Milk (closed for heartofcourage)

[heartofcourage]

"There's so many entries that it'll take a while to look through everything." Susan murmured, scrolling through the lines of data until her head spun. "Did you run all of these simulations yourself or did you have a subject to work on?"

There would be a difference, she was sure. Simulations could only account for certain things. Working on a living and breathing patient would be different. She was willing to be that person if he needed her to be. All in for the sake of solving this mystery.

 

[Baelnorn]

Dom listened to Susan’s reply while he reached for another lab chair and rolled it next to her. Sitting beside her, he grabbed one of the thin and transparent tablets from the desk, and casually started to type on the touch screen while talking with Susie.

“I know it’s a lot. There’s been happening so much regarding this whole affair, I could barely keep up collecting all the data. Then there was all the information from my own research… suffice to say that it quickly turned into a huge mess, and I was terribly afraid of screwing it up. Just a sec, let me just apply some filters to your list…”

He pushed one more button, and the massive list on the main screen started to shrink down to only a couple dozen entries, while several categories appeared at the right side of the display, one of which was currently highlighted. The categories – among others – included sections about media coverage, research results, rumors and theories, and darknet data.

“Yes, I simulated all that right here, on Cerberus. I didn’t dare take any of it outside this apartment. Whoever decided to hunt down all scientists working on a cure half a decade ago, is probably still around, so I decided I rather wanted to be overly careful than overly dead.”

Dominic made a swiping motion on the tablet, and a smaller second screen switched to a schematic display of two incredibly complex molecular structures. With a swift tap of a finger, Dominic zoomed the left molecule into view.

“So, this is what usually keeps me busy on my weekends. This one here is a synthetic transport substance designed to penetrate pretty much all barriers of the human body in a non-destructive way; it’s called ‘TCD-201.’ It can be created in different versions, each one making the substance concentrate in a different area of the body to deliver its payload. It hails from a DARPA project from almost 11 years ago, which was started to find a general, easy to use, fast, and efficient substance to deliver various drugs.”

Dominic frowned for a second, but then took a deep breath and continued. He tapped another place on the tablet, and the second molecule zoomed into view.

“This is the supposed antidote I’m working on, ‘CF-119.’ As you can see, it’s a ridiculously large tangled mess, easily rivalling Milk’s structure in complexity. The size and complexity of CF-119 is the primary reason why progress is slow. A single simulation run takes about 51 hours, give or take a bit. Considering I need to work a more or less regular job, it’s easy to see why I can only make two or three iterations per week.

 

[heartofcourage]

"First, I think you need a blood sample to work with. It would help you discover all the nuances that the antidote might be able to combat." Susan said, glancing at Dominic as he told her all about the different tests that he had conducted on his own. "I'll help you to draw a blood sample. It'll be simpler than running tons of different simulations."

She stood from her seat to move into his lab, gathering a few things they would need. Tubing, a needle, a container. "Have you ever taken someone's blood before?"

 

[Baelnorn]

“No, I haven’t…”

Dominic’s gaze followed her as she went to retrieve the few pieces to take a blood sample. He looked at the needle, then back at her face. He hesitated for a long moment, thinking about all the ways he could screw up. What, if he missed the vein? What, if he pushed the needle in too deep? What, if he hit a nerve?

Considering the circumstances, and what he had done in the past, it was completely ridiculous that he was so insecure about drawing blood from Susie. The absurdity of the situation made him giggle softly, and he looked at her as she stood next to him, preparing the instruments.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about me always worrying too much about things. I’ve never done something like this. I'm afraid you’ll need to help me and tell me what I have to do.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Susan gave him a smile as she brought over the supplies and took a seat at his side. He was nervous and that was understandable, but she would be right there with him the entire time. She reached out and placed her hand on top of his, squeezing it gently.

"I'm going to walk you through it. We'll go slow. You're going to do just fine." She assured him as she got everything lined up and explained the different pieces and process to him in the simplest terms that she could. "It's like making love to a woman for the first time."

She couldn't help teasing him with a grin on her lips as she tied the tubing around her arm and sanitized the crook of her elbow. Flexing her fingers a few time, her vein slowly surfaced and she looked towards him with an expectant look on her face.

"Nice and slow." She reminded him.

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic listened to Susan’s reassuring comment, chuckling softly when she compared it to making love to a woman the first time.

“Oh you have no idea how I managed to screw that up…”

He closely watched her prepare everything, from the tubing to flexing her fingers to make a vein show. Dominic took a deep breath, and picked up the syringe. He pulled the protection cap off the needle, and looked at the tip for a long moment, before focusing his attention on Susie’s arm.

“Okay…”

Dom leaned in, and carefully and slowly placed the needle over the now visible vein. Look at Susan – waiting for the nod of approval – he started to push the needle into her skin. He visibly winched when he felt the needle slide in.

 

[heartofcourage]

Susan watched him closely as he took his time with the needle, making sure that it was where it needed to be before he slowly started to push in. He was so incredibly nervous, but Susan could tell that he was doing an excellent job. When the first pump of blood appeared, she stopped him and helped to walk him through the next few steps in the process until he had three vials of blood and she was sitting at his side with a bandaged elbow.

"See. Painless." She said with an easy smile as she handed over one of the vials before she moved to put the others into the holding chamber that would freeze them for later. "You did really well actually, Dom. Are you sure you don't want to go into the medical field?"

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic was glad when they were finally done with the procedure, and the small hole in her skin was patched close with a thin bandage. Sitting there and watching the vials slowly fill with her blood had made him uneasy and uncomfortable. It was hilarious that he would be bothered so much by it, but he just could not help it.

When Susan then teased him about working in the medical field, Dominic raised his eyebrow, and with a wry but soft smile, he teased right back.

“Thanks for the tempting offer, but no thanks. I think I’d be a terrible nurse or medic. I’m rather going to stay in my lab, where I’m usually not in danger of fainting.”

Dom pulled Susie carefully into his arms, and hugged her closely. He nodded towards the freezer compartment where Susan had stored the vials with her blood.

“I already have an idea what we could do with the sample. To start working on it, I need a generic analysis of your blood, as well as a detailed sequencing of your genome. How about I walk you through the steps, just like you did with me before?”

 

[heartofcourage]

"So, my strong savior is a little squeamish of blood?" Susan teased him with a wide smile. "I'm just learning all sorts of things about you, Dom."

When he pulled her into his arms, she let out a long sigh. It felt incredible to be held by him and she wished that he would do it more often. Her arms wrapped around his body the instant that she could and she kissed him gently as he nodded towards the freezer compartment, talking about doing a genetic analysis of her blood.

"You're the scientist. Lead the way." She said, happy to be learning new things at his side.

That was what she missed the most about medical school. The constant learning and striving to make yourself better than you were. Perhaps in time when her name was cleared she could go back to med school, finish her doctorate and find a job in another clinic. Right now, though, they had important work to do.

 

[Baelnorn]

“Maybe a little…”

Dom teased back, and enjoyed the following long hug, feeling their warm bodies rubbing so closely together. Her soft kiss made him smile, and he happily returned it, pressing his lips against hers. When Susie then also agreed to go through with the process, Dom grinned, and nodded enthusiastically.

“Great! Before we start, we need some gloves. They are over in that drawer…”

Dominic pointed at a drawer, and they got themselves each a pair of disposable gloves. Following this, he guided Susan through all the required steps, always staying right next to her. After retrieving a vial of not yet frozen blood from the compartment, they used a dropper to take a bit of it and drop it into a test tube with a special solution.

After giving the test tube a good whirl in the centrifuge, Dom and Susie used a dropper again to separate some of the solution mixture into a petri dish, and put that one into the linear sequencer machine.

“So, now we wait. It needs about three hours to finish the sequencing.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Susan watched every step over Dominic's shoulder with intense interest. He worked quickly, yet took the time to explain what he was doing before her blood was placed into a machine that would unlock the secrets of her DNA.

Glancing towards him as he mentioned that it would take a few hours, she gave him a smile. "Well, what could we do for the next few hours? I could go through the boring reports in an effort to find a key to all of this. We could go out and walk the city for a few hours. We could spend it back between the sheets."

She laughed softly after that last suggestion, knowing that they might end up there, but hoping that she could simply spend more time with Dominic.

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic listened to Susan’s suggestions about how they could spend the next few hours. When she mentioned going back to bed and laughed, Dom chuckled softly and laughed with her. He greatly enjoyed having sex with Susie, but he definitively wanted to get to know her better on a more personal level, and not only physically.

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you? I’m open for any of these, but how about going out for lunch? We could go for a walk in the park, and then find a nice place to eat? Cerberus will be done with the analysis when we get back.”

He took both of her hands, and squeezed them softly, tenderly rubbing her smooth skin with his thumbs.

“And later, if you want to, we can go to bed again… You know, I really enjoy spending time with you. Not only in bed. And I want to get to know you better. As it seems, we’ll have to get along with each other for quite some time, so I guess knowing each other would be a good idea. So, what do you say, are you up for a first date?”

 

[heartofcourage]

"A walk in the part and a nice meal might be just the thing to make us both happy while we wait." Susan said with a smile as he took both of her hands and rubbed her skin with his thumbs. "I'll let you talk me into a date and then we can come back and read through the piles of boring reports that Cerberus will have waiting for us."

Susan couldn't help leaning in and gently kissing Dominic with a smile on her features. "Besides, I like the idea of showing you off around town. You look nice on my arm."

It felt good to tease him and to have him tease her in return. It made her feel like their little budding relationship might really make it through the long haul.

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic’s eyes lit up, and a wide smile appeared on his lips when Susie agreed to his suggestion. He wanted to make her happy after all she has been through, and having a carefree date with her seemed like a great way to distract both of them from reality for a few hours.

The following kiss surprised him a little, but he happily returned it, gently pressing his lips against hers and letting out a soft sigh. Susie’s lips felt wonderful on his own, and Dom already knew he would never tire of kissing her. Much sooner than he had wanted, Susan broke the kiss, and pulled away from his lips.

He was about to get up, when she teased him about showing him off. Dominic beamed a wide grin and laughed, reaching out for her hands, and gently pulling her from her lab chair. As they slowly made their way out of the laboratory, Dom teased her right back.

“Actually, I don’t mind being your arm candy. Gives me something to do while you’re getting all the attention. So, how about getting dressed and heading out?”

 

[heartofcourage]

Susan laughed at his teasing and nodded. She was dressed soon enough in a loose blouse and a pair of leggings. It was simple and casual, much like how she felt with Dominic. He made her feel free and ease, a relationship without great expectations but with plenty of respect and love for one another. It was completely different from the other relationships she'd had in her life and she was loving every single moment of it.

She waited for him to finish dressing before she took his arm again as they left the apartment. "How about we walk to the restaurant? It seems like a nice day outside." Susan suggested, giving him a smile as they left the building to start to afternoon.

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic quickly changed from his white t-shirt and grey sweatpants into dark navy jeans, a navy V-neck jumper, and a simple grey dress shirt. It only took him a few minutes to get dressed, and soon they were both ready to go. Susan was already waiting for him, and he offered his arm as they left the apartment.

“That’s exactly what I had in mind. The place’s not too far from here, right across the park. Shouldn’t take us that long to get there.”

A few moments later, they exited the tall building and entered the surrounding park. It was a wonderful day outside, sunny, but not too hot, with a slight cooling breeze caressing their cheeks. Dom smiled at Susie, and gently put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close as they walked along the small path through the green.

“So… I hope it’s not too brazen to ask, but I think it would be a good idea to get to know each other a bit better. I’d really like to know more about you. What do you like to eat? Which kind of movies do you watch? What hobbies do you have? That kind of things. Of course, it goes both ways, so you’ll get to know all those things about me as well. What do you think?”

 

[heartofcourage]

Susan smiled to herself as Dominic wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight. She was pressed securely against his side as they started to walk through the green park towards the restaurant that he had mentioned to her.

She glanced up at him as he asked about herself. A soft laugh left her lips as he asked her that, making her think about how fast their relationship had progressed. They simply hadn't had time to learn about all the little things that made up their lives.

"Well, I like Mexican food. Enchiladas are my favorite. I love a good scary movie. I don't really have many hobbies. Med school took up most of my time, but I suppose now that I'm out of a job I better find something to occupy my time." Susan said softly, agreeing to what he was offering her. "And I guess I need to know the same from you."

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic listened to Susie talking as they slowly walked through the park arm in arm. He liked what he heard - spicy food, and good movies sounded great to him. When she mentioned med school, a quick pang of regret shot through his mind, since it reminded him of the life that was so cruelly taken from her.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find something for you, I’m sure about that. Guess now it’s my part to spill the beans. Okay, here we go... I also like spicy food, even though I typically prefer Indian cuisine. Whenever I visit my parents, my dad prepares a wonderful Palak Chana, which is my absolute favorite. You definitively need to give it a try.”

He paused for a moment, enjoying the peaceful moment with Susan, before he continued.

“On the rare occasion of actually having some free time and not being swamped with work, I try to enjoy some classic movies. Things like Star Trek, or Alien – the original ones from over 70 years ago. I really like older movies where they actually used real actors and sets, and didn’t just green screen everything. Yes, nowadays movies look so much better than anything from the past, but to me they just feel empty and fake.”

Dom quickly shrugged his shoulders when he mused about his movie preferences.

“And that’s about it. I also don’t really have any actual hobbies besides that, since I’ve always been sort of busy. I think I’ve mentioned hiking before, but that’s also a very rare occasion. I really like the distraction of just walking through the woods, and not having to worry about anything for a couple of hours or days, but the time it takes keeps me away from it more than I’d want to. And of course there's the obligataory bit of reading, mostly classics like Shakespeare or Goethe. But that's really about all.”

 

[heartofcourage]

"I've never had Palak chana before." Susan said as he told her what his absolute favorite was. "You'll have to make it for me sometime. Then I can learn to make it for you."

She gave him a smile as he admitted to liking Star Trek and Aliens. He seemed like such a lovable nerd and that made her incredibly happy. She gave his arm a squeeze as he mentioned that he didn't have hobbies, but he enjoyed long walks and hikes.

"It's been a long time since I've been hiking in the woods. Med school took up all of my free time." She murmured as she glanced up at him with her dark eyes, a smile now permanently etched on her features. "Although, reading has always been a passion of mine. I love reading a good book on a rainy day when there's nothing else better to do."

 

[Baelnorn]

“Oh I would definitively want to cook for you, and together with you! My kitchen hasn’t really seen much action in the past few years, and I’d love to change that with you. But my indian food isn’t half as good as my dad’s, so if you’re looking for a master chef I think you might be disappointed with my cooking skills.”

Dominic joked, teasing Susan as they kept walking. He was a bit surprised by himself talking about Susie meeting his family. Everything seemed so easy, so effortless, so carefree. However, inside he knew that his parents would never get to know the truth about the relationship between Dom and Susie – for their own safety. He really did not like knowing that he would have to lie to his parents, but his companion’s voice quickly pulled his mood back up.

“Don’t worry; we’ll get to go hiking at some point. I promise! And if you see any book you’re curious about in my admittedly small library, feel free to grab it. Perhaps, on some rainy day with neither of us having nothing else to do, we could lay in front of the fireplace and read to each other…”

Dominic’s voice trailed off, knowing fully well that they probably would not be able to keep their hands off each other, and that the reading would turn into something more intimate and passionate. Thinking about this idea for a few moments, he really could not find anything bad about it, and a naughty smile snuck on his lips.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You assume that we will have time to read on a rainy day with nothing else to do." Susan teased Dominic, laughing at the look in his eyes as he had the exact same thoughts but didn't put them to words. "You'll find that I am a great student. I take everything that you will teach me to heart and I will make sure that I learn as much as I can."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek as they continued to walk, talking about what they would do in the future and what they wanted to accomplish. It felt good to be making plans, even if this was incredibly new. She had never been in a relationship that moved so quickly, but she felt that she was in the right place at the right time.

 

[Baelnorn]

Dominic chuckled while listening to Susie’s comment, which suggested her having the same train of thought as himself. For a moment, his mind wandered, and conjured up images of all the naughty things he could do to Susan, including blindfolds, feathers, and ice cubes. He entertained the ideas for a moment, before eventually shaking his head, and clearing his thoughts. No matter what he would like to do, he would never do anything to Susie without her consent.

They had been walking for a bit now, and the other side of the park slowly came into view. The restaurant Dominic had in mind was right by the park, just across a small street. It had an extensive, slightly elevated terrace from which had a nice view over the softly rolling meadows in the park. Pointing forward with his hand, he leaned closer to Susan.

“We’re almost there. You can already see the place, just over there, the building next to the giant oak.”

 

[heartofcourage]

"Wow. That building is beautiful." Susan said as Dominic pointed it out to her as they got closer to the restaurant. "And I'm sure you can see forever from up there on the terrace."

She turned her head and grinned up at him, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "If I had known you would spoil me, I would have let you rescue me a lot sooner, Dom."

She would never be able to thank him enough for pulling her off the bridge that night. If she had jumped, she would never have known the happiness that she had found with him. It was a special kind of feeling deep in her belly that she had never been able to find with anyone else. Perhaps with Dom things would be much different than they had been in the past.

 

[Baelnorn]

Smiling at Susie’s show of affection, Dominic hugged her, pressing her a bit closer against him as they closed the last bit of distance to the restaurant. They entered the building through the spacious and bright foyer, and after a short escalator ride covering two levels, they stood at the restaurant’s entrance.

Despite the place not being too formal, and not requiring formal attire, they were welcomed at the place’s reception by a young woman. The girl wore a tight fitting dark green uniform, and held a small discreet tablet device on which she marked a table for two for the arrivals. The whole place was bright, spacious, and modern, the architecture and interior design dominated by lots of glass and wood.

A few moments later, they were seated on the terrace, having a comfortable table for two all to themselves. The view over the nearby park was breathtaking, and they could see almost all the way back to the Dominic’s apartment building. The surface of the table was a touch screen with an interactive menu card, and today’s recommendation flashed into view. Looking at the menu, Susie quickly noticed that the place was a bit more expensive than what she was used to.

“Don’t worry about the prices. Just order what you like,” Dominic said when he noticed Susan browsing the menu with some hesitation. “The grilled salmon with key lime butter on rice is wonderful, I can really recommend it.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Susan wasn't use to eating in places like this. Her kind of place were greasy diners or the hospital cafeteria. This place was absolutely stunning in architecture and class. How many times had Dominic come here, she wondered to herself as they were greeted by a woman in a tight fitting green uniform. She showed them to a table on the terrace, the bright, warm air making her smile.

"I don't think I've ever been anywhere so nice." Susan said with a smile towards Dom as the table lit up and they were looking at the menu.

Her eyes widened slightly at the prices on the menu but it didn't seem to phase him at all. In fact, he made a suggestion as to what she should get. It seemed that he didn't really care about the kind of money that he was going to spend.

"How about a glass of red wine? And I guess the grilled salmon since it comes so highly recommended." She said, pressing in her order on the table top. "And thank you for lunch in such a nice place. It is truly beautiful, Dom."