Afterlife: Reincarnation

22

June 15

LANE

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, gently gnawing at the flesh. My eyes were intently focused on my task, my concentration strong. I was proud of my steady hand, even if the entire process was less than appealing at the moment. Granted, I had asked for this. But I didn't know we would be doing it this way.

Will came up behind me, peering over my shoulder.

"You're doing good, Lane," he praised, reaching out to point at the place I was working. "Keep them a little closer together, though. You need to keep the skin taught, so it will heal."

I nodded, moving on to the next stitch to try again.

Today had been another slow day. Another day with virtually no patients, and not much in the way of distraction. We had talked about how often these 'dry spells' occurred, and Will admitted that it wasn't often. While we were bored, he was wary. To him, he feared this was the calm before the storm.

I had helped Clayton do maintenance on some equipment in the morning, actually finding the experience quite informative. In college we were taught how to use our cameras, how best to find angles and lighting. But little emphasis was ever put into the internal workings of our equipment. Clayton was an expert, knowing every model, every brand, every facet of all the cameras and gear we had with us. I watched as he took items apart, cleaned sensors and loosened gears, and put it all together as if the entire process was nothing. It was a great experience.

After lunch, we had been discussing cases Will had faced over his years with DWB. I had thought a lot of what I had seen so far was fascinating and rare, but after hearing his stories, I knew I had barely seen the tip of the iceberg. I was enthralled by him, leaning forward to listen to every word from his mouth. It was incredible, the things he had done, the people he had saved.

"Its surprising how good you get with sutures after only a short time out here," he laughed. "I had worked in both the army and emergency rooms for years, but you can take your time back home. Here, you need to be quick and precise. It's a skill, for sure."

I laughed. "I would love to learn something like that." I commented, taking a sip of my water.

Will turned to me, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's easily done. We just got a shipment of sutures. And I think Smith has a pigs hide back in the food hut that hasn't been cut down yet. I can teach you easy enough."

My eyes widened slightly, surprised by his offer. My reaction seemed to amuse him, as he laughed before pushing up from his seat.

"Come on, we will do it now."

That brought me to my current place, hunched over a metal exam table, with a slab of pig side laid out in front of me. Will said the skin was an excellent simulator for suturing human flesh, so it was the perfect substitute.

Not long after we started, Erin had popped her head in, her expression first of shock, then intrigue. Within minutes, she was sitting across from me on the opposite side of my 'little piggy', working on her own sutures.

"This is harder than I thought," she muttered, setting down the driver to shake her hand out. "So fucking small it's giving me a headache."

"Hopefully that isn't a reference to Rob, as well," I teased, looking up at her from under my lashes.

She looked at me with surprise, before bursting out laughing. "No, thank fuck," she snorted. "God, Laney, we're gonna make you dirty minded like us by the time this trip is over."

I snickered under my breath, turning my attention back to my work.

Erin was right. It was intricate and detailed, and much harder than I thought. I had taken home economics in high school, and passed the sewing portion with flying colors. It was probably ignorant of me to think this would be the same, but that was in fact what I had thought. Now, leaning over this piece of flesh, working the curved needle through each side of the laceration Will had cut into the side, and tying each stitch off individually, it was nothing like home ec. It took much longer, and you had to be a lot more careful with the position and strength of each suture.

But I had to admit I was loving the experience. I had never considered helping out with the medical portion of this assignment, and even though I knew I would never actually be performing this on a real person, getting the chance to have this lesson was exciting. I couldn't wait to tell Harry.

My mind drifted to him, as it tended to do more frequently lately. I hadn't checked my messages for a couple of days, and no doubt would have one or two from him waiting for me when I did. Of course, the same could be said for messages from my mother, and I decided when I finished with my suture lesson, I would retire to comm for a little internet time.

"Much better, Lane," Will smiled, appearing over my shoulder again. "You seem to be a natural at this."

I couldn't help the proud grin that came across my face.

Twenty minutes later, we had mangled the poor pig hide with countless lacerations and blue sutures. Returning it to Miki, she looked it over with humor, saying it might take her a while to cut it up again for dinner tomorrow now that we had finished with it.

The evening passed slowly, and after a filling meal and casual chatter as the sky darkened into night, I escaped to comm to check my messages.

Just as I expected there were two from my parents, and one from Harry. The ones from my parents were the usual, asking how I was, wanting to make sure I was safe. My mother seemed to have calmed slightly in recent weeks, not quite as frantic and snippy if I took a few days to respond to her message. I wasn't sure if it was her actually getting used to my absence, or the influence of my ever calming father.

Moving on to the email from Harry, I leaned my chin on my hands as I read it over.

From: Harry

To: Lane

Date: June 14

Subject: rude awakenings

Hey baby

So, I had an interesting morning. Preceded by a more than enticing dream, staring a certain blonde goddess. Yes, I mean you, before you open that smart mouth of yours.

I swear, babe, you need to get home. Soon. Because I can't afford to keep replacing my sheets like this, and the laundramat is bloody expensive.

Remember when I told you we should put Skype to good use? Well, I meant it.

Think about it.

All the love

H

My eyes bulged out of my head, as a little squeak of surprise slipped from me. Did he do what I thought he did? Reading his short message over again, I giggled, covering my mouth with my hand. Oh my God.

The thought of Harry having a kinky dream of us together caused me to bite my lip. I squirmed in my chair, my thighs pulling together. I pictured him in my mind, starting with wondering what it was the dream had been exactly, followed by the state in which he found himself when he woke. I had to admit, the thought was enticing and sexy as hell.

As my eyes skimmed over his reminder of the romantic benefits of Skype, again I had to subdue myself from giggling. I had never done anything like that before. I was no virgin, not by any means, but I had never taken part in any online sexual escapades either. The thought alone made me blush, but I couldn't deny how the thought of Harry on the other side of the connection made my stomach tighten.

I should probably Skype him anyway, even if it didn't result in sexual adventures. We hadn't spoken in several days, other than the occasional short email. I missed him, and needed to hear his voice.

Signing out of my email, I stood, before quickly grabbing one of the iPads from the neighboring counter. Making my way back to the food hut, I said my goodnights to everyone.

"Where are Erin and Rob?" I asked, noticing their absence. Sam and Miki exchanged a glance, both smirking.

"Never mind," I said quickly. "I don't want to know."

Making my way back to my room, the iPad under my arm, I resolved to change into comfortable, and possibly cute pajamas, and give my boyfriend a little surprise call.