Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman Fan Fiction ❯ Bruise of the Week ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Mark was sitting up in his bed in the medical lab, Princess perched next to him, their hands clasped.

 

“Well, Mark, the news isn't all that great, but it's not the worst either. The great news is that you don't have leukaemia. The not so great news is that those drugs that Zoltar injected into you have affected the Factor VIII of your blood, so that it's not clotting correctly.”

 

“What does that mean, Doc?” asked Princess in her soft voice.

 

“It means that Mark now has what we call Haemophilia A. Fortunately, it's not severe, and your body seems to be slowly repairing itself. Those implants of yours are amazing things, you know. They're designed to keep you at optimal fitness and health, so that if something does go wrong, they start to work to fix it.” He smiled. “As far as I can see, Mark, leukaemia is something that you will never have to worry about - your cerebonic implant won't let it happen.”

 

“But this?”

 

“It's working to fix it, but it'll take time. And no. I don't know how much time. I do know this - I've taken tests the day you were in the turbulence, and regularly over the past week. The factor VIII count is increasing slowly each time. “

 

“What does this mean for me in the meantime?”

 

“Well, we can help things along by prophylaxis. That means we inject you daily with Factor VIII. That'll also help get rid of those bruises. And the other small ones we've noticed.” The doctor smiled at their blushes. “As a side note,” he said sternly, “I hope that you have been taking care.”

 

If anything, Mark and Princess blushed even harder. “I've been having depo injections regularly, Doc,” she said. “My records show that.”

 

He nodded. “I'd still like to do regular tests, Princess. We're not certain how your implant affects fertility, and, given what it's doing to Mark, I'd like to be 100% sure that it's not deciding that the contraceptive is counter to it's programming. Come to that, we have no idea what would happen if you were to become pregnant - whether the implant would let that happen or not.”

 

Her hands were raised to her mouth, her eyes wide open. “I hadn't thought of that.”

 

“Why should you? That's for us medical people to worry about. But I do wish you'd confided in me, then we could have been monitoring.”

 

“Only Jason knows,” put in Mark. “We wanted to keep things private.”

 

“Can I ask how long?”

 

“A couple of months now. But it's forever. Nobody can pull us apart now.” Mark's tone was challenging, daring the Doctor to try.

 

“Don't get upset, Mark. It's the last thing I'd want for you. But I do think that I need to run a test or two on Princess to make sure. I'd also suggest that you do give consideration to telling the Chief. You might be surprised by his reaction.”

 

“Or we might not be,” the girl said dryly. “We've all had the lecture about no inter-team relationships. Our duty to G-Force and all that. I've also had the one about being a nice girl, and keeping myself for the man I love. Well, I did. “

 

“When you were younger, those strictures were necessary. You're adults now, in years as well as mind. Talk to him. I promise you that you'll be pleasantly surprised.”

 

The Doctor went to the other side of the room and pulled out a syringe set. “Princess, before I go, I'll just take a sample of blood from you. Then you and Mark can consider yourselves free.”

 

They looked at each other, eyes alight with mischief. Princess never even felt her blood being taken. The Doctor saw the mischief and wondered what they were planning. “Before you go, talk to the Chief. Please.”

 

As he left, he wasn't even sure they heard him.