Karma stood next to his table by the front door. Her hand held a compact handgun. It was a different weapon than what she'd taken from him. The firearm was aimed at the floor. He didn't move, just in case she changed her mind and decided to point the barrel at him. To be fair, the last time he'd seen her, he had shot at her. It had been more of a gut reaction, but still, he wouldn't be surprised if she aimed at his head again.
She studied him. Her eyes were tired, and she was dirty. The bodysuit she wore was utterly filthy, and her dark hair looked matted to her head.
The stillness between them stretched to a breaking point. A bead of sweat traveled down Karma's forehead. It fell to her cheek, leaving a path through the grime on her face. He couldn't see her well due to the insufficient light, but this was no dream. She was really here.
"You've come to kill me?" His voice remained steady, but inside, an inner turmoil began. He didn't want her here. But he did want her here. He was furious with her—furious and happy she was alive and furious that he was happy.
He did a mental calculation of the location of his closest weapon. Last time, she'd grabbed the one under his table. She probably knew where all the guns were in this room. He wished he was wearing a shirt. He felt vulnerable standing in the bathroom doorway, half-dressed. He felt exposed, and he hated how she could probably tell he was happy to see her. His body was more alive merely looking at her.
"I came because…." Karma wobbled slightly and trailed off.
When her pause became longer than normal, he noticed a bead of liquid dripping from the pistol clutched in her hand. Was she wet? He squinted at her.
"Are you okay?" Rea took a small step toward her and watched her slowly blink at him. The minor flutter of her eyes was telling. There was definitely something wrong. Even without his gift, he would be able to see it.
She raised her hand and wiped at her forehead. Black smudges made a trail on her skin.
"I'm fine. I only came here to warn you that you're a mark. And I…"
"You're not fine." He exhaled his exasperation that she would bother to lie. He frowned when she didn't have a rebuttal. Her eyes remained unblinking and glazed.
"Look, maybe I'd be willing to talk to you if you'd put down the gun."
Her eyes flared. She glanced down at her sidearm.
With a slow, jerky movement, she turned to set the weapon on the table. A smattering of blood dripped onto the wooden top.
"Rea, I came to warn you, and I wanted to…." She faltered. Before she started to explain again, her eyes fluttered once more. Then she collapsed.
The faint was so unexpected Rea didn't react at first. She crumpled to the floor like a pile of heavy snow.
Shaking his head, Rea expelled his momentary paralysis. He didn't consider the risks and instead rushed to her side. Rea sank to the floor next to her. His hands ran along her cheeks. Karma's skin was like fire under his fingertips. Her face was pale. Lines of strain were carved around her mouth. She looked ill.
His mind started to problem-solve. While he reviewed all the things he could do to save her, he cradled her to his chest. He didn't know if he should take her to Gears or put her on his bed. He tapped her cheek, hoping she might wake. Why was every second with her so insane? One minute she was trying to kill him, the next she was the love of his life, and then she left him. She broke his heart again. He rocked her body gently. Rea couldn't keep this up.
Staring at her beautiful face, Rea wouldn't let her die. She couldn't be not alive in the world. He would do whatever it took to help her. When she was healthy again, he would lie to himself and say he saved her so that he could finally find out why she was here. Right now, with her sick in his arms, the truth stared him in the face. He loved her, and he wanted her whole. He wanted her better, no matter what life she chose to live. It wasn't like him to think this way, but there it was.
The knock startled him. Rea stood with Karma in his arms. He glanced at the door camera on his computer to see Gears holding his medical bag. Rea opened the entrance with the hand under Karma's knee. Relief was written across his features. Gears would fix her.
Gears took one look at him and then gaped at Karma.
"Yeah, I know, it's Karma again. And, yeah, I know she's passed out. Come in and help me." Rea stepped aside as Gears nodded dumbly.
"Did you shoot her?" Gears shut the door and set his bag on the table. He started rummaging through the pockets.
"No. Why'd you think that?"
"I thought, you know, she's always trying to kill you. I thought maybe you beat her to it."
"Hilarious, Gears."
"I wasn't joking. You did shoot at her when she got all her memories back. Remember?" Gears gestured for Rea to put her on the bed.
"I knew that was going to come back to bite me." Rea bent over and placed her on his blanket.
"Did she hurt you?" Gears pointed at Karma's blood that streaked along his chest. Rea shook his head.
"What's wrong with her?" Gears asked.
"You're the doctor. You tell me. A second ago, I came in here after talking to you, and she was here."
"How did she get in?"
Rea shot Gears a look that could freeze a snowman. He began to take off her bodysuit.
"I get it, enough questions. You take off her bodysuit, and I'll do a quick exam of her and—" Gears paused. "She's filthy. What was she doing?"
Again, Rea didn't bother to answer. He wanted to know the exact same thing, but until she woke, they weren't going to get any answers. Right now, just healing her was the only thing he was concerned with.
"Why don't you help her, and when she wakes up, you can ask her all of these questions instead of me."
Rea got the top of her suit off quickly. Gears looked intently at her arm. A long, deep wound ran to the bicep. The gash bled heavily. As Gears adjusted her, blood smeared across the bedding.
"She was shot in the arm. That explains the blood." Gears turned to dig in his bag once more. "The bullet went through the soft part of her muscle and missed the bone. I can fix it. She might've passed out because of steady blood loss."
"She needs a shower." Rea tugged off the bottom part of her bodysuit. The smell was overwhelming. He gagged as he continued to strip her. After this, he would have to get a new blanket, if not a whole new mattress.
Gears reacted to the smell as well. He scrunched his face into a grimace.
Once the clothing was removed, his friend swore. In all the years Gears had been on the water bases, Rea had only heard him swear once. That was a long time ago.
Rea's eyes shot to the doctor, and he studied his grave expression. He tried to figure out what was wrong.
"Rea, here's what you have to do. I need you to really get her clean. Go wash her. I have to run to my room to get more supplies. I can't work on her with this smell, and this is bad."
"What's wrong with her? Is she going to be okay?"
"I think she has blood poisoning or sepsis. I'd figure, off the top of my head, it's some type of infection. This kind of thing can be dangerous. We need to handle it immediately. The cut on the top of her thigh from when she was here, well, that's infected. It looks like she tried to keep the wound clean and closed, but whatever made her so grimy took care of that. I have to check her out to be sure, but for now, you need to get her sterile so I can get started. Also, we don't want this area of her arm to get worse." Gears turned, and when Rea didn't look up, he added, "This is really gross."
Rea's eyes jumped to Gears. He didn't respond. His mind was on the one task he had right now. Get Karma clean.
"Gross… that's a fancy medical term." Gears gave him a small smile. "She'll be okay, Rea."
Normally, when things were bad, Gears and he joked to make light of the seriousness of life. They'd been doing that since the first time they met, but this time, Rea wasn't in the mood to joke.
When Rea didn't speak, Gears turned to leave. Fear stole the air from Rea's lungs. He reached out to hold Karma's hand. It was so slight in his.
Consumed with watching an unconscious Karma, Rea pulled her into his arms as tightly as he dared and headed to the bathroom. Get Karma clean, that was the first step in solving the problem.