At that moment, we spot the helicopter approaching in the sky.
Seconds later, a powerful gust of wind hits us as it lands. Blue’s dark navy hair flies high into the air. We rush to climb in. The pilot, two paramedics, and two physicians from Malden General are already on board with equipment.
Blue gives them the destination and we take off.
I’ve never been in a helicopter, but in moments like this I appreciate that I’m married to a billionaire, because even if Blue doesn’t use all of his fortune for personal things, when there’s a situation this serious, he can always reach for those resources.
Ten minutes later we land outside the hospital where Marlow is.
Blue exchanges a few words with one of the doctors, then turns to me.
"We’ll stay here. They don’t need extra people in there."
The next few minutes pass with my fists clenched tight, a twisting pain in my stomach, my head filled with what-if scenarios. Blue sits motionless, staring out at the hospital lights.
Soon the doors open and a gurney is wheeled out. Marlow is lying on it, surrounded by a whole team of people and a mass of equipment moving with him.
I squeeze my eyes shut because it all feels unreal, like some kind of horror movie. My poor brother lying there, being rushedby medical staff, right on the edge between life and death. How did it come to this?
They load him into the helicopter along with all the equipment. The Malden doctors lean over him, their bodies blocking my view of his face, which in a way is both frustrating and a relief. I’d be ashamed to look at his face and perhaps see a silent accusation there. In a way, all the tubes, IV lines, oxygen masks, and everything else I can’t even name that’s covering him feel like a physical manifestation of that.
We take off, and I reach out to grab Blue’s hand.
"Tell me he has a chance. Please, tell me…"
"They said his respiratory rate is four breaths per minute. That’s critical. His GCS is low. He’s far from stable, it could get worse at any moment. He took a massive amount of sleeping pills. They found him already in a deep coma."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" I repeat, pressing my free hand to my face. It’s just too much.
I barely remember the flight, then the landing on the roof of Malden Hospital.
My emotions are tearing through me. Blue’s hand stays in mine the whole time, and I think only that steady, grounding touch is keeping me together.
The doctors take Marlow down in a dedicated elevator, while we go inside using the stairs.
Then Blue speaks with several doctors. I don’t listen in, the jargon they use is completely foreign to me.
At one point, though, I see one of the doctors hand Blue a vial and a syringe. Blue sticks the needle into his vein and draws some blood, that shines silvery.
I blink, staring at him in shock.
"What are you doing?"
"I gave them some of my bionanobots. They’re his only real chance. Mine are special. They’re not the same ones I licensed tothe military. They have far more applications. And I’ve already encoded the necessary directives."
I stare at him for a moment, then suddenly pull him into a tight embrace, holding him with all my strength.
"Oh Blue… thank you, thank you for everything! You’re a miracle worker!"
Blue answers with bitterness in a slightly muffled voice, his face pressed against my chest.
"If the Alpha Activation program had been more successful, we wouldn’t be here. Don’t thank me. I truly feel partially responsible. The problem is I could have devoted more time to this program, but I was working on something completely different, my biggest life project, which entered an entirely new phase and… consumed me. Because of that, I pushed the alpha activation program aside. Maybe if I had focused all my efforts on it, we would have succeeded…"
"For Fate’s sake! Blue! You couldn’t have known, he’s not your brother, and his personality is very introverted. You’re not to blame. What Marlow wants is a fight against his nature. Awakening the ability for an alpha to go into heat is unheard of. And besides, no one can predict things like this. Let’s just hope he can be saved."
We spend the next few hours sitting in the waiting area. The doctors offer us a private room, but Blue refuses. He doesn’t want to be treated in any special way.
Soon my parents arrive too, both extremely stressed. My father looks like he’s lost what little gray hair he had left and now it’s completely white. This past year has taken a toll on him too. My dad looks bad as well, his face pale and translucent.
