Chapter 6
"Seriously? What is wrong with you?" Wolf asked Larrin incredulously as he'd turn away to ask a waiter for another beer only to turn back to find the steak he'd been looking forward to eating replaced by the chicken meal that was going around as the alternate to the steaks. Not only that but she was already halfway through his meal and he'd only turned away for a few minutes.
"What do you mean?" Larrin asked behind her hand as her mouth was full of steak and mashed potatoes. She knew it was bad but she couldn't help but steal Wolf's steak. Not only to get back at him for trying to scare off Miller but also because the steak was too good to not take from him.
"That's my steak." Wolf informed her looking unimpressed.
"Quick and the dead Bro. You want it back?" Larrin asked him in an amused yet daring tone, she raised a questioning an eyebrow at him as kids when they had this situation and one of them said 'yes' it mean the person eating would spit the food back onto the plate and hand it over to the owner with what was left. It was a habit their mother broke them of very quickly. But Wolf would put it past her to not do it now.
"Not now, given that you're halfway through it. Where are you packing all this food?" He asked her as she had pinched his entrée, he knew she also had a club sandwich and fries only a couple of hours ago. She was usually a light eater but so far she was eating like she was going to go into hibernation or something. While it annoyed him that she was thieving his food it also pained him as it made him wondered what she had endured the past few months on her own. It pained him as it was his job to look after her and he'd failed even if it was unknowingly. He still failed.
"In my purse? where do you think?" Larrin asked before she took another bite of steak. She knew tonight she would either sleep like she was in a coma or be sick. She was hoping for the former as she hadn't had a good night's sleep since the pandemic started and she hated vomiting.
"Larrin, you're a woman after my own heart." Tex mused from a seat down from Larrin as his daughter Kathleen sat between him and Larrin. She smiled at the older man as he just egged on her thievery and didn't comment or bat an eye when she had stashed a couple bread rolls into her purse. Old habits were going to die for her. But at least he didn't judge her.
Larrin also liked his daughter as she was shy at first but after she relaxed she had a lot of spunk and her father's sense of humour. She just felt overwhelmed at Larrin with being surrounded by so many people and being reunited with family again.
"If only I was 15 years older." Larrin joked.
"Try twenty years." Tex corrected her with a wink.
"Dude, why didn't you tell me about Larrin? She's like hot and you talked to her all afternoon or so I'm told."Cruz said as he looked annoyed at Miller for not telling him about Larrin. But Miller had his reasons. Sure he had just taken on extra duties that would take away any chance for him to be with Larrin. But he needed to find his Mom and the trade off was worth it even when it meant losing a chance of pursuing Larrin. At least tonight he could entertain himself with the fantasy of 'what if'.
"They looked fairly cozy at the bar for people who'd just met." Bacon commented, the man had ratted Miller's meet with Larrin to the table. He tried to take it in his stride as everyone ribbed him and wished him luck as they reminded him that Larrin was out of his league. Or as O'Conor and Cruz who were already deep into the free booze had estimated that he and Larrin lived in two different galaxies.
"It slipped my mind." Miller lied.
"How can that slip your mind?" Cruz asked incredulously as he gestured to Larrin who was now talking to Dr Scott. The meal service part of the evening was over and the speeches were finished as they were finally in the celebrating part of the evening as music was playing and people were mingling.
It was weird to see the Doctor so formally dressed and also looking like she was having fun as the last few months; she had been intensely focussed on her work. There had only been brief moments where she showed actually joy and right now the woman looked to be over moon. But then the success of the cure had given everyone a lot reasons to smile and be grateful.
"I've been occupied with trying to find a way of getting home to find my Mom. Anyway, she's too intelligent for you." Miller informed him with a cocky grin as everyone knew Cruz's type was anything female with a pulse.
"Ouch, I like smart girls." Cruz informed him.
"You're forgetting that she's not into you. Cruz let it go, the girl likes redheads." Bacon said but even he wore a mystified expression as he didn't understand how Miller could have a woman like Larrin be interested in him. He tried not to be hurt by it even if he too questioned it.
"Well, she was not receptive to me earlier But then Lt Foster was totally blocking me." Cruz admitted, he knew he didn't have a chance with Larrin given how she looked at Miller but he couldn't help but rile Miller. Just to see what he would do as Miller wasn't exactly forward when it came to women, he needed to be nudged. "Though she didn't seem to mind you getting all close and personal." Cruz added.
"Maybe because I'm a gentleman." Miller offered.
"- and I'm sorry. I'm totally rambling." Larrin said with an embarrassed smile as she had basically gone complete fan girl on Dr Scott talking about her work and how she had managed to make it apply to her research even though they were separate areas. But she couldn't help it as Dr Scott listened to her and asked questions with a keen interest that was both exhilarating and humbling.
"Actually, it's quite lovely to hear someone talk so enthusiastically about my work. You have a very good grasp of the subject matter for someone so young. How old are you?" Rachel asked her.
"22 years old. I nearly finished my PhD and was about to start my internship and residency to become a qualified doctor but it all kind of fell apart." Larrin said making a face as she hated how ironic it was that she had wanted to be a scientist and doctor only for a virus to wipe away her chances.
"A pandemic will do that. Have you made plans on what you're going to do now?" Rachel asked her, she couldn't help but be impressed with the young woman as she was one of the minority of people who fully grasped her work unlike the majority who just nodded and smiled vaguely as they hid that they had no clue what Rachel was talking about. So it was rather refreshing to find a like-minded person in the crowd.
"I don't know, I'm in a grey area as I'm currently 'displaced' from my country and no one has told me what exactly I can do or my status. Am I a refugee or an illegal alien to be jailed before being deported. I would like to continue my studies but-"
"There are no facilities or teachers to help you." Rachel finished her her.
"Yeah." Larrin said with a sigh as she would love to be at the same level as Dr Scott but given she couldn't find the resources to help her become the scientist she wanted to be let alone mentors it was a uphill battle.
"Well, I have to say that I'm thoroughly impressed with you." Rachel told her, Larrin ducked her head and blushed at the compliment as it meant a lot to hear it.
"Thank you." Larrin said.
"As such I'd like to offer you a job as my assistant. " Rachel told her.
"Really?" Larrin asked in disbelief as she couldn't believe Rachel was offering her a job after a 5 minute conversation. It was amazing offer.
"Yes, I have been given orders to continue my work across the American continent. So, if you're interested, you could join me. You'd work as my assistant and in exchange I will train you as a doctor and help you with your studies. It won't be an easy job but I think you'll find challenging and you'll gain extensive experience that will count for a lot down the track. Wo what do you say?" Rachel asked her.
"I say yes." Larrin said without thinking about it at all. She knew she had just reunited with Wolf and met Miller but she knew they wouldn't be around forever as their jobs would take them away. She'd be on her own again but here Rachel was offering a job that could potentially pick up the pieces of her life and education and put them to use.
"Fantastic. It might take a couple days to cut through some red tape but after that you can join me in Nebraska." Rachel told her.
"What's this about Nebraska?" Wolf asked as he'd been tuning out most of the conversation as it was all above his head.
"Dr Scott offered me a job. I accepted." Larrin said.
"I hope you don't mind me whisking your sister away." Rachel said with an amused smile. She felt bad for breaking up the siblings but she couldn't pass the opportunity of being able to help a young mind grow into a colleague for her to work with.
"May I steal her away for a word?" Wolf asked her.
"Of course," Rachel said, Larrin frowned as she walked with Wolf a few steps away. He stepped in close to her and spoke to her in a low voice.
"Are you serious?" he asked her.
"Yes, it's amazing opportunity."
"It's dangerous out there." Wolf told her, Larrin made a face at him.
"Where exactly do you think I've been these past few months?" Larrin asked him incredulously as he first was trying to keep her from trying to form any connection with Miller and now it felt like he was standing in her way of actually being a productive member of society. He gave a look that was a mix of pain and guilt which made her feel bad for pointing out the obvious. "Look, I know it sucks we'll only have a couple of days before I go again but what am I supposed to do?"
"You're supposed to stay safe. Stay here and do an internship at the hospital here." He told her.
"Dude, that's the equivalent of me telling you to go play with G.I. Joe toys instead of doing your job. I want to do this, do you realise how much I could learn from Dr Scott?" Larrin asked him.
"A lot. Fine, I'll go with you." Wolf said making a snap decision.
"What?" Larrin said rearing back as she felt like something had backfired in their argument.
"I'm not letting you go out there without me just when we found one another again." Wolf told her in a firm tone. He refused to lose his sister again and so he'd have to give up his R&R, he knew in the end he'd feel better about it as he was doing his duty to her as a brother.
"I-" Larrin threw her hands up in surrender "Ok, fine but we are not sharing tent or whatever the accommodations are." Larrin told him.
"Fine, but we're getting you proper shoes. No way are you going to run around diseased people in Birkenstocks. Oh by the way you owe me $50" He told her as he reminded her of a bet they made that she'd claimed she'd never wear Birkenstock shoes until she was over 50. Larrin pursed her lips at him and gave a nod acknowledging he was right.
"Fair cop. Ah here we go." Larrin said she mimicked the movements as if she were opening and imaginary wallet and then when she pulled out the imaginary $50 note she gave him the one finger salute.
"Nice." Wolf said shaking his head in amusement. "Real nice, I can see why you're single." He teased.
"Oh yeah, I bet you do given you see that reason every time you look in the mirror." Larrin informed him.
"Trust me, I'm doing you a favour. These guys are animals. They've been out at sea that they have no taste. They just want something with a pulse." Wolf told her in an amused manner as Larrin looked skeptical.
"Well, I'm going to go dance with one of the animals." Larrin told him before she left him to go in search of Miller.
