Description

Panel One: Doc, Cal and Blanche. Doc says, "We met back when he helped out with the plague in Deerfield." Cal is shocked as he looks back and forth between Doc and Blanche. "Wait, what?!" Blanche adds, "Offered himself up to test the vaccine, too."

Panel Two: A long shot of the Carpathia on the road. The dirt road is flanked by a few scattered trees. Doc says, "He went in thinking that he would die. He had that coin just in case. He was probably a Carrier. Lots of Carriers out there never find out, unless the worst happens. Anyway, he was a great help to all of us. To thank him, we had that watch made. I handed it to him."

Panel Three: Doc looks at Cal. We can tell that she's smiling under her mask. "Your grandpa was a hero."

Panel Four: Cal crosses his arms, glaring. "And that's exactly why my parents wouldn't let me be a doctor."

Author Note

Oh-ho, and here we learn something more about Cal! No wonder he hopped from apprenticeship to apprenticeship - Like he said, he either couldn't do it, or he hated it. The one job he wanted to train for, and his parents didn't approve. I mean, we can hardly blame them, given that he's got a breathing problem while living in a world full o' plagues. Everyone probably figured that he'd catch something and die before he got out of school, but that idea clearly doesn't faze him.

I figured, just like the genes for red hair or something like that, inheriting the antibodies required for Carrier-level protection isn't guaranteed. There's a Carrier or two in Cal's maternal line, and he simply lucked out. He was probably never sick, and I'm willing to bet that everyone chalked his "never getting a cold" thing up to his parents being very cautious and shutting him in whenever an illness went around, lest he get some sort of chest infection.

Speaking of, it's back to school time, and the Delta variant is spreading. Be careful out there!

Wash Your Masks,
- Bran