in her breath. “I just…I know we’re going fast. I just…I don’t want to waste time. I lost my family so suddenly…now…now I may never see them again.”

“I could cure you,” I told her quietly. “You could see them then.”

“No. As long as you’re infected, I am. Yes, James, I realize you’ll always be infected, one way, or another,” she said, glaring up at me. 

“OK,” I said, and hugged her closer. I didn’t even realize I was crying until I felt tears on my cheek. I took a deep breath, feeling Sussurro up against me. “Look, maybe this is stupid, and we’re going too fast. But I don’t care. I think…I think I’m falling in love with you, Lucia Sussurro, and whatever of my life I have left…I want to spend it with you. Because you’re the one bright spot in this death world.”

And maybe the only reason I didn’t just go down to the O Ward and see how many people I could cure before I died. I mean, I wasn’t suicidal or anything, I think, but, well…Sussurro was a really good reason to want to keep getting up in the morning. 

“Well, at least I’m not the only one being stupid and letting my heart run away with me,” she said, and we shared a deep kiss that went on for a while. After that…well, we took advantage of the fact that we had a couch now. Also, a much bigger shower. 

After that, we lay together in bed, holding one another close, with everything not even unpacked yet. We talked quietly, about everything, and nothing. Neither of us knew what the future held. Keeps things interesting that way, I guess. 

But I sure as hell wasn’t leaving Rhodes Island.