Zion's CHildren pt - 15

The hour was late by the time the new blood samples were collected and labeled. Miri wasn't expecting Byrin to start looking at them until morning, so she started preparing them to be put in the storage unit.

"Stop," Byrin said, seeing what she was doing. "I want to look at them first."

Without a word, she stopped what she was doing and started pulling the vials back out. It had not escaped her notice that the young doctor hadn't eaten yet, even though she had brought him a tray a while ago. On one hand she admired his dedication, but on the other hand...she wasn't sure if it was the 'nurse' in her, or whether it was the 'woman'...but she was beginning to worry that he might be overdoing things. She would have felt the same concern had it been Marcus or even Lily that she was dealing with. But she was beginning to suspect that her concern for Byrin wasn't quite the same.

"Shouldn't you take a moment to eat something?" she asked, as much to distract her thoughts as to make sure he ate.

Byrin gave a small sigh. "Probably."

"Did you see the tray I brought you? The food should still be edible."

"Yeah, I saw it... It's just..."

Miri smiled. "I admire your dedication to save my people, Doctor, but you can't do that unless you eat something once in a while."

Byrin smiled back at her. "You're right." He gave her a quizzical glance. "Is this why Doctor Alexander had you assist me instead of Nurse Bennett?"

She returned his glance, a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"Because you're good at taking care of people even while you're doing the rest of your job."

"Are you saying that Lily isn't good at her job?" she asked, a little sharply. True, she had only met the other woman earlier that day, but if Miri had any faults, one would be her loyalty to her friends.

Byrin actually chuckled. "Not at all. But she's been in this room how many times, and hasn't commented on whether or not I've eaten?"

He did have a point. Miri managed to shrug. "I can't speak for that, or for Marcus. He assigns his people where he will, where he thinks they'll work best."

"So you're saying I might be right?"

"Maybe. Why don't you go over there and eat the food on that tray, and I'll make sure you're all set up to view these samples when you're done?"

He looked like he wanted to chuckle again, but he merely smiled and walked back to the desk where the tray sat. Miri gave a mental sigh of relief when he began to pick at the food there. She busied her hands with the samples and slides, intent of having the first set ready for him when he was done.

Why had Doctor Alexander assigned her to help this new doctor, instead of the nurse that had accompanied him? Miri had never questioned Marcus' decisions before, and she wasn't now. But Byrin's casual remark did set her to wondering about it herself. Perhaps she would ask him about it tomorrow.