A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 128

We went down the hallway of the nursing area and came to the sitting room. The few padded chairs were generally just a decoration since anyone who came here called out to let the nurses know they were here. This time they held two young men.

Kerry looked surprised to see people here, "Ben, Fred, what can I do for you?"

I didn't blame her for her surprise. Those with Heartfire healed so swiftly that we rarely needed a nurse's help and neither of these two looked injured. Shaken and nervous, yes; in pain, no.

Ben lowered his head uncomfortably, "We were actually waiting for Ace and Diane."

Ace had been examining the teenage brothers from where he stood behind me while they spoke with Kerry, "You lost control." His voice was a statement, not a question. I had no idea how he even came up with that conclusion.

Ben blushed and nodded slowly, "Yeah..."

Diane tiredly raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Was someone in immediate danger?"

Fred nodded sheepishly, "Yes. One of those new bulls busted through a fence and cornered me in the barn. Let's just say that there is one less bull in that pen now."

Ben looked up, he had obviously been the one to lose control, "I had hoped that we could speak with you, if it wasn't inconvenient..."

He trailed off as anyone knew that Diane wasn't exactly in good shape after donating blood. Those who were fired especially didn't want to disturb her. Diane shrugged, "You aren't going to want me tonight, but Ace is more than capable."

Ben looked over at him with a pleading look. Ace hesitated for a moment before turning his head to give Trish a measuring look. Nathan frowned and shifted uneasily, not liking that Ace was giving Trish such a look. Ace did not like leaving Diane and I didn't blame him considering that she was swaying very slightly even while standing here. If she tripped, I wasn't sure I could slow her fall much.

Ace spoke quietly, "Trish, take my advice and do not try anything with Diane tonight. You can get even with her tomorrow. There are far too many people in this place that would not look kindly upon anyone who tried anything while she is in this condition."

His bright blue eyes turned to focus on me and his expression softened at my blue eyes. He gave me a slight grin, "I leave it up to you to keep Trish in check. Remember that she is quite ticklish."

I grinned and nodded back happily. He had given me a way to incapacitate Trish without harming her. Nathan would be too busy holding Cathy to come to her rescue. I was relieved for his suggestion. I doubted that even Trish would consider doing anything while Diane looked under the weather, but Rick had always taught me to have backup plans.

Ace went down a different hallway with the two brothers in tow. Diane seemed confused by Ace's comment and glanced over at Kerry, "People wouldn't get that worked up over an innocent prank, would they?"

Kerry was amused that Diane still really hadn't noticed the effect she had on those who were fired, "On a normal day, no. Although I think you would be surprised at how much they keep an eye on you after you donate blood. The fact that you don't even need an evening run shows how exhausted you are after this. People know you aren't able to do much for a bit and react accordingly. It isn't even just the ones who have been fired either, although those who have been fired do seem to be more protective. Those waiting to get the Heartfire virus would not be happy about it and even those who don't plan to get fired would also react quite poorly. Your blood is their backup plan in an emergency."

Diane shook her head as if in disbelief, "Someone else really needs to learn how to do this. Then they can have someone else to stalk."

I grinned. It wasn't disbelief like I had thought, but more that Diane didn't like to be in the center of attention. I could understand that angle considering my past shyness. Diane didn't stand a chance of hiding behind me like I had done with her though. There was still a considerable size difference.