Bubble

Chapter 17

I was beginning to feel sick. I was shivering when I had woken up, and was white as a ghost when I looked in the mirror. It was just something I ate, I thought, attempting to convince myself that I was fine. I rinsed my face and put on a smile, praying nobody would notice my pale and shaking features. I quickly fixed myself a cup of tea before running out the door, hoping it would warm me up.

Waving to Tina on my way into the lab, I buried my face in my work, extracting DNA samples for testing and running analyses for anything that I could find. 'I. Am. Not. Sick.' was the constant chant on replay in my head that kept me motivated. When Dr. Truman came to check up on my work, worry creased her brow as she noticed the sweat beads on my forehead.

"Emma, darling, are you alright?"

I nodded my head, firmly denying the possibility that I had gotten myself sick. It was probably just a head cold, and besides, we were making tremendous progress on the cure. I couldn't let a little bug keep me from my work.

When the team was dismissed for lunch, I went to the bathrooms to rinse my face with cool water again. I decided it made me feel a bit better, and I headed off to the park to meet Will. He was already waiting for me, laying on the grass in a shady spot under a tree, dressed in his uniform and eating some sort of fruit.

I walked up, and Will jumped to his feet to greet me. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "How are y-" he stopped talking when he looked at my sickly face. "Are you okay?" Will asked, his voice flooded with concern.

I nodded my head, denying the claim that I was ill yet again. We sat down, but I politely declined when he offered me some of the mango-like fruit he was holding out to me.

We began chatting and pointing out shapes in the clouds, laughing when Will said one looked like a Carnotile. He asked me more questions about my family, and I blabbered on about my brother and sister for awhile, loving the way he watched me as I talked. In Will's presence, I almost forgot completely about my headache, and enjoyed soaking up the time with him. I was in the middle of a laughing fit when his watch started beeping, and he reluctantly announced that lunch hour was over. I pouted as he stood up and offered me his hand to help me up.

Will easily pulled me to her feet, but the second I was upright, all of my balance was gone. The space around me began to spin, and colours blurred together as my eyes blinked rapidly to attempt to regain my normal vision. I could faintly hear Will calling my name, but my eyes rolled back in my head and everything went black.

***

I could only hear beeping. I tried to open my eyes to see where it was coming from, but my eyelids felt like lead. I attempted to roll over onto my side, but my head screamed in pain so I gave up. Trying for a second time, I was able to open my eyes, but I quickly shut them because a blinding light flooded the space. Squinting, I adjusted to the brightness, gazing around to find myself in a hospital room. There was an IV in my arm, and the beeping I had heard was originating from a machine monitoring my heartbeat.

The door slid open and my parents walked in, mum rushing to my side seeing that I was awake. "Oh darling, you're up! Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," she soothed in her sweet voice.

"Wha...What—" I started groggily, but mum silenced me by holding her hand up.

"You caught a bit of the virus you were working on, but luckily Dr. Truman found a treatment for it while you were on break. You've been unconscious for a few hours, but you should be fine by tonight. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," I replied. My head still hurt a bit, but I was more focused on the fact that I had been stupid enough to catch the virus from the lab. And I hadn't even been there to help find the cure! Mum turned her attention to one of the machines, and began adjusting something.

Dad was leaning against one of the cabinets in the room and cleared his throat. "So, was the boy that carried you in here the same one you've been so keen on lately?" he asked, a small smirk forming on his face. My eyes almost popped out of my head as a horrified expression took over my face.

"Will carried me all the way here?" I asked, shocked. Dad nodded, and I cringed, bracing myself for whatever he said next, and he sighed.

"Reynolds isn't too bad. He's a good kid, and Captain Deller has practically adopted him as his own son. But I still have the right to kick his ass if he ever hurts you," he stated firmly, and my jaw almost hit the floor.

Mum giggled, and chimed in. "Why don't we invite him over for dinner when you're feeling better?" If my arm wasn't attached to the IV, I would have smacked my forehead.

"Ummm..." I began to protest, and mum got the hint.

"Alright, fine we won't embarrass you..." she smiled at me, and dad let out a sigh of relief. "Okay," mum said, tapping at the plexiglass tablet in her hands. "You're good to go. Dad will walk you home so you can get some rest," she announced, un-tethering me from all of the machines. Dad helped me out of the bed, and put his arm around my shoulder as he walked me home.

"You know, you've grown up pal," he told me as we strolled down the gravel path towards our unit. "You've finished school, and have a job, and guys are falling at your feet," he continued, making me blush. "I was nowhere near as grown up as you are when I was seventeen. I hope you'll always be my little girl though!"

I giggled, nodding my head. "Of course," I reassured him.

Dad walked me the rest of the way home and tucked me into bed like a little kid, kissing my forehead before heading off back to work. I sighed happily, and drifted off into a deep sleep.