Page 9 of The Restoration Program

“Shh, babe, it’s okay,” he whispered, long fingers curling in to pull her away from his chest. She fought even harder, twisting and whimpering at her inability to pry his grasp open. He leaned in closer to catch her eye. “Nicki, it’sme, stop! You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

“No, no, no,” she moaned, unrelenting in her struggles.

Mercifully, he lowered her. He sat her down at the edge of her little bed, but she didn’t stay put. She scrambled backward over the mattress, fell off the other side, and didn’t stop trying to put as much distance as she could between her and this impossible version of Ryan.

“Wait—Please, Nicki. You’re going to fall.”

She glanced at the empty drop between the railing bars behind her and faced front again to see Ryan’s reaching hands filling her vision again.

“No!” She ducked and covered her head with her arms. “I’ll stop! I won’t move! Please—justplease, don’t touch me!”

When she was met with silence, she tentatively peeked up. Ryan pulled his hands away slightly, giving view to the crushed look on his face. Her heart stirred, but she stayed locked in her pathetic defensive position.

“I need some space, Ry,” she pleaded. “I-I won’t fall, just stay over there.”

With a heavy sigh, he reached back to pull his chair up beside the platform. He took a seat, his gaze never leaving her as she cowered. In the tense silence, she stared hard at his face. It was like a fever dream, seeing those familiar features at a size that should have been on a theater screen. She was dizzy at the sight of those vivid blue eyes aimed solely at her.

Trembling, she sat up and hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees. Even with his overwhelming grasp gone, her heart and instincts bickered viciously. There was nothing she wanted more than his comfort while she huddled in this cold, vast room, yet he was the single most terrifying feature of it.

Those enormous eyes filled with tears before squeezing shut. He buried his face in his hands and shuddered deeply.

“I thought I lost you,” he wept. “I thought you were gone. I… I didn’t mean to scare you, Nicki.”

Scarewas a drop of water compared to the ocean of her terror, but she didn’t correct him. At the very least, she was no longer in a room full of strangers staring at her like a successful science project come to life.

“Who were those people?” she managed to croak. “Where wereyou?”

“I can’t believe I get to hear your voice again,” he said through a broken laugh. He pulled his gaze back up, pinning her with it once more. “I’m so sorry, babe. They wouldn’t let me in until they cleared you. Just when I thought I could see you, they said they had to put you back to sleep.” His eyebrows furrowed. “They wanted to strap you down, said you were too unstable. I convinced them not to. I knew what you needed.”

There was an awkward pause, like he expected her to thank him.

Nicole swallowed hard, clutching the hem of her hospital gown. “What the hell is going on? They—they told me all this bullshit about NüPrints and new bodies, like… like they put me in some kind of robot!”

“No,” he hushed. “It’s not like that at all. It’s not a robot. It’s flesh and blood, and it’s stillyou. They explained everything to me. It’s your mind and your DNA. Just a brand-new body.”

“This isn’tme!” She uncurled, giving her legs a harsh rub. “They didn’t have consent! This has to be illegal! They have to put me back!”

“They got consent,” he said gently. Adoring relief crept further into his bloodshot gaze the longer he looked at her. “The doctors at St. Mark’s couldn’t save you. Then this rep from the Restoration Program came and—”

“Wait. You let them do this to me?”

He gave a startled laugh. “You were dying, Nicki. Of course I let them do it.”

“Of course? What, just like that?”

“Did you hear what I said? You were going todieif I didn’t let them!” His disbelieving smile faded into pure shock like she was out of her mind. “Hell, I would’ve let them put you in an android if it meant having you back. Why are you acting like there was any other choice?”

She shook her head, angry tears spilling onto her cheeks. She swiped them away, though her panic wasn’t so easily brushed aside. “Why wasthisyour only choice?” she challenged, equal parts imploring and demanding. “Why couldn’t they put me into a regular-sized body, like one of those Organ Hosts? What’s wrong with one of them?”

“I-I don’t know. They said the procedure didn’t work on those. The memory imprint DNA doesn’t sync well enough for full consciousness or something. Trust me, I asked. They’ve only managed to make Restoration work on a smaller scale. At least for now.” Ryan ducked his head to catch her eye, offering a small smile when she gave in and raised her gaze. “Honey, I’d rather have you a little smaller than not have you at all.”

Nicole lowered her chin, unable to find a polite way to tell him to stop looking at her. “This… this can’t be real. This can’t be happening! What about whatIwant? I don’t want to live the rest of my life as a fucking Barbie doll!”

“You’renota doll,” he soothed, brow pinching. “You’re just…”

“Ryan, fuckinglook at me!”

She buried her face into her hands, breathing shallowly until his voice rumbled again.