A Healer's War

Chapter 50 - Teacher's Conference

Chapter 50: Teacher's Conference

15:30. Saturday - April 28th.

Stay calm.

Walk normally.

Don't crash the bike.

How do they know about Maxwell?!

Rory's thoughts raced, and it took all his will to stay calm. He measured out his breath, one every four steps, and grasped at his spinning thoughts. The man seemed distracted, or maybe just new? Rory heard it in his flustered questions. Whatever worried him had to be bigger than Rory, right?

The woman was different. She unnerved him. She had eyes like Bell—impossibly perceptive, piercing. Rory felt lucky she was more preoccupied with running damage control than focusing on him. He smiled to himself. I did it. Tomorrow, we can-.

"Mr. Nash!" he heard behind him.

Rory nearly dropped his bike and ran but steadied and forced a breath. Calm down. Innocently, slowly.

He turned with a placid smile as Jane approached, her hand holding her hair out of her face. "Mr. Nash, I completely blanked. There is one more thing." She stopped within arm's reach and nodded back towards her partner. "Thank you for tolerating that... uh, performance."

Rory shook his head, not understanding.

"My partner. He's pretty new."

"Oh. Uh, ya, he seemed pretty nervous."

"No kidding," Jane said, smiling easily. "Do you have a couple of more seconds?"

No! "What do you need?"

Jane stepped up beside Rory and placed her hand between his shoulder blades. The touch was unexpected but gentle, guiding him down the uneven sidewalk. As they fell into a lazy stroll, Jane dropped her hand. "My partner just passed his exams, and this is his second interview. I was hoping to get your help with some constructive criticism, something he can build on. Part of my consulting package is feedback."

Rory glanced at Jane, who looked back at him, relaxed.

"Um, he was rigid. A little rude." Rory stopped, realizing he didn't know where he was walking, and he wanted to avoid more questions. "I really should get going."

"Of course, sorry to keep you so long. It's just that I know you're a nurse and could teach him a few things about diplomacy. We'd appreciate any feedback, no matter how honest."

Rory sighed and shrugged. "He needs to soften his questions. Be more human, you know? At the hospital, we start with questions like 'Where is home for you?' Follow up with, 'I've heard that place is nice this time of year.' It sounds cheesy, but it gets people to open up."

"Create a bond. Build that trust," Jane said, appraising him. "Smart. Any other pointers from your work? You had to have learned a bunch of them working in intensive care. Whoowee, I can't imagine the conversations you have to have. Tough."

"It has its moments," Rory said flatly.

"And that Octavia case? Damn. I feel for you. Must have been terrible."

Rory felt dizzy. He looked at Jane. She seemed genuine, but this suddenly felt like another line of questioning.

Leave. Now.

He opened his mouth to excuse himself, but Jane jumped, startling him. "Hey! Weird idea to pass by you—something we were joking about. Would you mind giving us your medical opinion?"

"If you ask me to look at a rash," Rory forced a smile, "I'm walking away."

Jane gave a bright belly laugh, and he warmed to her. She wasn't the villain he'd been expecting.

"Ha! No, no. It's just something you said earlier about all this being magic." She paused, her eyes finding his. "Do you think that's what saved Tommy?"

Rory froze. He tried to say something, but nothing came out, so he just stared at her. She knows?

Jane waited a beat, smiled, and waved her hands in the air. "It's just this silly debate we've been having. He thinks it's a top-secret experiment of some new wonder cure, but I said that's crazy." She glanced at him again. "Right?"

Rory forced a smile and shook his head, still not sure if Jane was playing with him or not. She can't know, can she?

"I didn't think so." She clapped him on the shoulder again. "Thanks again, Mr. Nash. I'll pass along your feedback." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small white square. "Here's Agent Torin's card. If anything comes up, call us."

He took it and nodded, unable to shake the lingering unease that Jane knew more than she let on. She seemed honest and kind, but Bell's cautious voice floated by. Everyone holds a piece of themselves apart.

"Don't be hard on him," Rory said, tapping the card against his palm. "We all gotta learn."

"Ah, don't worry." Jane snapped her finger. "Ah, muff. I'm so scatterbrained today. Can I swing a name by you and see if you recognize it?"

Rory nodded, half-turned away, trying to escape. "'Kay."

Jane fixed her gaze on him. "How's Aunt Jackie?"

She knows.