Chapter 8 #2
Elizabeth gave herself a quick second to compose before answering. “Yes, how can I help you?”
“I’m Heather and Lacey’s mother,” the woman said. Her face was drawn, but Elizabeth could immediately recognize the familial resemblance.
“I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this,” Elizabeth said.
The woman nodded. “Is there anything that can be done at this point? They’ve sedated Heather, said it was for the pain, but I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of any of the doctors. Are my girls going to be okay?” Tears started to form in the woman’s eyes.
For what may have been the first time in Elizabeth’s career, she had no idea how to answer the woman. She took a moment before speaking. “We are doing all that we can, and I promise you that I will personally update you as soon as we have some answers for you,” she said.
“Okay,” the woman said, but the look on her face was utter defeat. Elizabeth’s heart wrenched for the woman; she couldn’t even imagine what the woman was going through.
Elizabeth squeezed her shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, but the woman didn’t even seem to register it.
Despite her reservations, Elizabeth walked away, stepping into each patient’s room and doing her own assessment, but by the time she was finished, she was no closer to an answer than when she started.
Everything was the same. It was progressing the same, responding the same; it was almost as though the medical team was completely useless against this virus.
Frustration built in Elizabeth at how helpless she felt.
She headed back to the elevator to go to the lab, and when the doors opened, her breath caught at Ava standing on the other side of them. “Hi,” she managed to blurt, but Ava laughed.
“Hi to you, too,” she said as Elizabeth stepped onto the elevator. “Have we been able to make any progress?” Ava asked, though Elizabeth was sure she already knew the answer.
Elizabeth shook her head as the doors opened again. They stepped into the lab; Lindsey looked as though she had not slept in days. They each updated the other on what they knew, which wasn’t much.
“I have to say something at the press conference,” Ava said, frustration clear on her expression. “It starts in ten minutes.”
“Go, get ready for it, I will stay here with Lindse y and see if we can brainstorm… something,” Elizabeth said.
Ava nodded and went back to the elevator.
“It must be so hard on her,” Lindsey said, more to herself than Elizabeth.
“What’s that?”
“Well,” Lindsey said, her cheeks turning pink. “She’s sort of a ‘big fish’ around here, so when anything like this happens, she’s automatically tapped for the PR.”
“I don’t understand,” Elizabeth said.
“Well, it’s never been anything this serious, but if there’s an accident, or when the hospital discovers something, it’s always Doctor Jackson who has to face the public about it, good or bad. To be honest, she’s really good at it.”
“That’s interesting,” Elizabeth murmured.
“I just don’t know if I could do it, all those people watching. I’d probably be too nervous to speak,” Lindsey shook her head.
“Listen,” Elizabeth said, changing the subject. “Get with the med students, the interns and residents, look for any trials, any new combinations that are being tested, anythi ng at all that we haven’t tried—I don’t care how obscure. I think we’ve reached desperate.”
Lindsey nodded slowly.
“And get some rest, Lindsey,” Elizabeth said, her face softening. “I appreciate how hard you’ve worked on this, but you have to take care of yourself, too.”
Lindsey nodded again.
“I’m going to go see if Doctor Jackson needs any assistance,” Elizabeth said, and she could have sworn Lindsey’s lips curled into a slight smile. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes but turned and left the lab without saying anything else.
By the time she made it back downstairs, Ava was set up in front of what seemed to be hundreds of cameras and microphones. This was nothing she hadn’t seen before, but it seemed very out of place in a small city like this.
Ava, however, looked like a warrior. Her expression was strong and intelligent.
Her face was personable yet determined. Her dark suit gave her a commanding appearance.
She had touched up her makeup and hair so that she looked flawless standing in front of the podium.
At nine o’clock on the dot she started speaking.
“Hello, I am Doctor Ava Jackson,” she said, and the reporters all started shouting questions at her, but she closed her mouth and lifted her chin until they all quieted.
“There is a virus that has been found here. To our knowledge, it is something that we have never dealt with before, but we are working diligently night and day to make sure that we find a way to treat it.”
Elizabeth stared in wonder at the woman in front of her.
She carried herself like no one she had ever seen before.
When the time came for questions, Ava managed to keep the reporters at bay, answering them one at a time.
She kept her answers short and honest, with enough compassion to keep anyone from panicking.
She was masterful, eloquent, and real. She didn’t sugarcoat anything or talk in circles but was able to instill confidence in the crowd that the team would beat this thing, and soon.
The entire conference took over an hour, but by the end anyone would believe that the hospital was only moments away from finding all the answers and saving these people ’s lives. Even Elizabeth’s spirits had been lifted by Ava, and it was plain to see that Ava herself believed every word spoken.
Despite this, the rest of the day was spent in tedious searches and documenting.
Elizabeth spent hours searching and researching for any trials on antiviral treatments, but nothing was coming up.
By the time night rolled around again, she was exhausted and frustrated, and she could tell that Ava felt the same.
Elizabeth was surprised when she found herself back at Ava’s apartment later that evening, both of them wearing robes and not much else.
They had slipped into some sort of autopilot, and neither of them had asked or thought twice about grabbing a quick bite across the street from the hospital and heading back to Ava’s place.
She blinked a couple of times at Ava, who was sitting on the couch close to her sipping a mug of herbal tea.
“What is it?” Ava asked. The lines on her face were clearer, but she seemed relaxed .
“I guess I’m more tired than I realized,” Elizabeth said and stretched. “I’m not sure how I ended up here.”
Ava smirked, but the feeling seemed mutual. “It does seem that the day passed in a blur, a frustrating one, but a blur.”
Elizabeth nodded. They had been talking almost exclusively about the case, and there was really nothing left to say about what they had discovered, or rather what they hadn’t. Elizabeth reached up and pulled her hair from its knot, scrubbing at it as it fell over her shoulders.
Ava reached up and traced a lock of hair from Elizabeth’s forehead and over her ear.
Elizabeth’s heart started pounding, they still needed to finish their conversation from this morning, but that was the furthest thing from Elizabeth’s mind at the moment.
She wanted Ava, she wanted her comfort, her pleasure, her body.
Elizabeth reached out and traced a finger along Ava’s collarbone, opening her dark robe slightly.
Her breath caught as she touched Ava’s soft skin that was still damp from her shower.
Elizabeth leaned forward and kissed Ava gently, stroking her cheek with her hand.
Ava’s tongue probed Elizabeth’s lips and she parted them allowing Ava’s tongue access to hers.
Ava’s hands pulled at Elizabeth’s robe, her soft fingers stroking her skin and creating heat everywhere she touched.
Elizabeth moved her lips across Ava’s jaw and down to her neck as heat and want built deep inside her.
Ava’s breath hitched and she set her mug down on the coffee table. She stood up from the couch and took Elizabeth’s hand, leading her back to the bed. “I have something I’ve been wanting to show you,” Ava said, her eyes lit up with mischief.
“Oh really?” Elizabeth asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Her pulse was thrumming in her veins and she could feel her desire pulsing in her core.
Ava nodded and bit her lip as she pulled something out of the drawer of her nightstand.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at the dildo Ava held in front of her.
There were straps around it that would situate on the hips, and a second shaft that would fit inside the woman wearing it.
Elizabeth felt her body heat up at the sight.
She had us ed toys before, but this was something new.
Ava took the straps and started to wrap them around her body, but Elizabeth stopped her.
“Let me,” she said, her words surprising even to herself.
This was more adventurous than she had ever been and the realization of how comfortable and safe she felt with Ava took root deep in her mind.
She slipped out of her robe and Ava’s eyes lit up with excitement as she helped Elizabeth strap the shaft onto her waist. Elizabeth was already hot and ready, so the other side slipped easily inside her as Ava ran her hands all over Elizabeth’s thighs and circled her clit.
Elizabeth moaned as Ava ran her hands up and started stroking the shaft, causing the one inside her to pulse.
She rolled her head back then pulled Ava to her feet and spun her around to lay her on the bed.
Elizabeth kissed her hard, the passion and excitement building inside her and each movement sending pulses of pleasure through her.
She pressed Ava’s legs opened and stared at her beautiful vulva, wet and glistening and waiting for her .
Ava reached out and took the shaft in her hand, guiding it toward her.
Elizabeth gave a slight thrust of her hips as Ava directed it inside her, and the gasp Ava released sent Elizabeth soaring.
She rolled her hips as Ava fought to catch her breath, her legs wide around Elizabeth’s waist. Elizabeth leaned down and sucked at Ava’s peaked nipples as she rolled her hips again and again, her own pleasure spiraling and coiling tighter and tighter.
“Harder, please,” Ava half moaned in Elizabeth’s ear.
Heat flashed through her at Ava’s request. Elizabeth thrust her hips and Ava cried out in pleasure.
Elizabeth thrust again, forcing herself to hold back her own climax, which was almost painful.
She wrapped her hands around Ava’s shoulders and started thrusting harder and harder until Ava was screaming in ecstasy.
When Ava lost all control and began to shudder beneath her, Elizabeth allowed the waves to crest, sending her into a spiral of pleasure that throbbed again and again around the shaft, until she collapsed on top of Ava’s sweating body.
Elizabeth rolled to the side and unhook ed the shaft, Ava took it from her and put it to the side, still gasping for air. “That was amazing,” Ava said between breaths.
“Yes,” was all Elizabeth could manage to say in response.
She pulled Ava close to her and wrapped her arms around Ava’s shoulders.
Her mind spun with everything. Here she was laying in bed with this gorgeous woman, doing things she never would have dreamed of doing on her own.
She realized suddenly that she didn’t want to let her go, she didn’t want any of this to end.
She had no idea what that would look like in the future, but she knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t be able to just walk away.