Forty-five
Matt looked up from his desk to find Shooter standing in the doorway. “Shooter, come in . . . come in and sit down.”
Matt showed him to the chair in front of the desk. “How is Chief Clark?”
Shooter smiled. “Oh, he came through the surgery okay. They removed about three feet of his colon and his spleen, but the doctors don’t expect him to have any permanent problems.”
Matt grinned. “That’s great, I’m really glad he’s going to be all right.”
“Uh, Matt, how is TJ doing?”
“Unbelievable. She seems to be well on her way to a complete recovery. Once we found the right combination of drugs and chemotherapy, we were able to kill the virus that Niemann had infected her with. Then her body was able to begin to heal itself.”
Shooter looked down at his hands for a moment, then into Matt’s eyes. “Matt, do you think she’ll be . . . I mean . . . well, will she be normal?”
Matt reached across the desk and patted him on the arm. “Shooter, we have run every test known to man on her. She is completely normal in every way, in every way!”
Shooter jumped up and shook Matt’s hand, his face beaming as if Matt had given him some priceless treasure. “God, I don’t know how we’re ever going to repay you, Matt. Can I see her now?”
“I don’t see why not. Come on, I’ll walk you up.”
As they entered the room, TJ was sitting up in bed and Sam was brushing her hair. Shooter looked dumbstruck, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
He walked in and sat on the edge of her bed. Blushing furiously, he reached over and took her hand. “TJ, you’re going to be all right.”
She looked at him for a moment with narrowed eyes. “Come here, you!” She took him by the shirt and pulled him to her.
Sam walked around the bed and took Matt by the arm. As she led him out of the room, they glanced back. Shooter and TJ were locked in a passionate embrace.
Sam looked up at Matt and smiled as the door swung shut. “That give you any ideas, sailor?”
“Why, yes, ma’am, it certainly does.”