Free Age of Power 1: Legacy by Jon Davis Page B

see that he was
trying to get to the water pitcher on the stand next to his bed. This wasn’t
good. I could see that he was still too weak to be on his feet. I started to
say something to stop him. But when he heard my raspy voice, he held up a hand
to stop me talking.
    I gave up. Let him collapse on the floor if that was what he
wanted.  Yeesh.  Another moment passed before
he straightened up, forcing himself to move forward, to pick up the pitcher.
Stubborn idiot that he was, he was only doing this to prove that he could do
it, sickness or no. And, parched as I felt, I couldn’t exactly argue about it.
    Unhooking the finger connections to the wires Brand stumbled his
way to my bed leaning on the IV stand all the way. He poured water into a glass
and handed it to me. I saw that his hand was shaking. Drops spilled from the
cup. As I reached up to take it from him, I was stunned to discover how weak I
actually was. The glass began to slip from my hand before I managed to put it
down on a small tray. Brand flopped down on the end of the bed.
    With his help, I got a drink though, which managed to clear my
throat. I relaxed, looking at him. He was on his back, breathing heavily with
exertion. But he was giving me a smart-ass grin at the same time. Yep, trying
to prove he could do something. I didn’t waste my breath yelling about
it.  Typical Brand.  I was simply glad to be
alive.
    I said, “Damn, if this is how I feel, I think we could do
without Alex ever saving us again!”
    Brand was about to say something when the door opened. An older
guy with graying black hair and a salt and pepper beard over his jowly jaw line
stopped at the doorway. He looked relaxed. He was whistling a cheery tune right
up until he saw Brand on my bed.
    He caught his breath for a second and then yelled, “Brand Houseman,
get yourself back to bed right this second!”
    Turning his head, he called out for a nurse and then quickly
pulled a chair from the outside wall and brought it to the bed for Brand to sit
down on. “Damn it, boy! We spent days trying to keep you two away from the
reaper, and this is how you repay our efforts? Teenagers! You all think you’re immortal! Ha!”
    Given that he was wearing a white medical lab coat with a
nametag pinned to the front right pocket that said ‘Kirksten,’ I guessed that
he was our doctor. He sounded too grouchy to be a nurse. I was feeling so blown
out, I thought about filing a complaint. I chuckled at the thought and laid my
head back down. I was feeling too crappy to argue.  Just
then, a nurse with a nametag reading ‘Wells’ came in.  Slender,
with long auburn hair and blue eyes, she was just a bit over Brand’s height.
Kirksten gave her a quick order to help Brand to his bed.
    With her help, Brand made his way back to bed. Kirksten came
around to check my pulse. I watched with half open eyes as he timed the pulse
to his watch. I found it amusing that he was ignoring the diagnostic screen
right next to him. Some people were old fashioned, I supposed. I looked past
Kirksten and noticed that Brand didn’t seem to mind the pretty nurse helping
him out. I gave a slight cough.
    Brand glanced over his shoulder at me, and I caught a wicked
grin on his face. Then there was alarm on his face as he swayed and stumbled
back. Nurse Wells stopped his fall with her quick deft hands. I noted a look of
sympathy as she continued helping Brand. She even fluffed his pillows and moved
them around to help him sit up.
    Settling back, Brand said, “Sorry Doc, Vaughn needed my help.
Kinda forgot that I’m not all that much better!”
    Kirksten gave him a rueful chortle. He said, “I see! Well,
consider this as a good reminder!”
    Once he finished checking me, he opened a storage drawer in the
nightstand next to my bed. Reaching in, he pulled out a straw. Taking it out of
its plastic wrapping, he put it in and brought it up to sip from it. I sighed
gratefully.
    He smiled as he said, “So only a few hours