Ava beamed, but Elizabeth looked a bit self-conscious.
“I appreciate your support,” Elizabeth said, her cheeks slightly pink.
“Hopefully, it means we will get to see more of you around here,” Doctor Mars continued. “Though I will support whatever choices you both make for your futures.”
“Thank you, Doctor Mars,” Ava said, trying to hedge the conversation quickly. She and Elizabeth still had a lot to figure out where their future was concerned.
“Alright,” Doctor Mars said, putting her hands on the desk and standing up. “Go save some lives.”
Ava’s lips curled into a determined smile. She felt amazing; there was nothing that couldstop them now. With Elizabeth by her side, they could conquer the world. Ava couldn’t remember a time when she felt so happy. She nodded briskly and looked over at Elizabeth who shared her expression. They both stood and left the office heading for the elevator.
When the doors closed in front of them, Ava turned to Elizabeth and pulled her close, pressing her lips against Elizabeth’s. Heat flooded through her body, but Elizabeth responded, probing Ava’s lips with her tongue. The ride to the third floor was painfully quick and they barely managed to pull away from each other before the doors opened again. Ava smiled slightly looking at the color on Elizabeth’s lips after their quick kiss. She knew that they needed to focus, but waiting to put her hands, her lips, on Elizabeth’s body until tonight was going to be hard.
As they walk into the lab, Lindsey greeted them with flushed cheeks and dark circles underneath her eyes.
“Have you slept at all?” Ava asked, putting her hand on Lindsey’s shoulder.
“Um, I don’t know,” Lindsey said, “but we have a problem.”
Ava’s elation crashed through the floor.
“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.
“It’s Heather,” Lindsey said, her eyes becoming worried and watery. “Her heart is failing; we can’t keep her under much longer, and her sister suddenly isn’t doing much better.”
Ava’s eyes widened and she turned to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s nostrils flared as an expression of deep determination shadowed her face. “Then we need to get to work.”
Ava nodded, noticing a slight twinge in her neck. She reached up to massage it and Elizabeth looked at her, narrowing her eyes.
“What’s wrong,” Elizabeth demanded.
“Nothing,” Ava said, shaking her head. “I think I slept wrong, that’s all.” Elizabeth clenched her teeth, but thankfully didn’t say anything else. Ava prayed that was all it was.
10
ELIZABETH
Elizabeth looked at Ava as she rubbed her shoulder and forced herself to believe that Ava was alright, though she could see the concern in Ava’s eyes. Elizabeth had been watching her closely since they went to Sandra’s storage facility; she had been practically covered in the dust that carried the pathogen, and Elizabeth had only just begun to relax about the exposure. It looked like she may have relaxed a bit too soon.
“What if we are looking at this wrong,” Lindsey said abruptly. “We keep trying to treat it like rabies because of the similarities, but what if we go a completely different route?” She looked at Ava and Elizabeth as though she sought permission to continue.
“I’m listening,” Elizabeth said, though she kept an eye on Ava in the process.
“What if we change our tactic?” Lindsey said. “If we can work with a combination of antivirals that prevent replication, maybe we can trick the virus into thinking it’s safe since it’s not being attacked directly.”
“I see what you’re saying,” Elizabeth said thoughtfully. “I’ll get with my contacts and see if there’s anything new on the Hep or HIV treatments.”
Lindsey nodded and appeared to be working very hard at maintaining a professional demeanor. She looked like she could bounce around the entire lab with joy at the way her idea was received, but she held herself back and went to her microscope.
“I’ll go check in on the patients,” Ava said and turned toward the elevator with Elizabeth, but before they made it across the room, Ava lurched as a cramp seized at her calf. She straightened herself slowly and looked up at Elizabeth. The expression on her face made Elizabeth’s heart freeze.
“We need to get you in a room,” Elizabeth said,grabbing Ava’s arm and helping her to stand.
“It’s probably nothing,” Ava said, but her voice was more hopeful than confident.
“We can’t take that chance, Ava,” Elizabeth said softly.
