Part 14 (2/2)

David nodded at Dejah. ”How's she doing?”

Doc shrugged. ”Coming along.”

”She'll be okay,” Shaun insisted, stuffing a chip in his mouth and crunching.

”How about you?” David asked Shaun.

Shaun shrugged. ”I'm okay,” he said, but he didn't look up and didn't meet David's eyes.

David nodded. He and the doc traded a look.

”I don't know what to say,” Doc Ward said. ”Except I wish I had a d.a.m.ned x-ray machine so I could see what's going on in there. I do know her heart's beating, and she's got a strong pulse. Her body's taking nutrients through the IV and she's breathing well. As I tried to tell the reverend it's a G.o.d d.a.m.n miracle.”

”I take it he didn't appreciate the sentiment.”

”Oh, he appreciated the sentiment, just not the language. In fact, I'm sure he's about to go friggin' nuts and start spouting scripture from Revelation, claiming this woman's the bride of Christ, the bride of the Church, or something of the sort.”

”Seems like the buzz has gone beyond these walls,” David said, finis.h.i.+ng his sandwich, still aching with hunger but pus.h.i.+ng the gnawing sensation to the back of his mind. ”I've heard people talking. Some of the more zealous folks seem to think it's a sign, too.”

”That's all we need,” said the doc. He shook his head and licked his fingertips.

Shaun finished his chips and took a deep drink. He regarded the two men seriously. ”A sign of what?”

”End times. Resurrection. The second coming. That sort of nonsense.”

Shaun nodded, thoughtful.

David placed a hand on Shaun's shoulder. ”Would you like to take a walk? Get some air? Might do you some good. The area around the main courtyard is plenty secure.”

Shaun shook his head. ”I'm going to be here when she wakes up.”

Doc Ward checked her pulse again. He'd been doing that on a regular basis, even though he could see the rise and fall of her chest. It was as if something in him wouldn't fully accept that she'd just be able to come back like she did, without becoming one of them. As much as he'd become endeared to Shaun, he wasn't willing to bear the responsibility of taking the kid fully at his word, then have her awaken and start ripping into the flesh of the others in the room.

”I've got to see to a few of these other folks,” said the Doc. ”You gonna stick around a while?”

”Well, I did have a hot date tonight, but I guess I could cancel.”

The doctor and Shaun blinked at David before Doc Ward grinned and turned away.

”Whew,” said David. ”Almost thought your sense of humor died along with the rest of the world.”

Shaun still didn't smile. His sleepless eyes were bloodshot, bruised-looking rings smudged beneath them. His hair was disheveled, his skin pale. A thin fuzz of beard growth showed on his chin and upper lip. David thought he was a handsome kid, and his comment about the rest of the world dying came back to him with a stab at the realization that the kid had lost his whole family.

f.u.c.king idiot, David thought. ”Hey, Shaun, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive.”

He shook his head. The kid's eyes were troubled, and David had to admit that looking into those eyes, he couldn't really call him a kid anymore. He was a teenager, and his body was young, but everything he must have seen these past few days had aged him ten years at least ... far beyond what was right or just. If G.o.d was really up there and in charge, the big guy had some serious explaining to do for all of this.

”So, you went to a Christian school?” David asked him.

”Yeah.”

”So I guess all this talk and craziness the reverend is getting stirred up with isn't news to you.”

”Naw.” Shaun shrugged. ”I know a lot of New Testament scriptures by heart. I know the Bible stories from the Old Testament. I've heard people spewing church-speak all my life. And a lot of them died just like the heathens and sinners who never stepped foot in church all their lives.” Shaun leaned against the white wall and met David's eyes with a gaze weary with anguish, resigned to the new order of chaos his life had become. ”I don't know what to make of Dejah's ability to heal, either. I do know she saved me from dying a lonely death on a toll bridge what seems like a lifetime ago. I know that she's been a good friend, and that she risked her life gave her life for me. Whatever all that means in the cosmic scheme of things doesn't make a h.e.l.l of a lot of difference to me right now. All that matters to me is, as she wakes up, she knows that I'm here.”

David folded his hands and leaned forward in the chair, resting elbows on each knee. He tried to gauge if the kid was in love with the woman, but it was more than that. Maybe a crush, for she was beautiful, now that she'd regenerated (so strange to think of it), but he was more like a doting son.

”You're a good man, Shaun. I respect that, after all you've been through; you can sit here like this and talk about it. I saw kids in the war, not much older than you, fall to pieces at the first sign of battle.”

”What makes you think I'm not in pieces?” Shaun said, eyes clouding with tears.

David rested a hand on his shoulder again. A fatherly gesture, he guessed. But Shaun didn't resist, and it felt right. ”Because I see your inner strength.”

”The only thing holding me up is G.o.d,” Shaun said. He looked at the floor between them. ”Believe me, I question G.o.d after all this, and everything that's happened, but I feel a power inside of me that wasn't there before. I know it's Him.”

”Shaun,” David said. ”Sometimes people find strength buried within that was always there, just waiting for the time it was needed. Don't sell yourself short.”

”You don't have any faith,” Shaun said.

”I've seen some pretty bad things in the war.”

”Did G.o.d do them?” Shaun asked.

”No, but he didn't stop them.”

”What war?”

”What?” David asked.

”You said you saw some things in the war. What war were you in?”

”I was in the Army in Desert Storm. Before the official Iraq War began. I flew helicopters in and out of strike zones, picking up ground units. There was a little more to it, but that's it, basically.”

”And have you lost anything in all of this?” Shaun gestured around them.

”No,” David said. He leaned back in his chair and studied his hands. ”No, I didn't have much to begin with. Once upon a time, I guess, there was a dream, but it fell apart. Not worth mentioning now.”

Shaun made a grim half-smile at him.

That was when Dejah stirred. She groaned.

”Dejah!” Shaun jumped off his chair and went to her side, grasping her hand.

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