The Price of Freedom (Saurellian Federation 2)

"What if he doesn't recover?" Jess asked.

"Then he'll have a mining accident," Bragan said grimly. "I'm not willing to sacrifice myself for your plot.

You know that already."

"Does Logan know?"

"Yes, he knows," Bragan answered. "And he's willing to take the chance. Remember, his wound won't be as serious as yours. Of course, taking out the implant may paralyze him completely, but I've been able to study yours. It wasn't as hard to remove as you'd think. I guess someone was feeling cheap when they ordered supplies."

Bragan started to say more, but he was cut off as Bethany entered the room.

"How is he doing, Bragan?" she asked quietly.

"He's doing all right, but I'm a little concerned," Bragan said, his face serious. "I've looked under his bandage and the flesh around the wound appears to be a little red and flushed. There's a bit of infection there. We'll have to keep a close eye on him."

"I think I can do that," she said slowly.

"How about the pain meds?" Jess whispered weakly. "Will I be able to take those, Bragan?"

"Yes, you will," Bragan said. He turned to Bethany. "I want you to give him one every two hours.

Preferably with food. Will that be a problem?"

"No," she said, looking surprised. "But isn't that an awful lot of pain medication? I've seen my father take two before, but they knock him out for hours at a time."

Bragan looked serious.

"The type of infection he's developing can be very serious," he replied. "And very painful. If he isn't given the meds he may hurt himself as it grows worse."

"Should I be crushing them and putting them in his food?" she asked quietly. "It might make it easier for him."

"No," Bragan said quickly. He exchanged a quick glance with Jess. "No, in fact you should let him take the pills himself. It will help him moderate his consumption of them. We don't want him to become addicted."

She frowned.

"Bragan, I don't want to seem difficult, but that doesn't make any sense to me. He can't even drink by himself, how will he take the pill?"

"You can place it in his hand and help him lift it to his mouth," Bragan said quickly.

"How does that keep him from getting addicted?" she asked skeptically. Bragan snorted, and stood up abruptly. His face grew cold.

"Are you an Imperially-trained physician?"

"No," she said quickly.

"Do you have any medical training at all?"

"No," she whispered. Jess bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Bragan was bluffing so hard it was almost pitiable.

"Well, then I suggest you don't question my methods," Bragan said coldly. "I saved this man's life and I'm keeping him alive now. I performed surgery on him in a pressurized tent, for love of the Goddess. How can I possibly be expected to explain years of training and theory on addiction to you? You don't even have the vocabulary to understand the scientific reasons he needs to be taking his own medication. Give me one of them right now and I'll show you how to do it. No, give me two. He's suffered all the past cycle. This will help get the pain under control."

She gulped, then nodded. Bragan took the tabs from her and knelt beside Jess.

"Place them in his hand like this," Bragan said, pretending to give Jess the pills. Jess played along, clutching his fingers around the imaginary drugs. As Bragan lifted his head, Jess winced. Somehow being helped by the doctor wasn't the same as being helped by Bethany. It would be nice to take one of those pain pills, although he wouldn't dream of doing it. If they were going to escape, they'd need every one of them.

"Then raise his hand to his mouth," Bragan continued. "This allows him to have control over the medication, to make a choice about taking it."

Jess obligingly pretended to drop the pills into his mouth. Next time he'd have to find a way to hide them in his hand during this…perhaps between his fingers? That might work.

"Now lift the water and let him wash it down," Bragan said in a condescending tone. "Can you do that, or is it too complex for you?"

"Yes, of course," she said, her voice tight. "I'm perfectly capable of helping him do that."

She sounded upset, and to his surprise he felt compassion for her. Ruthlessly he pushed the feeling aside, forcing his heart to grow cold. He couldn't afford to have warm feelings toward any Pilgrim.

"You see," Bragan said, lowering Jess' head. "It's relatively straightforward. I'm sure you can handle this.

Remember, two pills every hour."

"I'll remember," she said, her voice soft. She stood and left the room quickly. Bragan shook his head.

"I feel so bad for treating her like this."

"Don't," Jess said. "She's one of them. She may be beautiful and she may be kind, but her people are the reason we're working ourselves to death here. I don't want to hurt her any more than you do, but I won't let compassion for her stop me from getting out of here. I would advise you to do the same."

"You're right," Bragan answered. "She is one of them. I just wish that she wasn't."

"So do I," Jess replied softly. "So do I."

* * * * *

It was a long day for Bethany. She helped Jess drink and take his medications. She fed him several times, always cradling his head against her body and feeding him herself. The cold porridge seemed disgusting to her, but he was happy enough to eat it. Of course it was slow going for him. Each session took at least twenty minutes, all of it spent with him lying against her br**sts. She was so embarrassed.

Every time he touched her it seemed as if her heartbeat grew fast and fluttery. Her ni**les responded to each movement he made. She was terrified that he would notice the two tight nubs under her clothing.

Thankfully, he seemed completely unaware of her discomfort. It was one small blessing.

By the time the day ended she was exhausted. Between trying to get all her chores done and caring for Jess, she'd barely had time to run to the infirmary and get more pain meds. He was getting sicker over the course of the day. She could see it in the confusion on his face, the way he turned to her without recognition. Several times he spoke, rambling and saying things she couldn't understand. At one point he started thrashing about, and she'd been forced to throw herself over his body, pressing him to the pallet with all her weight. He'd settled down after that, at least for a while, although he grew worse whenever she tried to leave him. Finally she simply gave up and snuggled down with him in the pallet.