Base (18 page)

He turned back to her. ‘My wife left me. I never gave her the time she needed. Too obsessed with my career.' He shrugged. ‘None of that matters anymore.'

‘I'd like a bedroom set up for emergencies or when I need to work through the night.' She stopped and took a deep breath. ‘The rest of the time I want to stay with you.'

A ray of light hit his face and he grinned. ‘With me, huh? Like a girlfriend?'

‘It's early days, Jack, but I'd like to try living with you. I really like you and that's worth pursuing. But you need to know if we're going to stay together, I wasn't brought up to be some man's lackey.'

‘And that's what I respect about you. Ruth, you're so damn smart, you'd make most guys feel inferior. I'll listen to what you have to say, but I still get to make the decisions on your safety until I've taught you everything I know about surviving here.'

She was about to open her mouth to protest, but something about his expression made her close it again.

‘Because I like looking after you.'

‘You do, don't you?'

He took her in his arms and hugged her to him.

She'd been so damned good at looking after herself, she'd never let anyone in. ‘This isn't easy for me.' Her heart was pattering in her chest.

‘I know.' He leaned down and gave her a kiss. ‘I just know it feels good to be with you but I want you to promise me something.'

‘I'm listening.'

‘I want you to promise me that if I do something that you don't agree with, you won't get mad and try to leave. I want to be able to talk it out.'

Her hand touched his cheek and she stared up into his eyes

He held her tightly. ‘Because I can't bear to lose you. I don't want anything bad to happen. I can't get you out of my head. When I left this morning, I wanted to come straight back and hold you.'

Ruth hugged him back. ‘I'm not going anywhere. My place is here with you.'

‘Yes.' He punched the air.

Chapter 12

Ruth strode across the lawn towards the landship, gripping her stake and medical bag, after Jack had dropped her close by. On his suggestion, she'd showered and changed at the house into the mini dress he liked and a pair of flat court shoes Jack had brought back from her apartment. For the first time she'd wanted to please him, which made a nice change from wanting to slap him. The shoes were too heavy to go with the strappy summer dress but she didn't care. Ruth paused at the large roller door of the landship, which was open allowing her eyes to adjust to the gloom.

Tom jumped up from his seat by Mike's side and strode out of the cell towards her waving a piece of paper. ‘He's bloody cured, Ruth.'

‘Vassar, it's too early to make a call.' She peered through the door of the landship glad to see Mike sitting on the bed in his cell a few feet away, a chess set next to him.

‘Hi, doc.' He waved at her.

‘You're looking a lot better.'

Mike grinned. ‘The fever hasn't come back.'

Tom held up the printout. ‘Lea just drove up and handed me this.' He waved the piece of paper at her again. ‘She said Mike's blood count is normal. Can you believe that?'

Ruth grabbed the paper from him and scanned it. ‘Oh my God. You're right. What incredible news.' She blinked hardly able to believe what she was reading. ‘It says there's no sign of the virus in Mike's blood.'

Tom punched the air. ‘Yes! No bloody braindead virus can keep a Vassar down.'

Ruth grinned as happiness flooded her body though she knew there was more that needed to be checked when it came to this virus. ‘This is an exceptional result.' Still it gave her hope that one day they could live together without the burdensome fear that loomed over them on a daily basis. Jack's face flashed through her mind. She was certain he'd be thrilled about this.

Mike stood and walked out of his cell to the entrance of the landship to join them. He squinted as the setting sun caught him in the eyes. ‘Can I leave? I'd sure like to get out of death row.'

‘We can't be certain you're completely cured. It's way too early for that.' There was so much she didn't know about this virus and immunology wasn't her area. She took in a deep breath noticing the funky smell that exuded from Mike's body. He could do with a shower.

‘He looks fine,' Vassar said. ‘Geez, Ruth, don't dampen his fire.'

‘Let me speak to Lea. She's all over the anomalies of viral behaviour. I'd like to do regular blood tests on you. This is only the result of one test.'

‘What do you mean?' Mike asked. ‘This paper says I'm clear.'

‘It's not that simple. Mike, you're clear at the moment but a virus can come and go. Think about glandular fever or the herpes virus.'

‘Yeah, but they can test for that and it shows up in the blood. Had a girlfriend with herpes once.' Mike looked sheepish.

‘Sure you did, you manwhore.' Tom slapped him on the back.

‘Mike, this is a new virus. It's confounded all of us. We know next to nothing about this. Your condition's exciting. I need to keep testing you over a period of months and keep you on the antiviral.'

‘Months.' Mike looked dismayed. ‘I want to get back to work. I want to waste braindeads.'

‘You will, mate, but you have to be patient,' Vassar assured his brother. ‘Listen to the doctor.'

Vassar's respect had been slow in coming but Ruth heard it in his voice. ‘Can I check you over?' Ruth asked Mike.

‘Sure.'

‘Come sit in your cell.' Ruth followed him back into the cell, took out her torch, bent and shone it into his eyes. There was no sign of trauma. No broken capillaries. She took his temperature, pulse, blood pressure and checked his organs, noticing his spleen was no longer swollen.

‘Well?' Mike asked her.

‘Normal. You're making medical history as we speak.' Inside her, her heart was pattering with joy and she couldn't resist smiling.

‘I'm not interested in being a guinea pig. I want out of here.' Mike sat on the bed looking mutinous.

‘Come on, mate, don't be pissed off with Ruth. This is difficult for her too.' Vassar had a direct way of dealing with problems and his honesty was appreciated.

Ruth pulled back the dressing on Mike's neck noticing the bite mark was knitting well. ‘I'll come and see you tomorrow, give you another shot, take more blood. Okay?'

‘Sure,' Mike grunted.

She put away her instruments and rose, picked up her stake from where she'd propped it against the wall and headed towards the door.

Vassar locked his brother in his cell and followed her. ‘Mike, I'll bring you tea back.'

Footsteps on the concrete at the door of the landship made them glance up.

Jack had come back to collect her and take her to dinner at the Mess. His gaze moved approvingly over her and she smiled at him. ‘Let Mike come. I want the men to see how he's doing.'

Ruth looked him over and every cell of her body resonated with awareness. He was devastating with his black-cropped hair, sea-green eyes and tanned skin, every bit of him crisply turned out in his naval uniform. Despite her feelings regarding Mike's medical result, her training kicked in. ‘Jack, I don't think that's a good idea.'

When he stared at her she saw the stubborn way he raised his jaw. ‘The men need to see that it's possible to come back from a bite. They're the ones on the front line. That okay with you, Mike? It would be good for their morale.'

‘Yes, sir.' Mike stood to attention and saluted.

Jack looked at Vassar. ‘Unlock your brother and stay at his side at all times.'

‘Yes, sir.' Vassar grinned at his brother.

‘Thank you, sir,' Mike said to Jack.

Ruth strode over to Jack, leaned in close and kept her voice low. ‘Jack, I can't be sure Mike's cured without further blood tests over a long period of time. What if he turns?'

‘We have a Mess full of seasoned fighters who'll deal with it.'

‘But you could be giving them false hope. Viruses are notoriously difficult to eradicate from the body.' Not to mention Jack was careful about keeping infected people out of the main compound. She didn't get it.

He motioned to her and Ruth walked outside into the late afternoon sunshine. Jack scuffed his boots on the concrete. ‘The braindeads broke through one of the barriers at Cremorne.'

A shiver of horror passed through Ruth at the thought of a horde. Jack had blocked the north and south entry points and the sea lined the east. But the northwest? God help them. ‘That's always going to be your weak point.'

‘We use a shit-load of weapons to contain the braindeads but the noise draws more of them.' He gathered her in his arms as if sensing her dismay. ‘There are a lot of barriers in place. They're not going to breach the base.'

She snuggled in close comforted by the beat of his heart. ‘Anyone hurt?'

‘The men contained the situation. Strengthened the barrier.' Strain made the small creases under his eyes deeper. ‘We lost a man, Ruth. It was bad. Ripped apart.'

‘The whole base knows?'

Jack's lips curved downwards, resigned. ‘Can't keep something like this quiet. It will do my men good to see Mike beating this virus.'

She wanted to make this better for him, but when it came to medicine, she was a realist. ‘I keep repeating this but it's like no one wants to hear it. It's one blood test. Mike could still turn.'

‘Jesus, Ruth, our man was eaten alive in front of the men. They couldn't get to him. The braindeads go for the soft bits first.'

‘Ugh!' She shuddered trying to eradicate the image from her mind. She'd seen terrible bites when she'd worked at the hospital but she'd never seen a pack of braindeads attack a man like rabid dogs. Ruth knew from working in accident and emergency that there were some nights where the staff had needed a stiff drink after work. A particularly bad death would affect them. If Jack wanted to take the risk and include Mike, then it was his call.

Hope. They all desperately needed it.

Jack had set up this haven when the rest of the world was going to hell, but if they kept losing men, there wouldn't be enough sailors or commandos to protect the base. Ruth tore a strip off her fingernail, a dirty habit she thought she'd given up. Even on the north side of the base, the wafting black smoke from the city with its sulfurous undertone was a daily reminder they lived on the edge of death. Mike's steady improvement would uplift them all. She got that. But the doctor in her didn't agree.

Despite her concern about Jack allowing Mike among the men in the Mess, Ruth looked forward to dinner. The routine gave a semblance of normalcy, an escape from the desperation of life. As she surveyed the room, she recognised several men who smiled and waved at her. She was slowly getting to know the sailors, many of whom she'd treated. She'd heard their fears, listened to their grief but was under no illusion that she and Sue provided a sympathetic female ear, especially when the medical problem wasn't serious.

Yet the highlight for her was that she got to hangout with Lea. It was difficult to spend time alone with her bestie now she was with Armstrong. While at times Ruth thought she was drowning in Jack's over protectiveness, Lea glowed under Armstrong's care. Even now, he stood close, his arm around her shoulders, watching her indulgently as she talked to Sue. Lea had her soft wavy hair done up in a bun and held in place with an expensive gold clip Ruth had never seen. The baby-blue dress she wore, which fell to her calves, was new too. Lea usually never cared what she wore but clearly Armstrong was having an influence on her. Diamond studs glittered in her earlobes when she moved. On seeing Ruth, Lea broke away from Armstrong and tottered towards her on high-heels she never normally wore.

Sue, on catching sight of her, raced over and joined her too. ‘You'd think they'd be scared of that woman after what she did to Peter's penis.' Sue jabbed Ruth in the ribs with her elbow and flicked her hand at Helen.

Sitting at a table behind where Armstrong stood, Ruth could see Helen surrounded by commandos. She was chatting in an animated fashion and the commandos were nodding with agreement.

‘Helen broke Peter's penis,' Sue filled Lea in.

‘Holy hell.' Lea's eyes popped.

‘Come on, Jack's motioning us to take a seat. Lea, I want you to sit next to me so I get a moment to talk to you.' Ruth, Lea and Sue sat together at the officers' table and Armstrong joined them.

Ruth slid her medical bag under the table at her feet, determined to have it close by now Jack trusted her to carry a scalpel. Holy hell she hoped Jack's call to have Mike join them worked out. Her nerves were on edge and it didn't help her having to listen to Helen's cackling. Ruth watched her through narrowed eyes as the woman threw her head back and guffawed at something one of the young men said. She'd washed her mousy-coloured hair so that it no longer sat flat on her head and she was wearing a bright green silk top. ‘I can't believe she didn't visit Peter in the hospital to enquire after his health.'

‘What a bitch.' Sue glared over at her.

‘Look, the commandos are flocking to her,' Lea said.

‘Hanging on to her every word,' Ruth agreed. ‘I wonder what they see in her?'

‘Commandos love danger,' Armstrong said with a smirk.

‘She's the ultimate survival test.' Sue made a snapping motion with her hands.

‘You're both so funny.' Lea grinned at Sue before reaching out and squeezing Armstrong's hand.

‘What kind of person injures someone and doesn't bother to follow up on their progress?' Ruth shook her head with disgust, choosing to ignore the soppy looks Lea gave Armstrong.

‘Speaking of progress. What did you think of Mike's blood test?' Lea asked her, releasing Armstrong's hand and focusing on Ruth.