Bad Nerd Rising

by Grady, D. R.

  “Jorge, this is Dr. Tia Morrison. She’s here to help us figure out what’s wrong with our wells,” he said. Jorge reminded her of a grandfather. White beard, neatly trimmed hair, and twinkling brown eyes, he offered a capable looking hand for her to shake.

  Which she whole-heartedly did. She smiled at him. “I’m happy to be here. I can’t wait to get started,” she told him honestly.

  “We’ve been anticipating your arrival, Dr. Morrison.” He spoke in an even toned, pleasant voice. “We have some basic microbiology skills, but we’re lab technicians at the hospital.”

  Her spine relaxed even more. “Tia,” she corrected. A woman glided up behind Jorge, and as she stepped around him, Tia nearly gasped. The woman possessed the most beautiful face she’d ever seen. Her light brown skin glowed. “You’re a scientist?” Her brunette hair was shiny and thick, and her eyes sparkled a clear emerald green. Her facial structure was perfect symmetry.

  The woman laughed. “People ask me that all the time. I’m beginning to get a complex,” she said in a friendly voice, her accent definitely Rurikstanian.

  “I’m Tia.”

  “I’m Helena,” the woman said. Tia laughed.

  Helena arched a perfect brow.

  “Wasn’t Helena the face that launched a thousand ships?”

  “Many wars were fought over her,” Aleksi agreed, his lips quirking to the side in the most delightful manner. Tia was afraid her insides would melt and embarrass her by pooling at his feet. Probably not a good impression if she ruined the man’s shoes.

  “I tend to stay in the lab,” Helena said dryly.

  Tia laughed. “Me, too, but then I’m more nerd than beautiful.”

  “You’re beautiful,” Helena said. “In fact, you could be a model.” Her eyes swept up and down Tia’s body in a casual survey. She nodded.

  Tia shook her head vehemently. “You haven’t spoken with the Apes.”

  “The apes?” Jorge repeated.

  She turned to smile at him, but couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “My brothers.”

  “Ah,” Helena said. “I have a sister, but no brothers. How many do you have?”

  “Three,” Tia said. Already liking this woman very much.

  Helena laughed, the sound merry and sweet. She saw Aleksi’s eyes settle on Helena, but she didn’t receive the impression that he had the hots for her. Rather Tia picked up that they were good friends, but nothing more.

  How strange. How could he not be interested in the gorgeous woman?

  Another woman floated over to them, this one of a similar age to her mother. She was trim, smaller than Tia or Helena. Her hair was a curly cloud of champagne and her eyes so bright a blue, Tia decided they couldn’t possibly be real.

  “What is this? The beauty pageant lab?” she burst out.

  Fortunately, everyone laughed, rather than called her on the near blunder.

  “I’m Maria,” the last woman said, her voice husky and sultry. Tia thought of her niece Starla. The pair would become fast friends. Both were obviously cast from the femme fatale mold.

  “I’m Tia,” she answered and shook the woman’s hand. Maria exhibited an elegant grace that Tia envied, but her eyes were welcoming, her manner easy.

  “We’re very pleased you’re here, and you do add to the pageant lab,” Jorge said, his brown eyes twinkling with good will and mischief.

  “I can’t wait to get started. You three have a lot of fun, don’t you?” Even as she said it, Tia realized this might even be fun. More tension leaked out of her shoulders.

  “That we do.” Maria sent a happy smile to her lab mates. “Although remember we’re hospital technicians, not microbiologists.”

  “I love coming to work here in the morning though,” Helena said, her voice husky with honesty. Tia liked how Jorge and Maria nodded and shared a secret smile with her.

  “Now if we could only discover what is causing our people to sicken,” Jorge said, his eyes suddenly downcast.

  His statement sobered the women, but Tia nodded and placed a hand over his. “We will.” Tia’s voice was firm with resolve. “We’ll find out what’s causing the problem. And I would go so far as to say we’re going to have fun doing so.”

  Her statement eased the lines around the three lab technician’s mouths. Tia glanced around the room, and located a row of lab coats. She sauntered over and expertly selected one. By donning the coat, she felt immediately at home.

  This space was her domain. She understood how each piece of equipment worked. She knew what all the various tools scattered across the bench tops did. None of the apparatus lining the walls was unfamiliar.

  Her gaze slid to Aleksi. Unlike a certain prince, where she had absolutely no idea how he worked, or what to do with him.

  Well, she had a pretty good idea what she wanted to do with him, but those thoughts would never see the light of day. Besides, other than thinking of her as a scientist, he had no idea she was a woman.

  Remember how he didn’t even know she existed during school? Tia wondered if she should record that sentence and play it back every other minute she was in his presence.

  She had work to do. Work that didn’t involve Prince Aleksi, gorgeous though he was.

  Oh to be princess material.

  Too bad a woman had to like the color pink. And wear makeup. Tia shuddered.

  Being a nerd wasn’t so bad. At least she was comfortable. Really.

  Chapter 6

  “Have you seen Dr. Morrison?” Aleksi asked one of the servants.

  “No, Your Majesty,” the man replied, after thinking for a moment.

  “If you see her, could you please tell her I’m looking for her?”

  “Of course, Your Highness,” the man replied.

  Aleksi quickened his pace. He headed for the lab. In the two days she’d been living in his home, he could usually locate her in the laboratory. But today, she was nowhere in residence.

  As he glanced around, Aleksi saw there was no one in the lab. Where had they all gone? The fact that none of them had bothered to tell someone where they were going was a problem. He might have to address that.

  Surely they were fine. Nothing could happen to four laboratory personnel. What did he fear anyway? Aliens beaming them up? Aleksi snorted. Not likely. He paced back into the lab, and glanced around the room.

  Similar odors to those he had encountered in Tia’s lab in the States assaulted his nose, but he moved past the glass fronted housing filled with a pile of plates, and the scents dissipated a bit. He certainly didn’t want to linger in front of the incubator. Tia had explained that to him earlier. That’s where the main lab stenches emanated from.

  One of the cleaning crew passed through the lab. “Riggs, have you seen Tia?”

  The man nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. They went on a field trip.”

  “A field trip, what is that?”

  “I don’t now, Your Highness, but I know they all headed over to the hospital,” Riggs replied. He shoved his cap further back on his head and turned back to propelling his broom along the floor.

  The hospital. Of course. Aleksi lunged for a phone.

  “This is Prince Aleksi. May I please speak with Graham Wellington?”

  “One moment, Your Highness.” He frowned at the phone, but waited until the hospital director answered.

  “Hello, Aleksi, what may I do to help you?” Graham was a few years younger than his father, but they had been friends through all of Aleksi’s growing up years. Graham considered him another kid, and treated him exactly as he did his own offspring. Refreshing for Aleksi, who found the Your Majesty and Your Highnesses a bit wearying at times.

  “Is Tia there?”

  “She is. They all are. Tia is teaching them some microbiology facts.”

  Thank goodness.

  Graham cleared his throat. “They didn’t inform you where they planned to go?”

  “No,” Aleksi said around tight lips. “They must have forgotten.”

 
“From what I could gather, it would appear they’re a spontaneous bunch,” Graham ventured.

  “I gathered that.”

  “Since my wife is involved in that bunch, I’m thinking she was probably part of the problem,” Graham said, speaking of Maria.

  Aleksi laughed. “Your wife is going to pike your head if she hears you say that.”

  “Yes. Alas, I’m used to her threats.” Aleksi could hear the laughter in his voice.

  “Perhaps you could tell me why the laboratory bunch from here is visiting the hospital?”

  “I met with them when they first arrived. Dr. Morrison seems very capable,” Graham said.

  “She is.”

  “Yes. I believe she wanted to see some of the patients, rather than merely read about them. So the others brought her over here so she could actually observe the patients and speak with the doctors and nurses.”

  “Is she able to communicate?” Since they spoke a combination of Russian and French in his country, Aleksi held his breath.

  “Her French is passable. I’m afraid her Russian is paltry. She admitted to such. But everyone here is proficient in English.”

  “Of course.” Aleksi stared at the nearest lab bench and realized he didn’t know the name of anything sitting there. Not one piece of equipment was familiar to him. He could speak his native language, in addition to French and Russian separately, English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian without an accent, but please don’t ask him to explain the name or function of any of the equipment Tia used.

  That probably set them on equal footing. “Do you believe she needs a translator?”

  Graham laughed. “My wife is there. She’s rather proficient at talking.”

  “Now I can blackmail you,” Aleksi pointed out with a grin.

  “Maria is well aware of my comments about her. She takes it out on me later,” Graham said, sounding perfectly happy with his “punishments.”

  Aleksi wanted that kind of relationship with a woman. Graham and Maria were best friends who respected and admired each other. They teased and laughed, but they also loved without measure.

  “How long do you think they’ll be?”

  “I haven’t any idea. It appears Tia is learning as much as she can about how the illness is displaying. She was smart to come here to the hospital. She is currently interviewing the patients. Those who are able to be interviewed.”

  Aleksi understood the catch in his friend’s voice. “Do you believe she needs more time?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll be happy to ask her. Is there a rush?”

  “No, other than the fact that her aunt and uncle have arrived to visit. And I haven’t been able to produce her. I believe they’re growing suspicious.” Aleksi bit the inside of his cheek.

  “Could be a problem.”

  “Yes. The man is a United States Navy Admiral.”

  Graham whistled. “Not someone to annoy.”

  “I’d rather take my chances with him. He called his wife General Emma, and I’m thinking she’s probably going to be rather dangerous if her chick doesn’t present herself soon.”

  “I’ll deliver the message in person,” Graham promised.

  “Thank you, I appreciate your efforts.”

  “See what I do to save you?”

  “I understand, and thank you in advance,” Aleksi said dryly.

  He heard a knock on the door, and turned in time to see Tia’s aunt and uncle enter the room. General Emma, a small silver haired lady with a no nonsense attitude, sweet disposition, and the personality of a hurricane glanced around the room with a knowing eye. “Yes, it looks like Tia’s been here,” she said complacently.

  The admiral glanced around but didn’t comment. Aleksi watched the amusement play around his lips and that helped to ease him a little.

  “Tia and her lab help are over at the hospital. The hospital director plans to send them back here, immediately.”

  General Emma smiled at him. She was a breathtaking woman. “That sounds like our Tia.”

  “You’ve known Tia all her life?”

  “Of course. I remember her birth.”

  “Emma tends to be everywhere at once,” Rich O’Riley finally commented.

  His wife smirked, and her eyes promised retribution, but the man didn’t seem worried in the least. Aleksi realized O’Riley reminded him of Graham. And Emma reminded him of Maria.

  A few minutes later, he heard footsteps patter down the hall, and turned in time to see Tia burst through the door. “General Emma!” she enthused and launched into her aunt’s arms.

  She hugged her aunt with a fierce hold that bespoke of love before releasing her aunt and hugging her uncle. He slipped a curl of hair behind her ear. “Hi, pumpkin,” he said with a smile.

  “When did you get here?” Tia was all animation and motion, her eyes beaming with pride and joy at seeing her relatives.

  “A few minutes ago,” Emma replied.

  “What brings you here?”

  “I’m doing an inspection of a base not far from here. The general knew you were close, so she decided to come along.”

  Tia’s left brow rose. “She decided to come along,” she repeated, with an imp in her eye, and twitching lips. She turned to him. “That means she decreed it.”

  Aleksi loved the way her eyes twinkled and laughed. She looked happy and content, and he hoped at least a fraction of that was because he was in the room.

  He turned to the couple. “You will be staying the night, or even the week with us, we hope?”

  Tia’s relatives exchanged glances before Emma turned to him. “We hope for at least one night.”

  “Possibly three. Although we can find a hotel room,” Rich murmured. He wrapped an arm around Tia and squeezed her again. Aleksi knew the woman, not the man, was her birth relative. So he was impressed to see there was mutual affection between Tia and Rich.

  “Absolutely not,” Aleksi said firmly. “You are guests of Tia, who is helping us. You must stay here.”

  Tia beamed at the couple, her happiness at seeing them nearly palatable. When the rest of her staff arrived, she took great pains to introduce everyone.

  “It’s nearly time for supper, perhaps we should break to clean up?” Aleksi finally interrupted the animated chatter between the women. He’d have liked to watch the interactions longer, so fascinating were they, but at this point, they might be late.

  “Oh, no, I hadn’t realized the time. I’d better go home.” Maria exclaimed and glanced at the clock mounted on a wall.

  “Your husband knows where you are,” Aleksi reminded her, tongue-in-cheek.

  She batted him with a motherly hand before grabbing up her things. Tia raised an eyebrow in question. Aleksi grinned. “Maria’s been known to forget all about dinner when she gets involved in an interesting project here in the lab.”

  “Cease and desist telling all my secrets,” she warned on her way out the door.

  “I’m sure Graham will have already prepared a wonderful meal for you. He’s waiting for you to come home before everything dries out.”

  She smacked him this time as she swept past him, but he could hear her laughter as she raced down the hall toward the door to the parking lot. “She’ll never make it in time,” Helena said, glancing at the clock.

  “Graham’s used to her being late,” Aleksi said with a shrug.

  “Not this late.”

  “He’s still at work also, but they have that hospital dinner tonight,” Helena said.

  “Remember when we found that mutated yeast?” Jorge inserted.

  Helena’s eyes widened. “Oh yes, that was fascinating. We were here until when?”

  “Well after nine,” Jorge said and pursed his lips as he stared at the ceiling.

  Aleksi saw Tia’s eyes widen. “Mutated yeast?” Her interest shone nearly like a beacon. If she’d had ears that could perk up, they would be now.

  “Most interesting thing we’ve seen in a few years,” Helena said.<
br />
  “Did you save some samples?”

  “Of course,” Jorge said and stared her down, like she should know better.

  “We might need to revisit those,” Tia said, and glanced around the lab with a proud smile.

  At least it didn’t take much to keep her happy.

  Now he just needed to maintain the status quo for a while.

  ***

  “Aleksi’s mother is about as nasty as she can get,” Tia whispered to her aunt on their way up the stairs to the bedchambers. She tried to keep her voice low, but was pleased that Aleksi and her Uncle Rich seemed involved in a conversation.

  “Oh?” Emma stared at her in surprise. “I thought Princess Gracia was purported to be among the friendliest of royalty.”

  “You’re joking, right?” Tia raised her eyebrows. No way.

  “No, I’m not. I read that somewhere a few years ago.”

  “The woman’s an infectious disease.”

  “Really, dear, I’m certain she can’t be that bad.”

  “Wait and see, Aunt Emma,” Tia warned. If her aunt expected a joyous welcome from the cholera woman, she was in for a surprise. Not a pleasant one, either.

  Emma patted her shoulder, but didn’t comment. A wise woman, her Aunt Emma. Tia thought maybe she should strive to act more like her aunt. Few women could conduct themselves so well.

  Tia frowned. “Emma, you’re not allergic to makeup, are you?”

  Emma stared at her for a moment, her eyebrows lifting in question. “Not that I’m aware of, love. Why?”

  “You like the color pink, too, I’ll bet.”

  Her aunt wrinkled her nose. “Not particularly. I certainly don’t dislike it, but I wouldn’t buy a garment in that color. Why?”

  “I’m allergic to makeup, I hate the color pink, and cologne and most perfumes make me sneeze.”

  “That’s strange, since you’re used to odiferous scents,” Emma said, commenting on the last part of her statement.

  “Yes, you’d think my nose would be grateful.”

  “Why are you concerned about being allergic to makeup and not liking pink?”

  Tia noticed she had General Emma’s complete attention. A bit daunting when a force of nature focused on you. She took a step back and chewed her lip as she surveyed her aunt.