Instead of heading
straight to the Infirmary, Dr. Brightman and Kay made a brief phone call
to Dr. Mackenzie and then made a detour to the General's office. Having
been in the military herself, the counselor knew the importance of
keeping the chain of command informed. She also knew that shit rolled
downhill, and that the best way to keep it from burying you was to keep
the people at the top in the loop. Both her and the CMO had agreed that
anything they tried insofar as treating General O'Neill would have to be
approved by the acting CO, General Hammond.
Sergeant Harriman met
them in the control room and chivvied them in to see him.
Even though she knew that
it had originally belonged to Hammond, it felt strange to be stepping
into the office that Kay thought of as belonging to General O'Neill with
someone else sitting behind the desk.
Kay swallowed nervously
as they walked into the room. They'd already agreed that, as the CMO,
Dr. Brightman would do most of the talking. Kay was only too happy to
agree to that arrangement. As an enlisted person in the Army, she'd made
it a habit to avoid the higher-ranking officers, as her mouth had
usually gotten her into trouble in the past. She hoped her knees weren't
noticeably shaking as she swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed
her glasses up on her nose.
General Hammond frowned
in question and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "You needed
to see me?"
Kay sank down gratefully
and clasped her hands nervously in her lap, with her legs crossed at the
knees; she bounced the other to rid herself of nervous energy.
After sitting, Dr.
Brightman answered. "Yes, sir. We have some new information that may
have some bearing on General O'Neill's case."
"Go on," Hammond steepled his fingers.
Brightman took a breath.
"According to test results, Kay Dow has the Ancient gene."
He nodded. "I see, but
what does that have to do with General O'Neill?"
Brightman looked at Kay.
"Maybe you can explain it. Sorry, Kay, but I feel like I'm a bit out of
my league."
She bit her lip and took a breath. "Imagine how I feel."
General Hammond sighed
tiredly and rested clasped hands on the desk. "Would you mind telling me
what's going on?"
"Sorry sir. It's just
that I'm not used to being around generals so I'm a little nervous. I
tend to stay away from them, generally speaking." Then she clasped her
hands over her mouth, her eyes wide.
Hammond's eyes rose to
meet his non-existent hairline and the Doctor smiled.
Looking down, the
flustered counselor shook her head. "Oh no, I did it again." She looked
up, her face flushed. "Sir."
Chuckling, he shook his
head. "No, Kay. It's all right. I just didn't expect that one."
Then he sobered. "Now,
you were saying?"
Kay nodded and swallowed
with a suddenly dry throat. "Well, it's like this, sir. In the past,
before I knew anything about having a special gene, I was able to help
people out, kind of like healing them. I didn't know how I did it, or
even for sure if I was doing anything, I just did it. Then when Teal'c
was talking about how General O'Neill had healed someone, it reminded me
of what I'd done in the past. So when Dr. Brightman told me I had this
gene . . . well, we were thinking that I could try healing General
O'Neill." The last few words were blurted out, as if she were afraid she
might change her mind at the last minute.
The petite counselor
looked down at hands that were so tightly clasped that white knuckles
showed. "That is if it's okay with you." She paused, uncertain. "Sir."
Hammond studied them with
calculating eyes. "Let me get this straight. You have this gene of the
Ancients and you want to try healing Jack?"
Kay gulped and nodded.
"What makes you think you
can help him when Dr Brightman can't even figure out why he's
unconscious?"
Kay shrugged,
uncomfortable with the scrutiny. "I don't know for sure that I
can help, sir. But I'd like to try. He's done so much for my
husband, and me; so if there's anyway I can help him out . . ." She took
a deep breath. "Besides, if I do have this gift, it would be
wrong not to use it to help him, wouldn't it?"
The General turned his
attention to Dr. Brightman. "What's your opinion, Doctor? My number one
concern is keeping my people safe. Can she help him? And will it do any
harm?"
Dr. Brightman wrinkled
her brow in thought. "As to whether it will help or not, I don't really
know, sir. All I do know is that my patient isn't responding to anything
I'm doing for him right now. So, if there's even a chance that Kay could
help, I'm willing to let her try."
Hammond looked pensive.
"We'll let you take a crack at it, but only if Jack's physical condition
is monitored at all times. If he's in any danger, I want the procedure
stopped immediately. Understood?"
Kay gulped. "Of course,
sir. I wouldn't want to hurt him, not for anything."
Hammond's face softened. "I know you wouldn't do it on purpose, Kay.
It never hurts to be careful though."
Fifteen minutes later,
Kay was seated in a chair next to Jack O'Neill's bed. According to the
latest tests, there'd been no change in his condition. He remained
comatose for reasons as yet unknown. The steady beep-beep of the monitor
helped calm Kay's rapidly beating heart.
She looked toward the
observation window off to the side. General Hammond could be seen
standing there, his attention on the scene below him. Beside him were
Daniel Jackson and Dr. Mackenzie. Dr. Brightman and Teal'c were with her
in the room, standing near the door.
The counselor was nervous
and just a bit apprehensive as she took a calming breath. 'Lord, what
have I gotten myself into? It would help just a bit if I didn't have
such an audience for this. I'll never live this down if I screw up now,
not with all these people watching.'
In order to better
concentrate, she bowed her head and folded her hands in prayer. 'Dear
Lord, is this Your will that I do this? If it is, I ask that you supply
me with the power to heal this man. For I know that all power for life
and healing comes through You.'
She opened her eyes and
looked down upon Jack's still form. 'Lord, I believe this is a good
man, one who is still needed to help others. If it is Your will, send
down Your healing grace and allow me to help him.'
Mentally humming a
favorite hymn, she raised her hands and placed them on Jack's forehead.
For a second, she flashed to Spock and his Vulcan mind meld. With a
frown, she shook her head to clear it of distractions.
At first, nothing
happened, so she concentrated harder in an effort to let a feeling of
calmness and peace envelope her and her charge. A tingling in her arms
and hands told her she was making some progress. She bit her lip and
sent a mental call.
'General O'Neill!'
Her call met with a
swirling blackness, so she tried again. 'Jack?'
In the midst of the inky
darkness, she heard a faint, but irritated response. 'What?'
Jack O'Neill wandered
alone in the darkness, one he couldn't seem to escape. At first, he
could detect the outside world, if he really concentrated, however,
after a time, that too disappeared, leaving him stranded in a dark and
lonely prison. Vaguely, he could recall the events leading up to his
imprisonment, and realized his own actions had resulted in his being
there. Somehow, it didn't seem fair. After all, he'd only been trying to
help out Sam.
Surrounded as he was by
inky nothingness, he was surprised when a sound penetrated the stygian
gloom. For a moment, he wondered if he'd imagined it, so he listened for
a repeat. When it came, he was ready with a response.
'What?'
The voice came again and
he thought he recognized it. 'Jack?'
'Who are you?'
'It's me, Kay.'
'Oh, what are you doing here? And where are we?'
'We're inside your mind, sir.'
'It figures. No wonder it's so dark and empty.'
He paused a beat,
gathering his thoughts. 'So, what brings you to my neck of the . . .
my mind?'
Kay's chuckle rippled in
the darkness, shading it with permutations of blues and mauves. 'I'm
communicating with you the same way you did with Colonel Carter. It
seems you and I have something in common.'
'You've got the danged gene?'
'Guilty as charged.' Her tone was rueful.
'I'm sorry to hear
about that, Kay. How're you holding up?'
'Fine so far. Of
course, I haven't told Josh yet though.'
'Well, that should be interesting. So, what now?'
'Can you open your
eyes? There are an awful lot of people depending on you, sir.'
'You mean I can open
my eyes, just like that?' His tone was doubtful.
'I hope so, sir.
That's why I came. To bring you back.'
Jack had been so
engrossed in his conversation that he'd failed to notice the gradual
lifting of the black pall that had enveloped him and the return of his
ability to sense the outside world.
'Hey, I do feel a bit
better, and it's not so dark in here now. Thanks, Kay.'
'It wasn't me, Jack.
It was God, I was just His instrument.'
He paused for a moment
and when his answer came it was fraught with hidden meanings that would
take time to decipher and analyze. 'Of course you were, Kay. Umm,
thanks to both of you, then. What's your point?'
Kay gave a sigh of
resignation and decided that was one battle of wits that would have to
wait for another time and place. Jack's mental chuckle echoed in her
mind, reminding her of their close mental link.
'That's a start. I
would love to continue this discussion later because I could sure use
some pointers about how to get a handle on this special gene
thing.'
'No problem, kiddo,
I'll teach you what I know about this crap, but it may be a case of the
blind leading the blind. If you know what I mean.'
'I'll take all the help I can get, sir. Thanks.'
Kay gave him a mental shove and then withdrew.
Jack opened his eyes, and
immediately squeezed them shut again. "Crap!" he muttered as he flung
one arm across them.
"Sorry, sir. Try it now,"
an unknown female voice responded.
Cautiously, he squinted
from under the cover of his arm. When nothing happened, he lowered his
protective barrier. Gradually, things around him came into focus. He
could see Teal'c bending over him. When he turned his head, he saw the
figure of Kay slumped into a chair.
"Hey, you all right, Kay?" he murmured.
Her head popped up and
she ran her fingers through her hair sweeping it away from her face.
"Yes, sir. Just give me a minute. That kind of took it out of me."
Kay cocked her head. "You
really heard me?" She tapped the side of her head. "In here?"
"Ya think?" Jack grinned.
"Wow." Kay shook her head in wonder.
"Tell me about it."
O'Neill turned to face Teal'c, noticing for the first time that Dr
Brightman had moved into place and was brandishing a pen light like a
weapon.
"Ack, keep that thing away from me."
Dr Brightman frowned and
moved closer. "I just need to do a few tests. It's SOP for this sort of
situation, sir."
Jack's eyes roved the
room frantically. "Teal'c? Help me out, here, buddy."
The Jaffa backed away. "I cannot."
"Aww, come . . . oomph."
Jack sputtered from around the thermometer that had been deftly stuck in
his mouth.
Kay smothered a giggle
with one hand, only to receive a glare from Jack. "Sorry, sir."
Dr. Brightman snagged his
wrist. "It'll be over in a minute, sir. I won't feel a thing."
Then she took the beeping
thermometer out of Jack's mouth, picked up his chart and made notations.
Nodding her head, she smiled. "So far, everything is normal. The blood
work will tell me the real story though."
"Didn't you blood suckers
get it all last time?" Jack grumbled.
As he turned to talk to
Kay, he noticed her head drooping onto her chest. "Kay? You all
right?"
Like a puppet on a
string, her head jerked up. "Huh? Oh, sure. Just a bit tired, that's
all."
"Why don't I have you
checked out, just to be on the safe side?" The Doctor circled the bed to
get to her side.
"I'll be fine, really." Kay shook her head.
Jack's chuckle drew her
attention. "You might as well give in, you know. She won't leave you
alone until she checks you out. I know that from experience."
The counselor sighed.
"Oh, all right. But could you ask Josh to come see me? He still doesn't
know about any of this."
Dr. Brightman turned to
Teal'c. "Could you help her up? I need to get her to another room
because I have the feeling that General O'Neill is about to get some
visitors."
"I would consider it an honor to give aid to her that healed my
warrior brother." Teal'c nodded.
"Me? You don't need to
make a fuss." Kay blushed. "I can walk just fine by myself. "
"I'm sure you can, Kay.
But humor me. Let Teal'c give you a hand. Okay?" Brightman sighed.
The counselor took a deep
breath and tried to sit up straighter. "Oh, all right, but I'm fine.
You'll see."
Jack watched in amusement
as Teal'c helped Kay to stand. Even to his eyes, he could see that she
looked white as a sheet, and leaned far too heavily on the muscular arm
of the Jaffa. A fact that belied her protests to the contrary.
He sat up in bed and
waved. "See ya later, kids. And I do want to have that chat sometime,
Kay. I mean it."
Kay appeared breathless. "Thanks, sir," she panted.
They passed General
Hammond on his way into the room. With growing apprehension, Jack noted
that the bald Texan looked worried and relieved, at the same time. He
had the feeling that he was in for one heck of a debriefing. Crap.
Kay sighed with
frustration as she looked around at the room. They were painted a boring
neutral gray and thin pipes formed vertical lines snaking from
electrical outlets and disappearing into small holes in the ceiling
tiles. The tiles were white with tiny black dots. She knew this because
she'd checked. Several times.
She grimaced and rolled
her eyes. Despite the fact that her tests had shown no ill effects from
her session with General O'Neill, Dr. Brightman had insisted that she
stay overnight in the Infirmary for observation. The only thing she
needed to observe was her husband and kids in her own house, no thank
you very much. When the General had laughingly told her that she
couldn't win one against the Doctor, he'd been right on the money.
To make matters worse,
she had yet to see her husband and she'd been wracking her brain trying
to figure out just how the heck she was going to break the news to him
about her special gene. They didn't exactly cover this sort of thing in
her texts about marital relationships in college.
And as for writing a book
about her adventures, the only way she could do that is if she
classified it as science fiction. If she tried to tell people all of her
adventures were true, she'd probably get locked up for leaking
classified secrets, and having seen prison from one side of those bars,
she had no desire whatsoever to find out what the view from the other
side was like.
She slid down farther
into the covers and shivered as a chill ran up her arms, making goose
bumps pop out on her skin. Covering a yawn with one hand, she pulled the
blanket up to her chin.
The blonde-haired nurse
from before stuck her head in the door. "How ya doin'?"
"Fine! I'm doing fine. So can I go now?" Kay grimaced.
The nurse shook her head
and walked to her bedside. "Now, you already know the answer to that,
Ms. Dow." Once she got close enough, she picked up the counselor's wrist
and stared at her watch.
Kay's eyes rolled again.
"I told you I'm fine. There is nothing wrong with me, so why do you have
to keep doing that?"
She laid down the wrist
and stuck both hands on her hips. "I do it because I'm doing my job. Now
I realize you don't like being stuck here, but you don't have to take it
out on me, do you?"
The counselor looked
down. "You're right, I'm sorry." She looked up with a frown of
puzzlement on her face. "Forgive me, but I can't remember your
name."
The nurse smiled and
patted her shoulder. "That's all right, hon, you've had a pretty rough
day, from what I hear. By the way, my name's Kathy, Lieutenant Kathy
Dalton."
Sticking her hand out, Kay returned the smile. "Nice to meetcha,
Kathy. You already know who I am."
"Yes, and about what you
did for our General O'Neill. I'd like to thank you for that."
Kay blushed and looked
away. "I wish you wouldn't say that," she mumbled.
"What do you mean?"
She kept her eyes averted
sheepishly. "About what I did for the General. It's embarrassing."
"Embarrassing? What do
you mean by that?" Kathy's voice held a note of disbelief that caught
the counselor's attention.
Kay's hands waved in
frustration. "Well, I only did what anyone else would do, and now
everyone is making a big deal of it. So I helped him, big deal, that's
what I do all the time, I'm in the helping business, so I help people."
She sighed in exasperation. "Almost makes me wish I'd never heard of
this stupid gene."
"Is that what this is
about, the gene?"
"No," Kay growled. "Maybe
. . . I don't know." She blushed when the last words came out as a
whine.
Kathy pulled up a chair
and leaned forward with her elbows resting on the bed. "Finding out you
have this gene kind of threw you for a loop, huh?"
Kay wiped at her face
with her hands. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean all I've ever really wanted to
do in life was be a counselor and help people. And I felt like I was
doing that, really making a difference, you know? But all the while I
was doing this, I was doing what came natural to me, something I've felt
called to do. But it was nothing out of the ordinary, just being a good
counselor. Then BAM, the next thing I know I'm told I have this gene
that makes me not normal, more like . . . Abby Normal."
Kathy snorted.
Kay cringed and covered
her face with both hands. "Would you listen to me? Now, I sound like a
whining baby." She kept her face buried in her hands, not daring to look
at the nurse sitting next to her.
The gentle touch of a
hand on her shoulder caused her to raise her head. "Huh?"
The pretty blue-green
eyes of the nurse gazed sympathetically at Kay. "If you ask me, I don't
think you sound like a whining baby at all."
Tears tracked down the
counselor's cheeks as she swiped ineffectually at her runny nose.
Kathy handed her a tissue
that the counselor took with a tremulous smile. "Thanks, I'm not usually
like this, must be that I'm tired."
The nurse rolled her
eyes. "Yep, that must be it. It would have absolutely nothing to do with
the fact that you've had a rough day and just found out something that
will change your whole life. Right?"
Kay blew her nose loudly,
and then wiped it and leveled a look of mock censure at her companion.
"Nah, that wouldn't be it at all. Isn't that supposed to be my line?"
Kathy smiled. "So, how am I doing? Was I right on the money?"
The counselor gave her a
rueful smile and wadded the tissue in one fist. "I'd say you hit the
bulls-eye with that one. It doesn't mean I like it though."
"I can't tell you I know
how you feel, because I don't. All I can do is listen, take your vitals
and report them to my boss. That's what I do because I'm a nurse." She
cocked her head to one side. "Although it does sound like you're still
going to be doing your same job, just with a few more tools at your
disposal."
A sound at the door made
her turn her head and get up from the chair. "May I help you, sir?"
Kay's eyes went wide. "Josh!"
Rushing to the bedside,
the gray-haired man ignored the nurse, his hazel eyes flashing concern.
"Kay! What's wrong? They told me you were in the Infirmary, but the Doc
won't tell me why."
Dr. Brightman walked into
the room and nodded to Kathy. "That'll be all for now, I'll take it from
here."
Kay smiled at Kathy. "Thanks."
Kathy patted her shoulder
and stood. "Anytime, Kay. And good luck to you." Then she walked quickly
out of the room.
Josh took Kathy's place
by his wife's bed, the frustration on his face showing clearly. "Would
someone mind telling me what the blue blazes is going on here?" he
growled. "After all, this is my wife we're talking about."
Kay's eyes once again
brimmed with tears as she sent a look of entreaty to the Doctor. "Could
you please explain it to him? I don't know if I can."
Josh sank into the chair
recently vacated by the nurse and cradled his wife's hand in his larger
ones. "What's wrong, honey?"
Dr. Brightman grabbed
another chair and pushed it toward Josh. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you
more in the hallway, but I thought it would be better if Kay were
present when I told you."
"So? Tell me what?" Josh gestured with his free hand.
The Doctor took a deep
breath. "Today we discovered that your wife has the gene of the
Ancients. By the way, your results showed that you don't have it." She
held up her hand to forestall Josh's impatient questions. "What that
means is that your wife is one of the few people we've found that has
the capability of operating Ancient technology. Furthermore, today she
demonstrated the ability to communicate on a mental level with General
O'Neill and apparently healed him."
Kay watched warily as
Josh slumped back into his chair. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.
Dr. Brightman continued.
"I'm sure that you'll have lots of questions once you've gotten over the
initial shock of the news. But in the meantime I want to assure you that
your wife is only staying here the night so we can keep an eye on her."
She shrugged. "To be honest, we don't have much experience in dealing
with this sort of thing and just want to make sure she isn't suffering
any ill effects from her experience. In the near future we'll have to do
more tests to discover the extent of her abilities."
"What kind of tests?" Kay
twisted the tissue in her free hand nervously.
"The first thing we'll do
is a genealogical history. We want to figure out where this gene came
from . . . and if anyone else in your family tree carries it."
Biting her lower lip, Kay
opened her mouth to speak, when it came out hoarse, she cleared her
throat and tried again. Her words came out as more of a statement of
fact rather than a question. "You want to test my kids."
The Doctor nodded. "With your permission, yes."
Josh's jaw jutted out
dangerously. "You're damn Skippy you'll need our permission," he
snarled. "There is no way you're gonna mess with my wife and kids."
Kay removed her hand from
her husband's tightened grasp and rubbed it. "You're hurting me."
Josh's eyes widened and
he stared at Kay in consternation. "What? Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that
all this shit is pissing me off."
"So how do you think I
feel about it?" his wife snapped. "Finding out I've got this weird gene
hasn't exactly made my day either, you know."
His face went white and
he jumped out of his chair to pace the floor. Seeing this, Kay's
features crumpled. Her hands went back to hide her face. "Oh no, I'm
making a mess out of everything now."
Dr. Brightman arose from
her chair to stand in front of Josh. He stopped within inches of her,
belligerence in his stance. Her voice had an edge of serrated steel.
"Mr. Dow, I need you to calm down. Kay's had a very tough day and she
really needs her rest. For your information, the only reason General
O'Neill is doing better is because of your wife. We're not exactly sure
what she did yet, but we do know that he would still be unconscious if
she hadn't intervened."
Josh's enraged demeanor
melted to one of worried concern. "My Kay did that?" He sank into the
chair and shook his head in wonder. "I'd heard that he was doing better,
but had no idea why."
A nod confirmed it. "Yes,
she did. And now she needs peace and quiet to recover. I have the
feeling that she'd going to be very busy in the next few days."
His eyes narrowed. "You mentioned other tests?"
Her narrow face looked
thoughtful. "Yes, but to tell you the truth, I'm not sure what all they
will entail. I'll keep you posted though, both of you." The Doctor
consulted her watch. "It's getting late. I'll give you both some more
time alone together." She looked stern. "Just remember she needs peace
and quiet right now." Then she smiled and left the room.
Neither Kay nor Josh noticed the Doctor leave;
they only had eyes for each other as she buried her head in his chest,
his arms encircling her, keeping her safe.
***
General Hammond settled
into his chair and considered the recumbent figure of Jack O'Neill. The
younger man looked uncomfortable with the scrutiny and couldn't help but
wonder what he'd done wrong.
"What?" His eyes widened. "Sir."
Hammond chuckled. "I
don't think you'll ever change, Jack. And I thank God for that."
O'Neill smirked and
stretched in the bed. "So, what's up? I didn't expect to see you here,
sir."
"President Hayes was
worried about you, so he sent me down to help out. Turns out he was
right."
"Aww, things were going just fine, sir. Peachy as a matter of fact."
Hammond shifted his feet.
"Jack, cut the bull. It's getting deep in here, and you know it."
Jack scowled. "Crap, I wasn't that bad. Was I?" he muttered.
The Texan shook his head.
"Listen to me, if that Kay Dow hadn't pulled your fat out of the fire,
we wouldn't be having this conversation." He paused. "Good call on
recruiting her and her husband, by the way. They're good people."
He shook his head in
wonder. "So I didn't imagine her inside my head? She really was
there?"
"It appears so. You do
realize this opens up a whole other can of worms, don't you?"
Jack paled. "Oh crap, I
hadn't thought of that, but you're right. If she has the Ancients gene,
then certain other agencies will want to get their sticky paws on her."
His fingers carved quotation marks in the air. "Thanks goodness we've
cleaned up the NID . . . for the most part anyway. I'll never trust
those suckers though, too much bad history."
Hammond nodded his
agreement. "According to our latest intel, at least we don't have to
worry about The Trust anymore, not since they made the mistake of
thinking they could play footsie with the Goa'uld and win. We still
don't know for sure what exactly happened to Kinsey though." The head of
home-world security shook his head in wonder and shuddered.
Jack didn't blame him.
The thought of a universe containing a snakehead a la Kinsey was a bit
scary, even for him. That was a fate that even he wouldn't have wished
on his worst enemy, and the ex-Vice President had certainly been in the
running for that title. He could only hope that the rat bastard was
tango uniform, killed when the Prometheus blew up the Al'kesh.
"Has anybody spelled out
the full ramifications of this to her yet? I can tell you now that her
husband will not be a happy camper about this, especially when we
slap a security blanket on her."
Hammond sighed. "Not yet,
but I plan to talk to them tomorrow morning. They're both spending the
night here on base and I figured they needed some time to get used to
the news."
"If you don't mind, I'd
appreciate being in on that briefing, sir. After all, I am the one who
recruited them in the first place and I have the feeling that Kay would
welcome a friendly face." At Hammond's nod of agreement, he continued.
"But, if I know Josh, he'll have figured it out on his own by morning.
He's former military and won't take crap from anybody, not even a
general."
Jack held up a hand to
forestall any interruption. "Don't get me wrong, he'd die himself before
he put his wife in danger, or let anyone hurt her for that matter. You
should have seen him after the prison riot. If I hadn't been there . . .
Well let's just say that he's one tough cookie. They both are."
A knock on the door
revealed the figures of Dr. Brightman and the nurse. Kathy had her tray
of needles and lab vials. "Excuse me, sirs. We still have to run some
tests on General O'Neill and then I'm going to have to insist that he
get some rest."
Jack drew the sheets up
to his chin and tucked his arms safely underneath them. "But, I don't
wanna. I hate needles. You know that." He screwed a pitiful look on his
face. "Haven't I been through enough already?"
Hammond watched with a
huge grin on his face. "If you don't cooperate, I can always order her
to take more, Jack. Just for GP."
O'Neill shoved the
defensive sheet down to his waist in one fluid motion. "You'd do it
too," he muttered darkly. "Why is it that all medical folks have this
sadistic desire to stick pointy objects into me?"
Nurse Kathy Dalton
chuckled as she laid out her equipment. "Don't take it personal, sir. I
certainly don't."
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