The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Four: Summer in Spring

The first time Veronica visited the Fortuna's medical wing, it had been an accident.

A few days after their arrival, exhausted from hours of training, she'd gotten lost trying to find her way back to her room. Though in her defense, all the hallways looked identical. She mindlessly wandered through them until the sound of Charles' voice caught her attention. When she followed the sound through an open doorway, she found herself standing in a hospital room.

Summer's room.

"Oh, sorry!" Veronica exclaimed as Charles looked her way. "I got lost. I was hoping you could tell me which way to go." Her gaze flickered to Summer, who laid back in her bed with her eyes closed. Was she asleep?

"No worries, this place is a bit of a maze," Charles said. He stood by Summer's bed, a phone in hand. The screen indicated he'd just ended a call. "Actually, would you mind helping me with something real quick? I'm not sure where my assistant went."

"Uh, sure," Veronica said. She moved forward into the room.

Her hesitation must have crept into her voice, because Charles gave her a reassuring smile. "Nothing difficult. I just need you to write some numbers down." He picked up a clipboard off the table by Summer's bed and held it out. "My short-term memory isn't the greatest."

"Okay," Veronica said as she took the clipboard. She turned and surveyed the medical equipment filling the room. "Wow. Where did you guys get all of this?"

"Some was donated by colleagues who were able to spare it," Charles answered. "The rest was paid for with funding from others in our network."

"Sounds like you have an extensive network." Veronica couldn't recall the full story the Newmans had given them when they first met at the motel in Tyche Point, but she remembered most of what they did was supported by people they'd worked with in the past, including the donation of the research vessel they stood on now.

Charles nodded. "We had to build a big network to accomplish all this. It's mostly other people impacted by Scorpion, who want to help us take them down," he said. "Not everyone has the time to directly help out with our research, but they've worked together to secure us as much funding as possible."

Veronica glanced down at the clipboard she was holding. "What was it you needed me to write?"

Charles pointed to the top sheet of paper on the clipboard. "Heart rate goes here, temperature here. These two boxes are for blood pressure. The first one I'll give you is systolic, and—"

"The second is diastolic," Veronica finished with him. "Got it."

Charles lifted an eyebrow. "You knew that already?"

"I want to go to medical school," Veronica told him as he opened one of the table's drawers. "Our high school didn't have a lot of bio and health classes, but I took as many as I could." She paused a moment before adding, "You're not a medical doctor though, right? Just a biologist?"

"Right," Charles replied as he pulled out a blood pressure cuff. "I just know some basic procedures that the Fortuna's doctors have shown me. I don't always have much research to do, so I like to help out when I can."

Veronica watched him move closer to Summer. "So, how has she been doing?" She'd helped bring Summer to the hospital wing when the altered first arrived, and Charles had yet to give them any updates beyond vaguely optimistic statements.

"We gave her a blood transfusion that went well, but the head doctor wants her to go in for surgery tomorrow on the mainland," Charles replied. "Recovery might be rough for a couple weeks, but it should be smooth sailing after that. She's going to be fine."