Slowly, Tank nodded and lay back down on the bed as Niles got up and walked into the bathroom. He heard the water running, then a minute later, Niles walked back into the bedroom and sat next to him on the bed, cleaning his body.
Tank could feel the heat in his cheeks, knew he was blushing and when he looked up at Niles, he saw the satisfied smile on his face. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Okay, I've never had anyone clean me before. I feel a bit like a girl."
"I like doing it, like taking care of my mate."
When Niles finished cleaning him, he threw the washcloth back towards the bathroom and got back into bed.
"Want to be the big spoon?" Niles asked.
Tank stared at him, not knowing how to answer the question. Niles smiled and took pity on him. "How about you be the big spoon and if it's not comfortable, we can swap."
"Okay." Tank swallowed and then stopped. Why was he getting all worked up about who was the big spoon and who was the little spoon when he'd just had sex? In this bed with his mate. Shaking his head, Tank moved over and cuddled up to Niles' back and moved his arm over his waist. "This okay?"
Niles laid his arm on top of Tank’s, threading their fingers together. "More than okay," he mumbled, sleep already coloring his words.
Tank got comfortable, then slowly relaxed. Every breath he took, he breathed Niles in. Closing his eyes, he kissed Niles on the neck and then drifted off to sleep.
❊❊❊
Spencer paced the IT room, watching the data scroll across the screen, a frown on his face to give the illusion of not understanding the data in front of him. "Well?" he asked for the fifth time.
"You need to let us set our trap. The hacker can't know we know about them. If they even begin to suspect we're onto them, then they'll stop, and we'll lose our chance to find out who it is."
"I know that, Carter. You don't need to keep explaining it to me."
"Then why are you still here, breathing down my neck?"
"Just remember what we can do to you and your family, Carter."
"Like I can forget when you threaten me every single day with it," he muttered.
"Good. I'm glad we have that sorted." Hands on hips, Spencer asked, "How long before we know anything?"
"It depends on when he or she tries again. It's a waiting game now."
"We can't have them finding out our plans. Those plans have been years in the making, waiting for the right time to implement them. They must succeed."
"I know. You'll get your chance, don't worry."
Spencer turned away from the screens and walked to the door. "Inform me immediately if you get anything."
"Don't worry, I will."
Chapter Seven
Niles sat at the computer reading the latest test results that had been sent through to him. So, absorbed in the task, he never noticed Max appear until he said hi.
Looking up, Niles smiled. "Hi Max. Look, about the other night—"
Max waved the apology away. "No, don't. I just wanted to come and apologize. I misread the situation, Niles."
"No, I need to apologize."
"Let's just forget about it. I don't want to ruin our friendship, and we work well together. Is that okay with you?"
"Absolutely."
"You have a mate. You must be happy."
Niles grinned. "I am, thank you. Targon is everything I could want in a mate."
Leaning on the counter Niles was working at, Max asked, "I thought mates didn't exist? I thought it was just something you told each other like a bedtime story."
"Me too, but since I've met Targon, I've done some research. There were lots of mated couples. In fact, it was the norm. I can't even tell you when it stopped happening. I am very lucky to have found Targon."
"Targon?"
"Welsh. He is a Northerner, my family are Southerners." Niles grinned. They had more in common than just being mates. They had a shared history, their ancestors coming from the same country and emigrating to America.
They talked a lot about their families, the places they'd come from, when they had been out for lunch the day before. Niles could see, and feel, how painful it was for Tank to talk about his family, but if they were ever to move forward and have his family except their mating, Niles needed to know exactly what he was up against. He wasn't going to lose his mate because his family hadn't moved with the times.
"What happens if you fall out?"
"That rarely happens, if ever. It's hard to explain, but I think the easiest way to look at it is that mates complete each other, like the other half of each other. Mates help each other to be better people, are there to support when needed or offer encouragement." Niles shrugged. "It's really hard to put into words exactly what mates are to each other. I only know of one mating that didn't work out." Niles paused, then continued, "Well, I guess that's a matter of opinion."
Max nodded in understanding. "The blood slave?"
Niles nodded. "Did you know that his parents sold him? Both of them agreed and did it. How could they do that to their own child?"
"It sickens me, the things we can do to each other. How is he—”
Max's pager went off and he glanced down at it and read the message. He grabbed the nearest phone and made a call, no doubt to find out what he was needed for. Niles turned his attention back to the results in front of him and waited for Max to finish.
"Can't wait for the new smart phones. Do you know when we're getting them?"
"Months, the last I heard." Leaning back in his chair, Niles rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the tiredness in his body. He'd been staring at results for far too long. "The cost involved runs into the tens of thousands."
"Still, nothing beats the incessant beeping of a pager. Gotta run. Lunch later?"
"Yeah, usual time and place?"
"Unless something happens between now and then."
Niles watched Max walk briskly away and sighed. At least their friendship hadn't been fucked up after the other night. Turning back to the screen he closed his eyes, reaching out to his mate. He needed to hear his voice.
Targon
Niles
How's it going?
Nothing beats sitting around waiting for the locals to get their shit together.
Niles winced. Bad?
I don't understand what the problem is. They asked us here and now they have us sitting on our hands doing nothing. Chester and Ale are getting pissed off about it and have threatened to leave if nothing gets sorted soon.
I would have thought they'd need all the help they could get. A river had burst its banks due to a deluge that no one had been expecting.
You would, wouldn't you? I'm fed up and Dodge won't stop whining. He knows he's got a job to do, and he's stuck here. Still, he did piss on all the cars. Made him happy.
Niles burst out laughing, drawing puzzled looks from the nurses around him. Clearing his throat, he stared at the screen.
Good for Dodge.
Hang on. They're coming over. Maybe now we can finally get involved in the search and rescue they asked us here for.
Let me know.
Will do.
They broke off contact and Niles stared at the figures in front of him. Time to get back to work.
❊❊❊
Hunter was right behind him as they slowly and methodically made their way in a huge circle around the school. It was the only chance they had of finding the missing children and teacher. Roughly thirty minutes later, Tank saw Dodge indicate that he'd picked up a scent. Suddenly, Dodge veered off to the right, even further away from the school and started pulling Tank behind him.
Tank could hear Hunter behind him, speaking into the mic attached next to his mouth — new, improved models — giving Ale their current position and asking the team to converge on their coordinates. Dodge had found something and was eager to follow it.
With some difficulty, Tank and Dodge, with Hunter following, made their way through a dense thicket of brush and trees until they stopped at the
edge of what used to be a pond, but due to the heavy rain, had spread out into the surrounding trees. They tread carefully through the branches and debris floating on the water, Dodge stopping every few seconds and sniffing at that debris and the trees around them before continuing forward.
Tank's eyes followed the trail through the shallow, dirty water until it reached the leaf-covered branches of a large downed tree. That's where he caught a glimpse of an adult female holding onto two small children, clinging to the underside of the branches, hanging over the water.
"Dodge. Sit." Tank ordered before giving Dodge his toy. "Good boy." Tank gave Dodge the ‘stay’ signal followed by the command.
He waded through the water and knew when he'd hit the original edge of the pond. The ground became like glue, thick and difficult to move through. He was glad that Hunter was behind when he heard him shout, "I'll let the team know where we are."
"Shit," he muttered, when his feet immediately sank into the thick mud, covered by the dark water.
"Stay where you are. I'll swim over."
Hunter knew what would happen if Tank struggled to move on and dove in chest first, keeping his head above the water, and started swimming towards the woman and two children. The children were crying, and the woman, Tank assumed was the teacher, was struggling to keep all three of them above water.
As Tank moved towards them, a sharp slicing pain cut through his arm. Turning, he realized that some of the branches had thorns on them. "Shit," he muttered, untangling himself from the branch.
"Hunter, watch the branches. Some of them have thorns on."
"Got it."
The branches above were dense and covered with thorns. Making his way slowly toward them in the water was slow and painful, with some of the thorns cutting into his skin. He could feel the thorns in a couple of places, embedding into his flesh. Finally, he took out his knife and started cutting and hacking through the branches.
When he made it to them, the woman immediately handed one of the children to him. "Take her first. She's only five. I'll keep hold of him."
Hunter was close behind and Tank passed the little girl over to him, then turned back to take the boy. "I'll come back for you," he told the woman.
The woman nodded. "Just get them to safety first."
Tank took the boy and slowly made his way back to the edge of the water. He tried to keep him above the dirty water, having seen the numerous cuts covering him. The last thing the boy needed was an infection developing in one of them. Poor kid had gone through enough already.
Hunter got there before him and, after putting the girl down, he reached for the boy. "I'm going back for the woman."
Hunter nodded and took his jacket off, covering both children with it. As Tank moved back through the water, he could hear Hunter update the team on their situation and heard Ale tell Hunter the others were almost to them.
When Tank reached the woman, he glanced around her, seeing how tangled up her clothing was. "My name is Tank. I'm part of Rescue Inc."
"I think you're gonna have to cut them," the woman said, tugging on her clothes.
"Yeah, I think you're right."
Tank took a closer look around the woman, finding several places where she was stuck. He started by cutting her jacket and part of her shirt that had somehow become wound around the branches. It felt like it took forever to cut her free, but when she was finally loose, he helped her cross the water towards Hunter and the two children.
As he moved, he slipped on a submerged branch and fell forward, hitting his head on the trunk of the nearest tree. Grunting in pain, Tank struggled to move. Everything spun around him and he groaned, fighting the need to be sick.
Hands grabbed him and the woman, lifting them clear of the water, and he blinked the water out of his eyes to find Hunter carrying both of them back to dry land.
"Hunter," he mumbled, shaking his head to try to clear it.
"I've got you both. Don't worry."
When they reached dry land, Hunter placed them both on the ground, and immediately pain shot through his leg.
"Shit," he shouted, grabbing the area.
"Where are you hurt, Tank?" Jensen asked, squatting in front of him.
"Thigh. Something stuck in it." Tank breathed deeply through the pain. Jensen cut through his pant leg, revealing a small broken piece of branch stuck in his thigh.
"We can't get a stretcher in here," Jensen said as he cleaned the area and packed it to prevent the branch causing more damage.
"I'll make it. Just make sure they get out."
"Chester and Donnie are here to help as well." As Jensen spoke, Tank watched the two vampires take the children and woman away.
Grunting in pain, Tank let Jensen help him up. "Fuck, that hurts."
Tank hobbled along behind the others, Dodge by his side and Jensen helping him. Every step caused the pain to bloom through his leg, but he kept on going.
Niles
Tank. What’s wrong?
Hurt. Branch in leg. Going hospital now. Even talking this way made everything hurt.
On my way.
Twice he would have fallen if Jensen hadn't grabbed him. The pain was becoming more excruciating with every step he took.
Finally, after what seem liked forever, they made it out of the trees and found that all the ambulances had gone, probably with the two children and the teacher who'd made it out before him. Tank carefully sat on the muddy ground and waited for another one to arrive. He panted, trying to ignore the pain in his thigh and the pounding ache in his head.
"Here, let me see to that." Jensen squatted in front of him and carefully cleaned his head wound. "You'll need stitches and it's going to need more cleaning. There’s some dirt in there and it is pretty deep."
"Great, just what I wanted to hear."
His ears started to ring, and he winced, dropping his head down, his vision darkening at the edges. He suddenly felt sick and luckily managed to roll onto his side before throwing up.
"Don't feel so good," he mumbled before everything went black.
Chapter Eight
When Tank became aware of his surroundings, he immediately realized that he was in a hospital. He could hear the unmistakable beep of the machine that kept track of a person's vital signs. The beep seemed to be keeping a steady rhythm, so he figured he was still alive and recovering well. He sighed quietly when the drugs pulled him under and he fell back asleep.
The next time he woke up, he actually managed to open his eyes. The machine was still keeping that steady pace, so now he tried to figure out how bad he was hurt. He realized his head hurt, especially the front of his face. When he tried to reach up and touch it, his hand felt like it was encased in cement and he dropped it back to the bed. Carefully, because his eyes and head hurt when he moved, he looked down and saw that most of his arms were covered in bandages and plasters.
Glancing around the room, Tank saw Niles asleep on a chair in the corner and Hunter sleeping in a chair directly in front of him, but on the other side of the room. What the hell? He must have made a noise because Hunter woke up and hurried to the door calling for a nurse.
"Hey, a nurse will be here soon. How you feeling, Tank?"
"Great,” he mumbled. His throat was dry and tacky, and he coughed, trying to loosen it up. Hunter reached over and picked up a plastic cup with a straw in it and held it for Tank.
Tank gingerly lifted his head, and ignoring the pounding through it, sipped some water. The cool liquid slipped down his throat and he sighed in relief."Thanks."
"Figured you'd need it."
"The children? Teacher?" Tank coughed again and this time his throat felt better for it.
"They're good. They were released yesterday."
Released yesterday. Just how long had he been here? "How long..."
"Two days. You were pretty out of it. The docs were worried about the knock to your head, but your tests came back clear. Sorry, Tank. They couldn't find a brain."
"Fucker," Tank mumbled with a small smile.
Hunter grinned. "Bad concussion. You did wake up a number of times but went back to sleep straight away."
Tank tried moving his leg and hissed at the pain. "My leg?"
"Your mate removed the branch, cleaned the wound, and stitched you back up. Don't think the locals are impressed with him when he came in and took over." Hunter grinned again. "I sat back and watched the explosions when he told them straight that only he would be touching you. He did let one doctor help though."
"Shit."
"No shit at all. When they realized you two were mates, they backed off, or maybe it was when Niles got that glow in his eyes. Don't want to piss a vampire off by denying him access to his mate. Especially one who knows how to use a scalpel."
"Has Niles been here the whole time?"
"He hasn't left your side, except to go to the bathroom."
"How long has he been asleep?"
"About an hour now. He's worried he missed something."
"Like what?" Tank mumbled. He could feel the drugs working and he was trying to stay awake.
"Go back to sleep. We can talk later."
"Tell him..." That was all Tank managed to say before he fell asleep.
❊❊❊
Tank slept peacefully, and Niles moved quietly around him. He didn't want to wake his mate when he was still healing. The leg wound was causing him some concern. There was still an area of red skin and it was puffy and hot to the touch. He'd missed something.
Checking his paperwork, Niles went and spoke to the doctor on duty, who agreed with his assessment. At some point they'd have to go back in and clean the wound and that would delay Tank's healing.
"The wound was a mess," Doctor MacIntyre said.
"I thought I'd got it all."
"I checked before you closed, and the wound looked clean. The infection is still there so we must have missed a small piece. Let's increase the antibiotics through his IV and reassess later."
Niles nodded in agreement. "Okay, let’s try that."
Niles left the doctor and returned to Tank's room and waited for the nurse to come in with more antibiotics. She was quick and efficient, stepping out of the room less than a minute after she'd entered.
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