Project Prometheus Ch. 49 - Teaser (Patreon)

“Do you have to go away, Doc Zuzie?” Clarissa sniffled as the group surrounded her bed in the medbay.

“I’m afraid so, kiddo! I’m OK for now, but I can’t be walking around with this clunky thing on my chest! I mean, it might look cool, but not at all a good look for a doctor,” Zuzanna said good-naturedly.

The device she was referring to was the artificial heart that Korsa had fabricated on the fly. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it was sound enough where it would help meet Zuzanna’s needs in the short term. It was pulled together with whatever pieces Korsa had on hand and anything she needed to make it function. It was doing the job of pumping Zuzanna’s blood, but it wouldn’t hold for the long term.

“I don’t know. The cyborg look works for you. You could almost be like that old holovid actress from way back in the day,” Daved joked.

“Oh, God! Please don’t compare me to that schmaltzy hack!” Zuzanna groaned.

“I don’t know. Maybe Daved is right in this instance. Maybe,” Jenque giggled while looking over at her husband.

“Miss Inari and her friends are going to fix you?” Jack asked, having come there with his parents.

“They will, Jackie boy! They won’t leave me like this! Besides, I still have to get back here and teach you how to dance with a girl right,” Zuzanna teased, making the young boy’s face fill with blood.

“Oh? And just who would you be learning to dance for?” Jenque asked, curious who her son might be sweet on.

“Doctor patient confidentiality, Jenny! Sorry, but you’re not finding that out!” Zuzanna told her friend.

“Gah! Are you ever going to stop using that against me???” Jenque groaned, knowing that pressing the matter now was pointless.

“Nope! Besides, your boy is growing up! He’s allowed to have some secrets from his ma!” Zuzanna chuckled.

“With you leaving, I gotta ask, who’s going to run the clinic?” Doug wondered, knowing that people weren’t taking Zuzanna leaving lightly.

“You’re standing right next to her!” Zuzanna giggled, looking over at Callista. The Prodosians looked over at Callista and she blushed while grinning a megawatt smile.

“Zuzie’s letting you run the clinic?” Emma asked, glad that at least it was going to be run by someone equally loved and respected in town.

“She’s not only letting me run it, she let me have it!” Callista told them all.

“Zuzie… let you… have it??” Daved gasped.

“Yeah. I did. I realized that as far as the clinic goes, my time running it is over. Time to let someone new hold the reins for a while,” Zuzanna told them.

“Don’t you have to be a doctor to own and run a clinic like that?” Jenque wondered.

“Already ahead of you on that, Jenny. Got in contact with the Galactic Board and went to bat for Callie. With everything she’s done to help me there, she pretty much already is one. Just has to sit through the interview and pay the fee to be recognized as one,” Zuzanna informed the lot of them. They all looked to Zuzanna, then Callista, and back again, before everyone was laughing and smiling, happy at hearing all of this.

“Doctor Callista Tohlari! It has a real nice ring to it!” Daved said, congratulating the woman.

“Thanks, Daved! I thought so too!” Callista grinned, taking the compliment.

“I sure hope you plan on stopping by for dinner! You know that invitation has been sitting out there for a while!” Doug told the woman and she giggled.

“Oh, you better believe I will! Started hearing talk about your famous pot pies! I need to see for myself if the chatter around it is true!” Callista said with a laugh.

“Can I call you Doc Callie?” Clarissa asked shyly, looking up at the woman.

“Of course you can, sweetie!”

“Oh, and Callie?” Zuzanna called out, catching the nurse’s attention. “Make sure you take care of everyone, yeah?”