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My brows lifted. He’s married? Where is his wife?
“Well, I am your only son-in-law.”
“That doesn’t make you any less my favorite,” she laughed.
“I am wondering if you or Dad would look at Acedia’s arm. I’m worried it’s not healing well.”
“Of course.” The woman smiled reassuringly at me. “Let’s head back.”
I followed the woman to an exam room. She sat me on the cot bed, sat herself on a rolling stool in front of me, and proceeded to unwrap the makeshift bandage.
“Ouch!” she commented. “This must have hurt.”
“My android…” I blew out an agitated breath. “My android attacked me.”
The woman nodded. “Well, other than maybe a stitch or two here,” she pointed to the initial entry of the wound before the metallic finger had dragged down, “just to help it along a little faster. I think Bo and Brothers did a great job in caring for you.”
I jerked back. “Stiches!”
“Yep!”
My eyes widened when the woman literally rolled over to a cabinet, put on gloves, and withdrew a bottle of clear liquid, cotton, a needle, and thread.
“Don’t you have a healing wand?”
The woman chuckled. “Honey, we wouldn’t have the electricity needed to run it even if we could get our hands on one.”
I jumped off the cot. “I’ll be fine. It’s barely a scratch.”
Bo pointed to the spot I had just vacated. “Sit, Acedia.” His voice left no room for argument. “Now.”
I looked at her threading the needle, then longingly at the door.
“Acedia,” he repeated. “You need to have a seat on the cot.”
I met his gaze as his form blurred in front of me. My face heated and a cold sweat swept over my quivering body.
“Aliens sabotage any attempts we make at advancing technology,” Doc was saying. “They will not allow us to have anything more advanced than steam power and localized batteries and motors. They say we can’t be trusted.” She snorted. “Right. We can’t be trusted. We’re not the ones farming sentient beings.”
When Doc rolled back to the cot with a rolling tray of supplies, she seemed surprised to not see me there. “Oh!”
Bo grabbed my arm and shoved me down on the cot. “Try not to move, Cedi. It will only hurt for a minute. Two stitches.”
I really wanted to please Bo. I did. I did not want to embarrass him in front of his mother-in-law. I watched helplessly as the needle came closer to my flesh. My vision blurred. The doctor grabbed my arm firmly with her free hand. The needle came closer—
I felt like I was falling.
? ? ?
“Wha—where am I?” I stuttered out. I rubbed my cheek against the soft material I was resting on, blowing some hair off my face.
A hand smoothed the hair away. “You passed out, Cedi,” Bo’s rough voice washed over me. “But you’re okay.”
I attempted to sit up, but he pushed on my shoulders, holding me in place. “Just stay down for a few minutes. Docs gone to get you some juice.”
Bo stroked his hand up and down my uninjured arm. I took comfort in the fact that he was being kind. I shifted my weight and felt a tug on my other arm. Glancing down, I saw a new bandage covering my wound.
Doc hurried into the room, a glass in hand. “Oh good. I’m glad to see you awake. I got the stitches in while you were out so, after you drink this, you’re free to go.”
