Page 93 of The Love Operation

Me: That’s my favorite word.

Benedict: You wanna know my favorite word?

Me: Tragic?

Benedict: How’d you guess.

Me: Goodbye, Benegic.

Benedict: I’ll see you tomorrow, Spinal Cord.

Tomorrow.

Me: See you tomorrow.

Chapter 23

Double Dose

I’m back in Delenn’s lab after clinic. We’ve run through the tests again, and I’ve just swallowed a fresh set of memory pills. She’s prepping the electricity.

I sit like always, heart thudding louder than I want it to. She moves around me, humming something under her breath, and I focus on a fleck in the ceiling tile.

I’m ready to get my ability back, thankful that Delenn’s agreeable before I have to push.

But before she even straps the first sensor to my temple, it happens. It surges up, vivid, as if it’s been waiting just beneath the surface.

Benedict steps up beside me at the clinic workstation. He says, “I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.”

I inhale sharply and land back in the lab.

“You okay?” Delenn asks.

“Yeah. Yeah. Just thought of something.”

She’s so engrossed in the procedure, she doesn’t press.

I blink. I can still do it. The ability’s still here. The meds haven’t even kicked in yet. Whatever was blocking me before—fatigue, stress—is gone. I’m unblocked.

“Ready?” Delenn asks.

She’s already applied the wires. It’s time.

I should tell her. It’s back. We don’t need to do this. But she’s watching me now, concern slowly blooming on her face.

What if this is temporary? What if it vanishes again?

I couldn’t do it in the shower last night. I didn’t try again after that. And now, it’s too late to test with her watching me. I’m afraid she’ll cancel the whole session—she’ll want to wait and see.

I can’t risk that.

Without fully making a decision, without thinking it all the way through, I nod. “Let’s do it.”

And she does. She proceeds with another round of electricity, completely unaware that we might be doubling up.

Chapter 24

Dilaudid and VapoRub