Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 56: The Flu and The Vaccine

Chapter 56: The Flu and The Vaccine

It is amazing how you never really notice just how fast life passes you by when you aren’t paying attention.

The days seemed to go on forever, but the years slipped through my fingers.

I was finally content with my life.

Now that I was 20, people finally seemed to have confidence in my abilities. Truth be told, I was getting a bit tired of having to constantly prove myself every time a new doctor or nurse appeared in the Emergency Department.

I still talked to Cheng Bo Jing constantly, but I somehow seemed to manage to miss seeing him in person.

I couldn’t take seeing him and feeling that emptiness inside of me. So, I made sure not to see him. Bai Long Qiang and I were no closer to walking down the aisle than we were when he first proposed, but I was fine with that.

Whether or not we were married, he was one of the most important people in my life. As long as I was around him, I was happy.

Sorry. I said that wrong. He was the most important person in my life. I knew I could count on him, no matter what happened.

"How are things going at work?" he asked me one night as I lay cuddled in his arms on the couch. I don’t know if he has noticed that I haven’t slept in the basement once since I moved into this house or if it was just one of those things neither one of us talked about.

But to be fair, he was gone with his team as much as he was here. It wouldn’t be that surprising if he didn’t know.

"Fine," I muttered, feeling the tiredness deep inside my bones. But at the same time, it was like there was a clock ticking away inside of my head, telling me that I needed to prepare.

What I wouldn’t give for a crystal ball that could tell me what was going to happen.

But I still prepared everything to the best of my ability. Luckily, Bai Long Qiang thought my need to horde food was cute and not crazy.

"In all the years that I have known you, I have never known ’fine’ to actually mean ’fine’," he joked, his fingers trailing up and down my arm. I sunk deeper into his embrace. Even with the onset of the anxiety I was feeling, he was still able to calm me down faster than anything else ever could. My own personal Xanax.

"There seems to be a new flu going around that is really hitting people hard," I said, taking in a deep breath. I didn’t tell him that it was getting so bad that the entire ER was locked down and all new patients had to automatically be quarantined according to the Country K’s CDC policy.

I was in a hazmat suit for the entirety of my shifts, and even that wasn’t protecting the nurses and doctors.

"I am sure that it is the same as it is every year," he murmured, stroking my hair. I appreciated the fact that he was trying to be supportive, but it was only August. The cold and flu season for County K hadn’t even started yet.

"You’re right," I nodded with a smile. There was no point in worrying about it. I had received information from the director that our pharmaceutical companies were coming up with a vaccine for it. It wouldn’t be available for human trials until September or October, but those with money could get their hands on it sooner than the rest of the population.

I shuddered at the thought.

I had known colleagues that were working on a ’cure-all’ vaccine for respiratory viruses, but they had been working on it for more than five years and they were no closer to a working vaccine then they where when they started.

And then there were the rumors coming out of Country M.

I wanted to warn Bai Long Qiang to be careful about taking the offered vaccine. I had heard that they were offering it to the military men and women first so they could be protected, but something was not sitting right with me.

Unfortunately, I knew that he wouldn’t listen to me. He was the perfect soldier, bred for the army before he was even a twinkle in his father’s eye. Still, I needed to tell him my concerns. I couldn’t take the chance of anything happening to him or his team.

And it had nothing to do with my feelings for some of his men. I needed to remember that what I felt for them was friendship and gratitude. They were there because they all had the ability to make sure that the entire team made it back after a mission. That was all.

"I usually am," chuckled Bai Long Qiang as he kissed my neck. This time, I shuddered for a completely different reason.

"You usually are what?" I asked with a sigh as his tongue flicked right behind my ear. I could feel myself melt into his arms as his hot breath passed over my ear.

"I usually am right."

"You know I have complete faith in you," I said. "But talk to me before you take any vaccines, okay?"

I could feel Bai Long Qiang stiffen under me at my words, and the playfulness that I was feeling before evaporated.

"Honey?" I asked, turning around so I could look at his face. "What’s going on?"

"Nothing. I am pretty sure that we already got the vaccine that you are talking about. It knocked us on our ass for about two days, but there were no other side effects. You worry too much," he said with a shrug.

I felt a wave of dizziness at his words. I know he didn’t mean to shrug off my concern like he did, but...

"They gave you a vaccine?" I repeated. "When?"

"It was after a mission a few weeks ago. They said that they were concerned about the flu going around, and since we had gone out of the country, they wanted to make sure we didn’t bring anything back with us," he answered as he flicked through the television, bypassing the nightly news and settling on a cooking show that he knew I liked.

"What were the side effects? You said you were knocked on your ass for a few days," I press, pushing myself off of his chest so I could study him. Why didn’t he tell me about this sooner?!?