She smiled and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, “I’ll be right back, darling.”
Aleah picked up the vials and made her way over to the Director who was still muttering under his breath, “Here’s Dr. Masterson’s blood sample, Doctor. Is there anything else you need before we head up?”
Dr. Morgan turned around and gave her his full attention, “Can you take a look at your blood sample under the microscope and tell me what you see please?”
Aleah gave him a soft smile, “But of course. Is there anything I need to be looking for?”
The Director chuckled, “Now, Aleah, you know that is not how I work. I want to see if you notice the same thing I do about the blood, but I’m not going to tell you what it is I’m noticing beforehand. Just take a look and tell me what you see.”
The female shifter gave him a questioning look but did what he asked. She almost didn’t see what had been causing him to mutter, but the movement finally caught her eye, “Oh my God. Blood’s not supposed to do that.”
Dr. Morgan moved behind her, “The blood isn’t supposed to do what, my dear? What is it that you see?”
Wyatt heard her exclamation and turned his attention to that side of the lab, “What’s going on over there?”
The Director turned his head to look at the male shifter still sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, “It’s nothing serious, my lad, it’s just curious. It would seem that our Hematologist is not only unique in her profession but in the shifter world as well.”
Aleah looked up from the microscope, “Did you mix anything with my blood?”
Dr. Morgan shook his head and leaned over to look into the microscope again. The female shifter could feel the heat coming off of his body as he stood so close behind her. She looked toward her lover and saw that he had stood, pulling the tape bandage wrap off and throwing it in the trash on his way over to where she was sitting. The blood had drained from her face and she felt lightheaded, but Aleah stood, vacating the only seat in front of the microscope. She needed to get some space between her and the Director.
Wyatt wrapped her in his arms as they met in the middle of the room, pulling her close, “What does he mean, Aleah?”
Aleah shook her head and buried her face in her lover’s chest, “I don’t know what any of it means, Wyatt. Go on. Go look at the blood and you’ll see.”
Dr. Morgan left the chair in front of the microscope and picked up the vials of the male shifter’s blood, “Aleah you should be pleased. This could be the answer to our predicament.”
She shook her head again, “I don’t think so, Dr. Morgan. I don’t know how my being different is going to help anything.”
Wyatt let out a whistle as he looked up from the microscope and caught Aleah’s gaze, “I’m not a Hematologist but that certainly is different. And you haven’t mixed anything with her blood?”
The Director looked at the female shifter’s pale face, “No, nothing. That’s the sample we took this morning. I’ve been studying Aleah’s blood for months and have never seen something like this. But I strongly believe this is the solution to all of our funding problems.”
Aleah felt light-headed and leaned against the wall, “What does it mean, Dr. Morgan?”
The Director took her hand, “It could mean nothing or everything. I won’t know until I run a few more tests, my dear. Why don’t you head upstairs and see to our patient? Bring his blood sample down yourself. Hopefully by then I’ll have something more than theories to run by you.”
Wyatt stood up, “I think that’s a good idea, doc. We’ll check on the patient, take some blood samples and then come back down.”
The Director went back to the microscope and the male shifter lead Aleah out of the lab and towards the elevators.
Chapter Seven
The couple walked into room 526 and saw that the patient seemed to be lying comfortably in the hospital bed, the other specialists taking vitals and asking questions.
Aleah cleared her throat, “This room isn’t very big, is it? Do you really think all of us need to be in it right now?”
Deanna turned from the blood pressure machine, a frown on her pretty face, “Are you delivering a message from the Director, or are you calling the shots now Dr. Macleod?”
The female shifter felt her anger start to rise but she pushed it down before she answered, “Merely stating a fact and asking a question, not trying to dictate anything. But I do believe the patient might be more comfortable if there weren’t so many of us in here. If you’re that worried about it, why don’t we ask Mr. Crabtree?”
Rosa stepped between the two women, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, “Let’s not fight ladies. We all have to work together so it might be wise to get along. I know there is tension, and I’m aware of the reason it’s there, however I think we should stuff it, don’t you? For the sake of our patient?”
Aleah looked to the soft-spoken Latin woman with interest. She agreed with her whole-heartedly, but Deanna didn’t seem to be the type to let a grudge go. There was no doubt in the female shifter’s mind that there was a grudge there.
Instead of voicing her thoughts, she simply shrugged, “I couldn’t agree with you more, Rosa. Thank you for being the voice of reason in this trying situation.”
Alfred had been standing silently, taking notes of the vital signs, and checking the patient’s saline drip.
He looked up at the four standing in the doorway of the room, keeping a close eye on Wyatt as he spoke, “I agree with Rosa. We have to work together, but we don’t have to get along. And Aleah has made a few enemies in this room.”
He set his clipboard down, crossing the room, “Look, I don't want to get into everything in front of a patient, but you have to admit that Dr. Morgan dotes on you. Why don’t you come in and do what you need to do? When you’ve finished, meet us in the conference room so that we can air out our problems. It may not solve anything, but at least the tension will ease a little.”
Wyatt took in the tall, dark skinned man, trying to gauge his intentions, “Agreed. Alfred, we will meet everyone in the conference room in half an hour. From there, we can all air out our grievances and maybe lay to rest all of this hostility once and for all.”
Alfred nodded his agreement and looked at the two women who had stopped Aleah’s entry into the room, “Let’s go record our findings. I’m sure the two of you can wait half an hour to say everything you need to say to our Hematologist.”
Deanna threw Aleah another dirty look, turned her nose up, and stalked out of the room without another word. Rosa gave the female shifter a soft pat on her shoulder and a warm smile before following the others out the door. Alfred gave Wyatt another nod and left in silence.
Aleah let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she had been holding and looked around the room.
“You’re just making friends wherever you go, aren’t you beauty?” William said sarcastically as he stood in one lithe movement from the chair in the corner of the room.
She turned her gaze from the patient lying in the bed to the Cardiologist across the room, her guard instantly going up, “I have no idea what you mean, William. Now if you would excuse me, Dr. Morgan would like some samples of our patient’s blood, sooner rather than later.”
Wyatt moved her collection box into his left hand, placing his right one onto her lower back, and lightly pushing her further into the room. He didn’t want to be in the hallway if William decided to cause a scene. It seemed that their Cardiologist wasn’t as concerned with image as their Rheumatologist was.
William chuckled, “Oh come off it already, Aleah. You love being the center of attention. You can’t go one day without causing some sort of trouble. Admit it to yourself if you won’t admit to others. You’ll be happier for it. Trust me, I know.”
The Cardiologist walked slowly toward the couple still standing next to the door of the room. Wyatt flexed his right hand on Aleah’s lower back, letting her know with that movement how much he di
dn’t like the other male shifter.
She gave William the sweetest smile she had in her arsenal, “Quite the contrary, William. I don’t, nor have I ever, liked being the center of attention. All this strife between myself and the other specialists is tearing me apart inside. But I can see that it doesn’t bother you one way or the other. You would absolutely love it if the other woman on this team and I started fighting. It would give you great joy to watch them tear me down with their insults and insinuations, wouldn’t it? Well I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no reason for them to hate me this much. I’m not the Director’s pet, no matter what anyone else has to say, nor am I sleeping with him. You’re going to be kicking yourself in the ass soon enough and I can’t wait to watch that.”
William sneered at her, “Is that so? Well, beauty, pull up a chair because you’re going to be waiting a really long time for that to happen.”
He pushed past the couple on his way out the door, making sure there was physical contact with both of them.
Wyatt took Aleah’s shaking hands in his own, “That could have gone sideways really fast, sweets. Aren’t you glad that I was indeed here?’
Aleah only nodded and picked up her collection case, “One crisis at a time. Let’s get Mr. Crabtree’s blood sample and hand it over to the Director so we can take care of the problem waiting for us in the conference room.”
She stopped on her way to the hospital bed, “You are aware that we are going to have to tell Dr. Morgan about this scene, right? And, if we tell him about this one, we might as well tell him about the first fight with William, which we haven’t discussed with the Director yet.”
Wyatt nodded, “Yes, I’m aware. He’s not going to like hearing about either of these fights. The two with William and the almost one with Rosa, Alfred and Deanna.”
Aleah shook her head, “No he isn’t. But back to business. We’ll worry about everything else when we cross that bridge.”
Aleah approached the patient and saw that he was sleeping. She looked at the machine that periodically checked his heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen. Everything looked normal for a vampire’s vitals. She checked his saline drip and noticed that it was the lowest level hospital staff had ever administered. Since the specialists were flying blind where a vampire patient was concerned, she supposed everything was on the up and up. She had no way of knowing until the Director arrived to speak with the patient.
She set her collection box on the foot of the bed, trying to wake the vampire, “Excuse me, Mr. Crabtree, but I need to gather a few blood samples from you for Dr. Morgan. Do you mind?”
The patient opened his eyes a slit, “By all means, gather what samples you need but I can’t promise collecting my blood is going to be easy. My body is technically dead so I’m not sure how fast the blood pumps through my veins.”
Aleah nodded in acknowledgement, “That is one of the many reasons we need to collect some samples. Isn’t it funny how almost everything comes down to blood?”
The vampire gave her a grin, flashing his fangs, “Yes, yes, it is. Go ahead and collect your samples, Dr…. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
The Hematologist gave the vampire a genuine smile, “Dr. Macleod, Mr. Crabtree. My specialty happens to be in blood, so you are in very good hands.”
The patient looked over at Wyatt standing at the foot of the bed, “And do you need any samples?”
The male shifter shook his head, “No, sir. Not yet anyway. I’m the Endocrinologist, so if the blood doesn’t give us any answers then I’m sure I will be taking my own samples of tissues to study.”
Mr. Crabtree grimaced, “Well that certainly sounds like it’s going to be a barrel of laughs doesn’t it?”
Wyatt nodded, “It most assuredly does. But I promise you, Mr. Crabtree, that I am one of the last resorts. Let’s let Dr. Macleod get her blood samples and see if we can find out why your abdomen feels like it is burning.”
The patient nodded and held out his arm, “Sample away, pretty doctor.”
Aleah smiled at him as she tied the elastic tubing around his upper arm, “Can you pump your fist for me a few times? See if we can get the blood pumping in your veins?”
The vampire did what was asked as Aleah tapped on the vein, trying to wake it up, “Ah there it is. Let’s see how many vials we can collect.”
When the blood finally started flowing, it wasn’t really a flow but more like a sluggish oil leak. The blood was thick and dark red, causing Aleah to think that they would be lucky to get a full vial of blood. She was curious to see what his test results were going to show when it came to his complete chemistry panel and CBC, not to mention his protein levels, blood sugar level, adrenal gland level, , amino acid levels, C-Reactive Protein level, thyroid stimulating hormone levels, and Testosterone levels.. All of these tests were the most important blood tests to run, but on a vampire what the results would be was anyone’s guess.
As she watched the thick fluid run slowly down the tube of the syringe to the vial, she had a thought, “Do vampires drink water?”
The vampire slowly moved his gaze from the thick, dark blood running into the vial to the doctor drawing the blood, “We can eat and drink anything humans can. It just takes longer to work itself through our bodies. Why do you ask?”
She nodded, filing all of the information away for later viewing, "I was just curious to see if your blood might flow a little faster if we were to give you a glass of water. I need at least five vials of your blood to conduct the proper blood tests to make sure there isn't anything too terribly serious going on with you."
Mr. Crabtree nodded, deep in thought, “Well I suppose it won’t hurt to try. How big of a glass are we talking here?”
Aleah pulled the syringe out and made her way over to the sink in the room, picking up one of the paper cups. “One of these? Maybe two tops.”
The patient nodded, “All right. I’m willing to give it a try.”
Wyatt watched the interaction between the vampire and his lover, she wasn’t kidding when she said that she was damn good at her job. Now I’m wondering myself if the water trick will work.
The Hematologist and patient continued discussing what might and might not work to get his blood to flow faster as Wyatt stood at the end of the bed and watched, hoping she would be able to get the five full vials of blood that she needed.
Chapter Eight
Aleah pulled the last vial out of the syringe and shook it, looking at the patient, "I can't believe it worked. And it looks like normal blood instead of red motor oil. Oh, uh, no offense."
The vampire chuckled, "None taken, sweetheart."
Wyatt laughed with the patient and walked over to his lover, "Were you able to get enough blood for all your tests, sweets?"
She nodded, "I did, actually."
Aleah turned back to the vampire, "Are you comfortable, Mr. Crabtree? Is there anything we can get you before we leave?"
The patient shook his head, "I just want to get some sleep, if that's all right."
The Endocrinologist smiled, "Sure thing, Mr. Crabtree. Would you like us to shut off the lights on our way out?"
The vampire nodded, "That would be great, thanks."
Aleah and Wyatt walked together to the door, the collection box with the vials of blood between them.
Wyatt made sure to turn down the lights so that their patient could get some sleep, "Do you think you'll be able to run all the normal blood panels?"
The Hematologist shrugged, "I'm not sure. But this is the first time I have ever had the chance to do blood panels on a vampire."
They passed the conference room and saw Deanna, Rosa, and Alfred deep in conversation. William was sitting in the Director's chair, seeming to ignore the whole situation. The three specialists stopped talking and watched the couple walk past the windows. The glare that Deanna gave Aleah as she walked by let the female shifter know that the Immunologist wasn't done with her argument. Aleah shook her head; she didn't ha
ve time to deal with the petty jealousy of her co-workers.
As the two shifters walked by the staff lounge on their way to the elevators, Wyatt opened the door and pulled Aleah into the room with him.
"What the Hell, Wyatt?" Aleah exclaimed as he closed and locked the door behind her.
Wyatt gave her a crooked grin and pinned her to the door, crushing her mouth with his. He licked her lips, waiting until she opened her mouth for him then stroked her tongue with his own.
He broke off the kiss and stepped back, "I just thought you might want to release some of that tension before going to the lab to run those tests."
Aleah gave him a goofy grin, "While that sounds like absolute bliss, we really need to get these samples down to the lab and start running those tests. We still have three angry and bitter co-workers to deal with and who knows what William is planning."
The male shifter gave her a lazy grin, "You have a point. All right let's get the blood samples down to the lab so you can start the blood panels, then we can have some fun. I found a room that would work for us down in the basement."
She laughed, "When did you have time to scout out a room for our play time, lover?"
Wyatt laughed with her, "You know me, sweets. I can always find a place to spend some quality time with you."
Aleah pushed him further back, reaching behind her to open the door, "Let's get downstairs and start the blood panels. Maybe see if Dr. Morgan has some advice to give us before we come back here to deal with our disgruntled coworkers."
The Endocrinologist smiled and followed her out of the door, "That sounds like a plan."
The two of them approached the elevators and Wyatt pushed the button, watching as the numbers counting up, "Do you think the Director will have any sound advice, or is it going to be more of the same 'do what you have to, but make sure you don't tell them what we are doing down here' stuff?"
She sighed and leaned against the wall, "Oh I'm sure it's going to be more of the same, but I plan on telling him about the confrontation we had in front of the patient so I'm hoping he'll be more understanding."
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 72