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Needing Cassidy Chapter 11

Writer's picture: Lacey St. SinLacey St. Sin




CHAPTER 11


The initial tests, it turned out were inconclusive, and, when given a dose of vitamins the numbness in Becky’s arm faded, giving the woman a reason to scurry out of the building and away from the medic. As relieved as Cassidy was that the numbness turned out to be nothing major after all, she wished, for Tor’s sake, that the interaction had gone a little bit smoother.

It was late that afternoon when she was frowning down at her orchard samples. The Mag-lense had given several possible differences between the healthy and sick samples, none of which were common Livarian bacteria, which meant that, again, Cassidy was stuck begging Tor to help her search through the archives. In the mean time, she’d decided that more testing could be done.


The healthy sample of bark before her, for instance, raised its own questions. Was it that the tree that it came from couldn’t get infected at all? Or was this, as she suspected, an insect transmitted infection and the bugs just happened to miss this particular tree altogether? The Mag-lense had shown, for whatever reason, that the tree was free of the infectious bacteria.

She lifted the dropper she had set to the side and carefully dripped a single drop of the liquid within onto the sample she had prepared.


“Have you analyzed the healthy samples yet?” Tor pushed into the room, a tray of his own samples. He was too busy to actively participate in her study this afternoon, but had graciously allowed her to use the lab at the same time that he was.


Cassidy leaned over and picked up one of the cultures she’d been working with. “If they’re infected then it hasn’t spread to these sample areas yet. Or the levels are too low to detect maybe.”


Tor grunted. “Try a second run with a richer medium and a little longer time to develop. It might be that the tree is just in the beginning stages of infection and it is, of yet, undetectable. What of your theory that a bacterium the tree already possessed was halting the infectious strain?”


“The Mag-lense identified a total of 23 additional bacteria strains in the healthy sample,” she sighed, “none of which are in the Mag-lens’ knowledge bank.”


Tor set his samples down on the table next to hers. “So we are back to where we started.”

Cassidy nodded. The pill was a bitter one to swallow.


“I’ve mixed some of the infected sap into this one,” she showed him the sample she had been working on when he entered. “I thought it might give us good information. If it takes then we know not to waste our time researching the additional strains.”


“And if it doesn’t it proves your idea right, even if we don’t get the particulars. Good.”

A warm, fuzzy feeling filled her. Praise, from Tor, was rare. She would take it where she got it. She watched as he pulled out a sample of what had to be blood and placed it into the viewing compartment.


“How’s Becky doing?” she asked.


“The symptoms have resolved, it might have been the vitamin deficiency that I detected, or possibly a pinched nerve. Might be nothing, might be more, we can only wait and see what the tests say,” he gestured to the Mag-lense.


“You scared her,” Cassidy ventured.


Tor stiffened, his glance toward her no longer relaxed and friendly. “And?”


“It’s not the best way to...earn her affections.”


The corner of Tor’s lip lifted into a snarl. “My affections are none of your business.”


“Hmm. Alright,” Cassidy didn’t even flinch. She studied him for a long moment before turning back to her workspace. The sterilization procedure was pretty much second nature now and she started it without having to think about it much.


“What else could I have done?” Tor’s voice had softened.


“You could start by not calling her stupid. Women don’t like that much,” Cassidy told him without turning around.


“She was being stupid,” Tor protested. Something behind her clanked, as if he set down one of his samples more roughly than he meant to.


“Maybe, but I think you’d have better luck communicating with her if you were...softer.”


A hesitant pause and then: “What does this mean?”


“You know, you have to sugar coat things sometimes. Helps the medicine go down.”


“What?”


Cassidy shook her head at herself and turned to face him. “It’s an Earth reference, from a movie. I just mean that why you have to give bad news or criticism you try to give it to the person gently, to spare as much hurt as you can.”


Tor was working the lense, but he lifted his head long enough to give her the side eye. “I do not...sugar coat...things for you.”


Cassidy snorted. “You sure don’t.”


Tor sighed. “I am not good at these things.”


For a moment he looked so vulnerable and helpless Cassidy couldn’t help the surge of compassion she felt.


“If I do not scare her, how do I get her to listen,” Tor asked, “she resists treatment even when it is to her benefit.”


Talk to her. Explain why you are doing tests, why they are important...why you care.”


Tor sent a warning scowl her direction.


“It would be much easier if she just followed my recommendations,” he told her.


“Human women want to be given information and options for treatment. We want it to be our choice.”


“But what if their choices are stupid?” he argued.


Cassidy sighed. Stubborn Livarian, and now this argument was going in circles.


“Then I guess you have a choice,” she told him. “Either have her resent you, or make her understand.”


Tor’s lips flattened and he turned to the Mag-lense screen, effectively tuning her out. “Go back to the dorm, Cassidy, it’s late,” he told her softly.


Cassidy did as he said, frowning as she walked out of the lab and down the hall to the side door. He was very good at shutting down conversations he didn’t want to have. In fact, part of his rough demeanor was exactly that, avoiding deeper topics. That was fine, she’d come to expect such things from him.


What she hadn’t expected was the way that her tummy flipped when he used her name. She was not attracted to Tor. Well...he was attractive, yes, and the green of his eyes seemed to pull her in whenever he looked her way. But she was not interested in marriage. Marriage meant responsibility and a husband and family… That thought caused her enough panic to frighten any wayward impulses away for good.



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