“Lero?” I asked, not in the mood to talk.
“Is on his way. They had a bit of drama at the Nightshade Bears when Preston found out that Mori ran off without telling him. He waffled about whether or not he could come and in the end he stayed home as he should with newborns. It slowed them down a bit, though.”
“How long?”
“Until they get here? A few more hours, I think,” the healer glanced at his watch.
“How long--- here?” I asked.
“Three days. Though, from what I understand the time you spent on your home world compared to here…” his voice trailed off.
“How long?” I asked again, trying to push myself upright.
“Hey, hey, now. Let’s keep you resting until Lero gets here,” he said, his voice gentle for a dragon. “It was five days here. Not too, too long, but long enough. You’ve been out cold for three. Just about a week.”
His pheromone blocker spray had nearly worn off.
“Mori? He’s still in shock?” I asked.
“Shock and grief are twins,” the healer said, dragging over another chair to sit by my bed.
“Am I dying?” I asked.
“Quite the opposite. You’re recovering nicely. I’d like you to meet with physical therapy before Lero steals you back to the bears in a few days. Our biggest concern will be getting your strength back up. Two years is a long time to be stuck in a box.”
“Stupid fucking box,” I muttered and shut my eyes again. “Wake me up when Lero gets here.”
“How about we get you something to drink? And maybe try you on some chicken broth?” he offered and inside my inner sanctum my bear lifted his big, furry head. I considered letting him out but knew if I didn’t move soon, I might never moveproperly again. I nodded and the healer pushed a button that half-sat up the bed, taking me with it.
I was clad in a light blue shirt thing that was nearly as long as a dress and tied in the back. Some fashion choices Earthside made. I chewed on some ice while the healer played around on his phone. A few minutes later a lady with a high ponytail came in with a tray. On it was a bottle of water and a cup of broth. I sniffed it and considered waiting until Lero was here before drinking it. With no way to contact Mori I wasn’t sure who to trust.
Across the room, Lero’s dad opened one eye and arched a sleepy brow at me.
“His name is Ivan,”my bear reminded me.
“You think loud. I know you’re a bear’s bear,” he yawned.
“Huh?” I blinked at him.
“You’re on the family link now. Well, half-assed. You can drink that. Dara knows better than to poison someone Barry sent here. He doesn’t want his ass scales to be Barry’s new codpiece.”
“That I do not, but believe it or not, I’ve never poisoned a single patient, regardless of where they come from,” the healer chuckled and I took a sip of the broth. It was warm and salty and tasted slightly of poultry. The cord stuck into my wrist with the world’s smallest knife got in the way a bit but a glance around my chair-bed told me that this was the way they administered some medication or another.
“It’s an IV,” Ivan said. “They’re balancing your water and electrolytes out. Fattening you up.”
“Gonna eat me,” I grumbled and my bear laughed inside his inner sanctum.
“Not until you’re fat,” the healer chuckled.
Ivan dug around inside his bag and pulled something out.
“What is that?” the healer asked before I had the chance to.
“Something,” Ivan said. “Don’t worry, Dara. I’m not going to kill him either. If you don’t know, I showed up at Barry’s house not much better off than he is right now. It’s the little things that matter.”
“What little thing is that?” the healer asked.
“A bit of sugar, nosey,” Ivan said, stretching and standing up.
