CHAPTER 348: GRAND GESTURES

"You know you can’t let them know that you are onto them..."

Ever the present shadow, Athena mused, hearing Ewan’s voice behind her. Wasn’t he out with Aiden, talking over the next steps just minutes ago? She hadn’t noticed him step in behind her.

"Are we still talking about the intruders, the fanatics trying to break into my lab?"

"No," Ewan muttered, standing beside her, eyes trained on the television set, on which Morgan’s picture was displayed. The gory one Athena had taken about an hour ago, the one she had sent to the president.

It didn’t take them long to get around publicizing the info. He faintly shook his head. Fulfilling their promise to the public must feel so good, he concluded, aware of the buzzing starting around them—from the medical officials in the room to the happy patients and visiting party.

They must think that the Grey madness was over. If only they knew.

"Your thoughts are not with me?"

Ewan’s attention was immediately returned to his partner, who stood still facing the television.

"Sorry, I was sidetracked by the buzzing around us. The people are happy." He could hear the chatter, the joyful chatter, and the claps on hands and backs. And he could see some heading toward Athena. Maybe to congratulate her?

"I think we should move. We need to get the nonsense out of my body, after all..." As she spoke, she donned a necessary smile on her lips while heading toward the entrance to the hallway.

She shook hands and accepted the admiration and thanks from the people—congratulations. But it didn’t stop in the hallway, not until she made a sharp bend into another corridor and then into her personal laboratory in the hospital.

"Overwhelmed?"

Athena shrugged and took a seat. "You were saying something earlier about my being careful..."

"Yeah..." Ewan concurred, taking a seat three chairs away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

He was not oblivious of the sharp tension between them, albeit unstable as it was; one that originated after the less than five seconds moment they had experienced in her private lab downtown.

"I don’t think you should let the twins know. I think you should pretend not to know that it was them behind the installation of the spyware in your body."

"They will be dumb to think I’m not already aware once the spyware is removed."

"Sometimes people refuse to see the truth, out of fear of what the truth entails, the consequences..." A pause. "So, who will be doing the surgery? No matter how smart you are, I don’t think you can perform surgery on yourself."

Athena managed a disbelieving chuckle.

"Or can you?" Ewan asked, making a subtle attempt at humor. He smiled when Athena chuckled more. "You know you’re always full of surprises,"

Athena scoffed. "The pot calling the kettle black. You’re the one actually ridden with it." As she spoke, she whipped out her phone and dialed a number.

"I have someone I can trust..."

"You can?"

Athena sighed wearily, dropping the phone onto her thighs. "Yes. But I don’t know if she can do it alone. She’s never been in surgery alone before. I don’t know if she can handle the pressure or the after-effects of the surgery. She might want to know more. And I fear for her safety if the twins find out she performed surgery on me. I don’t want her getting into trouble because of me. If I had a choice, I’d rather avoid it."

She paused on dialing the number and sneaked a look at Ewan, slightly put out when she saw he was busy on his phone. Shouldn’t he be watching her, hanging onto her every word?

Athena had no strength this time to wonder at her crudeness, her lame deductions. She just let it flow unbidden. Who was he typing away with? Someone more important than this conversation?

Had what she read in his eyes down in the underground lab been a figment of her imagination? Was she thinking too much?

She let out a deep sigh before she knew it, eyes dilating when Ewan looked up and met her gaze.

"You okay?" he asked next.

Athena didn’t bother with an answer. She rather looked away from him to the table where many chemical mixtures were being kept. But she was all too aware when he left his seat and sat on the one beside her.

"Hey... everything will be alright," he murmured, his voice not helping the turmoil starting within her as a result of his closeness, his husky scent.

Maybe she really needed to take it a step further with Antonio, she thought; her tongue suddenly heavy to speak. Yes, take it a step further with Antonio. She’d have to work around the anger she was holding against him. And then maybe, everything would be fine.

Yes, that. She’d just been without sex for so long. And that was that.

Her mind seemed appeased with that theory, but her body didn’t stop the rioting. To retain her sanity, she sharply stood up, stunning Ewan who had been about to take her hand in his, feeling her restlessness. Only if he knew why.

"Athena, what’s the matter? If it’s about the doctor, you don’t have to worry. I’ve contacted a friend of mine. Not the best in the field, but he’s good. He’ll be here with a few of his own people... if that’s okay."

And there he went, doing things like that. Athena thought forlornly. Did her poor heart have any chance at all?

"Why didn’t you utilize his help when I was down and out? That way, we wouldn’t have had this trouble in our hands."

"The best was needed to keep you alive. And that’s what I got. I’m sorry again for how things turned out... but you can look on the brighter side... if you didn’t have the piece of spyware inside you, we wouldn’t have known that the twins were also involved." Ewan pointed out meekly.

Athena nodded slowly, reluctantly accepting this fact while battling her mind over the grand gestures Ewan bombarded her with daily.

"He was the one you were chatting with?" she asked, retaking her seat, inhaling deeply to center herself. All to no avail. Her skin nerves buzzed to no end at the proximity. And they literally screamed out when he took her hands in his and held them.

"Of course. He’ll be here in less than five minutes. His hospital isn’t far from here. Let’s be patient a little longer."

A significant pause.

"You can tell your trusted fellow to keep here out of bounds."

Athena nodded, her throat too clogged to speak, and sent off a message to her favorite doctor after Finn—only that Finn was a ghost of Heron now.

She wondered if they had gotten to the black cells yet, and hoped they did so without being intercepted. She didn’t have a single ounce of strength left for another attack. She needed food, she needed rest. Already.

Her thoughts zipped out of her mind when she felt Ewan drawing circles on her palm. She turned to ask him what he was doing, but whatever spit remained on her tongue dried up when she met his gaze. This close, he was breathtaking.

A second only, then she turned away, swallowing. The circle drawing stopped too.

Surely, he could feel the tension, she mused bitterly—torn between taking her hand away from his and telling him to continue the relaxing gesture.

In the end, she did neither, only letting her hand rest limply on his. To his credit, he squeezed it gently, then with gentlemanly finesse, placed his palm on the other side of her head, pulling it to rest on his shoulder.

"Everything will be fine, Athena. I promise."

With us? Athena couldn’t help but wonder, shutting her eyes. Or with everything around us.

Her phone pinged with a message—Antonio. She was sure because she had used a separate ringtone for his calls and texts.

Maybe another apology. She thought, not checking it. She didn’t want this moment interrupted or made awkward again. Antonio’s message could wait until after her surgery.

A knock sounded on the door a few minutes later, at the same time Athena’s phone rang out. Displeased that the comfortable silence was cut short, she hissed softly, sharply, her ruffled feathers only relaxing when she saw who was calling.

"Linda, what’s the situation?"

"Okay. Send him in." She hung up and turned to Ewan, who was watching the door. "I think your doctor is here."

When the door opened, Athena was amazed to see who was behind it. "Kent?"

She glared at Ewan. "You said he was just a normal doctor!"

Kent laughed. "I’m not sure if I should be offended by that..."

"You should be! You’re one of the leading doctors in the city, and a senior!" Athena continued, not looking away from Ewan, who suddenly found the door more interesting than the two humans beside him.