Don’t you hate it when your mother’s right?  But… don’t you hate it even more when later you have to admit that she was right.

PART ONE

The lecture hall door slamming open just them caused all three people already waiting, to jump.  But that didn't matter at all to Vaughn Rickar as he took his place before Thames and came to attention just as Lothos spoke aloud. 

"Time.  Both challenges have been completed in the allotted time."

In other competitions among leapers when a higher ranking spot needed a replacement, Thames had seen many close time calls, but seeing Vaughn Rickar snap to attention before him one second and Lothos calling end of time to the challenge the next, was the closest ever. 

'Gotta give the man points for beating the deadline,' he thought privately.  When it was apparent that Lothos was not going to speak further, Thames resumed his authority and spoke to both of them.  For as good as it sounded, much of it was prompted by what he was hearing in his head from Lothos.

"That was cutting it damned close, Mr. Rickar," he noted but without animosity.  "I trust that the criteria for the challenge was met."  Shifting his attention to Johanna, there was no missing how the front of her left shoulder was bloody and Johanna was the least bit pale around her lips though her stance was firm and steady, her attention focused.

'I can't wait to hear the story behind that little badge,' the current Senior Observer mused.  But a verbal nudge from Lothos through his implants steered Thames back to the moment.

"Beginning in one minute," Thames announced, "You will have eight hours to rest and recoup yourselves," he told the pair.  "However, those eight hours will be spent in one of the isolation rooms on this level."  Glancing at Vaughn he thought he saw a flicker of something in the man's eyes, but whatever it had been, if there had indeed been anything there, was gone.  "You will have access to a bathroom, and you will have a meal before you retire.  Leaper Royden..." Thames noted how Johanna's stance tightened to full attention, not the tiniest trace of pain appearing in her expression as she pulled her shoulders back a bit, her chin lifting a bit. "After you shower, Dr. Simon will attend to your injury.  Per Lothos' instructions, you will receive nothing for the pain during the procedure."  He paused again then added.  "Again, per Lothos' order, you are to sleep at least six hours prior to the final challenge. Any questions?"  Not receiving any, he stepped back a pace then said crisply, "Very well.  When you are dismissed you will report to Isolation Room Two at the other end of the hall.  Once inside the room, the non-speaking order is lifted but only in that room."

Glancing at the clock above the lecture hall doors, he watched it sweep the seconds away and finally stated, "Dismissed.  You will be ordered back here in exactly eight hours."

"Yes sir," both of the leapers retorted back, then each glanced at the other before Johanna watched Vaughn turn in one fluid motion and walk out of the room to go to Isolation Room Two where not only they would rest and sleep, but also shower.

Johanna glanced at Dr. Simon standing beside her, and without even a nod, followed the handsome one that had run in at the last moment to ruin her chances.

By the time she made it to the Isolation Room, Vaughn had stripped off his black Fermi suit had left it laying on one of the two beds in the room.  Walking over to the second bed, closest to the showers, Johanna sat on the bed and at last motioned to Dr. Simon to sit on the bed as well.  She would allow Vaughn the decency of at least showering alone. 

Although she knew that she could talk in the privacy of this room alone, she stayed silent as the good Dr. Simon prattled on.  She closed her eyes and waited for him to finish.  When it seemed that he wasn't, she turned her head to look at him, to at least give him the attention warranted toward him, and arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

Dr. Steven Simon, a second year resident, had wondered why Lothos had chosen him to be the one to attend to the injured shoulder of Leaper Johanna Royden, but knew far better than to ask why.  Instead he had tried to follow the lead of the leaper and Thames while in the lecture hall.  When the pair were dismissed and sent to the isolation room he had followed a few steps behind, medical bag in hand.  He had been reminded as he had left the medical level to bring it since his patient would not be going - at least willingly - to the infirmary.  To leave the eleventh level now would, for her, put an end to the goal she was seeking as passionately as her competition.

Once in the isolation room, he waited until she motioned him over to sit beside her on the bed. 

Setting the bag on the bed beside him, Dr. Simon turned back to the injured young woman then reached to very gently examine what he could of the injury that could be seen in the torn area of the material over it.

"I don't know how you got this," Steven murmured quietly as he picked at the torn fabric, peering closely at the stab wound. "But it doesn't look too serious.  How did you get this injury, Ms. Royden?"  When there wasn't an answer immediately forthcoming, he paused and looked closely at her face.  "Ms. Royden...did you hear me? How did this happen?"  The young woman's facial expression, especially the arched eyebrow gave him the feeling that she considered him a nuisance, albeit, a nuisance that had to be tolerated.  Still, they were both here in this room because of Lothos' order, so he repeated his last question, "How did this happen?"  Her response, however, rocked him back a little on his heels, and for a moment he just stared at her.  Treating injuries to leapers was part and parcel of his duties as a doctor in Lothos' complex.  But this one....

Johanna licked her lips slightly then set her eyes firmly with his.  "It was self-inflicted," she enunciated as the dull ache flared when he placed his thumb near the outer edge of the cut.  Johanna pulled back slightly and her jaw set firmly.  "After I have my shower, just do your job and take care of it."

Dr. Steven Simon continued to gaze steadily at the leaper, privately amazed that she had done this to herself.  Yet again, as he had done over the years, he was grateful yet again that he had never felt the smallest yen or inclination to be a leaper.  He might have to work under Lothos' domination, but that didn't mean that he wanted to sacrifice his life on the altar of Lothos' lofty goals by letting his molecules and atoms be swirled and scattered whilst traversing through time.

"Don't worry, I will," he responded shortly.  Any chance to say anything else was dispensed with at that moment when the bathroom door opened and Vaughn Rickar, freshly showered and a damp towel hitched around his hips, emerged.

Feeling better after the hot shower, the tall, dark-haired leaper paused in the door, sparing Johanna a look over, his gaze fixing on her injury a moment before he said, "I used the yellow toothbrush."  Going to the bed nearest the door and not caring about the others, he dropped the towel and reached for the pair of folded blue pajamas placed on the pillow, extracted the pants and put them on.  The pajama shirt he picked up and laid it on the low, two-drawer chest between the beds then turned to look across at Johanna.

"Better get in the shower," he told her.  "You wait too long, and that shoulder's going to start to stiffen up."  Seeing the way the brunette's chin lifted as if defying him, he shrugged.  "Suit yourself," was all he said, and then picked up the phone that was the only object on top of the chest.  Punching in the number for special orders, he ordered a hot roast beef sandwich with grilled onions, fries and two Cokes.  Hanging the phone up, he glanced at Johanna and saw her expression.  "You eat what you want, and I'll do the same," he told her then proceeded to stretch out on the bed, folding his arms behind his head.

Seeing that Vaughn was already finished with his shower and ordering his food before stretching out on the bed, Johanna was more than a bit disgusted with him.  Raising an eyebrow, she slightly shook her head then stood and went inside the showers. 

Stripping out of the Fermi suit with a wound that hurt like hell was a bit much and after she was fully unclothed, she rested her forehead against the shower stall as her right hand turned on the water.  She wasn't sure how she was going to make it through the rest of the competition with her shoulder, but she knew that she'd do everything in her power to make sure that she did.

Stepping into the stream of the water, Johanna's head lowered to her chest as it immediately began to relax her.  The spraying water did it's own tensing job on her shoulder and she gritted her teeth when soap got in it and burned.  But she made sure that it was clean.  She didn't need some infection to slow her down especially if she did happen to win this competition.

Finishing her shower, and toweling off, Johanna wrapped the towel around her body and started out to the bed opposite of Vaughn's where Dr. Simon sat, his mouth slowly opening in awe.

Johanna ignored him as she placed the clothes that she had in her arms in the chair close by before sitting down on the bed, her shoulder still in desperate need of aid.  In fact, even as she glanced down at it, she noticed blood trickling down toward the towel that was barely covering her bosom.  "Shall I continue to sit up, Dr. Simon, or lay down?" she asked letting him for the first time see the pain in her eyes.

Before he could respond, her eyes raised to see Vaughn's opened-mouth expression as well before she looked back at Dr. Simon to hear his reply.

Far be it from Vaughn Rickar to not appreciate a nice figure, even if that figure belonged to his rival for the position of Chief Leaper.  The sound of the bathroom door opening had drawn his attention, and he didn't spare the appreciation for what was barely covered with a towel.  Still, he hadn't said anything as Johanna dropped her clothes on a chair by the bed then moved to sit beside the doctor again.  He glanced at the physician then silently chuckled to himself.  'Some guys just don't know about subtly,' he thought to himself.  But that notion was brushed aside when he heard Johanna ask the doctor, "Shall I continue to sit up, Dr. Simon, or lay down?"  'Oh come on...look my way.  You won't have to hear my answer' he thought.  He gave Johanna a slow grin when she looked at him then tacked on an open-mouthed expression of appreciation for what he was seeing.  Not by a whit did her ignoring him to focus on the doctor bother him.  He had been ignored by the best...'but they always come around.'  So, settling a bit more comfortably, he prepared to enjoy whatever 'show' he got from the doctor and Johanna during the procedure on her shoulder.

Steven Simon didn't realize his mouth was open until the injured leaper put her question to him as she sat down beside him.  Nudity didn't bother him – after all he was a doctor.  That, however, didn't stop him from being a man who appreciated a pretty woman.  It took him a moment to drag his thoughts into line again, and focus on why he was sitting beside her on the bed.

"Oh...uh...you can remain sitting up," he answered her then turned his gaze and focus to the lightly bleeding wound in her left shoulder.  Pulling on gloves, he reached to explore the shallow wound, first with his fingers and then with a small probe.  He hesitated when Johanna sucked air in sharply between her teeth.  "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Forget it," Johanna said shortly, keeping her right hand clamped on the snug fold of towel that held the damp terrycloth in place.  "Just do what you have to."

By the time there was a knock at the door, a worker from one of the cafeteria's bringing his meal, Vaughn had to privately give his competitor high marks for enduring having three stitches put inside the wound and another four on the outside to close it.

Taking the tray from the man, Vaughn just nodded then used one foot to nudge the door closed.  Going to sit at the plain desk on the opposite side of the room, he angled his chair so he didn't miss any of the 'entertainment'.

Applying medication on the gauze bandage first, Dr. Simon applied it to the now sutured wound then taped it securely in place.  "All right, you can get dressed now," he said as a matter of routine as he started to clear away the items used, putting them in a small plastic bag and sealing it; it would be disposed of back at the infirmary.  "I know Lothos ordered you weren't to have anything during the procedure, but now that it’s completed, I think it would be acceptable for you to take a couple of Extra Strength Tylenol.  It will dull the pain but won't impair your thinking or physical reactions." He glanced at her shoulder, saying, "Those stitches will be reminder enough of that."

Laying two individual packets containing two caplets each of the Extra Strength Tylenol on the small chest by the bed, the doctor stood up, medical bag in hand.  "Do you need help in dressing, Leaper Royden?" he asked.

Johanna raised her eyebrow slightly at him.  "I haven't been helped in dressing since I was two, sir."  She smiled seductively up into his face.  "But... is that an invitation?"

The way that Dr. Simon's face turned beet red was enough to make Johanna Royden smile even more.  Johanna stood up beside him and leaned in slightly to where he was the only one that could hear her, "Thank you for asking, but I think I have it covered."  She started to back away then stopped and leaned forward once more and placed her cheek against his and whispered, "All joking aside, thank you."  Turning slightly, she brushed her lips at the back of his cheek almost under his earlobe then turned to get the clothes that were placed at the end of the bed.

Vaughn had to force himself not to laugh upon seeing the doctor turn red at Johanna's comment; he didn't dare; if he did he would choke on the bite of roast beef he was chewing.  By the time he finished chewing and had swallowed, the doctor had made his escape, and it was just he and Johanna in the room.  Lifting his sandwich to take another bite, he hesitated, making eye contact with her as he said, "If you need help with... anything, just say the word."  To the look that got him, he smiled knowingly then glanced at his sandwich then bit at a sliver of roast beef, using his tongue to work it into his mouth as he held her gaze.  "I know where everything goes," he added, managing a cheeky sort of half-grin as he swallowed the bit of beef. Reaching for one of the Cokes, he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a couple of swallows.

Johanna knew that she wasn't going to get into that kind of conversation with Vaughn Rickar, whether he knew where everything went or not. 

Turning slightly so that her back was to Vaughn, with the pajama top in her hand, she grinned as she let go of the towel and let it fall completely to the floor.  Hearing sputters behind her, she grinned even more so, tilting her head to one side as she lifted one arm up above her to slide into the pajama top before buttoning it up.  Just as expected, the pajama top was long enough for her to wear as a nightshirt.  Pulling her hair across to her right shoulder, she walked to the table and picked up the phone and called for her dinner. 

It was during her order of one large pizza and two Cokes as well that she heard more sputters from behind as she leaned over to pick up a piece of paper that she had knocked off the table.  It was then that she realized what she had done and although she was slightly embarrassed, she put on her game face and sat down on the bed to wait for her food.  It was only then that she looked over at Vaughn.  Drawing one slender leg up, resting her heel on the edge of the mattress, Johanna, leaned back on her hands then tilted her head back a bit and shook her hair out before turning to look at him.  "Are you... okay, Vaughn?  Don't need... CPR, or the Heimlich maneuver or anything, right?" she questioned softly.

PART TWO

“See,” Maxwell heard Dr. Malvison say softly.  “It’s better now… it’ll be better now, Tala.  You’ll see.  Just… give it some time.  I know it’s a lot to ask, but give… give us some time.”

        Tilting his head to the side and frowning at her words, he licked at his lips and realized that now wasn’t the time to bother the two of them.  He nodded slightly to himself as he glanced around the recovery room and saw the nurse staring at him.  He smiled at her and backed out of the room as quietly as he had come in.  He started away from the room with the vase in his hand and took a deep breath as he headed toward the nurse’s station once more.

        He was only a few steps away when the recovery room door opened and the nurse that he had nodded to showed up right behind him.  Closing the door gently behind her, she asked quietly as she stepped toward him with a smile.  “Do you want to see the ladies in the room?”

        “They… they’re busy… I’ll come back later,” he said softly as he looked down at the roses in the vase before him.

        “Are those for one of them?  I could give it to who they belong to, if you’d like,” Heather asked again as she stepped closer to the hunk that had made her drop the tray earlier.

        Maxwell looked down at the vase then handed it toward her.  “These are for Tala,” he said simply.  “Please let her know who sent them.”

        “I sure will, Mr. Robinson.  I’m sure that she’ll appreciate them.”

        Max smiled at her and nodded himself.  “I hope so.” 

With that he turned and walked away leaving her standing in the hall watching him walk away once more.  Heather Stevens blew out a deep breath and shook her head amazed at the man walking away.  “Why can’t I get roses from someone like him?” she asked before she headed back toward the room.

Heather Stevens looked down at the roses that Maxwell Robinson had handed her and sighed.  She was amazed at not only his generosity but his body as well.  Sighing softly, she glanced at her watch; it was five thirty-four.  Shifting her attention to the roses again, she lifted the bouquet to sniff one of the not-quite open blooms.  Sighing softly, this time in appreciation of the lovely fragrance, she opened the door to the recovery room and slowly approached the woman who was rubbing the ointment on Ms. Tala's back.

Looking at Dr. Malvison, Heather smiled softly as she placed the roses on the nightstand beside the bed; they would be fine there, until Ms. Tala woke up.  She glanced down at her watch again; it was five thirty-eight.  Just another twenty-two minutes until her shift was over.

It was the sound of someone asking her a question that startled Heather, but even more than that was that it was Dr. Malvison asking the question.  Not only was she speaking softly but also with even more, with great respect, that caught her completely and totally caught her off guard.  Heather blinked and then turned her head to the woman and cleared her throat.  "I'm sorry, ma'am. What did you ask?"

Zoe gave her a slight smile, raising her head a bit upon the request for her to repeat her question. "Who sent the roses, and for whom are they?" she repeated quietly before looking down upon her daughter. *I have a daughter. How... unexpected.* She smiled at the thought before returning her attention to Heather.

"Oh, uhm... the roses are for Ms. Tala, ma'am," Heather said replied.  "I... don't know the young man who brought them.  He's about... six foot one, brown hair... he was here this afternoon... without a shirt on."  Heather shook her head softly to mentally get the picture out of her head before she dropped something else as she even thought about him.  "I... I'm sorry I didn't get his name."

Zoë thought about the description and then nodded slightly. "It's all right, Nurse. I believe I know who it was just based on that description." Turning her attention back to Tala, she raised an eyebrow. "Seems you have an admirer, my dear." *And he's someone I've been admiring for a while now.* She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Heather smiled at Zoë's words to Ms. Tala then moved around to the side where Zoë sat in her wheelchair.  She could tell somewhat that even from the small exertion that she had made that it was a lot on her system.  Dr. Malvison looked like she had just run a marathon.

"Dr. Malvison, would you like me to help you back into bed ma'am?  I know even sitting up after the surgery you had may be a bit too much at the moment.  But, it's up to you."  She swallowed as Zoë turned her head sideways to look up at her.  "I only ask because I don't want you to wear yourself out.  The stronger you are, physically, the faster you heal."

Zoë hadn't really noticed it before, although now she could tell that the strain was definitely there. Tending to her daughter had been her only thought. Now, with Tala peacefully asleep, all of her energy she'd been keeping for her was draining away. She looked at Tala again and hesitated. She didn't want to leave her child's side; she'd missed enough of her life already. Still...

"I suppose that you are right," she admitted reluctantly. "Very well. Put me to bed. But can you at least bring the beds closer together?" Zoe smiled when Heather seemed astonished by the request. "She needs someone near her in case she has a frightful night."

Heather blinked as she heard the request then stepped back toward the bed where Dr. Malvison was going to be, nodding as she went.  "That can be arranged, Dr. Malvison.  That's not a problem.  Let me move the bed, then I'll get you into bed."

        Moving the bed was easy enough to do so, but as she was moving the bed closer to Tala's bed, she heard the door open, and looked around just in time to see Dr. Hugen come into the room, asking about what she was doing. 

"Dr. Hugen, Dr. Malvison asked if I could move the bed a bit closer... in... in case Ms. Tala had a bad night.  I ... figured it was okay.  If it's not, sir, I'll move it back and inform Dr. Malvison that I didn't have the authority for that request."

        The one constant in the field of medicine is that there is never a dull moment in a medical person's life.  Being the assistant chief of surgery in Lothos' complex, as well as handling day to day patients, both in the infirmary and as patients in the emergency room, Peter Hugen had learned long ago not to be surprised or startled by much of anything that he saw or encountered.  Thus it was that when he opened the door of the recovery room where Zoë Malvison and Tala were recovering, he observed Nurse Stevens maneuvering the unoccupied bed -- obviously Zoe's since she was in a wheelchair-- closer to the bed Tala occupied.  He didn't even react to her sudden reaction when he asked in the patient voice that most of the staff had learned to recognize quickly, "Nurse Stevens, just exactly what in the hell do you think you're doing?"  He listened without comment to her explanation.  Only when the young woman finished speaking did Peter speak.

"Since Dr. Malvison is sitting less than five feet away, I don't think she'll need to be told, Ms. Stevens," Peter stated crisply.  "As for not having the authority... good point.  You didn't.  There's good reason that the beds are a certain distance apart.  It's to keep the patients apart, and make them more assessable to *us*... the doctors and nurses here to care for them when needed."

It wasn't the first time Peter Hugen had verbally clipped this nurse, and he didn't clip her hard; just enough to remind her to think before acting on her sometimes too easily taken advantage of good-heartedness.

          "Now, put that bed back where it was...and make sure the wheels are locked down... and then you and I will help Dr. Malvison back into bed."

It almost amazed Peter when Zoë not only didn't argue the point, but also remained quiet and co-operative during the procedure.  Once assured she was safely back in bed, he allowed Heather to settle the covers over Zoë before sending her out of the room with the warning, "Next time, if there is one, it goes in your record, Ms. Stevens."

Turning back to Zoë, Peter studied her for a moment, wondering what was going on behind those sherry brown eyes.  "You rest," he told her quietly.  Glancing to his left at the other bed's occupant then back to her, he added, "You both need to rest.  And natural rest is better than a drugged rest."

Almost as if on cue, Peter and Zoë’s gazes went to Tala when they heard a soft sort of whispery sigh.  One smiled softly; the other just watched as the young woman turned slowly onto her back, blinking softly as her gaze went first to the doctor standing by the bed.

Peter Hugen scanned Tala’s face thoughtfully then let his gaze stray to the wheelchair bound woman also watching Tala. It some time in between his studying Tala then looking at Zoë Malvison that an idea came to him.  He considered it for a couple of minutes before slowly nodding his head to his thoughts.  It could work.

Peter knew Tala worked in Central Control, and as such would probably have enough time on her hands, if Lothos chose to allow it, that she could provide help for Dr. Malvison.  By the same token, he knew full well that she wouldn’t want to give any help to Zoë, a woman she had had a few minor run-ins with over the years.  Nonetheless, Peter knew that Tala would follow her father’s rules verbatim. It was in that moment that he decided that he needed to bring the topic to light since, quite honestly, at the moment, he couldn’t spare the infirmary of another nurse to escort Dr. Malvison around.

“Dr. Malvison, I know that you have understood the requirements that I have made for the first week or two of your recovery.  Since I need every available hand in the infirmary, I believe that until your wheelchair comes in, you could request someone to help you around the complex.”

        Tala had only just awakened from the brief nap brought on by Zoë’s thoughtful and gentle attention, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t paying attention.  Upon hearing Dr. Hugen’s statement to Dr. Malvison, Tala took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, realizing what Dr. Hugen was doing. Silently she hoped against hope that her mother would not choose her to be her escort.  Even though she had been kind by applying the ointment that did make her feel better, Tala had no desire to be with her mother for that length of time.

        Zoë could hear Tala’s exhale and she took a deep breath of her own.  It shouldn’t hurt that Tala didn’t want to have anything to do with her, but it did.  Dr. Hugen’s words caused Zoë to look at him with raised eyebrow.  “The person I would prefer to escort me probably wouldn’t want to do that for personal reasons, Dr. Hugen.”

        Dr. Hugen walked around Tala’s bed and moved toward Zoë.  “That wasn’t what I stated to you, Dr. Malvison, or rather, asked.”  He raised his eyebrow at her and gave her one more opportunity.  “Can you think of someone that you would prefer other than some of my personnel?  Someone that Lothos wouldn’t mind if they were taken from their duties for a week?”

        Zoë didn’t hesitate this time. “I would prefer Tala to be my… companion,” she said then another breath.  “I am not, however, quite sure that Lothos would agree with my choice.”

        Even though Lothos was watching the other technicians in the project doing their assigned tasks, it was a simple thing to keep a sharp ear out for what was going on in the infirmary. And he was rather enjoying the interaction that was occurring there.  Mother and daughter interacting together, one fleeing, the other calling out -- the child coming back with the aid of Mr. Robinson and then having an attack along with watching the mother placing soothing ointment on the hurt child.  It was distressing to Lothos that Tala was having such attacks, but he knew that it was to be expected with the stress that she was having.  When he heard his name mentioned he understood exactly what Dr. Hugen was doing.  “I think that the two of you spending time together may be exactly what the doctor orders,” Lothos said hiding the humor in his words especially since it was Dr. Hugen’s thought.  “Tala, you are assigned to Dr. Malvison for the week.”

        Tala couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  It was too much, but she nodded her head at Lothos’ words.  “Yes, Lothos,” she said softly and started to cry softly into her pillow.

        Zoë could hear her daughter crying and she sighed.  ‘Terrific.  If she is going to be crying every five minutes for the next week, I might have to teach her a few unwanted lessons.’ Still, the sound was something that Zoë never would have thought would affect her so much.

        There was nothing for Tala to do except lay there and listen and then respond appropriately to Lothos’ order.  Closing her eyes tightly trying to wish all of it away, she hugged the shirt that she was wearing closer to her and silently thanked the young man who gave it to her to cover herself with. 

        Zoë had been glad to be out of the bed, even if it meant being in the wheelchair. Anything was better than being ‘locked down’ in that bed.  And now, though the situation was forced upon Tala, she was privately grateful to Lothos for the decision he had made for Tala to be her companion for the next week.  Besides all that, she desperately wanted to get a decent set of clothes on.  Her uniform had been destroyed when they cut it off to get at her wounds.  Zoë Malvison, clotheshorse extraordinaire, was heartily sick of the shapeless, non-descript hospital gowns that had been her wardrobe since her near fatal encounter with Admiral Calavicci.

        When she heard Dr. Hugen clear his throat and call out her name, Tala slowly turned over again, wincing at the movement, and looked at him.  Taking a breath, she sat up on the bed and looked down at her own hospital gown once more.  “May I get my clothes, please?” Tala asked softly looking down at her toes as she wiggled them.

        Peter nodded at Tala’s request.  “I’ll have Heather bring them to you.  IN the meantime, I suggest that you get used to the idea of being around Dr. Malvison.”  Peter looked at Zoë and then Tala and walked away, ordering Heather to retrieve Tala’s clothes so that she could dress.

        As she went to the small closet in the room to fetch Tala’s clothes, Heather thought to look at her watch again, then silently muttered when she saw that it was nearly six fifteen.  Reaching into the closet, Heather grabbed Tala’s clothes and brought the suit back over to Tala and placed it on the bed then retreated back toward the back of the room to work on setting up the air tube on the back of Dr. Malvison’s wheelchair.

        Tala slowly climbed out of the bed and stood then glanced toward the small room across the hallway where Dr. Grant was seated and saw him stand up and approach the door.  It was under, it seemed, everyone’s watchful eyes that she dressed and then turned to her mother seated in the wheelchair.

        Zoë remained silent as Tala dressed.  When she was finished, she looked at her firmly.  “I wish to return to my quarters, if I may.  I am uncomfortable in a surgical gown.”

        Hearing her mother say that she wanted to go to her quarters, Tala nodded respectfully to her.  ‘Dr. Hugen said that I should get used to the idea, but that doesn’t mean that I have to talk to her.  Respect is about all she’ll get from me at the moment – and only because she is my superior… not that she is my mother,’ Tala thought hauntedly.

        Glancing once more at Dr. Grant before she walked behind the wheelchair, she sighed.  Carefully and at a medium speed, comfortable for both Zoë and herself, Tala managed to make it to the elevator before she realized that she had no idea where Dr. Malvison’s quarters were.  Biting her lip, Tala stopped in the hallway.  “Ahm, I can’t remember… where… your quarters are,” she said softly.

        It didn’t surprise Zoë in the slightest.  The last time Tala was even near her quarters was over a month ago, and with her torture-induced amnesia, who could expect her to remember now?

“Fifth door on the right on the ladies floor,” she instructed her.  She took a deep breath.  It hurt a bit but she knew that she’d survive.  She had survived being shot twice, once by Beckett and once by Calavicci.  She could survive a little pain and a daughter who hated her guts.  “When we arrive, I will need your assistance in dressing.”  Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the disgust in her daughter’s eyes at the idea of helping her dress and undress.  “You forget, Tala, I no longer have the advantages that you have.”

        Although the idea of dressing and undressing her mother was not her cup of tea, she nodded at her statement.  When they finally made it to her quarters, the room opened easily with voice command and Tala rolled her into the room.  Taking her through the small living room and down the hall, she maneuvered the chair into the bedroom and over toward the bed.  As she parked the wheelchair, Tala listened to Zoë as she told her where everything was.  Getting the desired clothes, she headed back over to her.

        Over the next hour, getting Zoë dressed was a chore for both women.  Between both of them almost fighting the other to get the clothes on, Tala had already decided that this wasn’t going to work out, but quickly came to the realization that whether or not that she wanted it to work out or not, Lothos had assigned her to Zoë Malvison.  Bottom line - she didn’t have a choice.

        Moving away from Zoë, Tala plopped down in a chair tiredly only to realize her mistake.  The welts on her butt burned when she sat and she let out an exasperated gasp.  “Ohhh man,” she whimpered to herself.

        Zoë noticed the pain she felt instantly and decided that she needed a bit of care since she worked to help her dress, though, in a most…unusual manner.  “Go take off your clothes and lay on the bed,” Zoë told her.  “Close to the edge.”  When Tala looked at her with a frown, Zoë raised an eyebrow at her.  “Do you really want to spend the next fifteen hours with a pain on your ass, literally?”  She didn’t even wait for her daughter to answer, instead reaching to the table for the ointment that Hugen had given her.

        Tala slowly got up and undressed again and lay down, on her stomach, as ordered.  Turning her head away from her mother, she nestled it on the pillow and became still.   Taking a slow breath, she tried to picture herself somewhere else.

        Zoë knew that she was not supposed to move herself, but she did anyway, causing a surge of pain into her arms.  She ignored it as she very carefully began to coat Tala’s back and buttocks with the ointment, making sure that every inch that had been whipped was tended to.  “This will help with the pain I’m sure you are in,” Zoë told her. 

        Tala moved her hair from one side of her back to the other and turned her head to face Zoë.  Looking back at her, she got out a sincere, “Thank you.”  The whole situation was rather disconcerting, but she guessed that she’d have to do exactly what Dr. Hugen said – get used to the fact that she was Zoë’s daughter and deal with it one day at a time.  “It’s cold,” Tala said softly laying her head back on the pillow and shivered.

        Zoë looked at her and smiled lightly at her thanks.  “I’m glad that it helps,” she told her as she finished applying the medicine.  “Get up and get dressed, Tala,” she told her.  She was used to ordering people around and it showed in her voice, even if she tried not to show it.  She watched Tala as she stood and started to dress.  All she could think as she watched her was how lovely a woman her child had become.  Yet when she closed her eyes, she heard again the cries that her daughter had made when she was born.

        Tala did as she ordered and when she was finally dressed, she sat down lightly on the end of the bed.  She looked around Zoë’s quarters and saw the few pictures that she did have on the wall.  One of them was of a very attractive man; one with dark eyes and chiseled features and dark hair.  Tala slowly stood and walked over to it, mesmerized by it.  She raised her hand to the picture and lightly touched the frame of it.  “Who is this?’ she asked softly before she turned to look at Zoë.  “He seems very familiar to me.”

        Zoë’s face became somber when she saw the photo that Tala had touched.  She didn’t know why she kept it.  Perhaps it was wishful thinking on her part that he would ever become that man again, instead of the machine he was now.  “He should,” Zoë told her firmly.  “He’s your father.”

        Tala turned back to the picture and looked up at it once again.  She closed her eyes and turned away from it as her emotions came bubbling up again.  Doing everything in her power not to let them show, she ran her hand through her hair and went back to sit on the end of the bed once again.  “What do you want me to do now, Dr. Malvison?  Or do you not need me at the moment?”

        Tala tried to be very professional and forthcoming.  Even though, Dr. Malvison was her mother, she would not give her any leeway.  It this was going to be a week that she had to wheel her around at her whim, then, so be it.  But she didn’t have to like it, nor did she have to like her.

        Zoë knew what she was doing, but she wouldn’t let Tala get her way with it that easily.  “Don’t you want to know about him?  I mean other than he is now Lothos?” When she didn’t answer, Zoë didn’t push her.  It would just eventually end up with the two of them fighting and beating the hell out of each other.

        “Very well,” Zoë said plainly. It was very apparent that it was time to curtail the unintended venture into the new territory of motherhood into which she was moving.  Looking around her gaze fell on the clock on the bedside table. 

“It’s nearly eight o’clock.  I suggest that we get something to eat.  I’m very hungry and imagine after what you have been through that you are famished.”

        Tala turned her head quickly to Zoë and tried not to glare at the woman before her.  “You have no idea what I’ve been through,” she said softly.

        Getting up, she moved behind Zoë’s wheelchair and began to push the chair toward the door.  Turning her backward, so that she could get the door open, Tala maneuvered her wheelchair into the hall then shut the door behind them.  She didn’t say a word as she wheeled her down to the elevator.  As they waited, Tala began to think about the man in the infirmary and couldn’t help but smile.

        ‘If she doesn’t start to speak openly, I am going to hit her!’ Zoë thought.  The silence was almost unbearable.  But as she sat there waiting for the elevator door to open, she saw Tala smile with a far-away look in her eyes.  She wasn’t sure who she was thinking about, but she sure as hell hoped that it was not Edward Grant.  That man was the purest essence of evil.  Whatever didn’t make Lothos that way was made up for in Edward.  Between his odd sexual desires and the way that he leered after women, just the thought of Tala thinking of him and smiling made Zoë’s skin crawl.  “What are you thinking about?” she demanded.

        Tala thought about how Edward Grant had approached the bed that she was in, peeking around the curtain to lookin at her then winking at her.  Then Zoë’s question interrupted her thoughts, and the words cam flowing out without thought.  “Dr. Grant.  He is very attractive, and I wouldn’t mind…”

PART THREE

        The elevator door opened and there inside the elevator stood Dr. Edward Grant.  He watched with a pleased smile as Tala walked into the elevator pushing Zoë ahead of her.  He had decided to go to lunch when he had finished all of his work in the infirmary, but things had gotten busy, and he had missed lunch.  Now at nearly eight o’clock and just getting off duty, when he entered the elevator, he had thought of one particular person who had smiled so warmly at him.  Tala.

        For the longest time, he had just sat at his desk and ran through all the scenarios for her to try and play his game with him.  He knew that he would probably place her in correction if she continued to act this way – playing with him.  Even so, he wondered exactly why all of a sudden her whole perspective on him had changed.

        Then the elevator door opened to reveal Tala and Zoë, and Edward’s whole outlook on things brightened.  Upon seeing Tala again, he studied her closely.  Before today, before she had been corrected, she couldn’t stand to be around him; most times she was just barely respectful.  Yet now all he could see in her eyes as she wheeled Zoë into the compartment was almost what he would consider a schoolgirl crush.

        No, this had to be some sort of game that she was pulling and he was determined to find out what was going on.  He licked his lips as he looked at her then looked to Dr. Malvison with a smile.

        Zoë looked at Edward Grant with a slight and very sarcastic smile.  “Dr. Grant,” she said plainly.  She was quite ready to threaten his life if he came near Tala, especially since she knew exactly where it would lead if he did.  Tala, with her amnesia, had no idea what he was capable of, but Zoë knew.  She’d seen it far too many times.  His smile at her just made her want to slap it off.

        “Dr. Malvison.  Tala,” Edward said very innocently and licked his lips as he let his eyes roam over Tala’s body, groaning silently to himself.  ‘If only I had my way with that body,’ he thought seductively.  “Now, where are we off to this evening, ladies?” he asked them as he glanced between the two of them.

        “Not that it’s any of your business, Edward, but we are going to get something to eat,” Zoë looked at him with a frown, indicating her dislike for him.  “And you are not invited.”

        Tala looked down at her mother and frowned.  She was about to ask him to join them when she had blatantly told him that he wasn’t invited.  Taking the initiative and knowing that her mother was going to have a fit, she stepped over to Dr. Grant and smiled up at him.  “You are to invited.  I invite you.  And if Dr. Malvison doesn’t want to stay in your company… I know that I do.”

        Looking at Tala, Edward smiled at her before he looked to Zoë expecting the normal explosion from her, but when it didn’t come, Edward held out his arm to Tala, arching an eyebrow inquiringly at her.  “Well, then, let’s get something to eat, then, Tala.”  Taking a step toward Zoë’s wheelchair, he saw the glare that she gave and hesitantly smiled at her. 

        Zoë watched as her daughter stepped toward the despicable man and smiled at him like a smitten teenager.  And if that wasn’t enough, her inviting him, despite her obvious objection angers her further.  However, she realized that she must keep her cool at the moment.  She couldn’t lose Tala.

        Tala bit her lip and grinned as she wrapped her arm around his.  “Well, I’m ready to go.” She couldn’t help but blink up at his intense gaze then shift her attention to Zoë, wondering what she was thinking she had been so unusually quiet.

        Giving Zoë a once over, Edward said, “Relax Zoë, I don’t bite.”

        “No, you save that for correction, don’t you?” Zoë said spitefully at Edward’s comment.  She looked back at Tala nonchalantly when she gave her a shocked look about her barb.  Just then, the elevator door opens and they remove their arms from each other.  Tala wheeled her out, followed by Edward.

        The silence all the way to the small restaurant, Tuscany’s, was a nice one, but once they got dinner set out before them, Edward couldn’t help but think about what was going on between mother and daughter.  “So, how’s the reunion going?” he asked inquisitively looking at Zoë for an answer.

        Zoë glared at Edward’s remark.  Like he really wanted to know about how her relationship with her lost daughter was going.  He was just being the side-ways ass that he always was and seeing the smirk come on his face, only made her want to slap it off.  Luckily, Tala had gone back to get some condiments for her food, and Zoë was thankful that she hadn’t heard the remark.

“Listen, Ed… I don’t particularly care for you and I’m not about to hide that fact.  I k now that you don’t give a damn about me or my daughter, so save it for someone who gives a shit… and speaking of my daughter… leave Tala alone.  One finger…” she warned.  “One finger on her and I’ll have your head on a platter.”

        Edward picked up his wine glass and took an appreciative swallow of the sweet red wine that had just a bit of a bite to it; all the while he’d given Zoë his attention.  It was not the first time that they had… different views on things.  He waited until she was finished, including her warning.  Since Tala wasn’t at the table at the moment, he let the gloves off.  Setting his glass down, he let Zoë see what was in his eyes.

“She’s an adult and capable of making her own decisions, Zoë,” he told her with a smirk.  “And if she decides that she wants to get better acquainted with me, it’s none of your damn business.  After all,” he told her bluntly, “what goes on behind my bedroom door is nobody’s business but mine and … whoever is in there with me.”  Picking up his glass he saluted her again just as Tala returned to the table.

        When Tala returned, she smiled at Edward and even smiled at her mother.  Looking down at her food before her, a tossed salad, a plate full of spaghetti, she found that she was extremely hungry.  Zoë had been right.  After everything that she had been through, whatever it was, she was extremely hungry and the food smelled wonderful.  Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she said a soft prayer for her food, and then dove into it.  She knew that she was surprising both Zoë and Edward by the way that she was eating, but it was the best stuff that she’d put her lips around in she didn’t know how long.  Finally looking up toward Zoë, she swallowed the bite in her mouth and asked, “What?”  Turning to Edward, she saw the same expression on his face as well.  “What?” she asked him as well.  “Can’t a girl be hungry?”

        Edward got a kick out of seeing Zoë between a rock and a hard place.  She was just getting to know Tala… who from what he’d seen and heard didn’t want one thing to do with her, and she really didn’t have a hell of a lot of say over Tala’s behavior.  To Tala’s observation, he replied, “By all means.”  He gave her a warm smile.  “Enjoy your food.”  It was then that he looked deeply into her eyes and let his smile take on certain undertones, not a one of which was lost on Zoë.

        If it weren’t a public place, Zoë would have gotten herself across the table somehow and scratched his eyes out for looking at her daughter the way that she’d seen him looking at women who weren’t fit to clean her toilet after she’d vomited in it.  But one particular thought came back and back to her; she couldn’t jeopardize the new and very tenuous relationship she’d just begun to build with her oldest daughter.

        Picking up the glass, slowly, she saluted him.  ‘Read what you like in my eyes, you bastard,’ she thought as she smiled at him and then took a swallow of the wine.

        Tala couldn’t have missed the dislike that the two of them were showing to each other.  But at the moment, she didn’t care less.  After she finished eating, she sat back and lightly sighed.  It’s then that she saw Zoë and Edward watching her again.  Having a full stomach, her perspective on a few things had changed.  Looking at Zoë, she said, “Once I get you back to your quarters… mother… would it be alright if I spent some time in my own quarters to get my things for the rest of the week?  I’m sure that I don’t want to stay in this outfit all week,” Tala motioned to the bodysuit.

        Zoë nodded to her suggestion.  “Yes, of course, dear,” she said evenly.  “A girl can’t be seen in the same outfit day after day.”  Putting a morsel of the chicken in her mouth, she chewed slowly, watching Tala and smiling at her surprise at her easy manner.

        Edward didn’t let the opportunity to escape him, especially since Zoë had opened the door.  “I’ll bet you look… scrumptious in lace, Tala,” he said suggestively.  The blush in her cheeks told him that she caught his meaning the first time.  “And I’ll bet black lace makes you look like a million dollars!”  Taking another swallow of wine, Edward let his eyes meet Zoë’s.  She was ready to kill… if she could get close enough.

        Tala blushed at Edward’s comment and couldn’t help but smile and duck her head at the way that he was talking to her.  “If I had any lace, I might wear it… but…” she let her sentence drop off and looked at Zoë was glaring at Edward.  Licking her lips, she said, “Mother… if you don’t mind, may I go ahead and go to my quarters to get my belongings now?  You can finish dinner and I’ll be back to get you.  At least the, you two can sit and talk for awhile, or unless Dr. Grant has some other things to attend to… then he can get to those.” She glanced over at Dr. Grant and smiled at him seeing him smiling once more and wink.

        “No,” Edward said lightly.  “I’ll stay here and chat with Zoë,” he told Tala with a perfectly acceptable smile.   “It’s been a while since she and I have had time for a quiet chat.”  Zoë at least had the good manners and self-restraint to go along with Tala’s suggestion.  Once she was out of the restaurant, Edward returned his attention to her.

“Sounds like a big girl who knows what’s what,” he commented as he took a bite from what was left of his meal.  He didn’t give Zoë the satisfaction of avoiding her gaze.  ‘This bitch and I have butted heads before… but never over such a tasty morsel of a prize.’

        Sighing, she looked at Edward with a menacing glare and leaned toward him.  Her words were spoken softly, but the meaning wasn’t lost on him.  “She might be a big girl… but she’s a big girl with amnesia at the moment, and I don’t want her taken advantage of.  I don’t care who you think you are… or how high up on the totem pole you are… but if you lay a hand on her, Edward, I’ll personally see to it that Lothos strings you up by your genitals and lets the vultures eat at you.”

        Setting his glass down, Edward leaned slightly across the table, his eyes fixing on hers.  “Listen up, Zoë,” he hissed under his breath.  “I’ll lay hands and anything else on Tala that she invites me to, and if you so much as THINK of getting involved, it’ll be your fine ass hung out to dry in some godforsaken desert.”

        Her eyes fairly glow with the hatred that was fueling her motherly instincts for a woman who was past needing ‘mama’s advice’ several years past.  “I’ll take Tala to bed when and where I please.  And if she likes it… so much the better.”  By her gasp he knew that Zoë knew… remembered his taste in female companionship.  “Let her go, Zoë.  Your daughter’s a grown woman… amnesia or not.”

        “Your right on one point,” Zoë told him once she had heard him out.  “She’s a grown woman… and we all know who’s watching whom around here, don’t we, Ed,” she sneered at him.  “If I remember correctly, I happened to be in the room when Tala asked about a particular male in the complex and she was told flat out… no.  What makes you think that you are so damn special that he’ll let you touch one of his prized possessions?  Hmmm?” Zoë asked as she took a sip of the wine before her.  “You know… I’m going to have front row seats when you are openly punished for your… crimes of passion.”

        ‘Damn you, witch!’ Edward thought as Zoë successfully parries his last verbal thrust.  She was right. Lothos had ‘eyes’ everywhere… even in every bedroom in this complex and the last thing he wanted to even remotely consider was incurring Lothos’ wrath. 

        “Save your pennies,” he said softly to Zoë as he happened to catch a glimpse of Tala returning, a small case in her hand.  “It’s going to be a very long time… if ever… that Lothos ever punishes me for doing what comes naturally,” he chuckled softly at the frigid glare that she sent him across the table.

        Zoë was about to really lay into him about what came naturally to him when Tala showed back up at the table.  She was surprised at how quickly she gathered her belongings for the week.  Looking up into her face, she asked her plainly, “Back so soon?”

        Tala looked at the two of them and saw that they had been involved in a deep discussion; one that she was sure was nothing that she wanted to be involved with.  “I didn’t need much… and I only got enough for a couple of days.  I can always go back…” but even as the words came out of her mouth, she wasn’t sure about them.  “Can’t I?”

        Zoë shook her head lightly at Tala’s confusion.  “Yes, Tala.  You may go back to your quarters as often as you need to.”  Glancing around at the other patrons of Tuscany’s, she reckoned it was probably almost ten p.m.  “At any rate, I’m ready to go back to my quarters.  If you don’t mind…” she motioned to the back of her chair and she looked at Edward sitting across from her.  “Good evening, Dr. Grant.  Another time, perhaps.”

        Looking over at Dr. Grant, Tala frowned.  She was hoping that at least she’d get a chance to talk to him a few more minutes that was why she had hurried so much to get back to the cafeteria.  But as she set her bag down beside her to move behind Zoë, Tala saw him stand and come over to her.  She smiled as she watched him pick up the bag and hand it toward her.  “Thank you, Dr. Grant,” she said formally looking up into his emerald green eyes.

        Edward smiled where he stood, giving the appearance of good manners as Tala wheeled Zoë away from the table.  Sitting back down, he watched Tala’s backside as she moved with a fluid grace, her hips swaying just enough to give any healthy male… ideas and fantasies.

        Signaling the waiter to come over to him, he quickly wrote a brief note and instructed him, “Give it to the young lady with Zoë.  And be sure that Zoë doesn’t see you give it to her.”  Seeing him nod, he quickly wrote:  “Meet me for drinks in the lounge in the Moonlight Hideaway at eleven… if you’d like to.  Edward.”

        Handing it to the waiter, he sat back and watched him very deftly give the note to Tala on the sly.

        Tala opened the letter turning her back to Zoë and read it.  Taking a deep breath, she looked up to glance over at Edward and smiled at him.  Tapping the now folded note on her chin, she nodded once to him and then turned back to Zoë, taking her back up to her quarters.

        Zoë wasn’t certain what it was, but her instincts about men rarely ever failed her.  Seeing the look on Tala’s face as she helped her change for bed… she couldn’t seem to shake it.  As she finally prepared to leave her quarters for the evening, she reached to put a hand on her arm.  “I hope that you sleep well, Tala,” she told her quietly.

        Tala looked down at her mother lying on her bed and she hesitantly smiled down at her.  “Same for you… Dr… Z… Mom.”

        Tala’s mind was much more preoccupied with the man that was waiting for her at the Moonlight Hideaway.  But, erasing him from her mind for a moment, she did something that even she was surprised at.  She leaned down and lightly kissed her mothers forehead.  “Good night.”  With that said, she moved away from her bed, and went to the door, but her words stopped her.

        Nothing, but nothing could have surprised Zoë more than when Tala leaned down to kiss her forehead once she was comfortably settled and her calling her ‘mom’ almost distracted her from what she had intended to say.  But one of the advantages of being a mother, regardless of the relationship with her child, is having experienced a lot of the things her child will someday encounter.  Now, even though she couldn’t read Tala’s thoughts, there was a look about Tala’s eyes, an eagerness that was all too familiar to her.  A look she recalled, in retrospect, that she wore too many times. 

        “Be careful… darling,” she said softly.  “For what it’s worth, forbidden things aren’t all they are cracked up to be.”  Seeing that the words had caused a touch of confusion in Tala’s thought was good enough for Zoë.  “Good night, Tala,” she wished her.  “I’ll see you in the morning.  Five thirty AM, sharp.  I’m an early riser, even now.”

        After the bedroom door closed, and then the door into her quarters, Zoë lay awake for a long while, wondering about her daughter.  She hoped that she didn’t become yet another notch on Edward’s sexual conquest belt.

PART FOUR

        Tala opened the door from Zoë’s quarters and shut it behind her.  She looked at her watch and saw that it was five minutes before eleven.  It had taken the better part of two hours, to eat, dress and get Zoë to bed. 

        Tala pulled out the note that she had stuck in her bodysuit and re-read it once more.  “Forbidden or not… one drink won’t hurt,” she said slightly with a grin as she tucked it back into her pocket and headed toward the elevator.  Once there, just a push of the button sent her on her way to the Moonlight Hideaway.  She paced back and forth listlessly in the cabin of the elevator and then finally reached the level where the cocktail lounge was located.  Stepping out, she moved into the room and looked around the bar… then saw him sitting at the bar sipping on a drink.  Smiling, she walked over to him and pulled out the note once more and showing it to him as she sat down beside him, she said, “I think that I’d like to.”

        Edward hadn’t been worried that she wouldn’t show, and Tala hadn’t disappointed him.  He’d been sitting drinking at the bar about twenty minutes, and he had enjoyed every bit of his scotch and soda.  The lights were low and seductive in the warmth of the bar and he felt more than confident in the room that he’d win the woman before him.

        To her soft words, he stood and held the chair for her, then signaled the waiter.  Glancing at Tala, he asked, “What would you like to drink? Something sweet?”

        Smiling at him when he was gentlemanly enough to offer her a seat beside him, Tala saw the look that he gave the waiter then said, “A margarita with sangria in it will be fine.”  Settling into her chair, she turned to him and asked, “So… what is the honor of your request, Dr. Grant?  Why would you want to have drinks with a lowly techy such as myself?”

        Taking the seat beside her, Edward responded lightly, “Rank has nothing to do with it Tala.”  He let his eyes drink her in.  “A woman’s beauty is reason enough to want to be in her presence.  Even for just a drink after a long and hard day.”  Sliding his hand across the table, he stroked her fingers gently with his.  When she didn’t draw back away from him, he let his hand rest lightly on hers, only moving it away when her drink arrived.

        “Cheers,” he toasted her with a smile.  ‘Novices were so nice.  Especially when waiters, like Larry are willing to put a drop of ‘something’ in their drink for a price,’ he thought.  Watching Tala, her blushing pink cheeks and bright eyes telling him that she was expecting something… maybe romance.  ‘But that’s not what she’s going to get tonight,’ he thought.  ‘And she won’t remember a whole lot about the night either.  But I will!’

        “Cheers,” she responded back in kind and took a sip from the straw in her margarita.  Setting it aside, she placed her left arm on the table and rested her chin in her right hand.  “So, Dr. Grant, how was your day at work?” she lightly remembered being in his presence this afternoon and seeing the look on his face as he peered around the curtain, looking at her uncertainly.   She smiled lightly at him.  “Hopefully not too stressful.”

        “No, not at all,” he reassured her with a smile.  “After seeing you this afternoon, how could my day get any better?” Watching her blush at the warmth of his tone, he was pleased to see her pick up her glass and take another sip.  ‘That’s it,’ he thought as he teased playfully with her.  ‘You probably won’t get the rest of that drink finished.’  “What about you Tala? I may call you Tala, right?” he asked with the right amount of concern.

        Tala couldn’t help but blush at his comment.  But to hide some of it, she reached for the margarita.  “You may call me Tala… that is my name, Dr. Grant.  But I think that you already know about the majority of my day.  Between the…” she paused trying to remember, “… the infirmary and my mother, and then eating dinner with the two of us, I’m very stressed at the moment.” 

        Tala picked up the glass once again and took a large drink of it.  She enjoyed the way that the smooth liquor slid down her throat making it almost numb it was so cold.  Heaving a sigh, she told him, “I may need to just go back to my quarters and go to bed.  I’m sure it’s going to be a long day, tomorrow.”

        At first she was not aware of the fact that her eyes had taken on a slightly sleepy quality as the ‘drops’ begin to take effect.  He nodded appropriately as she mentioned Zoë and dinner.  It was when she began to blink, plainly trying to fight off drowsiness, that he knew it was time to make his move on her. 

        “I’m sorry,” he said rising to his feet and coming around to her.  “It was thoughtless of me to ask you here -- especially after how things went at dinner.”  Slipping his arm around her waist to steady her, he helped Tala to stand, drawing her close to his side.  “Are you all right, Tala?” the concern in his voice was flawless.  He had always been a good actor in these situations.

        Tala raised her hand to her head letting her fingers run over her brow and she closed her eyes tightly before opening them again, fighting off the urge to just lay down on the floor and go to sleep on the lounge floor.  But when Dr. Grant mentioned something about being thoughtless to ask her here, she turned to him wanting to say something, but she couldn’t really focus on him anymore.  She heard him ask if she was all right and she got out, “I… no… I don’t know.  Could you help me back to my quarters, please, Dr. Grant?”

        Hearing Tala stumbling, almost struggling to get words out, Edward waited until she asked for his help.  “Of course,” he reassured her soothingly.  “Can you walk?” Her head sort of wobbled, not really an affirmative or negative nod, so he exerted ‘gentlemanly’ prerogative and gently guided her toward the door where Larry just happened to be waiting.  And as he reached for the door handle, Larry did as well and, as always, it appeared that their hands collided for a second.  He’d paid him countless times this way for his ‘special service’.

        Feeling the folded bill touching his palm, Larry apologized to Dr. Grant and hurried to hold the door open for him.  “I hope the young lady’s all right, sir,” he said to him, more for the benefit of anyone who might be coming in or lingering nearby.

        Edward glanced at Larry.  “She’ll be fine,” he assured him.  “She’s just not much of a drinker… although she does enjoy a drink.  Thank you again.”

        With utmost decorum, Edward walked Tala as far as he could keep her upright.  Finally, in the elevator the ‘drops’ hit maximum effect and she almost collapsed.  Still, he maintained his manners; he knew that Lothos could still see all that was happening.

        Once on the floor for the single adult female residents of the complex, Edward carried Tala to her door, and requested Lothos to open the door.  Lothos complied and Edward went in and carefully closed the door with his foot.  Once he heard the door latch click, he smiled lasciviously at the unconscious young woman in his arms.  In Tala’s room, he’d learned from certain sources, unless she specifically voiced the wish to speak to Lothos, Lothos could not hear anything that went on in these quarters - only when Tala asked to speak to him.  But right now… she wasn’t saying anything.

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