CHAPTER 27 – THE TEACHER'S LESSON

" . . . rapid blood sample shows evidence of poison . . . "

" . . lethal levels . . . . . . how long. . . ."

" . . . you got to her in time . . . ."

" . . . trembling and sweating at the same time. . . . "

Elizabeth heard the words but her brain was feeling so fuzzy that it took time for them to register and even then she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or actually hearing the words. Her last memory had been of lying weakly on the corridor floor with her mouth tasting of vomit.

She recognized Jack's voice. The other male voice seemed familiar, and then she placed it. It was the doctor.

"Thank goodness someone found me. How long was I laying on the corridor floor? I ate a poisoned apple. Like Snow White. What are you guys talking about? Where am I? How did I get here? Hey, why aren't you answering me? Can't you hear me? It was a poisoned apple!"

Elizabeth's brain was working – sort of- and in her dream she was moving her mouth and speaking aloud. But in reality, she was simply lying in the infirmary berth thinking of the words. She tried to break out of her dream but it was hard. So very hard when unnatural liquids were still running through her veins.

"Jack"

Jack jerked his head around at the sound of her voice.

"Hey dandelion, how you feeling?" he asked as he approached the side of the berth and crouched down so his head was near her face.

"Happy" she muttered. No that wasn't what I wanted to say.

"Happy?" Jack frowned. "Elizabeth, you're in the infirmary. How do you feel?"

"Sleepy."

"That's understandable. You were poisoned somehow. I don't know what happened. Can you tell me?"

"Doc," she mumbled and then frowned at the word.

Why is this so hard?!

Elizabeth's thoughts were all scrambled. She knew what to say, but different words were coming out of her mouth. She wanted to tell Jack that Abayomi had poisoned one of her apples, but instead the stupid names of the seven dwarfs from Snow White were coming out of her mouth.

"Doc, she wants you." Jack moved out of the way, and the doctor took his place. He pricked Elizabeth's finger, and let a droplet of deep red blood fall onto a thin slip of paper.

No, no. I didn't want the doctor, you dopey! she thought in frustration.

"She's still not totally clean. Give her another fifteen minutes. The IV is rehydrating her. That will help," the serious man with patches of grey in his hair remarked as he looked at the paper and watched it change color.

The infirmary door slid open and two more men, worry evident on their faces, hurried in.

"Hey, how's she doing? We found this. It's the only thing we thought it could be," Carl said as he immediately handed the half-eaten apple to the doctor.

"And there was vomit in the bathroom", Seth added.

"Yes! Sneezy!" Elizabeth called out.

A surprised Carl looked at Elizabeth is confusion. "Did she say Sneezy. Is she making fun of my allergies?"

Thirty-five minutes later, Jack, now sporting a swollen eye, sat on the edge of the berth with his palm resting on top of Elizabeth's hand as she sat up, leaning against a pillow.

While Elizabeth's body had been getting rid of the poison, Jack had been interrogating Abayomi. He had just finished explaining to Elizabeth what he had learned.

"So I was right! She was trying to inject Carl with something! And when I chased her out of the infirmary, she eventually ended up in our living quarters – still with the syringe - and injected one of my apples instead!"

"You were right," Jack conceded with a smile.

"And you made fun of me!" she said accusatorily.

It was obvious that Elizabeth was feeling much better as she gleefully thought about how she had come across Abayomi hovering over Carl's bedside days earlier. "You didn't believe me that she was up to something when I caught her near Carl."

"Yes, you were right. I was wrong. Do you have to look so smug?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I do like being right", she admitted. She paused and rethought what had happened to her. "But how did she know that I would be the one to eat the apple?"

"She didn't. She hadn't originally planned to be with the poison in our room. And she didn't care who she hurt. She figured one of the four of us would eat it. If it was Carl, you, or me, that was a bonus. Seth was the only potential victim which wouldn't make her feel delighted."

"There's one thing I still don't understand," Elizabeth said curiously as she looked at Jack.

"What's that?"

"Why is your eye swollen and starting to turn black and blue?"

"That would be where she hit me with a chair when I interrogated her."

"Your lover boy hit her back", Seth declared as he walked back into the room carrying a tray of food.

"You didn't?!" Elizabeth exclaimed in shock.

Jack shrugged before replying defensively. "She deserved it. She was coming at me with the chair again. For Pete's sake, I had to deck her."

"Tell me again how you found me," Elizabeth said as she lay in Jack's arms on her own familiar berth. The ship's doctor had decided it was too bothersome to have Elizabeth spent any more time in the infirmary. Especially when she kept insisting that she was fine, and happily began eating a large piece of unhealthy cake courtesy of Abigail.

"I already told you," Jack replied.

"I like hearing it. It's romantic."

"It's not romantic. It was down-right scary", he said. He moved his arm out from under her head where it had started to go numb.

Elizabeth readjusted her body and lay her head on Jack's chest. "Please", she cajoled him.

Jack sighed but began speaking. He hated to admit it, but he did like being her hero. "When we got to the fitness center, I realized that I had forgotten my googles for racquetball, so I went back to our living quarters to get them. I picked you up –

"You saw me from down the hallway and ran to me", Elizabeth interrupted.

"I did. I saw you from down the hallway and ran to you," Jack corrected himself. "I didn't know what had happened but you were barely breathing. I picked you up and –"

"Tell me again how you carried me. So I can imagine it," Elizabeth encouraged.

"I swooped you up and carried you in my arms. One arm under your knees and the other under your upper back. Although, now that I think about, I should probably start just doing the fireman's carry. You know, throw you over my shoulder."

Elizabeth swatted him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I've had to carry you down the hallway twice now. When you were given a sedative after the mini-transporter fiasco and you refused to sleep in the infirmary, and then today when I ran down the hallway with you."

She pulled back and glared at him. "The fireman's carry's not romantic. Don't you dare do it", she admonished him.

"You wouldn't know anyway. You're always passed out," he answered dismissively.

"I would know. I would feel the lack of affection."

"While you were passed out?" he humorously challenged her.

Elizabeth ignored his question and snuggled up against him again. "I would know," she said softly as she began fumbling with the fabric of his tee-shirt. "Just like I know you love me. Now finish your story."

"Where was I?"

"You had swooped me into your arms and were racing down the hallway."

"Oh, yes. I was racing down the hallway and got to the infirmary. Luckily, the doctor was there. I dropped you on the examination table."

"Dropped?"

"It was kind of clumsy," Jack admitted. "Then the doctor examined you and ran a rapid blood test which was positive for poison. I messaged Seth and Carl –"

"Because you didn't want to leave me", Elizabeth interjected happily.

"I messaged Seth and Carl because I didn't want to leave you, and I asked them to quickly check our quarters and figure out what had happened."

"And then you beat up that nasty Abayomi for poisoning me."

Jack chuckled. "I didn't beat her up. I punched her once. But if you like the story that way, you can say it."

"Thank you for rescuing me."

"You pretty much rescued yourself by getting out a lot of the poison so quickly. Why your dad thought you needed a personal law enforcement officer is beyond me. You can handle yourself just fine for the most part. I just come in to save you at the end."

"I like when you come into save me," Elizabeth said.

Jack kissed the top of her head. "So this is what it's going to be like if we're dating?"

"If? If we're dating?!" She lifted up her head and stared at him.

Jack chuckled. "I meant while we're dating. You passing out. Me carrying you around in my arms. Frequent trips to the doctor's office. Me getting in fights over magic acts. You getting in fights with a woman who crawls into my berth. You almost dying twice. Both of us fighting a dangerous criminal. It's been quite the colorful last four months."

"Maybe we can calm things down when we get to Coal Valley."

"We don't want to calm everything down," Jack said as he ran his fingers along Elizabeth's arm.

"Jack Thornton, is that all you think about?" she asked as propped herself on her elbows and leaned over his body. Her hair fell down like a curtain on either side of his face.

"Yep. Kissing you. Saving you from danger. Kissing you. Saving you from danger. It's kissing time again."

"Seth and Carl will be back soon. You can't be in my berth," she reminded him. "There's not a lot of time for kissing," she teased softly in his ear before moving her lips along his neck.

"There's always time for kissing. You taught me that." His voice was low and seductive.

"I am a very good teacher", she whispered before she claimed his mouth.

Up next: Chapter 28