The knock was loud. One hard rap on the door. Rea lifted his head off the blanket. He blinked away the sleep and the blurriness as he glanced around.
He'd fallen asleep at Karma's side and sat on a chair next to where he'd placed her on his bed. He had slept with his head next to her hand for the last three nights.
His eyes scanned Karma. It amazed him that she was here in his bed again. She was so still and pale. She looked like she might be dead. He reached out and put two fingers on her pulse. Her skin was cool. The steady rhythm of her heart reassured him. The antibiotics, IVs, and constant care had done wonders. He placed his palm on her forehead and realized her fever had finally broken.
A sigh of relief blew past his lips.
Another somber tap at the door made Rea jumped up. He hated that he still treated her like his fragile girlfriend. He didn't want to worry about her, but he couldn't stop himself.
Stiff from sleeping awkwardly, he stretched as he headed to the door. He checked the cameras at his computer and saw Gears waiting for him.
Rea swung the door open and blinked at the bright lights of the hallway.
"Gee, Mac, took you long enough. What were you doing?" Gears lifted one eyebrow.
"Nothing," Rea mumbled as he let his hand fall away from the doorknob.
He spun on his heel and headed toward the bathroom. He didn't want to talk to Gears about Karma right now. Rea didn't want another diatribe about how they shouldn't care for her. Right now, whenever he saw Gears, it made him uneasy. A part of him nagged that his friend might be right.
Rea took his time in the bathroom and hoped Gears would be finished up with Karma before he came out again. He brushed his teeth and killed time wiping down his sink. After he wasted about as much time as possible, Rea opened the bathroom door and popped his head out. When his friend was nowhere to be found, he relaxed and came out to resume his spot next to Karma's side.
"Before I go, I want to talk to you."
Rea ran his hands back and forth through his hair. He sighed and turned to Gears. The doctor stood in his kitchen alcove stirring a hot liquid in a green bowl. Steam rose out of the container. A lamp, clean bandages, and a few small bottles were spread out on his dining table.
"I've been up for days, and I feel like shit. Can we skip the lecture for today?"
"I don't lecture."
"Yeah, right," Rea scoffed and got up to see what Gears was doing in his kitchen.
"I brought you a sun lamp. It's on the table. You've been in here with her for days, and you didn't hit the greenhouses much before. I built this light for both of you. You can put it at the head of your bed and set it so that you get a few hours of sun every day. I also have these vitamins for you both, and I took her off the sleeping drug today. She'll be awake soon, and once she is, you must keep that wound on her arm closed and clean. The one on her leg is closed. You need to take care of that too. No re-tearing. No infection. Lots of rest." Gears used his firm, no-nonsense doctor voice. That tone was the one that Rea knew he couldn't argue with. It was the tone that Rea swore Gears was born with.
Rea glanced at Karma and nodded. He didn't want to argue about her care. In fact, even if it meant she might try to kill him again, he wanted her healthy and awake.
"That's it?" Rea looked skeptical when Gears didn't continue.
"No, I made you some vegetable soup from the garden. I thought you might be hungry. I put eggs in the fridge from the chickens. Those you might want later. Ken told me to tell you the pigs and goats came, and he took care of the pens. They made the trip safely. Some of the guys volunteered to help with the barn stalls for now.
"Right." Rea wrinkled his brow. He'd forgotten about the animals and the training as well. His only focus had been on Karma.
"Ken also made sure training was taken over by one of your more seasoned men. He's overseeing it."
"Tell Ken thank you, and tell the guys too." Rea waited and expected Gears to launch into a speech on his responsibilities and how he was shirking them. The doctor would mention how the base still wasn't ready.
His friend cleared his throat and started for the door. Rea didn't know if he should say more. The gap between them was still there.
Gears stopped before he would've turned the doorknob. He glanced at Karma on the bed as stagnant as death.
"I thought about how I'm not your father, Rea. For years, you've been told what to do and when to do it. I don't want you to treat me like an evil taskmaster who replaced your father. I'm your friend and sometimes your doctor. If you like this woman, then the only thing I can do is help you. Over the years, you've helped me in many ways."
When Rea would've spoken, Gears held up his hand.
"No, listen, if it was my girlfriend on that bed, and all of the positions were reversed, I wouldn't appreciate my friend not understanding."
"She's not my girlfriend." Rea tried to convince his friend, but even he wasn't swayed.
"You don't have to explain any of it to me, but yes, she is. In fact, she's the closest thing to a girlfriend I've ever seen you have."
"That's sad," Rea said with a smile playing on his lips.
"Yes, it is." Gears smiled back.
"Are you telling me I should help her or not help her?"
"That's just it. I'm not telling you to do anything."
Gears slipped into the hallway and left without another word. Rea stood alone next to his table with too many thoughts swirling in his head.
In the last few days, he'd thought about Karma thinking him dead. She'd cried for him. The more he tried to piece together that particular time in his life, the more he realized Eric had been right. He'd gotten hurt in that training accident, and after he'd healed, it was a totally different water base. It was an entirely different world. He'd thought Karma had abandoned him. His father made it seem like she had. Rea figured she had dumped him when he needed her most. It was horrible to know he'd been holding it against her, and this whole time she thought he was dead.
Shortly after he had come to terms with her leaving, he'd left to build a new base with his dad. From that moment on, life was making a base and moving, and on and on it went. There was no looking back, and there were never any women around. His father had lost his mind after his mother died, and he must've hated seeing Rea happy with Karma. It would've been exactly like his dad to destroy anything that made him happy. To top it all off, his father did it in a way that made Rea think he'd been deserted by the only woman he ever loved. His father must've enjoyed being the only one Rea could rely on.
Rea realized he couldn't stand around trying to solve past problems. He picked up the sun lamp and went to the bed. Kneeling next to Karma's shoulder, he plugged it in. A deep hum and soft light filled the space around him. The sound was tranquil.
After the lamp was working, he headed back to the kitchen to check out the soup Gears had concocted.