“Commander.” McReidy’s voicecame over the communicator.
John ignored her. She waspersistent and he switched his communicator off, completely unaware of anythingbut the woman beside him.
* * *
The nursery was full of beds withonly walking space between them. Chairs cramped the valuable space as somemothers sat with their children. Dunlop and the nurses had their medicalscanners out. They moved from bed to bed, checking and comparing symptoms andany progressions since the data they’d received on the ship, and reassuringboth mothers and children who needed it.
And then Dunlop caught sight ofher. She couldn’t have been more than five. In a lather of sweat, her skinwas hot to touch with fever. Every few minutes she would throw herself aboutand then lie quiet and exhausted, panting heavily.
It didn’t need the four womenaround her bed for the doctor to know she was important. There was nomistaking the golden hair and green eyes.
Dunlop was drawn to her like amagnet. The women parted and allowed him close. He took her in: theglistening face reddened with fever, the sweat darkening her hair as it stuckto her face and neck and tousled across her body, the green eyes holding his.
He ran his scanner over her, butdidn’t need it to know she was worse than the others. Her fever was higher andthe convulsions worried him.
“Anyone else got convulsions?” heasked.
“No,” came from various parts ofthe nursery.
He had no idea what to make ofit. The symptoms were that of a bad cold, but much more severe. He guessedthat it was a virus of some sort, but he would know more after taking someblood samples and examining them. He had no sooner pulled a syringe from hisbag than he was stopped.
One of the women who’d beenseated around the bed stood in front of him. Her eyes lowered almostapologetically, but she wasn’t budging.
“If you will excuse me –” hebegan.
“It is not permitted.”
“I’m not going to hurt her. Ineed to take some blood.”
“No, if you puncture the skin,the life force will escape.”
“If you don’t let me do my job,she will die anyway.” Dunlop had a great respect for other cultures, but notat the risk of someone’s life – especially not that of a child. “Senator Belasaid to give me any assistance I need and I need to take blood.”
One of the aides who’d shown themto the nursery rushed to intervene. “Any assistance, yes,” she agreed. “Tokeep her alive, not to take her life force.”
“I need to know what’s going oninside her.”
He was still refused and turnedto McReidy, who had crept up beside him. “You’re a woman, you talk to them,”frustration caused him to snap.
McReidy did her best to try andexplain. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any more success than he did. Notknowing what else to do, she switched on her communicator.
“Commander.”
There was no answer.
“Commander.”
Still no answer.
She kept trying, to no avail. “There must by something wrong with my communicator,” she decided.
Dunlop tried his. “He’s switchedoff.”
“What do you mean?” McReidyfrowned.
Dunlop felt the reasoning wasobvious and one side of his face screwed up as he squirmed.
McReidy was horrified. She ranfrom the room, quickly tracing her steps back to the foyer. She was furiouswith John. She would wring his neck when she got hold of him. How dare hebehave like this! If he had one tenth of Sean’s integrity – Where was he? She tried her communicator again to no avail. It looked like she would have tobreak down every door in the place to find him… and then she would happilystrangle him.
She ran through room after room,ignoring the startled looks she received. She came across Gillespie in alibrary, his attention taken by the walls full of books, much to his escort’sdispleasure.
“The commander?” she blurted out.
Gillespie shrugged. “No idea,sorry.”
McReidy backed out, pulling thedoor closed and began checking more rooms.
* * *
The door flew open and McReidyburst in. Bela was on her feet immediately. John was unaware of the interruption,although he was surprised at the agility with which Bela disentangled herselffrom his grasp. He was on his back, his jacket undone. As he slowly rose andpropped himself on his elbows, he caught McReidy’s glare. The urge to floponto his back again was almost overwhelming, but he suddenly had enough senseto realise that her glare was not directed at him.
“How dare you enter mybedchamber!”
The icy anger in Bela’s voiceflared through John. He suddenly lost all feeling he had for her. As he didup his jacket, he was glad he was not on the receiving end.
“What is the meaning of this?”
McReidy didn’t flinch. She couldgive as good as she got. “I was looking for him.” She nodded slightly overBela’s shoulder, indicating John. There was no sign of respect, her voice fullof contempt.
Bela looked puzzled for a moment,then misunderstood McReidy’s answer. Her voice softened as she turned toJohn. “She is your mate?”
John’s fingers froze. “No!” hechorused with McReidy. The thought was as distasteful to her as it was tohim. He got to his feet and fixed his collar, his eyes avoiding both women.
“I do not take another woman’smate,” Bela continued.
“Doctor Dunlop wants you,”McReidy explained, unwilling to be dragged into this line of discussion.
“The children!” It was as thoughBela had forgotten them. Without a second glance, she flew from the room,leaving John and McReidy alone.
He slowly moved beside her, stillfiddling with his collar. Captain Decker had turned him into a perfectionist. What he didn’t realise was that his discomfort had nothing to do with hisuniform.
“What did you think you weredoing?” McReidy demanded. There was a small glint in her eye as she offered,“Let me do that.”
John’s hands dropped to hisside. He thought he’d been forgiven. “Improving relations.”
Her fingers closed around histhroat, her thumb pressed into the soft skin beneath his Adam’s apple. Hecouldn’t breathe and she appeared to be enjoying herself a bit too much.
“I’m your superior officer –” hebegan, barely managing to get the words
