Chapter 14

"God, Stevie. Is he going to be alright?" asked Keirstann.

"Why didn't you fix him?" asked Britt.

"I don't know and no I couldn't," Stevie replied.

Although they weren't, they replied like twins, responding to both answers at the same time. "Why not?"

Stevie answered the easy one first, "I could have Replaced him with an identical clone, but his brain wouldn't have the same memories. His past is as much a part of him as he is. He would be different. Who knows what he'd be like?"

"Oh ... that could be bad," said Britt.

"Yeah ... he'd look the same but the essential essence of David would be gone."

"That would be like fucking a robot," said Keirstann. "Well ... it would."

Stevie glared at her, "I'm a fucking robot ... bitch."

"Oops!"

"As for the other, he might make it. Keeping him alive is something I could have done, but a hospital environment is much better for him." Stevie was placing a great deal of trust in medicine. "There are people trained to do it. I know one thing ... he's trying."

"Huh?"

"Watch his eyes," Stevie suggested.

"You can't see his eyes."

"No, but you can see them move under the lids."

"That's just REM ... random eye movement. Everybody does that when they're deep asleep."

"No, watch. I'll fiddle with the readings on his pump. Watch what happens when the nurse comes in," Stevie suggested.

There wasn't even so much as a beep in the room, but the nurse monitoring the instruments jumped up and sped into the room. David's eyeballs under their lids looked to the door and followed the nurse to the pump.

When the attendant sat up and looked at the door, David's eyes tracked on her. The discussion that followed had David watching a tennis practice. Nurse ... attendant ... pump ... nurse ... attendant. Back and forth ... back and forth. The eyes followed the nurse out of the room. As the door shut the eyes snapped back to the attendant. She was bent over checking something on the bed and her breasts were almost exposed.

"Did you see that!!" exclaimed Britt.

"Yeah ... he's getting better," said Keirstann.

"I swear he looked at her bellybutton," commented Stevie.

"No wood though," said Stevie.

"I hope not ... wood with a catheter?" questioned Britt.

"Oh god ... that would hurt," said Ricky.

The girls all jumped back, Britt stumbled and sat on her ass. "Where did you come from?"

Ricky pointed forward aiming at the control station.

"Not like that, idiot! What have you been doing?"

"I fucked up and came to confess," he said.

"Spit it out," suggested Stevie.

"You know those jewels we pulled out of that galleon?"

"Yeah..." that was all three girls.''

"I dropped them on the boardroom table ... just like you said."

"That was a week ago ... what else?"

"There was a meeting going on. Everyone was kinda ... shocked."