“What’s that, Dean?”
Frank nudged his father with a whisper. “Dad, don’t encourage him to keep talking.”
Joe snarled at Frank. “Go on, Dean.”
“Thanks.” Dean took a deep breath and looked at Ellen who sat next to Robbie. “We originals have a bond. But you, Joe, your family has such a bond . . . I can’t even describe to you what I saw last night. I know you’ve always treated Ellen as a daughter but I don’t think I realized, until last night, how much she really is your daughter. Blood or no blood, she is a Slagel with the way she was with your son. I really believe Robbie would have given in if she hadn’t been there and been his strength. I just wanted to let you know that.”
“Thank you, Dean,” Joe said to him.
“You’re welcome.” Dean smiled and handed the radio back to Ellen who held Robbie’s hand. “Talk dirty to Frank.”
Ellen raised her eyes with a ‘thank you’, and took the radio.
Joe watched Dean return to the lab. The airwaves were silent. He turned to Frank. “That was really nice of him to say. Don’t you think, Frank?”
Frank scoffed with a flutter of his lips, “Right, he wants something.”
Joe tossed his hands in the air. “I give up. Talk to Ellen.”
Just as Ellen was about to speak, she noticed Robbie’s stature had worn down more. “Frank, Joe, I’m gonna take Robbie back to bed.”
Robbie stopped her. “No, El, I’m fine.”
“Robbie.” She faced him. “If you want to be strong you have to rest. You still have to fight this thing.”
Robbie nodded. “All right.”
Ellen stood up at the same time as Robbie. “Frank, will you stop by later and see me?”
“You know I will.”
“Will you tell Henry to stop by also? He hasn’t even tried to call on the radio or phone.”
Frank nodded. “I’ll tell him. But in Henry’s defense, he’s a walking zombie from being up all night with the baby.”
Ellen looked happy about this. “He got up with the baby? Did you have to help him at all?”
“Help him?” Frank snickered. “El, I asked him to heat the bottle and he burned it. But I made him stay up to watch and learn. He’ll learn.” Frank winked.
“Thanks. And we’d . . .” She motioned her head to Robbie. “We’d better get some rest.” She grabbed hold of Robbie’s arm. “Bye Frank. Bye Joe.”
Frank stood there watching Ellen and Robbie until they were no longer in his view. He stepped back from his close peer through the window. “You think he’ll be all right, Dad?”
“Fine, Frank,” Joe stated with so much confidence. “I think he’ll be just fine.” Hearing Dean’s words about Ellen running through his mind were only a confirmation of what he already felt to be true. Joe breathed a little easier now. Robbie was home. Robbie was better. One crisis, one of many in Beginnings, was finally over.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“The virus is still present, but definitely decreasing,” Dean told Ellen as he stared at the computer shots of his slides. “Robbie’s not in remission.”
“What happened, Dean?” She asked. “Did that antiserum finally kick in?”
“I don’t think so,” Dean shrugged. “If you ask me, it has to be a combination of what we used. I mean, rabbit three and Robbie both had the exact same things given to them. Rabbits one and two only had the antiserum.”
“That just doesn’t make any sense,” Ellen stated as she stared at the screen with him. “What was in those vials was an antiserum. Not an antidote. The results we are seeing here are the results of an antidote. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“So where did the antidote come in?”
“It has to be the serum we got from the SUTs.”
“No.” Ellen shook her head.
“No? Ellen, yes.” Dean spun around to face her. “Where else is it coming from then?”
“Us. Our agent seventeen. We had good results with that.”
Dean fluttered some in his words. “Granted yes. But . . .” He spun back to the computer and started showing slide after slide to her. “None, not this one, or this one, or this one shows the defeat of the virus. What we are witnessing with Robbie, is the defeat of the virus. We aren’t doing that. If we were, then we would have done it earlier. And . . . and mind you,” Dean spoke so corrective to her. “A-17 would have worked on Greg and the others. We gave them that with the steroids and all. It has to be their antiserum. It finally kicked in. It sped up the virus to the point it burned itself out.”
Ellen waved her hand in a scoffing motion. “Oh that is the stupidest theory you have had yet.”
“Stupid?” Dean stood up speaking dramatically. “Stupid is thinking that somehow an agent that we’ve used before, somehow miraculously, without change mind you, started to work.”
“Oh listen to the way you talk to me. You’re an asshole Dean.”
“Asshole.” Dean swayed his head and sat down.
“Combination, it has to be it. A combination of the two.”
“That’s what it has to be. Now, if that proves true, which we will check, then we’ve beaten this thing as long as we can recreate what they have in their antiserum. Otherwise we’re out of luck. Unless of course, according to your theory A-17 actually works. Which it wouldn’t . . .” Dean got a bright look on his face. “Unless.”
“Unless?” Ellen hurried to his side. “Unless what?”
“Ellen, what is an antiserum or inoculation?”
“It’s giving someone an immunity to whatever.”
“Yeah but, how is that done?” Dean quizzed. “Think about it.”
“Giving a small dose of the virus, small enough not to harm, but large enough to make the body think it has it.”
“Small pox, polio. Remember those vaccines. How were they done?”
Ellen wondered where he was going. “Synthesized versions. The most effective vaccines were the ones made with the live . . . the live . . .” she smiled, “virus.”
“Exactly.” Dean smiled also. “What if our agent seventeen actually does work, but it works on the original strain, not the mutated form. That would mean that the antiserum is created with the virus taken directly from the host, whether the host be an animal or test tube. The antiserum is the virus, original virus, in a milder form.”
“So when you injected Robbie, that antiserum virus took over the mutated one and our agent seventeen beat the original virus, therefore beating the illness all together.”
Dean nodded. “So in essence, if we want to beat this thing, right now, if A-17 works against the original strain, we give our victims the original strain, taken directly from the host and then give them A-17.”
“Dean, even though we’re further ahead than we were three days ago, we still are out of luck. We don’t have the original strain.”
“Good point.” Dean slumped on the counter.
“And . . . this Henry style theory game we have going, is good. But, we’re wrong. If the antiserum was taken from the host, and that host virus took over Robbie’s virus, we would have seen the difference. Just like the future samples were different than the ones Robbie had. So should the host sample too, right?”
“You’re right. We would have seen the change in the virus itself. Obviously it didn’t happen.” Dean returned to the computer screen. “Robbie samples. Robbie at eight a.m., Robbie at ten a.m., Robbie at . . .”
“Holy shit!” Ellen commented loudly as she moved to the screen. “Look Dean, it changed.”
“Where?”
“Right there. Minor, but change. You probably weren’t looking for a change in the virus, that’s why you didn’t see it.”
“I wasn’t,” Dean said. “I was only looking for diminishing.”
“Well you missed it then. Check out the right top portion.”
“I can’t Ellen, not right now. My eyes are pretty bad. Could you describe it for me? What is the change?”
&
nbsp; Ellen was silent.
“El?”
“I’m sorry, Dean.” She backed up.
“What?” Dean in a spin stood up and followed her. “You’re kidding me right? What was all that work we did El? I trained you to see the way I would, so you could tell me, so I could work. My eyes are blurry right now so things aren’t crystal clear. This is one of those times we trained for.”
“Yeah it is.”
“O.K., so why won’t you help me now? What’s the problem?” Dean spoke to her back.
“The problem is, Dean,” she turned and faced him, “All those plans, all that training went out the window the second you chose Jason to work with you. Since you’re working with him, then I suggest you train him to be your eyes because I refuse to be.”
“This is bullshit. We are working together now. That ought to tell you something.”
“That tells me you’re stuck and you have no choice right now.”
“Wrong. That is wrong.” Dean told her “I was mad at you. We’re getting along fine right now.” He saw her turn away. “We’re not getting along fine?”
“Do you think just because we made it through a crisis that everything that transpired between us is swept under the carpet?”
“I thought so.”
“And everything you said, all the mean things, and the way you are, I should just forget about?” Ellen asked with an edge.
“You haven’t?”
“No.”
Dean laughed angrily. “We haven’t fought in days Ellen. Why in the world would you . . .” He grunted in frustration. “Never mind. This is so typically female of you. It’s just like a woman to throw it back in your face when you least expect it.”
“Am I throwing it in your face, Dean?”
“As a matter of fact . . .” He followed her as she paced. “You are.”
“Good.”
“That’s wrong,” Dean pointed, “and it’s wrong that you won’t help me.”
“No Dean, it’s wrong that you assume I would. I’m not. Find someone else to be your seeing eye pet because I’m not. My suggestion to you, if you want to see the changes in the virus, then you should wait until your sight becomes clearer.”
“That’s pitiful.”
“Excuse me?” Ellen crossed her arms with attitude.
“It’s pitiful how you’ve sunk to the depth where you have to be so callous and so mean.”
“And you weren’t?” Ellen’s arms waved about with her every loud emotional word. “You weren’t callous and mean to me for no reason? Yet you want me to forget about how you started this whole thing. When you have yet to apologize for how you overreacted.”
“Is that what you’re waiting for an apology? I’m sorry! I’m sorry I was like that to you.”
“Thank you.”
Dean breathed outward and dropped his head forward. “Now . . . now can we get past this and work together?”
“Nope.” Ellen raised her eyes.
“What!?” Dean was so shocked that his one word reached a high pitch. He graveled in anger when he received an ‘I don’t care’ expression from her and she turned her back to him. “You know what Ellen, forget what I said about you being typically female. You’re not. You’re being typically Ellen. But if I were Frank, I could say, do, act, treat you any way I wanted to and all I would have to do is give you some half ass, lame, pathetic apology and you would run to me at the snap of my fingers. Why are you like that with him and not me?”
Ellen spun to him. “Because you’re not Frank! And you will never be Frank! Don’t even flatter yourself by putting your name in the same sentence as his.”
Dean’s breath escaped him as fast as his heart beat from her words. Through his anger and frustration, his hand slammed down hard upon the counter. “I can’t believe you would even talk to me like that. Me of all people.”
“This argument with you is over, Dean. Drop it.”
“I will not drop it.” He charged to her. “I was ready to end this shit and put it behind us.”
“You’re ready to end it only because you need me.”
“Well I don’t need you anymore! I don’t want your help. If you were the last person on this earth I wouldn’t come to you.”
“It’s funny how you can say this all now, like I’m the bad guy, when you were the one who started this war without any basis for confrontation.” Ellen backed up from him, “This is over. I’m not arguing anymore.”
“It’s not over.” He stepped to her. “What you said . . .”
“Over!” She threw her hands up.
“It’s not . . .” Stepping forward Dean swayed some, his hand reached to the side for support of the counter when he felt the blood rushing, filling his head, and everything went immediately black. “El.”
Ellen saw the expression and demeanor totally change from angry to scared. Instinctively she stepped to him, but stopped. In silence and debate she stood for a second, her jaws twitching. She swallowed so harshly the lump in her throat barely moved. “You were saying it’s not over. I think it is.” She stepped back even further watching as Dean swayed his head back and forth, gripping one hand so tightly to the counter’s edge his knuckles were red. He reached to his side, trying to find his stool, trying to find something to sit on. Ellen closed her eyes tightly then stepped to him. “Dean.” She spoke softly and grabbed hold of his arm. “Here.” She led him to sit.
With his eyes still forward, Dean sat down. “Thank you.”
Ellen leaned closer to behind him. “This isn’t getting us anywhere Dean. Nowhere. I don’t want to fight with you. I don’t.” She stood upright.
“El . . .”
“Jenny?” Ellen said the name with an odd tone.
“What?”
“Jenny Matoose is here.”
“Where?”
Ellen moved to the window. “Aren’t you the lucky one right now, Dean. She’s wearing an awful shade of blue. She looks like something out of a comic book. Where is Henry now?” She pulled up a chair and picked up the radio.
Despite Ellen’s off-the-wall reference to Dean’s blindness, he wished he could see what she was talking about. But then something hit him, a thought as he heard Ellen talk in the radio. Where was Henry?
<><><><>
“I feel really awful, Joe.” Henry walked with Joe part way toward the mobile lab. “I don’t mean to be like this, but I am.”
“Is it like you have a break from her and you are going to seize the opportunity.”
“Oh no Joe, I don’t think.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Henry stopped walking, placed his hands in the pockets of is blue work pants and looked up to the sky.
“Henry? Are you trying to pull back from her?”
“Not intentionally.”
“But you are.”
“I know,” Henry said sadly.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Joe was wise. He had been around the block once too many times. By the look of him, Joe knew Henry wasn’t as confused about things as he appeared to be. All Joe had to do was get him to start talking and he knew Henry would open up like a bad wound. “I think you do. You thought you two were married, you aren’t. You’re upset maybe because she doesn’t want to make it legit now?”
“A little, yeah.”
“But Henry, you both told me there were reasons other than to end the Frank and Dean thing.”
“True.”
“So the reasons weren’t ‘real’ marriage reasons.”
“No, Joe, they weren’t.”
Joe nodded. “So how can you be upset if she doesn’t want to continue the facade?”
“Because she doesn’t want to end the façade,” Henry said. “She wants me to play this whole wedding thing out, if need be, all the way to the altar. It’s a mock wedding that is making a mockery of all that we were.”
“Your marriage was a mockery.”
Henry gasped. “That’s
not true, Joe. We still were friends. We still got along. We were great companions.”
“Were?”
“Were.” Henry stated. “I can’t explain, Joe, but even though we weren’t husband and wife in the physical sense, we were in all other ways.”
Joe nodded. “Makes sense. Maybe you need to tell her this. Maybe you need to explain how you feel instead of avoiding her until she forgets about you all together.”
“And she will.”
“Yep.” Joe pulled out a cigarette. “Not that she doesn’t have a child to remind her, but … she’ll move on, that’s Ellen.”
“I know.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Henry, I like the way you two get along.”
“Really?”
“Yep, you’re annoying as shit, but she’s happy and doesn’t fight.”
Henry’s head lowered.
“What is it, Henry? What is it you aren’t saying?”
“I wish I could say.”
“Then if you can’t say it to me, say it to Ellen.”
“I can’t. Just like I can’t tell her I really want to be married to her the way we were, I can’t tell her that because more I think about it, the more I don’t deserve it.”
Joe almost laughed. “Don’t deserve it? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Things, Joe … just things. I didn’t do things right, I know it. I …” Henry tossed out his hand. “I know it.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I would swear you feel guilty.”
Henry went from looking down to making eye contact with Joe.
“What do you feel guilty about, Henry?”
“I deceived my best friend, and despite how he acts now, the deception is there. It’ll never be the same. I Deceived him Joe and I still am by wanting Ellen.”
“They broke up long before you and Ellen snuck off and thought you got married.”
“I deceived him before that,” Henry said.
“Are you talking about Nick?” Joe stepped to him. “Henry? Are you talking about Nick’s conception. My daughter swears up and down that she hasn’t a clue how that happened? Is she lying?”
The Inner Struggle: Beginnings Series Book 7 Page 38