Day Five

"Ugh!" Bella slammed the lid of the laptop in disgust. She'd reread the first two pages of her memoir; it was more like a medical history. It seemed like such a good idea to pass the time, but she doubted anyone would really be interested in how many injections she gave, how many blood tests, how many cases of dysentery. Her memoir might be of interest to the Center for Disease Control, but that's about it. She wasn't a storyteller, she was a doctor. That just wasn't how her mind worked. She like facts, significant questions and logical answers, not descriptions of sunrises and discussions of feelings.

She didn't think she had anything so extraordinary to write about. Sure she worked hard, but other MSFers had had more dangerous and frightening assignments. She'd been lucky enough to just do medical work. It irked her that Emmett was so put out by her forced quarantine. Compared to what other MSFers had gone through; overzealous revolutionaries, natural disasters, armed thieves—this was nothing.

Looking around at the too familiar room, she remembered something from her first day here.

Pressing the button for the intercom, Bella asked, "Angela, am I allowed to go outside?"

"You're right on time Dr. Swan."

"What does that mean?"

Angela giggled. "About day five most people are over their jet lag, have seen enough movies for the rest of the year, and just want to get a change of scenery. I need to requisition outdoor gear for you, shouldn't take too long."

…

Enjoying the sun on her face, Bella stood by the fountain, head lifted, eyes closed. Maybe I could request running shoes and…no that would raise my temp and freak out everyone. Just chill and let this thing be over. Maybe I could do-

"Hey you! What day are you?"

.

-21 days-Day 5-

He spotted her the second he was out the door. It wasn't the same woman from the day before, he was sure. She was a little shorter, no beanie, her dark hair in a ponytail, her pale face tipped up to the sun like she'd just come out of hibernation. He asked the standard question.

Her whole head swiveled towards his voice, dark eyes wide open. "What did you ask?"

"How many days have you been in? I'm on day five."

"Me too."

"Yes!" He raised both arms over his head and spun in a tight circle. "Then we can hang out together."

She stared at him as if he were a wild beast as she edged backwards slowly.

"No, really." He tossed his head in the direction of the guards, huddled by the door. "Ben, my guy, says people who came in on the same day can have interactions. We can visit each other's rooms."

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, aren't you just bored to tears?"

"Sir, I—"

"Edward. I'm Edward." He stopped waiting for her to answer, but when she didn't he glided his hand towards her like a game show model. "And you are…"

"Not interested. I believe that rule was put in place to allow people who came here together to visit. You know, husbands and wives, conjugal visits and such."

He spread his arms out wide from his sides. "Not opposed to conjugal visits."

"Have you had a mental health evaluation?" She walked backwards. "I don't think this is appropriate."

"Come on!" He kicked the grass in front of him. "I'm bored. I'm hyper. I stayed out here for three and a half hours yesterday, and no one was a day five."

"This isn't some dating service, Ebola version. We both have to make a request to have visits, right?"

"Yes, it's easy, I asked Ben—"

"I'm not going to request you. I think it's inappropriate. We can both find better things to do."

"Seriously? They blocked all the good websites and I can't sit through another movie. We can make our own fun—come on!"

"Still not interested."

.

AN: Denied! Poor Edward

FYI: MSF is the acronym for Doctors Without Borders. Why? Because the organization started in 1971 in France as "Medecins Sans Frontieres", the idea being to bring medical aid to people who needed it, regardless of nationality, religion, affiliation or border. The first medical team was only 6 people, 2 doctors, 2 nurses and 2 clinicians. I've been reading the Doctors Without Borders US website, it's fascinating. These people are real heroes. If you have someone on your Christmas list who has everything, make a donation in their name. Ok, getting off the soap box now.