Natasha smiled softly and shook her head. "No, I need to tell you. You deserve to know what you've gotten into." She smiled at him, a little bit of sadness in her eyes. "They say every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. I sure hope that's true." She paused here and then returned her gaze to their hands, glad that he was with her.
"I used to be a medical scientist," she began. "I started out as a doctor and then branched out when I began my research. I got all kinds of federal grants to research drugs and therapies that would help people affected by chronic diseases and I made a lot of headway. For awhile, I was the forerunner in my field of research. But the more I achieved, the more intrusive the government became. Not just the government, either. Hospital employees, spies--you wouldn't believe it.
"But I guess that's how they get you. Someone broke into my lab and stole the notes I had on failed projects. People that I hadn't been able to save or help. Some of them had horrific reactions to the trials--some nearly fatal. I try to tell myself that they knew what they'd gotten into--they'd signed all the waivers, talked to the lawyers, asked me questions. But nobody ever comes in expecting to be worse off than when they came," she said softly.
"Those notes were taken by a hospital employee, and I was lucky to be able to retrieve them. When I realized what they might be used for, however, I shut it all down. I made an excuse about a lack of breakthrough discoveries and new ideas and gave all the money back. I took all of the files and locked them away in a place where not even I could get to easily. Only my successes were published, and the barest of details about my failures were included in studies. Originally I wanted to go back to being a doctor--but that wasn't a feasible option. I was suffering from paranoia and felt as though I'd been targeted...So I needed to get away. I did everything in secret and finally managed to build this house and pull in these resources.
"I find that I make a decent living now that I'm retired." She smiled softly and looked up at him. "Well, I guess I didn't want to stop once I started after all. It's the short version of the story. And I did leave out something--but I don't want to remember it," she said looking into his eyes. "I hope that's a start for you..."