Thank you for all the reviews to my last few chapters, much appreciated. It's hard PMing everyone back from my iPad, but I promise to be back on schedule after this week. I'm currently in Boulder, CO on a work/vacation thing. Love it here, it's so pretty.
And thank you Margaret for reading ahead as my beta and leading me down the right path for Stephanie.
If you recognize them, they are not mine :)
Chapter 24 — An unexpected turn of events
Ranger's POV
We were going to stay home tonight, so I called Ella to let her know and to bring up dinner at seven. I went to my wine cellar, which was no more than a small, refrigerated unit that separated reds from whites and kept them at optimum temperatures, and picked out a 2009 Pinot Noir. I opened it to let it breathe. This particular bottle needs from twenty to thirty minutes to open up its unique nose of black cherry, black raspberry jam and anise. This was one of Steph's favorites, it was slightly reminiscent of black cherry soda.
While it mellowed, I went to the little alcove off the living room that Steph likes to use while she thinks. I knew I'd find her there curled up with her laptop.
"Babe, is everything ok?"
When she nodded yes, I continued. "I asked Ella to bring up dinner, it should be here within the next half an hour. I can tell that something is bothering you; want to talk about it while we wait?"
"Can I show you something?"
"Of course, you don't have to ask."
She pushed her laptop towards me, then turned it around so the screen was facing me. I tapped the track pad to bring it back to life and took in the article on the screen. It showed the surgical removal of a RFID chip that had migrated from its insertion point.
"Does this happen often?"
"This article was written in 2004. With ten years of advancements since then, most of the migration problems have been taken care of by using an abrasive coating that allows the chip to stay in place. The ones we use here are the size of a grain of rice and have this coating on them. They are the easiest to remove, but can still migrate from the insertion point prior to biological adherence."
"So they still can move?"
"Yes, but not like this article is showing. This is old technology with antiquated chips. If you are seriously considering having one implanted Bobby can show you the actual chip and you can watch someone being chipped. It's done via a needle, takes under a minute and is virtually pain-free. Kind of like Lula's allergy shots."
"Oh. Ok, yes, I'd like Bobby to show me. Who's getting a chip?"
"Jace volunteered after your incident yesterday. We can call Bobby after dinner and I'm pretty sure we can arrange for you to watch the procedure. Was that all that was bothering you or did you have something else on your mind?"
"No, that was it. I...I just want to make sure I make a smart decision here; one that I won't regret."
"I understand Babe and I'm glad you're thinking this through. Ella should be up in a few minutes. Share a glass of wine with me?"
"Sure," she replied, much more at ease than she was when this conversation started.
I went into the dining room, picked up the open bottle and two glasses and joined Steph in her living room nook. I poured us each a glass and offered her hers. Once we both had one, I raised a toast.
"To smart decisions."
Steph looked at me skeptically, "Are you making fun of me?"
"Never Babe. I'm proud that your going into this with your eyes open."
"I'm probably going to do it," she said, looking over the top of her glass at me after taking a sip.
"Watch the procedure first. While we wait for Ella, let's call Bobby."
"Ok," she said, lifting her phone from the table and scrolling for Bobby's number.
"Bobby? Steph. Can I put you on speaker?"
"Of course Bomber. Is everything ok?"
"I'm here with Carlos and we were talking about me getting chipped. He said Jace asked for one. Can I watch you put it under his skin?"
"It's fine by me, but I think you should ask him."
"Oh. I will. Did he schedule an appointment?"
"Tomorrow at ten. But please ask him first before you come down. It's his body this is going into and he may be sensitive about having someone watch."
"Yes. You are absolutely right. I'll call him when I hang up."
She then turned to me with her eyebrows raised. I nodded. Bobby's thinking was spot on as usual. She took another sip of her wine before she scrolled through her contacts and placed the call.
"Jace? I'm sorry it's me again. Sorry to bother you so many times tonight. Bobby said you're getting chipped tomorrow. Would it be ok if I came down to watch? I'm kind of thinking about getting one myself. I just need to see it done to someone else before I totally commit." "Thank you so much. I'll see you tomorrow."
She hung up and turned back to me. "He said it was fine. I can watch. Carlos do you know if Bobby has extra chips down there? I may want to do this right after Jace."
"If you're going to do it, call him back. Hector has to pre-load the chip with some of your specifics. Blood type, date of birth; things like that."
"Oh. It's not just a one way street? Someone can read my info too?" she asked, biting her bottom lip.
I could tell she was nervous about something, so I guessed.
"Babe. If you don't want your weight on there, let Bobby know. Although I have to tell you, no one cares. You look good and that's all anyone notices."
"How did you know what I was thinking?"
"Babe. It was either weight or bra size and bra size isn't a vital."
She looked at me strangely, like I'd just told her the Eiffel Tower wasn't in Paris, so I took it upon myself to add a little more to my statement, "You're breasts are perfect. They are full and beautiful and I'd rather no one else know anything more about them."
That made her smile so I walked closer, put my arms around her and my fingers skimmed her nipples, "And I promise to show you just how much I enjoy them a little later. I don't want to start something I can't finish right now."
"Carlos," she replied, her breath hitching just slightly.
"Dinner Babe," I reiterated just as Ella knocked before letting herself in,"but I'll have you for dessert."
"Good evening Ranger, Steph. Sorry to interrupt. I'll just be a minute," she fumbled.
"You aren't interrupting," I replied. Well she was but I didn't want her to have to worry about that every time she made an appearance. We'd take up where we left off a little later.
"Oh this smells good," she said as she moved Steph's wine glass into position on the table.
"It's a 2009 Pinot Noir. Would you like a glass?"
"Smells like black cherries and something else..."
"Anise. Let me pour you a glass. It's a special reserve from Oregon. It makes Stephanie happy; it reminds her of birthday parties. Actually I think it reminds her of black cherry soda, but I like the smile it brings to her face."
"You've sold me, I'll take a small taste."
Steph came out of the bathroom just in time to see me pouring Ella some wine.
"Are you joining us for dinner Ella?"
"Oh no dear. Your wine just smelled so good Ranger is giving me a taste."
"I know. I call this one birthday party."
I handed her the glass and both Steph and I picked up ours simultaneously to toast with Ella.
"To endless birthday parties," Steph said as the glasses clinked.
Hector's POV
I got a call from Bobby around nine last night. He'd asked me to prepare a second RFID chip. This one was to contain Stephanie's information...minus her weight. That part made me laugh, but I guessed she'd asked Bobby to chip her too. Good. It was about time.
I pulled her vitals from the company database. Again I chuckled to myself as I deleted the one hundred twenty-seven pound statistic before imprinting the chip with the rest of her particulars. I could see if it was Lula who wanted to keep her weight a secret but this was Stephanie, who may even be a little underweight for her height. The things woman do always seem to amaze me. Given my sexual orientation you'd think I'd understand them better. But hell, they have me baffled.
Once my computer dinged that the data had been successfully transferred, I put the chip back into its glassine envelope and prepared another. This one contained my history. If Jace and Steph could do this, I could too.
I marked the log with the chip numbers I'd taken and whose information each one contained. I put the three clearly marked envelopes into a plastic box and brought it down to Bobby's lab so he could sterilize each one before inserting them. I then went into his calendar and reserved a space for myself right after Estefania. I didn't know who would be more surprised, Bobby or Steph, but I felt smug as I turned off the infirmary light and closed the door.
Enough for one night, I needed to get back to my Mets game. I'd DVR'd it while I prepared the chips so I'd be able to scan it later in case a major play happened while I was working. With something like this, I'd never allow myself to multi-task, a mistake just wasn't worth it.
In my absence the Pirates got in a run with two men scoring and we were now tied going into the ninth.
Bobby's POV
As I usually did, I checked my calendar before turning in for the night. I knew I had a few appointments in the morning but wanted to check on the rest of my day. I nodded to myself as I looked at the time slots: 10 am Jace, 10:30 Steph. But what I saw after that confused the hell out of me. Not only did I not pencil in the 10:30 to 11 slot, I was surprised by just who did. The man who says no one can get to him. Yeah, well someone did. And thank God Ashley and I were around at the time or chances were good he wouldn't be here now, hacking into my appointment scheduler.
Well two could play at this game. I scheduled myself for an hour of range time beginning at 10:30 and then I moved Hector's appointment to noon. The program would automatically send him a message of a conflict in my schedule and of the appointment change. Let's see how that makes him feel. Then I thought about it and realized he probably penciled himself in right after Steph so that she would know he was allowing himself to be chipped as well. I almost felt bad for my rash decision. I said almost. I didn't change anything back but when I woke up, if I still felt my actions were a little on the mean side, I'd call Hector and let him keep the 10:30.
Since Hector barely sleeps I knew he'd already gotten my notice of confliction and realized I did it because, like himself, I could.
I woke up a little after midnight, my guilt getting the best of me, and called Hector.
"You win Santiago," I said in lieu of any greeting. "I was trying to show you that two can play your little game but instead I feel bad because I know why you did it."
"I want to be there for Estefania. I know how hard this decision was for her to make and if both her and Jace can get chipped, I wanted them to see that I was willing to do so too. After all, we work together."
"I know that now. Why do you think I'm calling you after midnight? I'm sorry for playing with you man."
"Apologies accepted. Now get some sleep. I don't know about you, but I like my health care professionals to be well rested," he said before hanging up.
Asshole.
I was up anyway, so I switched my range time to noon and Hector back to 10:30. I sent Ashley a quick text to see if she'd be up for trying the new Indian place in Hamilton tomorrow and then I went back to bed. Ashley and I usually stayed together, either here or at her place in Princeton but she'd been in DC for the last two days on business, and I have to say, I've missed her. Maybe it was time for me to commit fully.
I woke up at 5, checked my texts, emails and the weather, before driving to Haywood to get in some gym time prior to the scheduled physicals and inoculations I had today. Next week wouldn't be so crazy. I'd only have half days of medic duties and then I'd be on rotation with Santos.
Ranger came down while I was running full-out. He nodded hello and then got on the treadmill next to me.
"Steph spoke with Jace," he said as his treadmill went through its warmup procedure to get up to speed. "He's cool with her watching. She'll be there by ten. Looks like you'll have a full house today."
"So you heard about Hector too?"
"He left me a text. He wants to surprise Steph."
They had a strange, almost brother/sister relationship and I wasn't surprised he hadn't told her directly.
"Surprise Steph? He practically shocked the shit out of me. And he penciled himself in remotely."
"That sounds about right for Hector. If he can do something stealthily, he will."
I nodded in agreement, got in another couple of miles and then hit the showers. I had to sterilize the chips, the special hypodermic designed for their insertion and make sure my room was decontaminated before Jace arrived. I needed about an hour.
Right on schedule, Jace appeared just as I was completing the room drape. Stephanie arrived next. The procedure only takes maybe a minute but I like to tell my patients just what to expect so I allow a half hour between appointments.
I had just gotten through my spiel when Hector knocked on my door.
Although Steph answered, she really looked surprised to see him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought you might need some hand holding," he told her, still not letting on the real reason for his visit.
"Thank you, but I'm ok. I talked it through with Carlos last night. I just want to see someone go through it once before I do it."
"And I'll stay with you too."
"Ok. Thanks."
Two minutes later Jace was putting his shirt back on and Steph looked at the three of us strangely.
"Do I need to remove my shirt too?"
"You have short sleeves on," I told her. "You'll be fine. I just need to access an area between the shoulder and the elbow on the right side. Closest to the shoulder is optimal, but yours is accessible, no worries."
She'd already heard my story and watched me insert the chip into Jace, yet I had a feeling she wanted to hear it all over again, so I gave her the abbreviated version. Hector held her left hand while I readied my hypodermic and I spoke softly to her while I painted the area. That was it; I then inserted the chip under her skin and cleaned off the area. As I did so Hector removed his shirt and sat down next to her.
"Hec?" she asked, looking confused.
"Me too," he said, taking her hand with his left, like he'd done for her.