“Is your name actually Doc?”Ottis asked one day a few weeks later. Then he rocked back on his heels, frowning. “I can’t believe I’ve never asked.”
Doc laughed, pulling Ottis onto his lap. “I’ve gone by Doc for so long that sometimes evenIforget it’s not my actual name.”
“What’s your actual name, then?”
“... Percival,” Doc said, giving his mate a wry smile. “I don’t look like a Percival, do I?”
Ottis scrunched up his face. “I can’t picture you as a Percival, no. But it does sound like a knight’s name, which I guess you are. You know, you save people and everything.”
Doc huffed.
“How long have you been Doc, then?” Ottis asked curiously.
“A few centuries,” Doc admitted. “I became a doctor soon after I reached adulthood. Because I began practicing in a small village, everyone there knew me as The Doctor, and then Doc. It kindof stuck after a few years, and it continued to stick because I’ve been a doctor ever since.”
“Is that on your official paperwork at the hospital?”
“Ah, no. That’s still under my original name, although I had to fudge my species just in case.” That always made Doc feel a little guilty, but it was worth the peace of mind when the public didn’t know he was a dragon.
“So on paper you’re a shapeshifter?” Ottis asked.
“Yes, but a terrible one who can’t shift.” Doc laughed. “I can hear pretty well, so I’ve got that going for me.”
Ottis made a face. “Hospitals are awfully noisy.”
“Yeah, well. Can’t have everything, I guess.” Doc lay back on the tall grass, only to have Marcie pounce on his chest. She shook herself and sent dirt flying everywhere.
Ottis groaned. “Hon, at the rate you’ve been digging, there won’t be any grass left!”
“It’s fine,” Doc said, scritching Marcie behind the ears. She grinned her puppy smile and wriggled.
They were in the backyard, now with several new holes that had been filled with all kinds of shrubs—flowering bushes, shrubs, native grasses. The wolfnip was especially popular with Ottis and Marcie; often, Doc came home from his hospital shift to find them lounging between the wolfnip plants, chewing on the leaves.
He reached over to rub Ottis’ belly now, marveling at how much bigger it had grown. Still no kick.
Undeterred, Doc pressed his face against Ottis’ belly and nuzzled him there. “Hey, lil one. I know you’ve been kicking your daddy a little. Are you playing Hide And Seek with me? Not gonna kick when I’m around?”
Ottis huffed. “You just have to be patient!”
“I’ve been patient,” Doc said, trying not to pout.
Ottis took one look at him and grinned. “You’re adorable when you’re pouting.”
“I’m not pouting.” Doc pressed his ear to Ottis’ belly, so he could hear more clearly the fast flutter of their pup’s heartbeat. “We should probably discuss where you want to birth our pup.”
“With my pack?”
“Yeah, that seems wise.”
“When would you like to walk the Circle with me?”
Ottis snorted. “Based on everything our friends have told us,beforeorafterI birth the pup, but not during.”
Doc laughed. “No, we really don’t want to be caught with our pants down. Literally.”
“We didn’t just jinx ourselves, did we?”
“Gods, I hope not.” Doc adjusted his face against Ottis’ belly.
