Page 109 of Shadow Break

“What?”

“I care about you. A lot. I think. I mean, I do.” He pressed a hand to his forehead. “I guess my head is getting fuzzy. I feel like I’m saying it wrong. But I’ve been fighting my feelings for you. Even after we kissed, I still felt like I had to keep you at arm’s length. But I don’t have time to fight anymore. I don’t want you to live a moment longer without knowing that you mean a lot to me.”

“Aaron, I — ” A thousand different thoughts converged in that moment and her eyes widened. “That’s it. That’s what I’ve been missing.”

“What?”

“With the drug. That’s been my whole problem with the fungus. The reason I haven’t been able to get the breakthrough I’ve been trying for.” She grabbed his face and pulled him forward, kissing him. “Oh — uh, sorry. That was … ”

Aaron opened his mouth to respond, the stunned look on his face reshaping into a smile. “If all I have to do for a kiss is to figure out your research for you, I’ve got hundreds more ideas.”

“Hundreds?”

“Maybe even thousands. I mean, if you have time to hear them.”

“I really want to say yes right now, but I don’t think that would be fair to anyone else in the room.”

“Don’t tell me you have more important things to do.”

“Actually, you probably don’t believe me, but I’ve got really important work I need to see to.” She paused long enough to smile at him, then turned to jump out of her chair. Her head spun as she raced across the room and she crashed into a table, catching her hip on the corner.

Aaron was beside her in a second. “Whoa. Slow down. You okay?”

“Yeah. I just got dizzy. I’ve got to get this down before I lose focus.”

“You guys need any help over there?” Sol asked. He was resting his head on his hand, looking pale.

“We’ve got it. Sydney’s thought of something.” Aaron helped her to her computer. “So what is it exactly that I’ve inspired you with?”

“I’ve been trying to find a way to make the body avoid a response to the drug, but I’ve got it backward. That’s the whole problem. The body is fighting what it should be embracing. Like you said.”

She typed wildly, but her fingers weren’t cooperating as normal and she had to delete half of what she input before she could adjust everything in the data.

Aaron watched from behind her as the numbers on the computer adjusted and the graph that was showing changed.

She pushed back from the desk. “I think that’s it.” She laughed, then cried as the energy left her. “Don’t let me run out now, God. Please, I just need a little longer.”

She lifted herself and turned to the room. “We need an hour. I think I’ve figured it out, but I need an hour more.”

She stumbled toward the fridge and pulled it open, collecting what she needed. “I have to synthesize this. Aaron, call Lewis and tell him to be ready. Pallon and the others will need this when it’s ready.”

She limped toward a large machine in the small room and hovered over it as it hummed to life, but her body began shaking, so she sat and leaned on the table. Everyone else gathered in the room to wait.

Bec shifted in her seat, then she stood, looked blankly around the room, and fell to the floor.

Sol dropped to her side. “Bec.” He felt for a pulse.

“Is she breathing?” Sydney asked, joining him on the floor.

“Barely. Her pulse is shallow.”

“Hang in there, Bec. Please.”

Jemi rested her head on Bec’s belly, barely able to hold herself up, and Peter put his hands on her head and started praying.

They were all sprawled on the floor by the time the machine beeped, and everyone looked at Sydney.

She nodded. “Let’s hope this works.” She pulled a liquid from the machine and added a portion to a needle.

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