An apologetic Clive and Sienna helped load the most severely injured manatee into the back of Harvey's pickup truck, workingtogether to ensure the animal was properly supported and had adequate water circulation for the trip back to town.
"Thank you both for calling this in so quickly," Lacey told them sincerely as they prepared to leave the rescue site. "If you hadn't acted when you did, we probably would have lost all three of them."
"We just wish we could have prevented the whole thing," Sienna replied sadly. "People need to understand that these waterways aren't race tracks. The manatees have been here for thousands of years."
During the careful drive back to the clinic, Holt and June rode in the cab of the pickup while Lacey and Dean stayed in the back with their patient, monitoring his vital signs and keeping him calm with gentle touches and soothing words.
"You're going to be just fine, big guy," Lacey murmured as she checked the animal's breathing and heart rate. "We'll have you all patched up and back in the water in just a few days."
Dean watched her work with obvious admiration, occasionally helping to adjust the water pump or reposition the monitoring equipment as they navigated the bumpy road back to town.
"You're incredible with them," he said quietly. "I've seen you work with land animals, but watching you with marine life is something else entirely."
"They trust you," Lacey replied, gently stroking the manatee's flank as the animal rested peacefully in the mobile treatment tank. "Wild animals can sense when someone genuinely wants to help them. It's not magic or some special gift. It's just patience and respect."
By the time they reached the clinic, word of the rescue had spread throughout the community, and a crew of volunteers had already assembled the makeshift holding facility that Lacey would need for the manatee's recovery. Harvey and several other local handymen had constructed a temporary pool using tarps, wooden framing, and a borrowed water circulation system from the town's aquaculture facility.
Getting the nearly thousand-pound animal from the transport tank into the treatment area required all of them working together, along with several additional volunteers who had arrived to help with the transfer. The process took almost an hour, but they finally managed to settle the sedated manatee into the recovery pool where Lacey could begin the surgical repair of his injuries.
"This is going to take a while," she warned the group as she prepared her surgical instruments and medications. "The lacerations are deep and irregular, so each one needs to be cleaned and sutured individually."
"We're not going anywhere," June assured her, staying on hand in the treatment area to assist with supplies and monitoring equipment.
The surgical repair took almost two hours, during which Holt coordinated a dinner delivery from several local restaurants while Dean and June took turns helping Lacey with sutures, antiseptic solutions, and pain management injections.
By the time Lacey finished the last of the stitches, her shoulder was aching from the prolonged fine motor work, and she had developed a headache from concentrating intensely under the improvised lighting system they'd set up in the temporary treatment area.
She ignored both discomforts as she checked the manatee's vital signs one final time and adjusted the water circulation system to ensure optimal healing conditions for her patient.
"He should be stable now," she announced to the group, who had been patiently waiting for her assessment. "But someone needs to monitor him every few hours tonight to make sure there are no complications from the anesthesia or the surgical repairs."
"We'll take turns on watch duty," Dean said immediately. "You've been working for hours. You need to eat something and try to get some rest."
"I can't leave him alone on his first night after surgery," Lacey protested. "If something goes wrong with his breathing or if he has an adverse reaction to the medications..."
"Then we'll wake you up immediately," Holt interrupted gently but firmly. "But you're going to be useless to him if you collapse from exhaustion."
The dinner that had been delivered turned out to be a feast contributed by multiple restaurants and community members who had heard about the rescue operation. They ate in the main treatment room, taking turns checking on their patient between courses and discussing the logistics of long-term care for marine mammals in their improvised facility.
After dinner, Lacey tried to convince everyone to go home to their own beds, insisting that she was perfectly capable of monitoring the animal alone. None of them would hear of it.
"We're all staying," June said with finality. "We have comfortable couches in the new waiting area, and there are enough of us to rotate watch duties so everyone gets some rest."
A few hours later, after Holt and June had settled down to sleep on the new furniture in the reception area, Lacey was making her regular check on the manatee when Dean found her adjusting the water temperature and circulation system.
"How's our patient doing?" he asked quietly, moving to stand beside her at the edge of the temporary pool.
"Better than I expected," Lacey replied, noting the steady rise and fall of the animal's breathing and the clear appearance of the water around his surgical sites. "No signs of infection, and his vital signs are strong and stable."
"And how are you doing?" Dean asked, his eyes taking in the exhaustion she was trying to hide.
"I'm fine," she said automatically, though they both knew it wasn't entirely true.
"Holt and June are sleeping peacefully on those new sofas in the waiting room," Dean reported with a smile. "They look like a couple of teenagers who fell asleep studying for finals."
"You should try to get some sleep too," Lacey suggested, though she made no move to leave her post beside the recovering animal.
"I will," Dean agreed. "When you do."
