The Fourth Law

Chapter 14, Part 1

...eyes...

...your eyes...

Lemme sleep, Lily thought.

...open your...

Oooo...everything hurts!

"Lily, please open your eyes!"

Ai!

Lily squinted to see Ai's face above hers... the bright sky... no, that's a light in the ceiling... where...?

"Ai," she could barely say, "where are we? Ai... please don't cry!"

"Stupid subroutine," she muttered. "We're in your hospital, Lily."

"Hospital?" She coughed. "Ouch! Hospital? Are you all right, Ai?"

Lily heard someone laugh, as she saw the school's nurse over her as well. What was going on here?

"You two are just the cutest thing! Miss Barrett? I'm Nurse Varro. Doctor Ai is fine, but you've just come out of surgery. How do you feel right now?"

"Uhh... my chest and stomach feel tight... I'm kinda nauseous... that's right!" She looked to Ai. "Someone shot me! Thaad kept me company... then... then what happened?"

"Then doctors Roberts and Ai saved you!" said Varro. She looked at Ai. "The slight nausea is likely from the Dilaudid; should I add some Zofran to her IV?" Ai nodded, and Varro moved off.

"Am I going to be okay, Ai?" Lily asked.

"Absolutely! I'll tell you honestly, I wasn't sure when we first arrived here, but you'll be fine now. Ah, here's the man who saved you!"

Lily lolled her head the other direction to see a face with light brown hair, closely trimmed beard, and reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. "You're... Roberts... in the ER usually... right?" He nodded.

"Your friend exaggerates," he said unsmiling, in a serious tone. "Without her quick response, coordination of things, and a deft hand in the OR, we'd not have this meeting." He stared at her.

He doesn't seem particularly friendly, thought Lily.

"Well, uh, thank you! Uh, can I sleep a little now?" He nodded once more and left.

Her eyelids slowly dropping, she felt Ai's hand on her face.

"...love you..."

For the three days in the Surgical ICU, Lily thought it grand that Ai was there for her all the time. By the second day in her own room, it was becoming just a little uncomfortable.

Lily was picking at what looked edible for lunch on her tray; I think my kids eat better than this, she thought. "Ai?"

She sat in a chair against the window, so she could easily see both Lily and the door. She wore a white lab coat over green scrubs. "Yes, Lily?"

"It wasn't your fault."

"Excuse me?"

"My being shot; if anyone did anything wrong, well, besides that woman, it was me." She sighed. "Kyle had warned me about too high a profile for my surname, and it seems he was right. You're not here to be my bodyguard, either that night, nor now."

Ai tilted her head and smiled. "That obvious, was I?"

Lily smiled back. "Yeah, 'fraid so!" The salad must have been at least a day old.