And So It Goes (Stevens Book 10)

Chapter 5

Agatha and Merrick joined Jessup and Sherry at a table once they had their food. It was a rushed affair since they all wanted to get a little sleep before returning to on duty.

Sherry did take the time to ask how she knew Eli, and Agatha kept it simple and told her that he was a family friend.

"And you didn't mention it?" Sherry asked, dumbfounded that Agatha knew someone so famous and didn't share it. Agatha didn't want to tell her that he was the tip of the iceberg when it came to famous friends. In fact, it was more unusual for her to have a non-famous friend.

"I didn't think there was any point, and I didn't think I would get to see him other than in passing." She shrugged as she took another bite of food.

Jessup was the first to leave, with Sherry following him a moment later, leaving Agatha alone with Merrick. If she had expected the third degree, it wasn't going to happen. Merrick finished his meal and then followed the other two out of the dining hall without a word.

With a self-mocking smile, Agatha stood and cleared her meal from the table before following the others. Why did she think Merrick would care that she knew Eli? He had never seemed to be interested in her or any other person on base.

When Agatha's alarm went off three hours later, she buried her head under her pillow. It felt as if she had fallen asleep only moments before. With a deep sigh, she threw off her covers and stood. She had half an hour before she had to be back on duty, and the other nurses were just as tired as she.

Everything appeared to be under control when she entered the ward, so she found the nurse she was taking over for and was updated on what had happened in her four hours off. They had begun to move some of the less injured men, which had freed up a few beds.

Agatha only had two weeks left, and it was a mantra that she kept repeating over and over in her head as she plodded her way through her shift.

She was aware that she wasn't looking her best. She had circles under her eyes and was dragging as she tried to stay awake. When she saw him a few hours later, Merrick looked as if he had slept for a solid eight hours. He was clean-shaven, as alert as he always was, and it made Agatha shoot him a nasty look from across the ward.

Merrick must have caught the look because he raised an eyebrow in response which caused Agatha to turn her back and walk away quickly.

Sometime later, when she was talking to Scott about Lydia, Merrick finally joined her.

"I dreamt that you were singing, Agatha," Scott said as she finished taking his vitals.

"That's preposterous? Why would I do a thing like that?" Agatha smiled.

"You had the voice of an angel. There was a woman in the light who was with me for a long time. She held my hand and told me it wasn't my time yet." Scott turned his head to the side as Merrick approached. "Hey Doc, how am I doing?"

"Let's take a look," Merrick said as he looked Scott over before pulling his info up on the computer next to him.

Scott told him the same story that he told Agatha. "And I swore Agatha was singing, but she denies it." Scott frowned.

Merrick only grunted as he pushed the computer away and turned to Scott. "You'll be ready to move in a few days." Then he nodded and left.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Scott said as he turned his attention back to Agatha.

"No, he is a man of few words but very good at his job, so we try not to hold it against him." She patted Scott on the shoulder and moved on to the next patient.