Life's Healer

By Amy Shannon

Life's Healer
Previously named as "Life's Destiny: The Healer"
Volume 10 of MOD Life Epic Saga (formerly Sars Springs Saga)

Life has come full circle ... almost. Dr. Raina O'Roark Reardon has come of age. Sharing a new life with her husband and her triplets, she embarks on the journey of not only healing but of focusing on healing the dead. As mad men try to bottle her infamous powers of feeling
the depths of souls, she tries to maintain her family, and careers as both a doctor and a cop.

Will she be able to save those she loves from the unthinkable? Will she be able to protect herself from the betrayal of own family member?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Shannon
• Release date: Nov 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370767403

Amy Shannon

Amy Shannon is an author, professional book reviewer and literary consultant. Amy is republishing and publishing some for the first time, her MOD Life Epic Saga, which has over 67 volumes, and 9 bonus books.

Book preview

Life’sHealer

Amy Shannon

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Essence Publishing

Ballston Spa, NY 12020

https://essenceenterpriseus.com/essence-publishing

2023 Edition

Copyright © 2023 by Amy C Shannon

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permissions of the author, except by a review who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Credits:

Cover Illustration Copyright © 2023

Cover design by Amy Shannon

The Entire MOD Life Epic Saga

1 Unwritten Life

2 Rewritten Life (Unwritten Life)

3 Unwritten Life's Paths to Destiny (Rewritten Life)

4 Written Life's Past Meets Present (Rewritten Life)

5 Life's Written Past

6 Life's Unwritten Future

7 Another Written Life

8 Life … Rewritten

9 Unwritten Life & Death

10 Life's Healer

11 Life's Hindering Hope

12 Life's Binding Ties

13 Life's Resurrection

14 Life's Infiltration

15 Life's Revival

16 Life's Depths of Souls

17 Life's Explosion in Time

18 Life's Connections

19 Life's Collision

20 Life's Intersection

21 Life's Final Destination

22 Life's Generations

23 Return to Life

24 Life's Resolution

25 A New Unwritten Life

26 Life's Dissolution

27 Life's Linear Souls

28 Life's Choices

29 Life's Passions

30 Life's Awakening

31 Life's Vengeance

32 Life's Heartful Depths

33 Life's Quaking Souls

34 Fractured Life

35 Life's Drowning

36 Life's Exploration

37 Life's Curative

38 Thicker than Life's Blood

39 Life's Salvation

40 Capturing Life's Midnight

41 Life's ReEvolution

42 Life's Soulful Intentions

43 Life's Jagged Flames

44 Life's Rising Depths

45 Life's Doomed Immortality

46 Life's Raw Enforcement

47 Life's Deemed Corruption

48 Life's Inherent Immorality

49 Life's Retrospective Legacy

50 Life's Torturous Souls

51 Life's Passages

52 Life's Tribulations

53 Life's Spirituality

54 Life's Revitalizations

55 Life's Rapture

56 Life's Sacred Retaliation

57 Life's Fiery Resuscitation

58 Life's Experimentation

59 Life's Redemption

60 Life's Humanity

61 The District Life: Districtive

62 The District Life: Disarray

63 The District Life: Disassembled

64 The District Life: Disapparent

65 Life's Return: Home Sweet Sars Springs

66 Life's Return: The Practice

67 Sars Springs: The finale

Bonus Series:

B1 Life's Perspective: Matthew Garris (Life's Binding Ties)

B2 Life's Perspective: Bill Wheeler (Life's Binding Ties)

B3 Life's Perspective: Perspective: Mike Dix (Life's Connections)

B4 Life's Alternate Path: Destiny ... Rewritten (Alternate Path Parallel to Unwritten Life & Death to Life's Binding Ties)

B5 Life's Alternate Path: Destiny ... Crossroads (Alternate Path Parallel to Life's Resurrection to Life's Depths of Souls)

B6 Life's Alternate Path: Destiny ... Intertwined (Alternate Path Parallel to 17 Life's Explosion in Time to Life's Connections)

B7 Sars Springs Handbook (Life's Torturous Souls)

B8 The Interview: Life's Revelations (Life's Fiery Resuscitation)

B9 M.O.D Life Epic Saga Character Guide

Introduction

Life has come full circle ... almost. Dr. Raina O'Roark Reardon has come of age. Sharing a new life with her husband and her triplets, she embarks on the journey of not only healing but of focusing on healing the dead.

As mad men try to bottle her infamous powers of feeling the depths of souls, she tries to maintain her family, and careers as both a doctor and a cop.

Will she be able to save those she loves from the unthinkable? Will she be able to protect herself from the betrayal of own family member?

1 Twins

DR. RAINA O’ROARK threw the microscope across the laboratory, causing it to smash into pieces on the floor. Damn it! I’ll never figure this out, she yelled, as Matt walked in the room.

Busy? Matt smiled his blue eyes at her.

Um, no, Raina combed her hands anxiously through her short, brown hair. "What?"

"You seem a little, oh, I don’t know, angry? Matt laughed, walking over to her. Tell big brother what the problem is."

She shook her head slightly and laughed. Big brother?

Yeah, I’m about 10 minutes older than you. Remember? Matt smiled his crooked smile.

"Oh, don’t give me those eyes. Ten minutes, huh? Well, then you tell me what I’m missing here," she threw her papers in the air.

Matt combed his hand through his thick, black hair as he watched it slowly float to the ground. "Ray, you’re about 10 years smarter than I am. What’s going on?"

"Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been working on this for years and I still have the same results. I can reverse the effects after death, but when it comes to reversing the disease while the person is alive, I can’t do it."

You need a break. You’ve been putting all your energy into this ever since Terry died.

I didn’t even see that coming. How in the hell did the cancer come back? I got rid of the original organs that had the cancer. Damn, Matt. I gave him Uncle Bill’s organs, so, he’d be better, Raina cried.

It’s OK. Ray, you gave Terry four extra years.

"Yeah, only four. He was still so young. I, um, I miss him, Raina wiped her eyes. I just, damn, I’m as bad as those FBI docs. I keep trying to play god. How come I couldn’t bring him back a second time?" She slammed her fist on the table.

Ray, Terry asked you not to even try. He got four years with his daughter. Four years that he wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for you, Matt hugged his sister. You may have lost patients, honey, but you saved so many more, he wiped the tears from her eyes.

"But, Matt, it was Terry,"shecried.

I know, he placed his hand on her heart. Ray, you do need a break. You need a vacation from patients, labs and anything to do with experimental drugs or DNA.

I guess. I wish I had the time to travel like Momma and Dad do, Raina smiled. Did you get their postcard?

Yeah, sounds like they’re having fun in Paris, Matt said.

So, I know you aren’t here to watch me get angry and frustrated…

Oh, well, I had some news… he smirked.

Well, do I have to guess?

Oh, well, you are now looking at the new Special Lieutenant of Special Victims at the precinct.

You? Raina sat down in shock. What do you know…? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.

No, say it. Don’t you think I can manage it? I just want to continue the work that Mom, Dad, Terry, and Uncle Bill did.

I understand that. But, Matt, really, what do you know about victims of rape, abuse, or anything?

I’ve gone through all the orientation stuff that Mom left behind when she retired, Matt sat next to her. Don’t you think I’d be good at it?

"Matt, not to be rude, but you can’t handle a relationship. You go from one woman to the next and even when you have a woman, you still have another woman on the side. How can you be sensitive on the job when you can’t be sensitive in your personal life?"

You’re still holding that against me?

If it hadn’t been for your affairs, you and Mindy may still be married now.

"Mindy, wasn’t it, Matt got up and stormed over to the window. Ray, I’m trying to straighten my life out. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m coming or going. I have so much going on, and I just don’t know what to do with it."

Raina came up behind him. Matty, she whispered. It’s OK. You’re just acting like, well, Mom.

He turned around and smiled. I hate that I’m being like she was before she met Dad. It was Dad who straightened her out.

"No, she did that herself. Dad was just there when she was still putting herself together. Matt, you will find that special someone. You’ll know when you find your angel."

"Ray, I have to do well at this job. I just have to. I’m nervous, but Evan thinks I’ll be good for it."

I know you will. But, Matt, are you doing this for you or Mom and Dad?

Both, I think. I just, well, I want them to be proud of me. I’ve let them down so many times, Matt combed his hands through his hair. I don’t want to see the disappointment in their faces again.

What disappointment? Raina touched her brother’s cheek. I’ve never seen that on their faces when they look at either one of us.

When I moved back to our old house after Mindy, and I divorced, Matt cried. "Dad just shook his head. It was just another relationship that I screwed up. Hell, he bought me the Engineering firm and if it hadn’t been for Uncle Matthew taking it over completely, I would’ve run it into the ground. I quit being an FBI Special Agent and just stayed on as a local cop…A sergeant, no less, Matt shook his head in shame. I’m a failure, Ray. Mom and Dad both know it. They just won’t say it."

"They love both of us. They’re proud of both of us. You’re not a failure, Raina smiled. Matt, when you think about this new job, what do you feel?"

What do you mean?

It’s been a while, Raina placed her hand on his heart. What do you feel?

Matt placed his hand over hers. "Ray, I feel like this is what I want. I never felt this deeply about something before. I want to do it and do it right. This is what I was meant to do."

Raina kissed his cheek. Then, do it, Matt. Don’t worry about Mom and Dad. Do it for yourself.

Matt smiled. I still have to live up to being Alex and Jim O’Roark’s son, though.

I still feel it, too. So many people have watched us grow up, and I think because not only who our parents are, but because of who our Uncles are, they expect more from us, Raina hugged her brother. But, our cousins are also going through this thing, too.

I know we’re not alone, but sometimes I feel like I am. Raina, you got married, have three beautiful kids, and live in the old farmhouse. Isn’t that weird?

No, most of my memories as a little kid are at the farmhouse. Now that Mike and Aunt Em live with Mark at the Hillcrest townhouses, I like that I got the house. It’s gone through a lot of transformations, but I don’t want it to ever be left unlived in. I hate empty houses.

Well, I need to get back to work. Are you OK, Ray? Matt hugged her.

Yeah, you go on. I’ll be fine. I need to pick up the mess I made.

You’re lucky you can afford a new one. You broke that microscope into a million pieces, Matt laughed.

That’s it! Raina said.

"What’s it?" Matt asked.

I’ve been trying to overwrite and inject existing disease and DNA, maybe if I broke it up and pulled it apart, Raina opened the drawer and pulled out a new microscope.

What? Do you have a secret stash?

Yeah, I kind of break a lot of them. I guess where Mom hits, I throw things … well, I throw microscopes, she laughed. Go, on. I’ll see you later. Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? John’s working late so I need to be home by six.

Late? He’s a schoolteacher. Why is he working late?

Teacher conferences. His last one is scheduled for six, so I need to get dinner for the kids, and now, you, she smiled.

Can I bring a guest?

As long as it’s not some leggy blonde you’re just going to sleep with and then dump, Raina laughed.

It’s not. I told you I changed. You’ll see, Matt said, heading out the door.

2 Phoenix Connection

RAINA STOOD UP and stretched. I do need a vacation. Matt was right, she picked up her stethoscope and draped it around her neck as she headed toward her office. Just as she sat down behind her desk, there was a knock on the door. Come in, she said.

Dr. Raina Reardon? the tall, blonde man asked.

"It’s Dr. O’Roark. Reardon is my married name, she stood up. Who are you?"

Um, I’m Jasper Timmery, he opened his wallet and showed his badge. Special Agent Timmery.

Timmery? Your name sounds familiar, have we met? Raina sat down. Please, sit.

Um, no, I don’t think so, he nervously sat down.

What can I do for you, Agent? Raina asked.

Um, I guess, oh, I’m sorry.

Please, I can’t help you unless you tell me what you need me for.

I know that you stopped working for the FBI a few years ago.

Yes, I can’t do that kind of work anymore, Raina shook her head. So, is this official business or personal?

Um, it’s kind of both, he leaned back in the chair. Um, Hank Marshall referred you to me.

"Hank? Why would he refer you?"

Is that an issue? Jasper leaned forward in the chair.

I guess not. What’s wrong? Please, I hate guessing games.

I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out how to say this.

Just say it. We’ll worry about details after.

OK, my brother, well, he is currently being held together on life support at the FBI lab.

What’s wrong with him?

Actually, no one knows. It’s as if his body is decomposing.

Early death syndrome?

I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s the same exact thing. The symptoms are similar. That disease is rare. I don’t think there’s a cure. I don’t know a lot about the disease.

Agent, are you a doctor?

"I used to be, but now, I’m just a Special Agent. I worked on the original Cerebtrix trial, but, after the fiasco that your mother revealed, I went back to just Special Agent status," he cleared his throat.

I don’t know a lot about the disease. I know that my father had it. He wasn’t really cured of the disease. His DNA was infused with that of his twin brother’s. I don’t really know why it worked. I was just six at the time. I never thought about exploring it more, Raina said. What do you want me to do?

Help me. I’ve read the research paper that your Uncle did. He was the physician on record. He didn’t list the patient’s name, but I knew who he was talking about, Timmery said.

I don’t know how I can help you. I’d need to do some research of my own, Raina ran her hand back and forth over her forehead. I’ve been working on some other things. I don’t know if I have the time.

Special Agent Timmery wiped his eyes as they began to tear. I know that your Uncle passed away last year. I’m sorry about that.

Thank you. He was a great man and a great doctor. I miss him every day, Raina wiped her eyes as she stood up and faced the window. Agent.

Please, it’s Jasper.

OK, Jasper. I don’t know what I can do for you. I’m getting frustrated with my own work. What good is bringing people back from the dead if you can’t cure them when they’re alive?

What? He’s, um, well, my brother isn’t dead, Jasper walked over to her. Doctor, please. All I’m asking is that you bring him here. Examine him. See if you can help him. You don’t have to find a miracle cure if there isn’t one.

Raina looked up at him. I’m sorry I did this in front of you. I’ve had a lot of loss in my life.

Can I ask a personal question?

Go ahead, she sat back down in her chair.

"How did your Uncle die?"

Brain Aneurysm. He died in his sleep. My Aunt Courtney found him in the morning.

"Raina, I mean, Doctor. You don’t have to save the world. You don’t need to save everyone."

"Six years ago, I lost a friend, I mean, I lost a family member to cancer. I brought him back to life 10 years ago, and then the cancer came back."

Terry Markum, right?

Yeah, did you know him?

"Yes, very well. He was a great man. He was a hero and an extremely talented cop."

Yes, he was. Did you know my Uncle Bill, too?

Yes, and your parents. I do know who you are, Jasper said as he sat down. "I came here not because of who your family is, but because of your reputation."

I’m flattered, Raina looked down at her desk. If you can have your brother sent to my lab next week, I’ll see what I can do. Right now, I’m a little burnt out and need a vacation. I’m sure you can understand that.

Yeah, sounds like you’ve been cooped up in the lab for a very long time.

I have and yet, I still have my family to tend to, Raina said. Have his records sent here first. I want the chance to review them. My cousin, um, assistant, no, more like partner, Dr. Martin Welch, will be working on this with me.

Jasper smiled. Thank you so much. A Dr. Langley Ferrari will be the contact doctor at the FBI lab.

Sounds good. How are Hank and Mona doing? I haven’t heard from them since Uncle Steven’s funeral.

He’s good. Dr. Welch is his nephew, right?

Yeah, his mother was Hank’s twin sister, Raina smiled. He looks like her and his father.

How are your parents doing?

They’re traveling right now. Since Uncle Steven died, Mom hasn’t been the same. She misses him so much. Both she and Dad decided to retire from the PD and just travel. Last I heard, they were in Paris.

Sounds good.

Are you going to be involved in your brother’s care?

I’d like to be, but I don’t want to be in the way.

Nonsense. I like having more than two sets of eyes, Raina smiled. Are you from around here?

I live in the Hillcrest Townhouses. I’ve worked off and on at the FBI offices here in Sars Springs and at the one in Phoenix.

Raina stood up. Well, Jasper. Welcome to the team, she handed him her card. If you need anything from me before next week, just call me.

I’ll try not to. I don’t want to disturb your vacation, Jasper stood up and left the room.

Raina sat back and sighed. The hell with this. I’m going home, she said to herself.

3 Reconnection

RAINA WALKED OUT to the parking lot and took a deep breath. Oh, what a day, she looked at her watch. Only four o’clock, she shook her head.

She headed down the street toward the park. She sat down on a bench that overlooked the creek. She rubbed her forehead back and forth with her hand. Oh, Momma. What’s wrong with me? She leaned back and closed her eyes.

Darlin’, nothing’s wrong with you, his voice said from above her.

Raina looked up and shielded her eyes. Uncle Bill? No, you’re dead, she said. I must be going crazy.

It’s OK, Darlin’. Don’t worry, Bill gently rubbed his beard. Don’t be afraid of me.

I’m not, Raina stood up slowly and looked into his eyes. "You are dead, aren’t you?"

Well, darlin’, let’s just say I’m partially at peace, he sat down. God, I wish I could just touch you. I’m so proud of you.

Raina sat next to