by Diane Leyne
“But then I found out you weren’t coming back. You’d gone to Cornell and then settled in Seattle and were engaged to some doctor. I was so jealous that I couldn't see straight, so I re-enlisted so I wouldn't have to see you with another man when you brought him back here to visit. By the time I found out that you’d never married and were now back in Harmony, I wasn’t in any position to leave. I had certain missions that I can’t talk about that I had to complete before I could think about coming in. I was six weeks away from coming home for good when I got captured, and well, you know the rest.”
Lena looked at Alex, and then she reached out and covered his hand with hers.
“I’d say that you’ve been punished pretty severely for the decisions you made. And I did get to be a vet. You are probably right that I would have always regretted not becoming a vet since once we were mated. I wouldn’t have found it easy to go away to school, but it was your execution that sucked.
“As for my fiancé, well your information was only partially right. We were engaged, but only for about a week. We both realized that it was a mistake. We'd been to a friend's wedding and got carried away by the romance of it all. We enjoyed being together, but deep down, we both knew that we were really only friends with benefits, and not a long term couple. Did you ever mention him to your brothers?”
Alex shook his head.
“They met him, you know. And is wife. They visited Harmony a few years ago. I even went to their wedding, so in case you are wondering, I'm not pining for him.”
“Damn. I just heard and assumed and I'm just a big stupid idiot, aren't I?”
“Yes, but we all love you anyway.” Lena grinned. “But his wedding did get me thinking about the three of you and what we should have had. I’ve done a lot of thinking about us over the past few days, and if you want to, I’m willing to start over. No promises and certainly no mating ceremonies in the near future, but I think that the four of us should spend some time together, but we don’t need to make any decisions just yet. Talk to your brothers. I’m not the only one you wronged. Talk to them and see if they are open to the four of us giving a relationship a chance. Once you’ve had your surgery and get back on your feet, we’ll talk about it again.
“But you do have one choice that you do have to make today.”
Alex looked warily at her.
“Do you want me to drive you back to the clinic tonight to get your truck or tomorrow morning when I go to work?”
“Do you even have to ask?” Alex grinned. “And I just want to say for the record, that if I didn’t have this bum leg, I’d sweep you off your feet and carry you up to the bedroom. As it is, I can just talk about it.”
“I’m okay with that. We can walk upstairs together, and while we are walking, you can take the opportunity to talk to me about some other things.”
“Like what?”
“Like what you plan on doing to me once we get back to bed.”
* * * *
The week seemed to rush by. Lena was tied up all week at the clinic, including trying to get some additional help so she could spend more time with Alex during his recuperation.
But Alex didn’t have time to brood or worry about the upcoming surgery. He found himself extremely busy with little time to sit around feeling sorry for himself. He had called Luke and got a recommendation for a good therapist in his area. He saw Doctor Bronson daily, and she was unlike the VA shrink he had seen. She was kicking his ass in a good way, and she made him feel like he could heal without giving him unrealistic expectations. And because of her, he was reconnecting with old friends. She knew exactly how to deal with a vet used to the chain of command. She ordered him to follow instructions, and he found himself carrying them out. He also drove up to Seattle twice to attend the vet’s group that Luke ran and found that talking to other vets was also a freeing experience.
Alex spent quality time with his brothers and catching up with old friends in Harmony, especially Gabe. They’d been best friends from the time they were kids, but once Alex had enlisted, he had let that and, really, all his other relationships slide. Dr. Bronson helped him understand that when he’d heard that Lena was engaged to another man, he started volunteering for more and more dangerous missions and that he’d become convinced he had no future and would probably die in action. Maybe he even wanted to, subconsciously.
All in all, he felt free in a way he hadn’t done before. Even if this doctor couldn’t fix him completely, Alex realized that he still had his family and his friends and his mate, if she’d have him long term. He could see there was a future in front of him, and it was a bright one, even if Lena never formally became his mate. They were friends again, and if that was all they ever were, he could make peace with that. Of course, he would do everything in his power to convince her to join with him and his brothers. That went without saying.
It wasn’t all sweetness and roses. It had been less than a week of therapy and healing. Sometimes he still felt the onset of a panic attack, or a kind of black gloom descending where he just wanted to shift and curl up in the sun and avoid people, but he fought those feelings. The only one who was disappointed by this was Otis who, at first, missed his play buddy since the doctor had ordered Alex not to shift again until the day of the surgery, but Otis quickly grew to enjoy spending time with human Alex, who showed unlimited patience in throwing his ball for him.
Alex tried not to think about Sunday. Would the surgery help? Even if it just alleviated some of the almost constant pain, he would consider it a success. He looked down at the e-mail on the screen in front of him. Dr. McKay had sent some very specific instructions for the surgery and the days to follow. He, Alex, was not to shift between now and then. The doc suspected that each time he shifted, he was making things worse.
He couldn’t guarantee that Alex would ever get back to one hundred percent, but he would be shocked if they couldn’t get rid of most of the chronic pain and get his strength and mobility back to at least eighty-five to ninety percent of what it was before the injury. It would involve a lot of work and some pain as no one enjoyed physio, but it would be worth it. Alex rubbed his leg. Eight-five percent and less pain sounded pretty good to him.
Surgery would happen in two parts. First, the doctor would open up his leg when he was in human form and remove the screws and plate set the bone. Then he’d wake Alex up, and that would hurt like a motherfucker, but he needed Alex to shift. Then he’d put Alex back to sleep and have another look at the bone, and tweak the setting as required.
Then he’d keep Alex asleep for a few days. The wound would stay open for the first twenty-four hours. Oliver had to return to his practice, but he’d be on call for emergencies. Lena would monitor him, and if things looked good, she’d suture the wound and then she could transfer him to her own clinic and monitor him for another forty-eight hours. Then, if the X-rays looked good, she’d ease off on the sedation and he’d be allowed to wake up, but not shift. She’d take him home from the hospital once he was awake, and he’d stay with her until Sunday. He would likely be allowed to take a few steps on Thursday and a few more on Friday, but he’d be heavily bandaged and monitored carefully. They’d meet Oliver at Lena’s clinic, and Oliver would examine Alex in wolf form. If he looked good, then Oliver would have him shift and he’d X-ray and examine the leg again.
If all went well, Oliver could start physiotherapy almost immediately. Alex looked at the calendar. The next full moon was a week later. It gave Alex a lot of incentive to follow doctor’s orders. If he had any setbacks, then it would be another month before he had a chance to do the mating ceremony with her. Of course, she might still not want to be his mate, but he had to think positively. That was the thing with soldiers. They learned to define an objective, develop a strategy, and then execute to win. Alex now had two objectives. Get healthy and join with him mate, and he was going to do everything in his power to achieve both.
* * * *
Sunday dawned cool and clear. His brothers
had wanted to come with them, but he asked them not to. He told them that he would need them when he got back because he was going to be the world’s worst patient and they would have to ride his ass to make sure that he did all the assigned physio. He felt a little sad inside when they were so happy to hear him say he needed them. He realized he had been a crappy Alpha in more ways than one and resolved that no matter what happened with the surgery or with Lena, he would change that, too.
Alex waited with his brothers on the veranda for Lena to pick him up. She was right on time, arriving at eight sharp. Alex turned to Joe and Will.
“I love you both more than I can say. I’ve been a terrible Alpha and brother for a long time…” He paused. “I think this is where you are supposed to jump in and deny it.”
Will and Joe laughed.
“You have been a terrible brother,” agreed Will.
“And a sucky Alpha, but we love you, too, and we’re happy to have the old Alex back,” added Joe.
“Yeah, well remember that while I’m recuperating. As bad a brother and Alpha as I’ve been, I’m a far worse patient.”
He hugged them both.
“If I ever turn into a jerk again, you have my permission to hit me on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.”
He hugged them again and then rushed down to Lena who was waiting patiently and climbed into the passenger. He found himself tearing up as they drove away. He turned to look out the window, watching the road, trying to not think about what was going to happen in a few hours, trying not to hope for too much.
As if she understood his mood, Lena didn’t talk. She just reached over and gripped his hand hard before putting her hand back on the steering wheel.
* * * *
Lena snuck a glance at Alex. He looked pale and determined and a bit like he wanted to throw up. In other words, just like she did.
In no time, they were pulling up in front of the facility where the surgery was being done. It was a private clinic, two actually. Most of the building was devoted to its human practice, but there was a separate animal clinic with its own entrance. Oliver had explained to her that it was specially built to service shape-shifters as well as the traditional human and animal clientele. The two clinics were secretly connected so that patients such as Alex could be moved to whichever side they needed to be on, but to all applicable authorities, when the building was inspected, there would be no sign that the two facilities were in any way connected.
She held Alex’s hand as they carefully walked up the pathway. She’d noticed that Alex’s limp sometimes became more pronounced when he was stressed or tense, and today he had to be at one hundred on the stress-o-meter.
She was gratified to see Oliver McKay himself meet them at the door and usher them inside. She’d seen his photo online, but it didn’t do him justice. He was a tall redheaded man built like a long-distance runner. He had a very comforting smile and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose that made him look like a mischievous boy when he grinned, which, she quickly learned, he did often. They’d talked several times leading up to today, and she’d learned that he loved his job and he loved a challenge. Alex presented him with a serious challenge, but he was convinced he’d solved the problem and couldn’t wait to put his plan into action.
Chapter Thirteen
Alex wanted to scream with pain, but it was impossible with the tube down his throat. He felt the tears stream down his face as the pain in his leg was almost unbearable. But then he looked up at Lena standing over him, her face creased with concern, and then he felt her gloved hand covering his. When he looked up at her, she reached out, rubbed his head, and then gently removed the tube.
“Time to change, my love.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead.
“Anything for you, dearest heart,” he whispered, and he closed his eyes and did as she requested. He could feel the prick of a needle in his foreleg and then blessed oblivion again.
* * * *
Removing the intravenous and breathing tubes while Alex was in such pain was one of the hardest things Lena had ever done, but everything had to be removed when he shifted. She managed to refrain from crying as the anaesthesiologist put him back under. She wasn’t sure where Oliver had found Dr. Lopez, but she was grateful that the doctor obviously understood about shifters and showed no surprise at Alex’s change. Quickly and efficiently, Dr. Lopez reintubated Alex and reattached the intravenous, adjusting the dosage, and soon Alex was asleep again. She added heart monitors, and they were good again.
Using the portable X-ray machine, Oliver examined how the bone looked now that Alex had shifted. Lena looked at the films. She was no orthopaedist, but she’d been studying up, and things looked pretty good to her.
Oliver caught her gaze and gave her a thumbs-up.
“I just see a couple of small fragments I want to re-position. Then we’ll cover the wound. Redo the films in twenty-four hours, and if all looks good, you can suture this puppy up.”
Even though he was masked, she could tell from his tone and the crinkling at the corners of his eyes that Oliver was smiling. He really was a very nice man. She wondered if he was married. She had a few single friends he might like.
She looked back down at Alex. All of his vital signs were good. He was breathing easily now. She ran her hand over his silky head before ensuring that all the various leads were secure and then checked all the outputs again while Oliver finished with Alex’s leg.
“There. All done. We have to move him very carefully now, and keep him sedated for twenty-four hours. And try not to worry. His leg looks good. All we can do now is wait.”
* * * *
Oliver was right. At the twenty-four hour mark, Lena could see just by looking that the bones had begun to knit. She used the portable X-ray and sent a copy to Oliver. He was in surgery, so it took almost an hour for him to call her back, but he confirmed that things looked good and she could close the wound and move Alex back to her clinic.
So as not to jostle him, and with all of the equipment she needed, Moe, Will, and Joe all came out to help her move Alex into the ambulance. Moe drove while she sat in back and made sure that everything was fine. Back at her clinic, the four of them got Alex unloaded and situated as comfortably as possible.
The week seemed to pass in a haze. She worked on her patients but spent every spare moment with Alex. And when she couldn’t be with him, his brothers Will and Joe took shifts. They even offered to stay with him at night so she could go home and get a good night’s sleep, but she insisted that the cot was fine. She was surprised when they gave in easily but realized later that they hadn’t. They had just decided not to bother arguing. They brought her food and snacks, and each night, one of them snuggled up behind her on the cot, holding her tightly. Their presence was comforting, and she realized that, without them being there, she probably wouldn’t have gotten much sleep.
Alex passed each milestone with flying colors, and before Lena knew it, they were back at her clinic and Oliver was examining Alex in person again while Will and Joe paced anxiously. She was about to banish them to the waiting room as their hovering made her nervous, but Oliver just laughed.
Lena felt helpless. She wasn’t there as a doctor. She wasn’t even helping with the X-ray or the exam. Moe was doing that. She was there solely for Alex, and the waiting was killing her. She couldn’t even imagine how anxious Alex felt.
“Relax, the lot of you. If I wasn’t the best in the business, you’d have me second guessing myself. I told you things were going well, and you need to chill. You are making the patient tense, and all the pacing isn’t going to make the X-ray develop faster or make me read it quicker.”
Will and Joe came up behind Lena and put their arms around her as she stroked Alex’s forehead. He looked anxious and whined quietly as he, too, awaited Oliver’s pronouncement.
“I’m tempted, but I’m not going to drag this out. The film looks even better than I’d hoped. If all my patients had this type
of recuperative powers, well, I wouldn’t be out of a job, but my job would be a hell of a lot easier.” He turned to Alex.
“Well, I think it’s time to meet Alex the man again.”
“Wait.” All eyes turned to Lena. She grabbed a towel and draped it over Alex. “Okay, you can shift now, baby.”
And then he was lying there. His face was pale, but he didn’t seem to her to be in any pain. She reached out and took his hand in hers while smoothing his hair back away from his forehead and leaning down to give him a kiss.
“Honey, stay still for a little while longer. We’re going to X-ray that leg again. Just lay still for a few minutes longer.”
* * * *
Alex watched as Oliver and Moe walked back into the room where he and Lena waited. She’d helped him into a hospital gown and was now sitting on the edge of his bed holding tightly to his hand. They hadn’t exchanged a single word since he woke up, but they also hadn’t let go of each other. He needed that physical connection, and it seemed like she did, too. Will and Joe stood right behind her. Alex was grateful to have them all there and that they understood that he didn’t want to talk until he got the news from Oliver.
Oliver looked from one to the other. Alex felt his chest tighten as he had trouble breathing. He had done a lot of thinking during his recuperation. He wasn’t going to saddle Lena with a lame mate. His future hinged on the next few minutes.
“Looks good on paper. Now for the real test. I need you to stand up and take a few steps. Don’t rush, and don’t overdo it. Will, Joe. You two get on either side of him. I want him to take three steps toward me, with his weight on his left leg, and then return and sit on the exam table.