?”
“I’m tired of lying in that damn bed.”
“Okay. ” In the bathroom, she cleans up for the night. Returning, she can tell he’s frustrated.
“What can I do for you? ” It’s out before she can stop it.
“You can leave me alone . I am so fucking tired of you being around all the time!” It is killing him. Being around her and not being able to touch her. Never having her say his name. Being treated like a sick child. Watching her wear herself out while he lies in a bed sleeping.
Paling , she sucks in a sharp breath. That cuts, cuts deep. She thought she knew what to expect, she’s done this treatment before, but never to someone she knew, someone she loved. For him to say that...she’s survived so much but she’s not sure she’ll survive this.
“I’ll give Dodge a call.”
“Do that and then get the fuck out!”
Walking carefully to the comm , she connects to Dodge. After confirming he’d be there within the hour, she disconnects. Lucas lays his head back, closing his eyes, shutting her out. Opening them when the comm rings again.
“Chamberlain . Dr Selfridge? No, just finished up the sixth treatment.” Frowning she leans back. “The results?” Lucas watches her mind work, sees the slight smile. “That’s really good, the overall?” Whatever she is being told, she likes then she loses her smile.
“Fine . It’s what I expected. Handling it. If it becomes a problem, you’ll be the first to know.”
Lucas finds he wants to know what questions she’s answering.
“I’ll be doing that shortly, there’s a friend coming over. What?” Now she looks at him. “I don’t know… if you think it will help, I’ll ask.” Putting Selfridge on hold, she looks at Lucas.
“Are you up to talking to Hot Dog ? He’s having some problems. Dr Selfridge thinks it will help him to touch base.”
“Give me that thing! ” Lucas starts to rise.
“Sit! ” The brittleness of her tone has him freezing.
“Doctor ? He’s willing. I’ll put him on.” Walking over, she carefully readjusts the headset to fit him, moving the mic closer to the full lips she wants to kiss. Forcing her hands not to linger, she moves away.
“Hot Dog! How you doing man!” Lucas forces his voice to be upbeat.
“Been better. ” Is the disheartened reply.
“Yeah , I hear you there.” Lucas agrees.
“So how many torture sessions have you been through? ” Lucas raises an eyebrow. This isn’t what he expected.
“Just finished number six ,” he tells him.
“I’m on two . Fuck man, I know she’s like your sister and all that, but if she was here I’d happily break her neck.”
“Hot Dog… ” Lucas is horrified.
“That fucking manipula tion machine she helped design, if the Regulians had it, the Coalition would just fucking surrender!” The rage in Hot Dog's voice has Lucas stunned.
“Come on , it can’t be that bad.”
“Not bad ! They put you in this room, hook the machine up and leave you screaming.”
“You’re not getting pain meds?”
“Like they fucking help!”
“You’re not being monitored?”
“Like they care, they try to get you to talk about stupid shit. Tell you to just think about today, worry only about today. Fuck that!” Hot Dog is all but yelling.
“Listen to them Hot Dog, it works, it helps.”
“The fuck it does. What the hell do they have you doing that you can say that! Are you on some kind of special machine! I bet the great Zafar’s son gets a special machine, that’s why they shipped me out!”
“No Hot Dog, no machine. Victoria’s doing what’s called manual manipulation. It’s what they used to do before the machine.”
“Really ! Good! I hope it kills her just like it did that other one!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lucas’ eyes shoot to Victoria.
“They stopped doing that manual thing because it was too hard on the poor doctors. Some shit about not being able to cope with causing so much pain, as if they know what real
“I’m tired of lying in that damn bed.”
“Okay. ” In the bathroom, she cleans up for the night. Returning, she can tell he’s frustrated.
“What can I do for you? ” It’s out before she can stop it.
“You can leave me alone . I am so fucking tired of you being around all the time!” It is killing him. Being around her and not being able to touch her. Never having her say his name. Being treated like a sick child. Watching her wear herself out while he lies in a bed sleeping.
Paling , she sucks in a sharp breath. That cuts, cuts deep. She thought she knew what to expect, she’s done this treatment before, but never to someone she knew, someone she loved. For him to say that...she’s survived so much but she’s not sure she’ll survive this.
“I’ll give Dodge a call.”
“Do that and then get the fuck out!”
Walking carefully to the comm , she connects to Dodge. After confirming he’d be there within the hour, she disconnects. Lucas lays his head back, closing his eyes, shutting her out. Opening them when the comm rings again.
“Chamberlain . Dr Selfridge? No, just finished up the sixth treatment.” Frowning she leans back. “The results?” Lucas watches her mind work, sees the slight smile. “That’s really good, the overall?” Whatever she is being told, she likes then she loses her smile.
“Fine . It’s what I expected. Handling it. If it becomes a problem, you’ll be the first to know.”
Lucas finds he wants to know what questions she’s answering.
“I’ll be doing that shortly, there’s a friend coming over. What?” Now she looks at him. “I don’t know… if you think it will help, I’ll ask.” Putting Selfridge on hold, she looks at Lucas.
“Are you up to talking to Hot Dog ? He’s having some problems. Dr Selfridge thinks it will help him to touch base.”
“Give me that thing! ” Lucas starts to rise.
“Sit! ” The brittleness of her tone has him freezing.
“Doctor ? He’s willing. I’ll put him on.” Walking over, she carefully readjusts the headset to fit him, moving the mic closer to the full lips she wants to kiss. Forcing her hands not to linger, she moves away.
“Hot Dog! How you doing man!” Lucas forces his voice to be upbeat.
“Been better. ” Is the disheartened reply.
“Yeah , I hear you there.” Lucas agrees.
“So how many torture sessions have you been through? ” Lucas raises an eyebrow. This isn’t what he expected.
“Just finished number six ,” he tells him.
“I’m on two . Fuck man, I know she’s like your sister and all that, but if she was here I’d happily break her neck.”
“Hot Dog… ” Lucas is horrified.
“That fucking manipula tion machine she helped design, if the Regulians had it, the Coalition would just fucking surrender!” The rage in Hot Dog's voice has Lucas stunned.
“Come on , it can’t be that bad.”
“Not bad ! They put you in this room, hook the machine up and leave you screaming.”
“You’re not getting pain meds?”
“Like they fucking help!”
“You’re not being monitored?”
“Like they care, they try to get you to talk about stupid shit. Tell you to just think about today, worry only about today. Fuck that!” Hot Dog is all but yelling.
“Listen to them Hot Dog, it works, it helps.”
“The fuck it does. What the hell do they have you doing that you can say that! Are you on some kind of special machine! I bet the great Zafar’s son gets a special machine, that’s why they shipped me out!”
“No Hot Dog, no machine. Victoria’s doing what’s called manual manipulation. It’s what they used to do before the machine.”
“Really ! Good! I hope it kills her just like it did that other one!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lucas’ eyes shoot to Victoria.
“They stopped doing that manual thing because it was too hard on the poor doctors. Some shit about not being able to cope with causing so much pain, as if they know what real
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