Inner Voyages 3

Kathryn taps lightly on Beverly's office door.

"Come!"

Beverly looks up with a smile.

"You made it home alright last night?"

"I managed."

"You fell again." Beverly says, noting the scrap on Kathryn's wrist.

Kathryn self-consciously tugs at her sleeve, trying to hide the wound.

"I didn't. I ran into a tree."

Beverly laughs. "You're kidding?"

"I was drunk. Remember?"

"I do. Still, where did you find a tree between the restaurant and the transporter hub?"

"It found me."

"You mean you were attacked? By what? A Whomping Willow? Or an angry apple tree from Oz?"

Kathryn laughs now. "More like a yax imix che from the Mayan colony on Kab but Rowling and Baum had the right idea."

Kathryn stands in the doorway, watching Beverly push things around on her desk. She starts to get impatient.

"So, are we going to do something?"

Beverly looks up.

"I thought we could take a walk."

"How is that going to help me?"

"It's not. It will help me. I need a cuppa coffee."

Kathryn narrows her eyes.

"I thought you were a tea snob."

"I have layers," Beverly says with a laugh. "Lots of them. Like a nice Dobos."

"More like an onion," Kathryn mumbles.

"Besides, I want to watch you walk."

"And what will that tell you? Shouldn't you scan my brain or something? That's where the problem is."

"Maybe I just like watching you?" Beverly says with a suggestive smile. All she gets in return is a glare.

The women walk together across the campus to the dining facility. Kathryn doesn't fall but she is still limping. Beverly notices.

"Does your ankle hurt?"

"Some."

"You did a lot of damage walking on it like you did."

"I feel like you could have fixed it."

"Yeah, well I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker."

"Maybe it was the tree."

"Maybe I underestimated you."

"Nah. You love me."

"I'm not sure I do. You're kind of a pain in the ass."

Beverly smiles. "True. But I'm all you've got. Besides, I'm buying you coffee."