A/N: Chap 15 review responses are in my forums like normal.
Chapter Sixteen: Just Like Living
Friday night after their first full week of running the clinic, Taylor and Yuki sat on a re-purposed church pew at an old folding card table in their tent, in the loft of the abandoned church, and counted out $14,950 cash. Most of the cash came in the form of $20 bills, but they also had several thousand in $100.
Yuki carefully scrolled down the laptop spreadsheet she'd been keeping records on to make sure the money tallied.
Taylor then counted out $1,495, bundled it in a little plastic baggie, and slipped it in the postage-paid envelope for the Estrella corporation. She'd swing by the post office the next day to mail it.
That left over $10,000 cash for the two of them after just their first week.
"That's a lot of money," Yuki muttered as she stared down at the bills. She reached behind her for the last of the stolen Russian money and placed the bundles of their old cash with their new. "We have over $20,000 cash."
"Next week, we'll make more."
"What…I mean…what'll we do with it?"
"First thing? While I'm at Bayview you go get a costume."
"And then?"
Taylor glanced over at her molecular furnace. Her diatium cells were both finished, as were the cycling field energizers. The power vortex rings were done and now the furnace was working on the conductors and insulation to keep the handle from burning her hands when she gripped it. She'd already broken down a pair of tablets and managed to build the circuit tabs to control the modulation of the two blade emission types. She'd found a lot of what she needed at a home improvement store in terms of mechanical parts.
She was only days away from having a completed pair of lightsabers.
"Earth to Taylor."
She blinked; her girlfriend mock-glared. "Yes, I know your swords will kick ass. But we have all this money that we have to spend. What do we do with it?"
"Do you want to practice your Force landings?"
"What? Taylor, what does that have to do with spending money?"
"Trust me."
Taylor stepped out of the tent, pausing only long enough to grab a flashlight. The only light in the flooded sanctuary below came from the lantern glow from within the tent. It was enough to make out shapes but not see clearly. Into this darkness, Taylor jumped, dropping the twenty feet to the floor with a flare of the Force and a slight bend to her knees.
She turned around to see Yuki staring down at her. "I can't make that."
"Then I'll catch you," Taylor said.
Though it clearly terrified her, with Taylor's promise Yuki took three short steps and then jumped off the ledge. True to her word, Taylor caught her in her telekinetic grip and held her five feet off the ground.
"Now, pull the Force into you, like you're replenishing yourself on our run."
It pleased Taylor immensely when Yuki was able to do so much faster than before.
"Now, push down against the ground with it. Imagine yourself on parallel bars, like in gym. You have to hold your weight up with your arms, only you're using the Force. Can you do that?"
Slowly, and not at all steadily, Taylor felt Yuki's weight lessening within her grip as the other girl pushed harder against the floor with her own burgeoning Force skills.
Taylor let her go. Yuki fell with a startled screech for the last five feet, but barely had to bend her knees. "Wow," she breathed. Glancing up at Taylor, she grinned widely before she jumped up on her own and pushed down simultaneously with the Force.
Naturally she went careening way out of control right toward the rafters that held up the loft. She screeched in alarm before Taylor caught her and levitated her gently down.
"Maybe practice more, play later," Taylor said.
Yuki grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, guess so."
"Come on." Taylor held out a hand, which Yuki took happily.
They activated the flashlight and explored the church, just like they did the first time. Taylor spoke as they did so.
"I was talking to Maria's dad, and it turns out that he's more than just a builder. Back in Mexico he was an engineer, but the queue for legal immigration was so long he couldn't wait, so he came here illegally. He can't get good jobs, not for normal people."
They stepped out of the sanctuary and into the side hall that led to their clinic. Taylor, though, ignored it and led Yuki back to the west annex, where they parked their car. As churches went, the main sanctuary was not that large. Most of the usable space was in the two annexes, where the church ran a small private school before Leviathan.
Most of the West Annex was in even worse condition than the East Annex because of direct exposure to the flood waves. They couldn't even get into the north hall of the annex because of mud and debris. Eventually, they made their way back to the main sanctuary.
"I think with his help we could make this a home," Taylor finally said. "We tear down most of the West Annex, add a second floor over the alter for bedrooms. We wall in a few more bedrooms over the loft, and put the bathroom, kitchen and living area one the first floor. And then we pad in the center for a training room."
With Yuki's hand in hers, and her Force presence hovering in Taylor's own, Yuki could see it as well.
"Yeah," she breathed. "But what about water or electricity or…"
"I'm going to build a bigger furnace," Taylor told her. "And capacitors so we can hook the building up to it. I can build something called a vaporator that can pull water right out of the air, and we can put it in the steeple with a bigger water tank. Water, power, everything we'll need. And we'll have money, Yuki. Money so I can buy a motorcycle and you can keep the car. Money to buy a real bed…"
"Ohhh, yea."
"…and televisions and…and life. We could live, Yuki. We could really live!"
"Do you think Maria's dad could do it?"
"With money? Yeah. And we're going to be making a lot of money." She dragged the flashlight around the sanctuary. She could see it in her mind so clearly, her heart ached. "Tomorrow, while I'm at the PRT, would you call Maria and see if her dad could come over?"
Yuki nodded. Then she yawned. "I love the idea of sharing a real bed with you."
Whatever her own doubts, Taylor also looked forward to a real bed. She wasn't sure what to say for the rest. "Let's go get a shower. I'll get some water tomorrow too while I'm out."
"And then bed?"
"Yeah."
"Together."
… "Yeah."
~~Quintessence~~
~~Quintessence~~
Taylor would have been prepared for a task force of PRT agents with guns and foam dispensers. Having the Protectorate there would not have surprised her. She only wished her lightsabers were finished.
She parked her little economy car in the visitor parking light and pulled on her mask. It was another cold day—a light dusting of snow whitened the grounds around the hospital but didn't stay on the asphalt of the parking lot. She threw her heavy coat over her costume and started walking across the lot, cloaking herself in a suggestion of irrelevance.
She kept her telepathic suggestion up until she reached the information desk. The three workers were not the same as when she came to heal Maria Lopez. It took them a moment to realize she was there even after she let her power drop. When they did, all three jumped.
Taylor didn't bother hiding her smirk—she wore a mask, after all. "Quintessence. I'm expected."
Just like before, a PRT nurse came through a secured side door and escorted her into the PRT section of the hospital. Dr. White stood waiting for her—evidently the woman wasn't limited to just one hospital. Short, wide-bodied, with rich black skin and a smile that changed the whole shape of her face more than the dark-rimmed glasses did, the woman projected matronly strength and confidence.
"Quintessence, I'm glad Dan was able to convince you to come."
"The money helped," Taylor admitted.
Dr. White laughed. "It tends to. Money can't buy you happiness, but it can be used to buy you things that can help make you happy. Donna's this way."
Taylor found it odd that the PRT section of Bayview West looked almost identical to the PRT section of the UW Medical Center. Through the triage area and high security rooms for treating hostile capes, Dr. White finally led Taylor to a private room deep within the labyrinthine bowels of the hospital.
Taylor paused at the doorway when she saw Dan Seneca sitting by the single bed within. The figure in the bed looked so small it was hard to believe she was even human. She felt nothing from the figure at all, save for a tiny sliver of life energy.
"Quintessence, thank you for coming," he said.
He stood slowly, making sure to keep his hands in view. He wore business slacks and a button up. His tie looked loose and his jacket hung over the back of the chair he sat in. He appeared to be unarmed.
"The paperwork you completed when you provided healing to Miss Lopez last week is still on file," Dr. White said somberly. "Assistant Director Seneca has already authorized your treatment. Do you need anything to get started?"
Taylor walked to the other side of the bed. From within the gauze, she couldn't even see the girl's eyes—they were covered in light gauze as well. The only thing that penetrated the gauze was a tube down her throat, the IV in her arm, and a catheter under the sheets.
"She doesn't feel alive."
"She has 3rd degree burns over 90 percent of her body," Dr. White explained sadly. "With lung damage as well. Panacea is her only hope, and unfortunately New Wave won't let her travel outside of Endbringer fights. In cases like this, the most humane treatment is an induced coma until…until she dies. We held out hope that Panacea might make an exception, but even I can understand their reticence. You are literally Donna's last hope for survival."
No pressure. "She's so badly hurt, I don't know where to begin," Taylor admitted. "But I can tell you that I can't heal all this in a day. Not even a week. It'll take weeks to heal this."
"Right now, her lungs are our greatest concern," Dr. White said without hesitation. "She's suffered lung damage and has developed lingering pneumonia. We're afraid it may start to grow resistant to the antibiotics. If that happens, we won't be able to save her."
Taylor felt the girl in the Force. Her presence was so dimmed she barely felt alive, but given the sheer trauma to her body, she guessed that could only be a good thing.
"I'll need a stool to sit on, lots of hot tea, and maybe something to eat around lunch. But before I can get started, I need the gauze removed. At least on any portion of her body I'm working on. And I would appreciate if you stayed close to direct me on priorities."
Taylor ignored Seneca's startled expression and instead turned to the doctor herself.
"Are you sure, Quintessence? Most healers I've heard of prefer not to have medical supervision," Dr. White noted.
Taylor shrugged. "Think of me as a healing gun. I can heal, but I don't have any medical training. My power gives me impressions of right and wrong, but this' girl's injuries are so bad I…can't use that part of my power. Not without…anyway. I'd appreciate if you direct me on which areas to concentrate on. Aim me, I guess you'd say."
White herself glanced briefly at Seneca before nodding.
"Okay, I can do that. I need to make some changes to my schedule today, but go ahead and get started on her lungs. That is our highest priority right now. I'll make arrangements for tea and lunch. My stool's over there, you're welcome to it. And please don't hesitate to ask myself or Dan there if you need anything else."
Taylor nodded. "Thank you. Can you remove the gauze from her chest?"
Dr. White brandished a pair of snub-nosed scissors and very carefully cut away a twelve-inch square of the gauze. What she revealed caused Taylor's stomach to clench and her eyes water. It took several deep breaths to keep from throwing up.
She started when she felt White's gloved hand on her shoulder.
"I know it's difficult. This isn't the worst of her burns. If you need to step away, we understand. We have a breakroom across the hall."
"I'll be fine," Taylor said. "I'm going to heal the exterior burns first so I can lay hands on her for her lungs."
"Okay, Quintessence. I'll be right back."
~~Quintessence~~
~~Quintessence~~
Dan sat perfectly still on a plush chair a few feet away from where Quintessence worked. He knew there were five cameras recording everything from video to audio to EM and thermal readings. All he cared about, though, was the way that Quintessence's hands shook slightly, as if she were pushing down on something with all her might. A gentle blue haze rained down from her palms as she worked.
An inch underneath, the bloody red and black 3rd degree burns that covered Donna Barrow's chest slowly, over the course of several minutes, began to pale. It wasn't an immediate cure. Rather, a half-dollar sized section of the burn continued to pale and flatten away until, to his amazement, he found himself looking at new, unblemished skin.
The state of awe was broken when he heard Quintessence gasp for breath and slouch a little on her stool. He knew from his studies that Panacea, for instance, could simply touch someone and if necessary rebuild them from scratch. The West Coast healer, Scapegoat, actually had to absorb wounds onto his own body, where his power would accelerate the healing. It was the fact that absorbing Donna's burns would kill him that kept Scapegoat from being an option for them. Still, there was no actual effort involved in the use of their powers.
That didn't appear to be true for Quintessence. From her body position and the trembling in her hands, he realized that healing for her took effort. A lot of effort, it appeared.
Of course. It's not even her primary power, is it?
Even as he had the thought, Quintessence started working again. And he had no doubt it was work for her. After that first breakthrough, though, he did notice that her healing expanded the edges of the unblemished patch around Donna's chest a little faster than it took to create that first patch.
By the time Dr. White returned, Quintessence had healed a space on Donna's chest that stood out starkly compared to the unadulterated horror of her burns everywhere else. Onto this patch, Quintessence placed her hand.
She whimpered, a little. Dan started to move forward, only for Yvonne to wave him back. "Quintessence, I'm back. What do you sense?"
"Not just her lungs. Heart damage as well. It's okay, it just startled me. It's like her power kept her alive just so she'd suffer more."
The work on her organs took Quintessence hours. Dr. White eventually pulled in another stool so she could sit. Occasionally the cape would take a break to sip tea, or use the restroom. The first time, Yvonne accompanied her to make sure she washed her hands to specification.
Though it obviously took the young woman effort, Dan couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as she worked. The ring of unblemished skin on Donna Barrow's chest expanded, but only as a side-effect of the healing energy that Quintessence pumped into her lungs and heart.
"Her kidneys are failing too," the young cape noted early into the third hour.
"Yes," White said simply.
After the third hour, her arm trembling with effort, Quintessence leaned back from the young cape.
"I…I can't do any more today," she said. She was gasping for breath.
White stepped to Donna's side and, careful not to brush against the gauze, took a stethoscope to her chest. "Her heart and lungs sound a thousand percent better," she announced.
Quintessence sat on her stool taking deep breath in a practiced, regular fashion. "That was harder than what I'm doing at my clinic. I don't think I'm going to be able to do much more than one day a week, not if I'm going to be any good for my normal appointments."
"Are you okay with Saturdays?" Seneca asked. "I've already got the cash for today, as we agreed."
"Next Saturday, then," Taylor said.
Seneca walked her out of the hospital, watching her intently. He wondered what the teenaged-girl was thinking behind that mask, being in the middle of the PRT after almost going to the Birdcage.
When they reached the PRT security checkpoint that led to the normal hospital area, Dan counted out the $5000 bonus and the $1,500 for the three hours of healing, all in crisp, fresh-from-the mint $100 bills, and handed it over.
"Thank you, Quintessence."
She hesitated at his offered hand, before cautiously accepting it. He watched her walk way before Dr. White stepped beside him.
"I don't care what you have to do, Dan," Dr. White said. "But whatever it takes, you had better never let anyone try to ship that girl to the Birdcage."
~~Quintessence~~
~~Quintessence~~
By the time Taylor got back to the church, she had another six used microwaves and seven old tablets in the back of her sedan. She slid the car into the cramped hiding space that served as their garage and concentrated on levitating all of the microwaves out at once, while carrying the block of tablets.
When she stepped into the sanctuary, she was not at all surprised to see Yuki and Maria sitting on one of the old, filthy church pews talking. A quick glance revealed Maria's father Jorge making his way around the perimeter of the sanctuary with a note pad and pencil.
Mr. Lopez stopped mid-step, eyes wide, and stared at this unmasked girl as she walked into the sanctuary levitating six large microwaves behind her. She'd left off her mask, having forgotten completely about what she asked Yuki to do.
Whatever connection Yuki shared with Taylor must have picked up on the tension.
"Taylor, you…you said Maria could come over, right? Well, we have all this money, and I felt the way you were looking everything, and I thought…I thought…"
Yuki was right, Taylor knew. Her friend had sensed Taylor's mood the previous night, looking around the church. And it wasn't like Jorge Lopez didn't know who she was. She nodded and forced a smile.
"No, we're good, just startled me. Hello, Jorge."
She wasn't even conscious of switching to Spanish, but he answered easily enough. "Hello, Quintessencia."
"I'm not wearing a mask. You can call me Taylor. Let me put this up, then we can talk."
She walked toward Maria, who watched the exchange with wide eyes.
"Hey," she said, hesitant.
"Hi. I'm glad to see your up and about. How are you feeling?"
"I'm…great. Feeling great. Thanks!"
With that, Taylor walked past Yuki's guest to the loft, levitating the microwaves behind her. She switched into warm civilian clothes and walked back down the stairs a few minutes later.
"So, um, Maria's mom made us some chimichangas," Yuki said. "If you're hungry."
"What's a chimichanga?"
"Fried burrito," Maria volunteered. "She makes them for dad's crew whenever they have work." She handed over a hand-sized brick wrapped in a fried tortilla.
Taylor was hungry enough that she was willing to give it a try. A second later, it was gone.
"That…was awesome," Taylor admitted. She sat on the pew, feeling odd to be with a stranger after all this time.
Maria must have felt equally awkward. "So…this whole place is yours?"
"I think squatter's rights apply," Taylor said. "I looked it up after I got some internet. Property in an Endbringer exclusion zone technically belongs to the Feds, but FEMA doesn't contest adverse possession. If we're here for more than six months and make sufficient improvements, it's ours."
"Ours?"
"Well, mine and Yuki's."
"Oh, are guys…?"
Maria was tactful enough to leave the obvious question unspoken.
Yuki, on the other hand, wasn't. "Oh yeah. It took some effort, but she finally came around."
Taylor felt her cheeks burn and stifled the discomfort she felt. "It's been an interesting couple of weeks. I can tell you what your dad did for our annex is amazing."
"Papa's pretty awesome," Maria agreed. "So, ah…the school counselor was asking about Yuki."
Taylor looked from one girl to the other. "School? Huh. Didn't think about that. What'd her Uncle say?"
Yuki snorted derisively. Maria just shrugged.
"Nothing. The attendance counselor at school pulled me out of class to ask about her, but I said I didn't know anything."
School. Taylor hadn't even considered that her friend was only sixteen, and should have been in school. For that matter, she should have been as well. "Well, thanks for that."
Maria's dad drifted closer, obviously hesitant to interrupt but equally ready to talk. He had a note pad filled up. "What do you think?"
"Foundation is sound for the sanctuary, but cracked in the West Annex. The building has structural issues. Basement is still flooded."
He led them outside, walking around the entire property. The church originally had two annexes. The newer east annex was what Taylor had Jorge repair as their clinic. The older West annex, at the back of the church, was where she parked her car. He led them back inside, pushing past piled up pews to the street-side entrance, a spot directly under the log where Taylor had never actually seen.
"I'd say the place has maybe 12,000 square feet," Jorge said. "With the West annex, probably 20,000. Another 1,200 in the basement under the sanctuary. It was finished, with ten-foot ceilings for storage."
Taylor took his sketches, impressed on that detail he'd captured. "If the west annex foundation is cracked, how about we just remove it and make that a drive-way? Open this up as a garage with a stairway down to the basement, or…or maybe a lift. Like they have in repair garages. And we could have bed rooms over the loft, and maybe add a second floor over the old alter for more bedrooms and bathrooms."
Taylor found herself sketching in his book, taking up a blank page. He nodded along, not arguing or trying to correct her. When she was done and handed it back, he nodded.
"If you hire an architect and a site engineer and all new supplies, this would cost $400,000-$500,000."
Taylor grinned. "But we don't need an architect and site engineer. We have you. We don't need the finest materials. I'm okay with recycled or reclaimed items, as long as they work. Do whatever you can with whomever you can for $5,000 a week until you're done. Will that work?"
He smiled. "Yes, Taylor. That will work."