Minutes to Burn

Chapter 76

1 Jan 08

Samantha was ready and waiting when an irritable male nurse arrived to unlock her from the slammer at nine in the morning. She stepped out into the hallway and took a deep breath, stretching her arms. It felt odd to be out of the confines of the room; it usually took her a few hours to adjust.

The nurse handed her that morning's test results-viral count: 0. Samantha rested her hands on his shoulders. "I'll always remember you," she said.

He did not smile.

She received a standing ovation when she passed the staff room and she clenched her hands above her head like a heavyweight champ. As she passed reception, one of the secretaries stood up, holding out a pink message slip. "NIH called this morning, girl," she said. "Heard you were available."

Without slowing her pace, Samantha snapped up the message slip, heading for the entrance.

Colonel Strickland caught her at the door, placing a firm hand on her elbow. Samantha had to tilt her head way back to look him in the face.

"Secretary Benneton was quite impressed with your efforts," he said. "He strongly recommended that we extend to you an offer to return as Chief of the DAD."

Samantha ran a hand through her messy brown hair, scratching her scalp. "You're not gonna much like my proposal for what you can do with your offer. Sir."

"I imagined you'd have…reservations." He raised a neatly-trimmed eyebrow. "Retiring?"

She laughed and pushed through the door. "Yeah," she called over her shoulder. "I thought I'd take up needlepoint."

Though she didn't see it, Colonel Douglas Strickland actually smiled.

"Hello there," Samantha said when Maricarmen picked up the phone. "Where are my children?"

"Iggy and Danny are watching cartoons," Maricarmen said. "And Kiera is pretending not to."

Samantha tapped the sat phone against her ear. A few lanes over, a car honked.

"What is that? Are you out?"

"Free at last."

"I should get the children. They'll be so excited."

"I'd rather surprise them in person. But I'm taking a quick trip to Hopkins first."

"Johnny Hopkins Hospital? In Baltimore? What for?"

Samantha smiled. "To visit a friend."

"A friend?"

"Dr. Martin Foster. Don't worry, I'll be home soon."

Hanging up, she fiddled with the radio until she found an oldies station. The Carpenters came on, and she sang along with them, zoning out and watching the trees fly by at the edge of the highway.

Finally, she reached the hospital, parked the van near the Ross Building, and found her way to the Infectious Disease Offices. She stopped outside the door, suddenly nervous. Looking down, she realized she was still wearing scrubs, and she cursed herself for not going home first to shower and change.

She entered and greeted the receptionist, a heavyset woman whose computer was framed with family pictures. "Hello, Samantha Everett here to see Dr. Foster."

"Is he expecting you?"

"No," Samantha said. "Not at all."

"Well, he's in with a patient right now. He's booked pretty solid for the next few hours."

"That's all right," Samantha said. "I'll wait."

She sat down and picked up a People magazine. She tilted a brass lamp over so she could fix her hair in the reflection.

"Ms. Everett," the receptionist said, trying not to smile. "Or is it Dr.?"

"Either," Samantha said. "Whatever."

"I think I can free him up for a few minutes at the end of the hour." She scanned the appointment book. "But I'm not certain. Maybe you'd like to wait somewhere more comfortable?"

"Sure." Samantha shrugged. "Where would you suggest?"

The receptionist smiled shyly. "Maybe it's the mother of four in me, but I always like the nursery."

"Huh," Samantha said. "Actually, that sounds nice."

She left the office and crossed the street to the Nelson Building, riding the elevator up to the second floor. A row of chairs was arrayed outside the long window where expectant mothers and fathers could see their infants for the first time. Samantha sat in an orange plastic chair, tilting it back on two legs. She stared at the rows of gorgeous, smiling babies.

Closing her eyes, Samantha thought of the Darwin virus, safely frozen in the Revco freezer back at Fort Detrick. There were still many tests to be run so that they could better understand its etiology and pathogenic-ity. Maybe some of the infected dinoflagellates had survived and were out there now, floating around in the ocean, the virus ready to find its way into another species if circumstances allowed. She prayed silently that it wouldn't again rear its head. In her mind, she sorted through the events of the past week, searching for any mistakes she may have made, any errors in judgment. It was the heaviest burden of her job-making tough decisions when lives hung in the balance. Complete accountability was difficult, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. She wondered how long she had before another deadly virus found its way to her from the Kenyan jungles, the Amazon basin, the scrubby plains of Australia.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she opened her eyes, seeing Dr.

Foster's reflection in the nursery window. He stood behind her quietly. She felt the warmth from his hand. They stayed silently like that for a few moments, Samantha sitting and Martin Foster standing behind her. Without turning around, she reached up and took his hand.

The peace was broken by a tray clattering to the ground somewhere out of sight. Iggy's voice sailed loud and clear around the corner. "Is this where the fat lady said mommy was?"

Kiera's voice followed. "It's not nice to say fat, you idiot. She was big-boned."

Samantha heard Danny laughing and Maricarmen trying to shush all three children, and a broad smile spread across her face. She leaned back in the chair, admiring the healthy newborns laid out before her, the warmth of Martin Foster's hand on her shoulder, the noise of her chil-dren growing closer. This is how it's supposed to be, she thought. This is really how it's supposed to be.

For the first time she could remember, she reached down and turned off her pager.