"That's fine."
"Does she usually have a weak immune system?" the doctor inquired.
"No," I answered. My voice came out weak and hoarse. "Maddie has always been healthy."
The doctor stared at me then glanced at the other two.
"He's right. This is my son; she lives with us."
The doctor nodded. "Okay, because looking at the blood results and everything, her immune system has been severely weakened. Her results show someone with severe immunodeficiency. She might be here a while."
Dr. Green looked at me. "Can we go somewhere else and talk?"
The doctor nodded his head. "Of course."
"Sawyer can stay here and look after her." Dr. Green told me with a weak smile.
The three left me alone in the room, closing the door behind them. Madeline was so small in that bed. Her skin seemed almost transparent with the tubs running along her arms. Standing up, I finally released a breath. I brushed some of the hair out of her face. Tubs were going through her nose. Blinking, I stared up at the ceiling and sat back down. I took her hand in mine. Her skin was so soft.
"You have to get better soon," I whispered. "I don't think I can handle losing you."
I brought her hand to my face and gave her knuckles a quick kiss.
My dad and Dr. Green came back into the room a bit later. Madeline was still asleep. My dad stood across from me, leaning against the window. Lines were etched in his face as his arms crossed across his chest. Dr. Green was still glancing through her charts.
"She's going to be okay right?" I finally asked.
Dr. Green sighed. "Hopefully, I'm still baffled on why her immune system seemed to have crashed."
"You think the side effects are finally coming about?" my dad questioned.
"Side effects?" I asked, glancing at the both of them.
"She'd been so healthy, who knows. We had a couple of clones before Madeline, but they didn't form or didn't survive. Madeline was the first surviving one. Even some of the ones after her didn't make it."
"You had others after Madeline?" I turned to my dad.
He nodded and stared at her.
"We had one take its first breath this week. We were going to go public next week about it."
I blinked. "There's another one?"
"One of the other scientists is taking him." Dr. Green informed. "However, fourteen years then to have an issue. Something about the immune system DNA make-up must have a limit, making it not be as strong."
I watched my father's shoulders rise and fall.
"Why are you all talking about her like she's a gallon of milk about to go bad?"
"I'll have to have her homeschooled when she gets back. If those numbers are correct, she won't be able to handle all those germs in a public school."
Dr. Green nodded his head. "I'll be coming to the hospital instead of the lab as long as she is here. I'll pop in to see the new one, but we have to study this with Madeline."
"Thank you." My dad spoke up.
"Have a good night."
Dr. Green patted my shoulder and left the three of us alone.
"How many have there been?" my voice cracked as I watched her chest go up and down.
"Close to three hundred attempts."
I looked up at him.
"She is a marvel. Most of the clones didn't form past the cell dividing. Some made it through various fetus stages. A couple never took their first breath. Since her, we were able to get a couple to breathe for a day or two. One made it to a couple of months."
"At what point do you start to wonder if you shouldn't be messing with this stuff."
My dad narrowed his eyes. "Then you wouldn't have her. Which is it? I shouldn't have created her, or I should see her as a person?"
My face warmed. I leaned back in the chair.
"Is this from my cold?" I whispered.
"Partly, but something else must have been going on in her body to turn the cold into pneumonia. Dr. Green already asked for a sample of her blood for him to study to see if we could crack what happened."
My eyes stayed on Madeline.
"We should go home now."
I looked at him. "We're leaving Madeline here?"
"In her state, I'd be afraid to move her. Dr. Green will keep an eye on her while I tend to the new boy."
My dad was onto the new shiny toy.
"Dr. Green drove me here, so are you ready to drive me to the office to get my car?"
"I guess."
My dad was already halfway through the door. I glanced over my shoulder, taking in one last glance of Madeline before I went home.
Dad had me pick up dinner on the way home because he had to check on the new clone for the night. I was opening the pizza box on the counter when he walked in. I pulled out two plates, and he plopped down in a chair at the kitchen table. I rolled my eyes and placed a plate in front of his spot. I sat down in my usual chair. I was looking at the slice in front of me. The piece appeared to be a pile of grease that spread across the plate. I pushed the plate to the side and placed my elbows on the table. My face buried into the palms of my hands.
"She woke up. She'll be fine." My dad commented.
I lowered my hands to my mouth to look at him.
"She did?"
My dad nodded and took a bite out of the pizza. His eyes never met mine.
"That's good, right?"
He nodded. "I think Madeline was just starting to get the cold that you had, and her
