Reviving Emily: Project DEEP, Book One

by Becca Jameson

  “So was my drive.”

  “Are your parents there yet?”

  “No. Any minute. I wanted to call you before they got here.”

  “I’m glad you did. Is the hotel nice? You have a suite, right?”

  “Yes. It’s perfect. Stop worrying about me. Concentrate on your parents. I can’t wait to see them again.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get to spend more time with yours.”

  “You will one day.”

  “When the dust settles, I want you to meet my grandmother too. She’s been more like a mother to me for most of my life.”

  “Can’t wait.” Emily knew about Patricia Wolbach, his maternal grandmother who lived with them in the town outside the government facility and cared for Ryan any time his parents weren’t available. She had been his only relative and he relied on her heavily after his parents were preserved.

  It occurred to Emily that she and Ryan were having a normal conversation about the future as if they would be together. She felt like she had her feet in two different dimensions. In one world, everything worked out all sunny and perfect and she spent her life with this amazing man whose face was the first one she saw when she came out of her coma. In the other scenario, Ryan returned to his life with his family while she returned to hers.

  Emily did know one thing for sure, however. Even though she didn’t know the woman who seemed to occupy her body with a brand-new personality now that she was reanimated, she thought she might like this new woman and perhaps even embrace her new self.

  Voices in the hallway alerted her to her parents’ arrival. “Gotta go. They’re here.”

  “Okay. Talk to you tonight.”

  “Bye.” She put the phone back in her pocket as her parents entered the room.

  Ryan couldn’t stop pacing as the team brought his father’s body back out of the cryostat. He didn’t participate. In fact, he remained in the hallway. It would take four weeks to fully revive his father, but the first several days were crucial as the body was slowly brought back to a viable temperature. The next hurdle would be at four weeks when the preservation solution in the blood stream would be replaced with real warm blood.

  As with Emily, Tushar would be kept in a coma for four weeks while his body recovered. He wasn’t as young as Emily, but there was no reason to believe he couldn’t make a full recovery just as she had.

  Ryan watched through the glass window of the Hope Room, taking deep breaths and blowing them out slowly.

  After several hours, Damon came out. “Everything looks good so far. You should get something to eat. You’ve been standing there for hours.”

  Ryan nodded. His father’s body was in a chamber now that prevented Ryan from seeing him, but just knowing the man was no longer in the cryostat was earthshaking.

  “Come on. I’m starving. I’ll eat with you.” Damon nodded over his shoulder.

  Ryan followed him to the cafeteria. No one else was currently inside. It was late in the afternoon. They silently made sandwiches and then grabbed sodas and sat at one of the long tables.

  Damon broke the silence. “How’s Emily?”

  “She’s good. She went to a hotel in Des Moines to lie low for a while.”

  “Good. But that’s not what I mean. I mean, how are you and her?”

  Ryan met Damon’s gaze. They’d been friends for two years, thrust together on this project and lucky to have found they enjoyed each other’s company. “Fine.”

  “That’s it? Fine?” Damon winked. “Come on. I’ve seen the two of you together. You spent every free moment with her for the last month. And then you ran out of here in the night to go be with her. She means something to you.”

  Ryan sighed, setting his sandwich down and taking a drink before speaking again. “I’m trying not to make too much of it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we don’t have any idea what the future holds. I have my work here and my parents to consider. She has her family to get reacquainted with who live two states away, and her next career move is up in the air.”

  Damon rolled his eyes. “Details. If you want to be with her, you’ll make it work.”

  Ryan looked at him again. “You think it’s that simple?” He glanced around. “Look at us, man. All of us. We don’t have real lives. No one in this bunker has a life. The only person who was married when he came in got divorced two months later. Our world isn’t conducive to relationships. We’re married to science.”

  Damon nodded slowly. “This is true. But situations change.”

  Ryan shook his head. “Not that much. If someone told you today you could never practice medicine again or pore over data to solve a medical mystery, could you walk away?”

  Damon cringed, smirking. “Not a chance. But no one is suggesting you can’t have both worlds. Even though I came here two years ago to join Project DEEP with you, that doesn’t mean I’m stuck here for life. And neither are you. We’re both young. Thirty. It’s inevitable that eventually we would have met someone along the way and followed a different path.

  “This isn’t the only place on earth to practice medicine and do what you love. There are other research facilities all over the country. Hell, I’d bet my last dollar there are other government facilities with the same level of secrecy. And I’m certain there are several private institutions working on cutting edge medical advances.”

  Ryan circled the rim of his glass with one finger, thinking about Damon’s words. “That may be, but I’m going to be in this bunker for a very long time, devoted to my parents and everything I’ve worked my entire life for. I can’t expect Emily to hang out here with me. She’s no longer obligated to work for the government, and she isn’t in the army either. She needs to find herself and get on with her life.”

  Damon leaned forward, getting in Ryan’s space. “You gonna decide that for her?”

  A flush crept up Ryan’s cheeks. “No. I didn’t mean to imply I make her decisions, but I would be holding her back if I asked her to wait for me while I sort through everything happening here. I have an obligation to the team that extends far beyond the reanimation of my parents. There are nineteen other people still preserved here. Don’t act like you could walk away.” He met Damon’s gaze dead-on.

  “Never said I would. And I know you wouldn’t either. I’m just suggesting you let Emily decide what she’s willing to sacrifice. Don’t martyr yourself. And don’t hide from her either. If you care about her, make sure she knows it, and then let her decide what she’s willing to accept.”

  Damon didn’t say another word as he stood and left the cafeteria, leaving Ryan alone to consider his suggestion.

  It was possible Damon was right. At the moment it would be callous to suggest Emily return to the bunker or even Falling Rock. He needed to take his cues from her and not try to influence her. She had a lot on her plate, so many things to figure out. She didn’t need the added pressure from a man.

  There was always the possibility the government would hire her to join the team. She had been working on a few projects in the last weeks, trying to get back up to speed. But it was a longshot considering how far behind she was with current medical advancements. It would require serious commitment and dedication to get back up to speed and even be valuable to the team of Project DEEP. On top of that, Ryan wasn’t one hundred percent sure Temple would approve the reinstatement of members of the original team after this length of time.

  Chapter 11

  Emily was glad she had her own room in the hotel suite. It was the perfect arrangement. She could spend as much time as possible with her parents but also retreat to her own room to sleep and rest.

  After several hours of reminiscing once again with her mom and dad, she had taken a much-needed nap. She was now staring at the ceiling when a soft knock sounded at the door. “Come in.”

  Her mother eased into the room, shutting the door behind her. She smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

 
“No. I was just lying here thinking about standing again.” She turned to her side to face her mother. Joy Zorich was a strong woman. She had instilled a love of medicine in her daughter from a young age. After all, she was a high school biology teacher. Her father, Roger, was an engineer, so there was no lack of math and science in their home.

  “You doing okay?” Joy tipped her head to one side.

  Emily sighed. “I think so. It’s overwhelming, and I don’t like the idea that the media is inevitably going to find me and then hound you guys too.”

  Joy smiled. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. It’s you I’m concerned about. You have to be in a state of shock and confusion.”

  Emily nodded. “Most of the time, yes.” She forced a smile for her mother. “But it’s getting easier.”

  “Is it?” Joy quirked a brow. She knew her daughter well. “I know we haven’t talked about it much, but I realize there’s a man in your life and he’s pretty important to you. I assume it’s Ryan Anand, the man we met when we picked you up last week.”

  Emily turned her head toward her mother. “Yeah. I’m trying not to let myself get too involved. Ryan has a busy life right now. He doesn’t have time for this.” It was true, but she knew she was also copping out. Ryan had never once insinuated he wouldn’t make room for her in his life. He also hadn’t stated that he wanted to either. They weren’t at that place yet.

  “He must care a lot about you. He calls every day at least once and texts you often.”

  Emily glanced at her mother again, smiling. “It makes my heart race. Not going to lie. But it’s new. And I have decisions to make too. I don’t have the foggiest idea what I’m going to do next in my life. I can’t make promises to a man who is married to his work.”

  “What makes you so sure he’s inflexible?” She frowned.

  “His parents are both also cryonically preserved inside that bunker.”

  “Oh.” Joy sat up straighter.

  Emily hadn’t spoken much about Ryan to her parents. It hadn’t come up, and they’d spent all their time with each other concentrating on what her family had been doing for ten years and dealing with the shock of seeing her brother, David, again and meeting his wife, Karen.

  “He does have a full plate. It makes more sense now.”

  “They’re bringing his father out of preservation next. They started this afternoon.” Emily took a deep breath. She hadn’t received any texts from Ryan since she’d last spoken to him when she arrived at the hotel. She didn’t want to read anything into it.

  “Wow. That’s stressful. Do you want to be there with him? I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to stay with us, honey. We’ll be fine. We have our entire lives to get to know each other again.” Joy reached across the bed and grabbed Emily’s hand to squeeze it.

  “Thanks, Mom, but I think I belong with you right now. I’d just be in the way at the bunker. Ryan doesn’t need me competing for his time, and even though I spent several hours helping out in the lab each day, the truth is, I’m not up to speed on the latest medical advances. And even if I were, I’m not sure the government will offer me a job in the same capacity as before. I need to make serious life decisions. They’re easier to make in a less stressful environment.”

  Emily had no idea if she truly believed everything she was saying, but the words sounded nice.

  “Okay, hon. But don’t hold back from whatever your heart desires because of us. We love you so much, and we’re so happy to have you back. It was totally unexpected, but the nicest surprise of our lives. You, however, need to live your own life just like you did before you got sick. Take all the time you need. You know you’re welcome to stay with us or go somewhere else or anything you want. If you need money, we’ll help you out.”

  A tear formed in the corner of Emily’s eye, and she reached to swipe at it. “Thank you, Mom. I don’t have any of the answers yet, but I appreciate your words.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and then asked her mother a question. “Do you think I’ve changed?”

  “In what way?” Joy tipped her head to one side, confused.

  Emily shrugged. “I was so devoted to medicine, I didn’t have anything else before. Now I feel different somehow. It kind of scares me.”

  “I think it’s natural for you to feel a little off kilter.”

  She decided to be more blunt with her mother. It wasn’t like she had any close friends she could talk to. “It’s like I went to sleep one day one hundred percent devoted to science and woke up the next staring up at a man who took my breath away.”

  A smile spread across Joy’s face.

  “That was never the kind of woman I was.”

  Joy laughed. “The kind who found men attractive?”

  “The kind who cared to take the time to notice.”

  Her mother squeezed her hand again. “Hon, I think it happens that way for most people. You’re going along thinking your life is in perfect order and then bam, someone steps in your path and makes you do a double take. It’s probably just a coincidence that you happened to have taken a ten-year nap between those two moments.”

  Emily blew out a breath. Was it possible her mother was right? It seemed a bit too convenient. She was still hung up on the idea that somehow she’d awoken with a new personality, and it scared the hell out of her.

  Because she didn’t know this woman occupying her body at all. She had Emily’s memories, but she had a new look on life that didn’t match the Emily she had once been. Perhaps it wasn’t her attraction to Ryan so much as having faced death in the eye and beaten it.

  With that new idea rumbling around in her brain, Emily pushed her concerns aside. “We should order dinner.”

  “Sounds great. Your dad gathered several menus. Is Italian still your favorite?”

  Emily smiled as she pushed to sitting. “Yes.” She didn’t even care that she’d had it yesterday with Ryan. She could eat it every single day for weeks.

  Chapter 12

  “It’s been four days, Ryan. There has been no evidence anyone knows who I am or where I am. Maybe no one is as interested in this story as everyone fears.”

  “They’re interested. Trust me. Both the media and protesters are still parked outside the compound day and night. Waiting.”

  Emily leaned against the window in her suite bedroom, staring out at the darkened parking lot in front of the hotel entrance. She had gotten brazen in the last few days. Even though she hadn’t left the suite, nor had her parents, she no longer bothered to avoid the fourth-floor window. Nothing out of the ordinary ever caught her attention in the parking lot. No protesters. No loiters.

  She glanced around for the millionth time. There were cars that had been there all four days, but that wasn’t weird. Any number of people could be staying in the hotel for a week or longer. “General Levenson’s announcement was perfect. I’ve seen it a dozen times on every news channel. She even asked for the public to respect my privacy.”

  Ryan groaned. “Don’t get complacent. Not yet. Please.”

  She wasn’t sure how long the government or even Ryan expected her to keep up this charade, but it was getting old. “My parents need to go home, Ryan. They took two weeks off work. They have jobs. We’re only staying here two more days.”

  “I understand.” He sighed. “Just…be careful.”

  She changed the subject. “How is your dad?”

  “Same as yesterday. No change. His progress is on par with where you were at the four-day mark. I’m hopeful.”

  “I’m so glad, Ryan. I’ve been keeping him in my thoughts. So have my parents.”

  “Thank you. Now tell me what you’re planning to do next.”

  “Next? You mean like after I hang up the phone?” she joked as she moved away from the window and flopped down on the bed. “Sleep? It’s after eleven.”

  “Ha ha. You know what I mean. In two days. Next week. Next month. Have you thought about it?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t have answers.
In fact, it’s frustrating. I keep thinking I’ll wake up one day and it will come to me. It hasn’t yet.” She wasn’t exaggerating. Her life was at a standstill. It was annoying as hell. Almost two weeks with her parents was more than enough time. She was restless and growing bored and claustrophobic.

  “Don’t worry. There’s no rush.”

  She sighed, closing her eyes as she rolled onto her side. She wasn’t telling him the full truth. Although she had no clue what she might want to do for work or where she wanted to live, what she did know was that she missed him like crazy.

  They had these chats every night, and though they usually talked for over an hour, they never discussed their relationship or where it was going. At this point, Emily was growing concerned whatever she thought was happening between her and Ryan was in her imagination and he didn’t feel as strongly for her as she did him.

  Just because he’d met her in Omaha for a night didn’t mean he intended to get down on one knee and propose. It was preposterous. They’d kissed. It didn’t have to mean anything.

  Except it did. To her.

  He consumed her thoughts to the point of distraction. How the hell was she supposed to make major life decisions when she was falling for a man in Colorado whose life was committed to a job she wasn’t at all sure she was interested in continuing to pursue?

  So, no. It was untrue that she hadn’t thought about her future. She simply couldn’t get past the fact that what she really wanted was to head straight back to Falling Rock.

  She squeezed her eyes closed. Somehow her life had turned into a Nicholas Spark’s novel. One in which the reader had no idea if the couple would end up together in the end or if one of them might die.

  One of the best parts about waking up ten years after going to sleep was that the world was filled with thousands of new books to read—one of life’s simple pleasures she hadn’t had nearly enough time to indulge in the first go around. This new life of hers permitted her to read an entire book every day if she chose.