Harper eyed the wheelchair in the corner, wishing he could somehow will it to slide over to him so he could get up and leave. Esperanza said they were waiting on Cameron, and he worried that Cameron had gotten wrapped up in her work this morning and forgot about him coming home. He fiddled with the design code he made for Lully; it was only to streamline shoe sizing; he couldn't work on any of the clothing modifiers until he saw the printers and got his hands on some current code from the printers. It was a little different with his work turning a holo-rib into a handgun blueprint; this one had to actually work.
"Harper, I'm so sorry," Cameron rushed in the room. "I had a meeting with Dashiell and he just kept talking." She leaned down to kiss him and then hurried out again.
"Good morning to you too," he called to her retreating figure.
She returned a moment later with Esperanza, who began unhooking Harper from the equipment.
"You have to come in twice a week for therapy," Esperanza told him. "And be careful with your arm. You don't have to have it in the sling, but you shouldn't be carrying things. And you shouldn't be pushing yourself around all the time, pas mal?"
He sat up straighter when Cameron handed him a stack of real clothes.
"I printed some pants with buttons down the sides," she said. "I thought that it might be easier to dress that way."
"Merci beaucoup," Harper smiled.
It took longer than he would have liked to dress and shift over to the wheelchair, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he was allowed to roll out of the room and into the main area. Blair gave him a smile.
"You look better already," he joked. "See you in two days, Harper. Don't fall and have to come back here sooner."
"I'm not clumsy," Harper grumbled, but he knew that Blair was teasing him.
Esperanza gave Cameron a packet of pills and then she patted Harper on his good shoulder.
"I know you're glad to go home, but please don't try to tough it out," she told him. "If something is wrong, we want to help. Your body is still healing slowly and there's no reason you should be in pain you don't have to be."
"Okay," he agreed.
"And I'm putting you in charge of making sure that Cameron is eating and taking her own pills," Esperanza continued. "You two are our problem couple, aren't you?"
"We don't mean to be," Cameron said apologetically. "We'll see you the day after tomorrow. Merci, all of you. I'm quite glad Harper is still alive and kicking."
"It'll be a while before he's kicking," Blair noted with a smirk
With that, Cameron pushed Harper out into the hall.
"Do you want to stop by botany, pick anything up?" she asked. "It's on the way."
"Do they still have apples?" he inquired. "I could eat an apple. And what's that vegetable you like, eggplant? We can get some and I'll bake it for you. Esperanza made it once for me; I got the recipe."
"You like eggplant?" Cameron laughed. "The world is coming to an end."
He smiled up at Cameron, wishing she didn't look so tired. He hoped now that he was home and Cameron wasn't trying to see him between meetings and work that she would be able to rest better.
They turned into botany, the colors of the fruits and vegetables a welcome change from the sterile medical environment.
"Harper!" Levi called, coming out of his office. "Back from the dead! And you have your own wheelchair!"
YOU ARE READING
If Jove Stray
Science Fiction{✨Book 5✨} Earth. Light years away, and yet now that some on the base were born there, it seems so...close. As communication with the mother planet seems more and more likely, Dylan and Alcott have to wonder if Earth really has anything to offer to...
