Pixie Hazard by Archibald Bradford (top young adult novels .txt) 📕

“Only with cocktails.”

The redhead snorted at the dryness of her reply.

“Guess that counts.”

With a slight frown, Billy set the datapad down, expecting more of a conversation than that, but when Eva didn’t say anything she opted to risk a bit of a prod.

“You know that when we worked for the company I had access to your profile. I’m aware of your background, more so than most anyone else on this ship.”

Eva still didn’t say anything, now staring straight ahead to avoid looking in the direction of her sister and Eniella’s bunk.

Billy allowed her professional facade to take over as she focused on her crew-mate’s mental wellbeing.

“We’ve had this... not-conversation before. Several times over the years actually.” The doctor observed; “It’s been my experience that the kind of excitement we’ve been through in the last few days has a way of knocking past memories loose. As always, anything you tell me-”

“Hardest part was watching it happen to Davie.” Eva broke in.

Billy had to wait a few breaths for her to elaborate, while the troubled woman mulled over how best to articulate herself.

“I could take any of it- I would take on all of it- to wipe her slate clean. But the last several years I’ve had to watch as that pink-haired Latin cunt adds to her side of the ledger.”

“I’m not following.”

Again there was a pause as Eva ground her teeth together, staring at her mug of tea.

“One day Eniella is going to go too far with their fucked up little game. One day she is going to hurt my sister for real.” She lifted her chin up to give the raven-haired medic a grim look; “Then I’m going to kill her.”

Taken aback by the bleak shift in the conversation, Billy pursed her lips as she processed Eva’s words.

Back in the service the lot of them got on like a house on fire; Eniella and Maria were the first real friends the twins ever had, the first people they trusted other than each other.

But ever since Eniella and Davie had started hooking up Eva had been pulling away, distancing herself from the Hispanic woman while seemingly growing more irritable by the day towards her sister.

It was a heavy ten seconds before Billy responded.

“I feel obligated to point out that Davie isn’t a child anymore, that she is a trained professional in her own right who can certainly take care of herself. But I don’t think that really matters to you, does it?”

Eva took one last pull of her tea before heading into the galley to ditch her mug, speaking as she went.

“This conversation we’re not having isn’t about therapy doc. It’s a heads-up so you know to get out of the way when that shit goes down. I always liked you, and it would bug the hell out of me if I had to hurt you to get to her.”

Billy shook her head slightly and took up her datapad again as the dour woman headed towards the showers.

“Why is it always the redheads?”

Unfortunately she was too perturbed to focus on her reading and opted instead to check in with her patient, the conversation with Eva settling in the back of her mind as she carried a tray of breakfast to him.

As she slid the door to medical open she spotted him struggling to get out of bed and immediately moved to help.

“Hold up tiger. I told you to use the call button if you needed help.”

“I didn’t want to bother you.” He mumbled awkwardly as she helped him to the tiny bathroom behind the curtain in the corner.

“It would be a helluva bother if I came in and found you on the floor. You went into vacuum Bryan, it takes a toll.”

He mumbled an apology as she closed the privacy curtain for him.

The doctor waited outside, giving him enough space to do what he needed while she thought about everything that he had been through.

All in all he was holding up fairly well after his emotional breakdown the other day, though she still wasn’t certain that he was ready to go head to head with Donnie, or face the rest of the crew for that matter.

Once he had finished his business she took the opportunity to give him a physical while he was up, locking the sliding hatch to the infirmary to ensure his privacy as she helped him out of his robe.

His whole body had a number of bruises ranging from mild to severe from the combined trauma of decompression and Junker boots.

“How’s the wrist?”

“It’s fine.” He replied instantly and lifelessly.

Billy suppressed a sigh as she drew on her vast well of patience.

“Mister Everson, I’m a doctor. I’m your doctor. Which means there is nothing you can show me that I haven’t seen before. If there is something like blood in your urine you can’t tell me that you’re ‘fine’. I can only help you so long as you let me.”

She tried to keep the chastisement as gentle as she could, but she was used to working with tough-as-nails marines so her bedside manner might not be quite as kindly as it once was.

She didn’t miss the way his lip quivered, but he nodded in acceptance of her words.

“I... I’m sorry. It itches. My wrist itches. My p-pee is fine.”

“Nanites repairing bone can have that effect, especially in the arms. But they should have been finished by now. We’ll do another scan to see if some of them got fused by mistake during the repair process, worst case I’ll need to excise them. It’s a simple procedure so there is no need for alarm. For now try not to scratch at it too much.”

She worked his arm and hand through a