GREAT NEWS—THE BOOK VERSION OF REPAIRING THE LEGACY, THE ENDURING LEGACY, IS NOW AVAILABLE.

See the bottom for more information.

Thanks for reading Martiniere Stories! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

With this segment of Chapter Fifteen of Repairing the Legacy, we continue the serialization of Repairing the Legacy. This is a rough draft work in progress and may not reflect the final form. Time period: set after the ending of The Martiniere Legacy main trilogy. I’m breaking longer chapters into sections for readability. This is the third part of Chapter Fifteen. There will be four parts to this chapter.

New to the series? Chapter order:

Chapter One, Section One

Return of the Prodigal Son (2 parts)

Conversations and a Dinner (2 parts)

Dancing into Change (2 parts)

Sisterly Compromises (3 parts)

Conspiracies at the Rodeo (3 parts)

Passing the Baton (4 parts)

Research Complications (3 parts)

Chasing After Shadows (3 parts)

Fifth Anniversary Present (3 parts)

Mariah (5 parts)

Shadows, Redux (3 parts)

Accidents Happen (4 parts)

Maternal Memories (4 parts)

A Voice…Weeping for their Children (6 parts)

April, 2073

RUBY

As it turned out, Mike wasn’t the problem that caused her dread. The surgeries—it took several to complete the cyborg arm replacement—were uneventful. Recovery and physical therapy needed to be slow, in order to integrate muscles, tendons, and nerves with his new bones.

“Excellent prognosis,” was the verdict of Mike’s surgeon a week after the final surgery. Dr. Pramula was a cyborging specialist from Los Angeles who had started a clinic in Portland, funded by the Martiniere Foundation. “Much better than Mike’s heart and lung surgery. It reflects his improving health.”

“What about my legs?” Mike mumbled.

“Not yet. We need to see what the long-term impact is on your heart and lungs first.”

A small victory, but that was worth rejoicing.

Ruby and Gabe went out for a celebratory dinner, walking from the condo to a Thai place they had been getting takeout from during Mike’s previous hospitalization.

On the way back, Gabe turned to look at a vehicle. His foot missed the curb, and he fell into the street.

Ruby screamed and dived for him. Security pushed her back.

Gabe’s face went paper-pale as they helped him to his feet. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Aw, fuck that hurts. The bad right knee.”

Ruby hovered until they got him out of the street and settled on a nearby bench. She sat next to Gabe and held his hand as he groaned while security checked him.

“We’d better transport to the ER,” was the final assessment.

So back to University Hospital they went.

Torn meniscus and anterior crucial ligament, was the verdict. Which meant a surgery date for Gabe as well.

Ruby sighed at the thought of a summer of physical therapy ahead, with two grumpy Martiniere men to handle.

Oh well. That bum knee of Gabe’s would end up being stronger than ever. Maybe, once he was done, he wouldn’t need to use a cane or walker anymore.

“It’s more work for you, Rubes,” he fretted once they were safely back at the condo, leg elevated, knee in a brace. “And I’ll miss morel hunting, even in a crawler. Tie you down to the house all summer. No getting outside.”

It matched her own thoughts. But she had some notions about how to handle Gabe and Mike.

“We’ve been talking about setting up an outdoor office during the summer,” she said. “I’ll park you and Mike on the lawn, then go ride and train. It’s not like we don’t have staff around to help you two, and we weren’t going to do much this summer anyway because of the length of time Mike needs to recover.”

“True,” Gabe conceded.

And yet…while surgery and recovery for Mike were uneventful events, Gabe had problems. Spiking blood pressure during the operation revealed more heart issues. It took him longer to recover than anticipated.

“Cumulative effects of two bouts of G9,” Dr. Amy Caruthers, Gabe’s personal specialist, told Ruby. “And side effects from that experimental anti-aging serum.”

“That didn’t really work well after five years,” Ruby muttered.

Not that Donna-gran’s serum was anything more than experimental—and problematic in so many ways. But it had cured both of them from the nasty side effects of G9 virus—or at least her. Gabe, not so much.

May raced by as both Gabe and Mike grumped around the house. The weather switched quickly from cold and damp to hot and dry. Normally, Ruby would fret about the hot, dry weather—it still concerned her, but the change meant fewer aches and pains for both men. And she could set up the outside office under the Jeffreys pines on the front lawn—at least until it got too warm.

A canopy for lawn chairs, as a sun break. A hammock strung between the two closest of the trees, with posts set for support getting in and out. A lawn swing. Tables. Chairs. Hammock and swing angled so that both had a clear view of the Thunder Mountains. Staking out Star to graze on the lawn, or one of the broodmares with foal at side.

Gabe claimed the hammock while Mike settled into the swing. Getting outside to work—Gabe, managing their assorted projects, Mike, wrapping up the high school studies he missed during his illnesses and recovery—seemed to improve their outlooks.

Still, Ruby worried. She couldn’t put a finger on exactly what niggled at her. Gabe seemed slower. His memory wasn’t as accurate. He got frustrated by obstacles much more easily. In spite of the difficulty he had with climbing the stairs to their bedroom, he refused Ruby’s suggestion that they move into the downstairs bedroom that had been Gramps’ during his last illness.

“I’m not that damn fragile,” Gabe muttered whenever Ruby brought it up. “I want to stay in our bedroom, not the invalid’s room.”

And whatever project it was that obsessed Gabe the most seemed to be more and more problematic. He wouldn’t talk about it, and Mike wore earbuds to help focus on his academics. So he would have no idea about what was bothering Gabe.

The book version of Repairing the Legacy, The Enduring Legacy, is now available!

Amazon here!

Get the entire series here!

Apple, Kobo, and more here!

Share Martiniere Stories

Leave a comment