Chapter 36 #4
The question hit harder than anything she’d faced all night. Eira’s throat tightened. She opened her mouth, but nothing came.
Rourke crouched down without hesitation. “He’s working.” His voice was calm and steady. “He’s helping people who need him.”
The girl nodded like that made sense. Because to her, it did.
Another child sat up. “He’s coming back, right?”
Eira closed her eyes for half a second.
Rourke didn’t let the silence stretch. “Yeah, he always does. But if you need something, I’ll help Dr. Eira until he comes back.” That settled them.
They moved deeper into the room. A boy reached out and caught Eira’s sleeve. “He said he’d teach me how to fix engines.”
Eira crouched in front of him, her hand covering his. “He meant that.”
The boy studied her face then nodded. He was satisfied.
The next room was worse. It was filled with fever cases and four nurses from the medical staff who landed to help.
The air felt heavier. The room was thick with the sound of shallow breathing and coughing. Children lay under thin blankets, flushed and restless. Toys were scattered throughout.
One of them turned slowly when Eira entered. “Is he okay?” No name. He didn’t need one.
Eira felt it crack through her. Before she could answer, Rourke answered again, “He’s where he needs to be. And he’s doing exactly what he does best.”
The boy nodded, eyes drifting closed again, trusting that answer. Eira stepped back, her composure thinning with every question she could not answer.
Rourke caught it. “Hey,” he said as they reached the hall. “You’re doing what he’d want you doing.”
Eira shook her head slightly. “I’m standing here.”
“You’re holding this place together,” Rourke said. “That’s not nothing.”
She looked at him. For a second, the burden showed. “They all ask for him.”
Rourke’s expression didn’t change. “Yeah, they would.” Softer, he added, “They’re asking you too.”
Eira looked back toward the rooms, toward the children. Toward everything that still needed her here.
The storm pressed against the building again harder. Somewhere beyond it, Ford was still out there.
She straightened and drew a breath. “Let’s keep moving.”
Rourke nodded. He stayed with her the whole way through.
TEVENNE – ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
The storm settled into something deeper now. Not the violent crashing it was earlier, but a relentless roar that filled every corner of the broken building. Wind forced rain through the shattered window, blowing cold water across the floor and pooling along the hallway tiles.
The lantern flickered weakly beside the couch. Ford sat slumped against the wall beside Nadya, his back braced against cracked concrete, the IV line running into his arm. Each breath came shallowly. His ribs burned like fire every time he inhaled.
Nadya lay wrapped in blankets with the newborn tucked against her chest. The baby was small but breathing. She looked at Ford again. “You’re bleeding through the bandages.”
Ford glanced down at the dark stain spreading around his ribs. “Yeah,” he admitted.
The baby stirred against her chest, making a soft searching sound.
Ford watched her then nodded toward the baby. “Try nursing him.”
She blinked. “Now?”
“Yeah.”
Her hands trembled slightly as she shifted the blanket. “I don’t know if he can.”
“He can try.”
When she hesitated, Ford managed a small encouraging smile. “Help him find it.”
She gently guided the baby toward her breast. At first, nothing happened. The infant started to root weakly. There was a tiny latch. The baby began to suck. Nadya inhaled sharply. “Ooh.”
Ford smiled. “That’s good. Really good.”
She looked up at him. “He’s actually doing it.”
Ford nodded. “Means he’s strong enough.”
Relief softened her face as she held the baby closer. “I think I know what I’m naming him.”
Ford tilted his head slightly. “What?”
She looked down at the infant. “Ford.”
He blinked. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
She met his eyes. “If you didn’t stay…”
Ford looked at the tiny boy nursing. “Well,” he murmured, “guess he’s got a story now.”
Another gust slammed the building. Rain blew harder through the broken window. The lantern flame bent sideways.
Ford asked, “You got someone back home, Nadya?”
She looked down at the baby. “I do now.”
Ford gave a faint nod. “Fair answer.”
She studied him back. “What about you?”
Ford leaned his head back against the wall. The question seemed to take more energy than the storm. After a moment, he sighed. “I’m not the kind of man a woman should love.”
Nadya frowned slightly. “Why not?”
Ford looked toward the shattered window where rain blew through in gray sheets.
“Because I’m married to my job.” His voice stayed low.
“I go where the worst things are happening.” Another shallow breath.
“I stay when other people leave.” He glanced down at the blood soaking through the bandage on his ribs. “Case in point.”
Nadya’s brows furrowed. “But you love someone.” The baby made a small, contented sound against her chest. She waited for Ford’s answer.
Ford’s eyes drifted toward the storm outside. “Yes,” he said, “I do.”