Victoria's Challenge by M. K. Eidem Page B

Tanner’s, he had raw burns. It’s a tossup as to which is worse, having someone touch raw burns or tight tendons.”
    “It makes that big of a difference? The time from the burn to treatment.”
    “It’s huge for the length of the recovery process.”
    “It would have helped Tanner?”
    “Tremendously. It also would have helped if he’d been able to talk during the treatments. If you can get the patient to talk, it gets his mind off the pain.”
    “Tanner could n’t do that.”
    “He was pretty young at the time , Dodge. You and the Major are members of the Coalition. You’ve been trained to handle pain and stress.”
    “Tanner ’s a cycle older than you Tori.”
    “Dodge… ”
    “What? ” He can tell she’s debating. “Tori...”
    “Look, I haven’t been a child since I was two, and I stopped being young when I was nine. Your brother and I aren’t even close in age.”
    Dodge looks at her, sees she’s serious, and realizes she’s right . He remembers watching her stand before the Assembly, a child of nine, but already so much more.
    “I guess I’ve never thought of it that way.”
    “No reason you should.” Finding they’re at Lucas’ hatch she enters his code.
     
    Entering the room she freezes. It hurt, oh god, she never knew she could hurt like this. Lucas, her life mate, has another woman in his arms, is holding her against him. She has her hands under his shirt, caressing his chest as she's only dreamed of doing.
    “Sorry! ” Turning to flee, she runs into Dodge, his arms instinctively go around her. After several seconds, she stiffens her back and forces herself to step away from Dodge. Lucas was a man, he liked women, just not her.
    “Sorry, I should have knocked. ” She turns to face her pain.
    “Lorre, I didn’t know you were here. ” Dodge addresses the woman.
    “ The Major asked if I could bring some reports for him to read, he had an itch.” Lorre’s voice is tight as she steps away from Lucas.
    “ I’m sure he did.” Dodges voice is cool, his eyes dead.
    “That’s good, as long as he’s not trying to sign anything. ” Victoria walks towards the couple. She can handle this. She’s a fucking doctor. “This shouldn’t take too long. I want to board your hands for the night.”
    “What ? Why?” Lucas looks at her, looks at Dodge, trying to figure out what’s going on.
    “Your hands were twitching earlier when you were sleeping. I want them boarded, loosely, so you don’t do something in your sleep. Fifteen minutes tops.”
    “I’ll get out of your way. ” Lorre moves towards the door.
    “You don’t need to leave . Once I’m done, you can finish with your reports.” Victoria is proud that her tone never chances. She’s handling this.
    “Do you need me here Tori?” Dodges voice is tight.
    “What? ” Looking at him, she can see he’s struggling. She can’t deal with that now. “No. Thanks Dodge.” Gathering her supplies, she moves to sit across from the couch waiting.
    Slowly Lucas walks over and sits. Victoria had been Dodge’s arms. She came to his quarters with Dodge. She calls him Dodge . Not Lieutenant .
    “What did you do tonight? ” He holds out an arm, trusting her.
    “I went to Eman s for a drink.”
    “Really … you and Dodge?”
    Readjusting the brace, she misses his implication.
    “No . He showed up later.” With both adjusted, she stands, never meeting his eyes. “You’re good to go Major. If there's a problem, call me.” The last portion is directed to Lorre. “Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She’s out of the hatch before another word is said.
     
    She knew. Victoria would kick her own ass if she could. She knew Lucas didn't want her, not as a woman, he'd made that perfectly clear. So why did it still hurt so bad? She should never have just walked in! Who the hell did she think she was?
    She'd never do it with any other patient, would never even consider it . She is their doctor, not their friend. She knows she