Melissa Good - Storm Surge - Part 2

Including Kerry and the rest of them here in first class, who she realized, included Kannan's exotic features, and Andrew's scarred intimidation. Was the crew worried about them? Should they be?

The flight attendant returned with a steaming cup. She set it next to Kerry's hand, and set down a small dish of warm nuts next to it. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Kerry said. "Terrible week for you guys, huh?"

The attendant made a face. "The worst ever," she said. "You live in New York?"

"No." Kerry indicated the people around them. "We're from Miami. We work for ILS. We drove up to help out, now we're going home."

"Oh." The attendant looked around the first class cabin. "Are these people all with you?" She glanced back at Kerry, who nodded. "That's good to know. Every time I fly now, I wonder; who are these people? Are they crazy? Are they going to hurt me? I never felt like that before."

"I think we all feel that way now," Kerry commented, as Dar returned to her seat and dropped into it. "Hey. You got that Advil?"

"Sure." Dar got up and rummaged in the overhead bin, pulling the bottle out of her backpack. "Can I get some coffee?" she asked the attendant. "Before we take off?"

"Sure." The attendant gave her a friendly smile. "Be right back."

Kerry watched her return to the service area and talk to her colleague, who had a list in her hand and was reviewing it. She looked at the list, then out at them, and then nodded, a look of perceptible relief on her face.

Wow. Kerry leaned back, as Dar handed her some pills. She popped them into her mouth and swallowed them down with a sip of her warm milk. What would it be like to go to work every day and worry about someone trying to kill you and everyone around you?

It would be like being at war, she guessed. Or being somewhere that bombs going off were an everyday occurrence.

Welcome to the rest of the world, America.

Dar took her seat and reached over the divider to take Kerry's hand curling her fingers around her partner's and letting out a tired sigh. The attendant closed the door to the airplane and they were on their way.

At last.

Chapter Nineteen

"ALL RIGHT, YOU little scamp. Stay still a minute."

Kerry did, closing her eyes as she heard the hum of the X-ray machine. She was flat on her back, the chill of the table cool against her bare shoulder blades and her skin still just a little warm from the sun outside.

The sun of home. The achingly hot sun and the thick, swampy air that coated her with sweat not ten steps outside the door to the Miami airport they'd landed at shortly before.

Heaven.

"Okay, got it." Dr. Steve stepped around the X-ray shield and came to Kerry's side. "That's a hell of a bruise you got there, spunky."

Kerry glanced down at her side. "Yeah. It was so stupid, Dr. Steve.I tripped trying to keep some guy from falling on his face and ended up halfway under a raised floor."

Their family doctor put his fingertip on her nose. "Next time let the guy fall on his head. Don't cause yourself such pain, huh?"

"Twenty-twenty hindsight." Kerry accepted his hand up and swung her legs off the table, easing off it to stand next to the doctor in her jeans and sports bra. "It still hurts like hell. But at least I'm not all foggy from those drugs they gave me."

"Hon." Dr. Steve put his hands on her shoulders. "That stuff could have killed you." He told her bluntly. "You were lucky you were running around like a crazy woman because you could have sat down somewhere and nodded off, and not woken up."

Kerry stared at him.

"I am not kidding. Not only wasn't it the right thing, but it was too big a dose for you. That size dose is for someone like Dar's daddy. You are not the size of Dar's daddy. I am going to call up that doctor and read him the riot act."

Kerry took a breath, and then released it. "I don't think he did it on purpose."

"That's not the point. We're doctors. We're supposed to know what the hell we're doing and not deliberately try to kill people. It's called the Hippocratic Oath. Ever hear of it?" Dr. Steve seemed truly outraged. "I'm sure that guy didn't do it on purpose, he was just in a hurry."

"Well." Kerry picked up her T-shirt, holding it in her hands. "It's a good thing Dar called you then, huh?"

"For once, she did. If it had been her, I bet she wouldn't have." Dr. Steve patted her shoulder. "Now, go on in there and keep her company while I develop these. After that prescription, I want to make sure you don't have a tennis ball inside there or something he might have missed."

"Okay." Kerry walked out of the X-ray room and down the hall of the small family practice, passing two occupied rooms with nurses busy at their work. Dr. Steve had cut off the bandage she'd had on, and as she passed the reception desk, she saw the doctor's daughter glance over and wince.

"Yow." The girl stood up and came over. "Wow, looks like you got hit with a baseball bat."

"Yeah." Kerry smiled as Dar jumped up and headed over. "Hon, give me a hand with the shirt. The doc's looking at my X-rays."

Dar took the garment and gathered it in her hands. "If I'd known your ribs looked like that two days ago we'd have been home way before now." She frowned at her partner, getting the clothing over her head and settling it around her carefully.

"I don't care what they look like." Kerry leaned against her. "I just want to go home and spend a few hours in our hot tub, have something scandalously decadent delivered for dinner, and crash with you in our waterbed after that. "

Dar paused and looked slightly overwhelmed. "Boy that sounds great," she said, after a minute. "No laptops, no pagers, no pain in the ass government officials--"

"You guys had a rough time up there, huh?" Sheryl commiserated.

"We did," Kerry said. "We're glad to be home."

Dr. Steve came out of the hallway, and crooked his finger at them. "C'mere, kiddies."

Dar and Kerry joined him in his small office, where he put the X-rays up on a screen and turned it on. "Look here." He pointed at a curved shadow on the picture. "That's your rib, Kerry. You have not one, but three hairline fractures." He indicated three things that looked like scratches. "A little more pressure and that would have been a real fracture, and probably caused you a hell of a problem."

"Yow." Kerry grimaced. "So what do I do?"

"Nothing," Dr. Steve said. "They're already healing, see here?" He indicated a blur on one end. "We wrap you up and you go home and relax, which I gather is what you want to do anyway."

Kerry nodded vigorously.

"I will give you something to take the edge off." Dr. Steve continued. "Can I talk you into taking a few days off as well?"

"Absolutely." Dar answered for her. "We're both taking the rest of the week off."

The doctor stared at her suspiciously.

"Thanks boss." Kerry gave her a kiss on the shoulder. "Can we go out on the boat?"

"Absolutely." Dar agreed.

"Let me get you wrapped up before this pipe dream disappears." Dr. Steve waved Kerry out to the hallway. "I should take an X-ray of her head, the way she's talking."

TWILIGHT FOUND KERRY seated on the porch, a tall glass of ice tea by her side, and a Labrador at her feet. She rocked the swing chair back and forth with one foot braced against the railing, and savored the salt tinged air wafting past her face.

It was so good to finally be home. She reached down and scratched Chino's ears. "Hey Cheebles. You glad we're back?"

Chino stood up and licked her knee, laying her chin there and staring soulfully up at Kerry. "Gruff."

"I'm glad we're back too." Kerry told her pet. "I missed you." She watched Chino's tail wag, and felt like wagging her own in response."Thanks for being good for your grandma."