Vicky shrugged. “As positive as I can be with an over the counter tester.” She handed the small plastic pen shaped device to him. It clearly showed a blue plus sign.
“Holy shit.” Hatcher had to remind himself to breathe. “What did she say when you told her?”
Vicky gave him a wide eyed stare. “I haven’t. Not yet.”
Hatcher’s mouth fell open. “You had her pee on the tester and she didn’t suspect what it was for?”
Vicky gave him that look that indicated he was too dense to be included in the conversation. “I had her give me a sample, told her we had a bug going around. I dipped the end in it after she left…just so I could rule it out.” She sighed again and set the tester on his desk. “I haven’t had the nerve to tell her yet.”
Hatcher gave her another wide eyed look. “Doesn’t that break like all of the medical rules? Telling me before you tell her?”
Vicky came to her feet and glared at him. “In case you missed it, it’s not exactly like the AMA is going to swoop in here and reprimand me or threaten to pull my nursing license!” She began to pace the small office, her face turning red as she built herself up into a frenzy. “I came here because…because…” She threw her hands into the air. “Because I didn’t know what else to do. What if she decides she doesn’t want the baby? What if she decides she does? This isn’t exactly a conducive environment for raising kids, now is it?”
“We have kids climbing the walls here, Vic.” Hatcher groaned as he came to his feet and took her hand, stopping her from wearing out the floor. “Rather than letting yourself get worked up over this, how about you tell her? Let her and Roger figure out what they want to do.” He pulled her closer and lowered his voice. “It’s their decision.”
Vicky blew her breath out hard then snatched the pregnancy test from his desk. “I know. I just needed to vent a little before I talk to her.” She searched his eyes. “I have no idea how she’ll take this.”
Hatcher patted her arm. “I’d offer to tell her for you, but that might piss her off worse.” He gave his sister that knowing look. “And nobody wants to deal with a pissed off Candy.”
“Amen to that.” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I feel like Daniel walking into the lion’s den.”
Hatcher gave her a crooked smile. “I always liked that story.”
“Because mom said that was why she named you Daniel.” She smirked at him. “You’d love Noah’s ark if mom named you after him.”
Hatcher shrugged. “I love that story too. I just wouldn’t want to be him. Cooped up with all those animals? The smells alone. Ugh.”
A knock at the door turned their attention from the subject at hand. “Hatch, ya got a minute?” Cooper gave Vicky a wink and she blushed.
“Yeah, Dave…just give me a moment.” He watched the man step away and he turned a narrow gaze on his sister. “Please tell me that there’s no risk of this happening to you…with him.”
Vicky’s eyes shot wide and she gave him a hurtful glare. “That is NONE of your business.”
Hatcher continued to give her his steely eyed stare. “Uh-huh. Just promise me you’ll be careful.” He glanced to the hall and saw Dave milling about. “I couldn’t imagine having a niece or a nephew with thinning hair and a grey beard.”
“Stop it.” She punched him in the arm then spun on her heels. “I have news to deliver.”
“Let’s hope it’s good news.”
Vicky shook her head. “I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.”
Hatcher waved Cooper into his office. “So what’s happening?”
“Savage…er…I mean, Mike is going over the ham radio stuff. He’s got a list of things that he thinks he’s going to need but I can’t find Roger.”
“They went to try and snag an antenna.” Hatcher grabbed a radio from the charging dock and tossed it to him. “Try channel three. I’m pretty sure that’s the one they’re on.”
Cooper grinned as he twisted the knob on the radio. “Thanks, man.” He turned to leave then paused. “And, for the record…my hair wasn’t always thinning and grey.” He shot Hatcher a wink. “Just saying.”
“Get your old, wrinkled, eavesdropping ass out of here.” Hatcher shot him a smirk.
“I’ll get this to Mike.” He gave Hatcher a departing grin then scooted down the hall.
Hatcher groaned as he stared at the monitors. He watched as Vicky slowly approached Candy in the courtyard. The pair spoke for just a moment then she handed her the test.
Hatcher watched as Candy fainted, Vicky trying to catch her as she went down.
The soldier approached Broussard and pulled a radio from his belt. “Skipper wants a word, Doc.”
He handed him the device and Broussard pressed the transmit button. “Hello?”
The voice that came back sounded agitated. “Have you seen enough, doctor? Do you have the data you needed?”
Broussard looked to Carol who gave a slight shrug. “We’re pretty confident that it works. I think we can green light the use of the generators.”
Broussard keyed the radio again. “Yes, sir. Dr. Chaplain and I are confident that the generator will successfully attract the infected. The only thing we didn’t consider was the effect it has on them.”
“What are you saying, Dr. Broussard?”
“I’m saying that the generator lulls them into a semi-conscious state. Because of that, they move very slowly.” He peered over the rooftop again and did a quick head count. “We’ve been here for hours, transmitting, and we’ve only gathered twenty-five or thirty infected.”
“Is that enough to successfully treat and release?”
Broussard sighed heavily. “Anything is better than nothing, but the more we attract….What I would suggest is allowing the generator to run overnight. That would ensure the largest collection of infected. We could send the teams out with the knowledge that
