| Subject: Chapter 30 (long) |
Author:
Kate
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Date Posted: 09:34:52 04/03/01 Tue
In reply to:
Kate
's message, "Things My Mother Taught Me" on 09:29:32 04/03/01 Tue
******************
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
They had dinner that night in the interior courtyard.
Nikita absently counted heads and set the table. When Sara brought out the salad, she frowned. "Is someone else coming?"
"Oh." Nikita recounted the guests. "I ... forgot ... Milla's not ..."
"Don't worry." Sara put a comforting hand on her arm. "It's only been a few days. She just needs some time. She'll come around."
"I hope so." Nikita carefully picked up the extra place setting and rearranged the plates so there wouldn't be a gap. "I miss her."
"So do I," Sara said, handing Nikita a tissue when she went back to the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Nikita blotting her eyes and clutching the extra plate to her chest. Sara called out, "Is olive oil on the table?"
"Y-y-yes," Nikita answered, and in another moment, she joined Sara in the kitchen.
Nikita had intended to serve something light for dinner, but then, after considering Andy, decided lasagne might be better. He ate half the pan, most of the bread and nearly a bottle of wine.
"You must have been some teenager," Nikita murmured.
"Oh. Sorry. Did I eat too much again?"
"No, no, you're fine. I was just wondering what Elena must have thought --" Nikita broke off, suddenly embarrassed, but Andy, looking longingly at the cake that Sara brought out, said, "Oh, you know Mum?"
"A long time ago," Nikita said carefully.
"No kidding."
Sam cleared his throat. "Actually, Michael is my birth father."
Nikita and Michael both froze.
"Yeah? I thought you might be related when I got her records. Funny, I always thought your dad died when you were little, Sammy," Andy said. "So. Mum was your first wife, huh?"
"There was a ... misunderstanding about my death," Michael said cautiously, when Sam didn't seem prepared to offer any details.
"Well, it's a small world, huh?" Andy asked rhetorically. His eyes gleamed as Sara carefully cut him a wedge of cake. "Thanks, love."
"Welcome," Sara grinned at him. "I think the rule that applies at home should apply here."
"Right, right, no seconds till everyone else eats," Andy said, forking up a huge bite of cake. He closed his eyes and mumbled. "Delish. Absolutely delish."
Sam cleared his throat. "So, Andy, what's the next step for Nikita?"
"Oh. Gotta find a donor. Pregnant woman. Be best if she's pretty far enough along, I'd like to start growing the little beggars as soon as possible. I'm calling Nikita's doctor tomorrow to see if I can rent some space at the hospital's research lab."
"Can you do that?" Michael asked.
"Sure, no worries," Andy shrugged. "They love for people like me to come."
Nikita eyed the table. The nerves on the tips of her fingers and her feet were dead, so she had to concentrate when she picked up anything. But even with her disability she hadn't made as big of a mess as Andy had. The tablecloth was damp because Andy had knocked over the centerpiece. There were crumbs and spilt wine all around him. His shirt was dotted with tomato sauce, and he had a red smear on his chin. If he was like this at dinner, what must he do to a medical lab? "What do you mean, people like you?" she asked.
Sara grinned, handing everyone else a piece of cake. "You'd never know it to look at him, but our Andy is quite the celebrity in medical circles. He goes to a hospital and little crowds of researchers and doctors follow him around, hoping to soak up knowledge."
"They usually end up cleaning up after him," Sam said.
"Not my fault everything's so small," Andy mumbled around another bite of cake. "The counters hit my knees and the doorways are always too bloody -- sorry, Sara -- blasted -- sorry! -- blooming small. Crack my skull on ‘em."
"Everyone loves to see him come," Sara said.
"And they're happy to see him go," Sam grinned. "Ask the hospital if they'll provide you an assistant, too."
"They'll give me too bloody -- uh -- too many assistants anyway," Andy sighed. "Hope I don't hurt any of ‘em."
"A few years ago, Andy tripped over an assistant and gave him a concussion," Sara explained. "Don't worry, Andy, no one remembers that except you. I'm sure they'll rent you space."
"Yeah, probably." Andy finished his cake. His eyes kept straying to the uneaten portion, and Sara, smiling, cut him another wedge.
"Thanks, love."
"So, you'll find the research space ... do you think you can find a donor at the hospital?" asked Sam.
"Dunno. Maybe. I'll look around." Andy's eyes narrowed and he suddenly pointed at Sara with his fork. "Hey. When's the little bloke coming round?"
"If you mean the baby, the doctor says two months."
"Damn. Was hoping it was sooner. Two months is eight weeks ... was hoping to get this wrapped up in a month. Gotta do some tests with Nikita, then get the donor lined up ... Too bad. You'd be perfect. I know you're healthy, cause Sam's been taking care of you."
Sara gave Sam a speculative look, then turned to Nikita. "I'll trade you an umbilical cord for a room at the Lucia for two months. Actually, it'll probably be about five weeks."
"What?" Nikita said, shocked. Concentration broken, her fork clattered to her plate, sprinkling cake crumbs across the table.
"Now, Sara --" Sam began, his face white with anger. "That's not what I --"
"Wait a minute, Sammy." Sara waved him aside and focused on Nikita. "This is my first baby. Sammy's a bit nervous about it. He doesn't like the hospital in Cairo. It's silly, I know, their hospital is perfectly fine. But he's never had a baby before either, and new fathers can be a little ... difficult. So he wants me to go somewhere civilized. Like London. Or Sorrento."
"Now, just a minute --" Sam started at the same time Michael said, "Well, I don't know --"
"Why on earth not?" Sara finished the last bite of cake. "It'd make everyone happy."
"I'm not happy at all," Sammy said furiously.
"I'm not either," Michael said, his eyes dark and forbidding.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable --" Nikita started to say, but Sara cut her off.
"Nonsense. Nikita needs some cord blood and I'll have some for her soon. Five weeks should be enough time to get things set up with the lab and get Nikita's preliminary tests done, right, Andy?"
"Yeah, should be about right," Andy said calmly, finishing the last of his cake and, without asking, pulled Sam's plate over and finished his.
"Totally unacceptable," Sammy snapped.
"I agree." Michael frowned.
Sara rolled her eyes. "Come on, Nikita. Let's wash dishes and talk about this. Alone," she glared at the men.
*****************
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