There’s a moment of silence. I notice Blue unconsciously touching his stomach, that small swell that hints at something new in our lives, and I feel a flicker of excitement.
To be honest… I secretly share what my dad always talked about too, that desire for a family, for having kids, for grandchildren, for being surrounded by people I could love and help find their place in the world.
I sigh and force myself to look away from Blue.
"The important thing is that you’re alive, Marlow. Please, before you ever do something like that again, talk to Blue. He always finds a solution."
Blue glances at me with a hint of amusement.
"I appreciate your faith in me, Gabriel…" He gives me a small smile, then glances at Marlow. "I’ll try to arrange access to that program as soon as possible. I know one of the doctors there, Dr. Lee. He used to work at that unfortunate facility, the same one where Fenn Drax was employed. The new director, Mr. Gomez, wanted charges brought against him, but I handled it so we parted on good terms. Nothing damaging went on his record, and he was very grateful. I think he’ll help us get you into the program."
"Thank you," Marlow says, almost under his breath.
"But first, give yourself at least two weeks to recover, because you look like hell, and I assume you’ll want to make a decent impression if there’s going to be, you know, a pairing with someone…"
I mutter it with a grimace.
When we say goodbye and leave Marlow’s room, I feel a wave of relief, even though I’m still worried about him.
But my attention shifts to Blue. He looks exhausted, and every now and then he yawns.
My parents come over to us again to thank Blue, and my dad can’t help but ask about the pregnancy, how it’s going, how Blue is feeling. I can see he’s desperate to hear something good after a night like this, and Blue gives him that, assuring him that thanks to our TM Bond, the pregnancy is progressing exactly as it should.
Later, a limousine with Gerard pulls up outside the hospital. We get in and head out, and during the drive I notice Blue’s eyes starting to close.
In a final burst of effort, he murmurs,
"You know what? I just texted Dimitri. He knew Director Flanegin better than we did. He replied that he’s heard from another contact of his that Flanegin is now working for… wait for it… Welrun Corporation!"
"Oh really? Do you think his spying on you was… corporate espionage? Like they were paying him to monitor what you were doing?"
"Who knows. The fact that their Alpha Activation program turned out to be so explosively fast, as they went straight into the testing phase, might suggest something like that. I’ll look into it when I have a moment…"
I sigh but don’t comment. I’m fairly certain this isn’t the first time someone has tried to steal Blue’s ideas, but now isn’t the time to talk about it.
I can see the sleepiness creeping over him, getting deeper with every second.
By the time we reach Blue’s tower, he’s barely holding on. I lift him into my arms and carry him to the elevator, and he slips into a deep sleep.
I walk into the penthouse and lay Blue down on the bed, then pull the covers over him, and right then I hear the sound of a text message.
I glance at the screen. It’s from Veyron.
"Hey man, what’s going on with Marlow? I’ve been worried about you guys."
Veyron always liked Marlow, even though Marlow kept him at a distance like he did with everyone, so I know the concern is real.
I text back quickly.
"He’s okay. Blue used a specialized treatment and pulled him through, but it got really bad for a while…"
"Man, that’s a huge relief. It sucks it got that far, but you never really know what people are dealing with, and he’s super secretive. Listen, I’m actually two streets away from Blue’s place. I picked up something during a big summer sale and I want to drop it off."
That catches me off guard, but why not.
"Sure. Blue’s asleep, but I’m up. You can come by."
Ten minutes later, Veyron steps out of the elevator carrying… a massive plastic-wrapped package.
