So, here we were, hoping for answers. We were greeted with a fresh, clean lobby that looked like any other doctor's office. We went to the desk and got checked in.
We sat down while I filled out the paperwork and Aria played with some of the toys in the corner. When it asked the reason for the visit I wasn’t sure what to put so I just wrote ‘child is experiencing symptoms of shifting.’ I listed the symptoms below, along with the rest of her medical history.
When I took it up, the nurse gave it a once over then looked back at me. “Are you…human?”
I nodded.
“I see.” She made some notes, her face totally blank. “If you’d like to sit down, someone will be with you shortly.”
I thanked her and went back to Aria, who was playing with one of those wire block toys. It sounded like she was pretending they were trains that could fly, but I was never truly sure what she was thinking.
We waited for what felt like forever before a voice I recognized called, “Aria Maloy.”
My heart leaped to my throat as I found myself eye-to-eye with Jasper.
CHAPTER EIGHT
JASPER
Igot to the clinic early today. I tried not to work on weekends to spend time with Leo and Hawthorne, but another doctor called out, and I didn’t like leaving them short-staffed. Saturday was walk-in day, and many people waited for it instead of making a regular appointment.
I’d seen a few people already, one woman who sprained her ankle at work the night before and a man who was having trouble shifting. It was all pretty basic stuff, which was normal for walk-ins.
My mind drifted back to Harper. We hadn’t seen her much this week. Leo brought her lunch on Wednesday, but she’d been a bit quiet since then, and there seemed to be something wrong. Leo said she seemed happy when he saw her last, but no one was sure how to check in on her since everything was so new.
“Doctor Keaton,” Abby, one of the nurses, said as she approached me.
“Yes?”
“We have a bit of a strange case with this walk-in.”
“How so?” I asked, taking the chart from her and skimming over it.
“There’s a human woman here with her daughter. She says she’s presenting with symptoms of shifting.”
I read over the information. Aria Maloy, age four, hyperactive then tired, reported an ear shift at her daycare. My eyes caught on the last name. Though it was a fairly common one, it was odd to see all the same.
“Did she come with a father? Perhaps the shifter?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “And the mom looks like she had no idea.”
“I see. I’ll talk with her.” I couldn’t imagine being a human and finding out my daughter could be a shifter. I wouldn’t know anything until I tested her, but her symptoms were all correct. And if she didn’t know, I was sure she would be frightened.
I stepped out into the lobby and called out, “Aria Maloy.”
When I looked up, I stopped dead in my tracks. Sitting there was Harper, her round eyes staring back at me. And when I looked beside her, a small child had walked up to join her. Her hair was blonder, but she had the same hazel eyes and slightly upturned nose.
Harper had a daughter.
We both sat there in stunned silence. I was sure people were looking by now, but I couldn’t move. It was like I was frozen in place. I had so many questions, but I brought my mind to the issue at hand. Harper was probably scared for her daughter, and she needed help.
I cleared my throat. “Why don’t you both follow me back?”
That seemed to snap her out of it. She stood with Aria and brought her towards me. Her pumpkin spice scent hit my nostrils, and I wanted to pull her to me, but I resisted as we walked toward the exam room.
When we got there, I had her help Aria up onto the exam table. “Could you explain to me what’s going on?” I asked Harper.
She looked shy for a moment but nodded. She explained the symptoms Aria had been experiencing and what they told her at the daycare.
