Archangel Mike Conner(1)

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Of course.
And your last menses was normal?
Yes. Please, you mustn t worry about me & Doctor, she added quickly.
But I always worry about you, my dear. You are so active, and much too generous with your time. My
constant fear is that you may & overstrain yourself. He gazed into her eyes. Perhaps & he said,
letting his voice trail.
Yes?
Perhaps it is time for another treatment.
But the next one isn t scheduled for another six months! Selena said, in alarm. Once again, he had
surprised her completely.
We ve discussed this before, my dear. You know our schedule is merely a point of reference, Gray
said. All depends on the demands you place on yourself. I m sure you d agree they have been high of
late. There was a knock on the door. Yes, come, he said. A maid entered, carrying the tea service.
She placed it on the table and began setting it up.
I ll take care of that, thank you, Gray said, dismissing her.
As he poured out the tea, he said, I know how important your work is to you, Selena. And, as
unpleasant as the reality of your condition is, you must think of those you help every day. What would
happen to them if you became & incapacitated?
But I told you. I feel fine!
And we must keep it that way. As it happens, I have some free time this afternoon. And there are
several paid donors with your blood type living in the dormitory now.
Oh, Simon, I really don t think
You forget, Selena, how fortunate you are that we can keep your condition in remission with these
preemptive treatments. Perhaps, strictly speaking, you don t require one at the moment. But we must
take advantage of opportunity where we find it. If there is an emergency later, there may not be suitable
donors available. I m speaking now as your physician, he added sternly. Not as your friend. He went
to the cabinet behind his desk, unlocked the doors, and took out a large, soft-leather case and his
doctor s bag. He opened the bag, found a dark brown bottle, and, added three droppersful of a thick
brown-red liquid to Selena s teacup.
Drink it, my dear, he said soothingly, offering her the cup. Think: by doing it now, you spare yourself
six months of dread.
It s not that I dread anything, Simon. It s only the dreams I have sometimes, afterward.
A side effect and nothing more. You drink, you sleep deeply, and I am able to treat you. If you dream
fantastic things, you mustn t take them to heart.
Sometimes &
Yes?
Sometimes it feels as if I m drowning, she said softly, eyes wide. Not in water, but in something warm
and thick, something that fills my throat and chokes me!
Dreams mean nothing, Gray said, lifting the cup to her lips.
This is what is real. And you must drink it to live. That is all that matters.
Selena closed her eyes and took the warm, sweetened tea into her mouth. She felt flushed, and ashamed
of herself for thinking it tasted so good.
There, Gray said, putting the cup down, and pressing her hands between his. Relax and let it take you.
I shall be here. You have nothing to fear.
I know, Simon, Selena said.
It s begun. I ll go prepare the donor myself. Promise me you won t worry.
I promise, she said, managing a smile.
Good. The next time you see me it will all be over, he said, and went out.
She sighed sleepily, and then, sinking back into the soft leather chair, slowly let her eyes close, and tried
not to think of anything.
Especially not that she wished she had left with Danny Constantine.
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Chapter
12
Back at the Journal offices,
things were busy as the staff
worked to get tomorrow s first
edition into shape. It wasn t like
the old days, of course. In the
city room, perhaps a fourth of the
desks were actually used now,
the staff working clustered
together in the corner of the floor
opposite Walter Burns s
mezzanine office. It would have
been too depressing to spread
out. This way, you still had the
illusion that the paper was up
and running with a full staff.
Danny came in, parked his straw hat atop a cast-bronze replica of the Eiffel Tower that held a pencil
sharpener in its base. He rolled a sheet of paper into the Remington, and started to write: [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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