Pandora: Liminal Space Book 2

Chapter Twenty-Two

The infirmary was surprisingly busy today. There were at least four doctors bustling around seeing to various people, and when he looked at the sign on the wall Garrett found that they were giving out vaccines today. Vaccines for what he had no idea, but he recognized several scientists who were naturals sitting down, and figured it was specific to them. The nurse was different, but the girl who'd replaced him for today indicated that Garrett should go ahead to Booth Two and let the autodoc do its thing. He went into the small room, but stopped at the door when he saw a small child sitting in the diagnostic chair.

The kid wasn't being analyzed, he was just sitting there, his knees tucked to his chest and his face hidden in his arms. A wild mess of butter-yellow curls several shades darker than Garrett's own hair made the boy look like he'd just come in from a windstorm. He peeked over his arms at Garrett.

"Are you a doctor?"

"No," Garrett replied, squelching his initial impulse to call someone and have them get the kid out of the room. "Not this kind of doctor."

"You aren't gonna give me a shot?"

"No."

The boy sighed deeply. "Okay, then you can stay."

"Thanks." Feeling bemused but oddly entertained, Garrett sat down on the bed next to the autodoc chair.

"What's your name?" the boy asked.

"Garrett." There was no way he was throwing his last name at a toddler. "What's yours?"

"Cody David Helms, and I'm five years old, but I'll be six in three months, Daddy says."

Five. Okay, so not a toddler. Garrett wasn't comfortable with kids. He'd never had the opportunity to get to know any, but he didn't feel the need to run out of the room screaming yet, so that was good. "Five, huh?"

"Yep." The boy nodded firmly. "How old are you?"

Garrett cracked a smile. "A lot older. Super old. Probably as old as your daddy."

"That's old," Cody agreed.

"I know." They were silent for a moment. "Aren't you supposed to be out there?" He gestured towards the main room.

"Yeah, but I thought they were just gonna check my ears again, 'cause I have tubes in my ears and they have to make sure they're okay, but then they said they hafta give me a shot too and I don't like those, but Daddy can't come right now and I don't want to do it without him." Cody looked thoroughly miserable at the prospect of getting a shot. Garrett could commiserate. It really was easier to be on Regen.

"Well, I don't know—"

"There you are!" A white-coated doctor appeared in the door, her face set in a slightly scolding smile. "Cody, I've been looking for you. It's time for your vaccination."

"No." He hid his face in his arms again.

"You'll get a treat when it's over, honey."

"No!"

"Cody..." She sounded exasperated. "Doctor Caractacus needs this room so he can use the autodoc. We don't want to inconvenience him."

"Who's that?"

"It's me," Garrett confessed.

"You said you were Garrett."

"I'm that too. That's what you can call me." He looked at the frightened boy and the annoyed doctor and made a decision. "How about we get our shots at the same time? That way we can stay here together."

"You aren't scheduled for a..." Garrett caught the doctor's eye and stared until she caught on. "I mean, yes. Both your shots. I'll just go get one more." She turned and walked away.

"Is that okay with you?" Garrett asked Cody. "Because I know I'm not your Daddy, but honestly I don't like getting shots either and I don't want to do it alone."

"Will you go first?"

"Sure."

"'kay." Cody seemed resigned if not enthusiastic, and after a moment he got out of the chair and pulled himself up onto the bed next to Garrett. The boy's warm little body pressed against his side, and Garrett found himself actually thinking that the kid was pretty cute, as kids went. His hair was all over the place, but it was a nice color, and he had brown eyes that looked too big for his face but made him look completely adorable.

And this, Garrett thought to himself, is why parents don't go homicidally insane more often. Cute gets you out of a lot of trouble. It had worked for him, certainly.

The doctor came back, two small syringes in hand. "Who's going first?"

"I am," Garrett told her. She nodded and rolled up his sleeve, then wiped the skin just below his shoulder clean. "You'll just feel a little pinch," she told him.

All of a sudden Cody was clinging to him, holding his side tight, and Garrett was so taken aback by it that he didn't even realize he was getting the shot until the doctor pulled back and said, "All done! That wasn't so bad, huh?"

"Not at all," he replied honestly.

Cody looked up at his face from under long, sandy brown lashes. "Really?"

"Really."

"Are you ready for your turn, Cody?"

Cody nodded, but there were already tears in his eyes, and when the doctor touched his arm to roll his sleeve back he buried his face in Garrett's arm. "I don' wanna watch," he mumbled.

"That's okay, you don't have to watch," Garrett said, feeling totally out of his depth. The doctor smiled slightly at him, then gave Cody his shot. The little boy flinched but didn't make a sound, and after a few seconds it was done. The tiny hole was bleeding, though, and Garrett watched in fascination as the doctor wiped it clean again, then put a Space Ranger band-aid over it. Having a band-aid seemed to cheer the kid up some. Huh. Weird.

"There you go," she said cheerfully. "Good job, Cody! If you come with me now I can check your ears and Doctor Caractacus can finish his things in here."

"'kay." He reluctantly let go of Garrett but looked up at him. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Garrett replied. "I didn't want to do that all by myself. You were a big help."

"Oh. You're welcome." Cody smiled and Garrett felt himself smile back, unable to resist. "You can call my Daddy if you hafta get another shot and we can come help again. Daddy is really good at helping."

"He can't be as good as you," Garrett said.

"He is. He's the best," Cody assured him. His insistence was very cute.

"Cody..."

"I'm coming." He got down off the table and walked over to the door. "Bye, Garrett."

"Bye, Cody."

The doctor winked at Garrett and then laid a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, guiding him out. Garrett watched them go, completely bemused for a few seconds, before he remembered why he'd come into the infirmary in the first place. He moved down to the chair and put his hand in the gauntlet. A few moments later he was being analyzed, and a minute later the hologram informed him that his blood chemistry was back to normal and he could go. It felt cold and impersonal after the interaction he'd just had. Garrett removed his hand, stood up and walked back out into the waiting room.

"Sir!" The perky girl at the desk waved him over before he could leave. "About the first aid class...have you signed up yet?"

"Not yet."

"Only we've got just five weeks to go until we reach Pandora, and all personnel and family members have to be certified by then. We have the classes every other day."

"Next week, then, on this day." Maybe if he was lucky he'd see Cody again. The kid was cute, no denying it, and Garrett wouldn't mind meeting his parents.

"Thank you!" The girl beamed at him. "I'll make sure you get a reminder before the class."

"I'm sure you will."

"Have a lovely day!"

"I...will." Actually, Garrett had no idea what he'd do with the rest of his day. After chatting with Claudia and meeting Cody, however, it was looking up. "Thank you."



***



"Journal record three, beginning."

"So, I had a minor epiphany today: children are not the devil. They might seem like it most of the time and I'm certainly happy I don't have any, but there are moments when their sheer adorableness probably makes having them worthwhile. It's conceivable that when my stint on Pandora is up I might go back to Paradise and do more than spoil my upcoming sibling rotten during brief trips. Cody Helms is a cute kid, and I hope his father realizes how much he idolizes him.

"I don't remember if I idolized my father when I was that age, but...I don't think so. I don't think I knew him well enough to. Then I got older and I hated him, and it took a long time for us to get past that. I love him now, but I hope he gets that kind of pure idolatry from his and Claudia's baby, because just being on the periphery of it for a few seconds made it seem like a pretty special thing. Dad deserves that. Everyone should have someone look at them like they mean the world to them..."



Click.