It was a little after eight when Lulu came visiting. “How’s she doing?”
Chad rolled off the side of the bed and stretched, trying to loosen some of the kinks from lying in one position all night. As he grabbed a shirt and slipped it on, he responded, “I don’t really know. Stable, I guess. They’ve been running in and out of here all night, poking needles in her and monitoring the machines.
Have you heard from her family?”
Bull had gone through Tameka’s things, looking for an emergency contact, and hadn’t found one. Lulu turned out to still have the number for Tameka’s father from when Ms. Emma was alive. She’d agreed to get in touch with them and let them know that Tameka was in the hospital.
Lulu snorted. “They’re out of the country—vacationing.
Said since there was nothing they could do any way, they’d call and check on her condition when they got back. Didn’t even leave a number where they could be reached,” she finished disdainfully.
He ran his hand through his hair and glanced worriedly at Tameka, and then at the EKG machine. Same steady wave pattern. If she were listening and aware, the news didn’t trouble her. “Meka mentioned that her parents were…”
“Lousy.” Lulu supplied the word he was looking for.
“Yeah.” His mind just couldn’t comprehend it. To him, growing up in a two-parent home was the ultimate dream.
“From what Emma told me, Tameka’s father spent more time hanging with ‘the boys’ than being home with his family.
That wife of his was no better, only she liked to party. The clubs were her choice of hang out. Tameka virtually raised herself when she wasn’t with Emma. She had her hands full, going to school and looking out for the younger ones as well. From what I hear, those two turned out just like their parents. Good for nothing.”
Chad didn’t have anything to say to that, so he left it alone.
He hadn’t even realized she had siblings. She hadn’t mentioned it when they were talking about families and such. Before he could think of a response, Alex came through the door with Carol and a few others.
“Lulu, Chad, I’m going to have to ask you to step out for a minute,” Alex respectfully commanded.
“I was just leaving,” Lulu stated. “Gotta open the shop, but wanted to stop by and see how she was doing first.”
“How long do you need? I was just heading for the shower,” Chad told Alex. “I can wait if needed.”
“No, go ahead. We should be done by the time you finish.” Alex was already by Tameka’s bedside with his team, which buzzed around her like a group of busy bees. They each put on surgical gloves as Carol set up an instrument tray next to Alex.
“Chad, call if you need anything, ya’ hear?” Lulu’s parting words distracted him from the commotion around Tameka and reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll make sure Meka knows you stopped by.” Aware of Alex patiently waiting, Chad gathered his things and locked himself in the bathroom. He wasn’t concerned with someone walking in on him, but the lock would slow his wolf down if it heard something it didn’t like and thought his mate was in danger. The locked door would hopefully buy him enough time to gain control again.
When he came out the bathroom some fifteen minutes later, a lot of the machinery around Tameka had been removed, most notably the one that was doing her breathing for her. He slanted a questioning look at Alex.
“She’s in a twilight sleep right now.”
“Okay.” He waited a moment. “What’s a twilight sleep?” Alex smiled before clarifying. “She’s unconscious, but breathing on her own. The anesthesia’s the same as if she were undergoing surgery. I doubt she’ll stay under long.” Chad examined his mate again. The patches attached to her temples and chest were gone. So was the machine. The IV had been removed from her arm, along with the tubes that were inserted in her mouth, stomach, and urethra. The only machine he could see that was still attached was the one monitoring her vitals via the clip on her finger and the blood pressure cuff on her arm—the Pulse Oximeter. They’d even removed the anti-embolism stockings from her legs.
“I’m not sure how long it will take the medicine to work its way out of her system. At the rate she’s going, I’d say no more than an hour or two. If it takes longer, I’ll reverse it medically,” Alex finished grimly.
Chad walked over to the bed and gently traced Tameka’s jaw-line with his forefinger. “So, by that I take it she’s progressing faster than expected?”
Alex sighed. “I’ve been here all night running tests and monitoring her progress. I’ve never seen anything like it. She literally turned into a shifter, right before my eyes. I watched her DNA change until it was almost a perfect match for yours.” Chad snatched his finger back and gazed at Alex in horror.
“Like twins?”
“What? No! I meant I saw her transform from human to wolf-shifter like us. Whatever it is that makes us who we are, she has it, too. The transformation’s almost one hundred percent complete. That’s why I say she’ll be out of it soon. The medicine in her now can only put a shifter, especially an alpha, under for a very short period of time. Tameka’s already proven she’d be strong earlier when she fought off the heavy dosage she was given.” Despite the confident tone he was projecting, Alex still didn’t look too sure.
“So,” Chad spoke slowly, “she’s alright now?” Alex looked him straight in the eye. “As I told you before, this is new territory for me. I’ve never had a case like this, and there’s no one I can call to ask, not without revealing who and what we are. Based on what I can see, she’s doing fine. We won’t know for sure until she’s awake.”
He gave his patient one more all over glance, examined her vitals and made a notation on the printout, before turning back to Chad. “I’m beat. I’m going home before my mate comes looking for me. Carol’s here, as well as Tim. They’ll keep an eye on her and call me if needed.”
Chad much preferred Alex being in charge of Tameka’s medical care than Tim, Alex’s new assistant, but if the alpha felt it was safe enough to leave, he’d just have to deal.
When Alex left, Chad turned to Tameka. “Let’s get you bathed, honey, now that all those tubes aren’t in the way. I want you feeling good when you wake.”
Over the course of the week that he’d been there, he’d helped the nurses care for his mate, taking over as many of the duties as they’d allow. The one that he enjoyed most was bathing her. It was more than a sponge bath. Once done, he rubbed scented oil into her skin, massaging her muscles to increase circulation. He did it several times a day and to him, she seemed to rest easier each time.
He locked the door and took the basin into the bathroom to fill with warm water. Using one of her favorite body washes from home, he washed her from head-to-toe. After setting the basin to the side, he spread the pleasantly scented oil over his hands and fingers, and began giving his mate a deep muscle massage that started with the top of her feet and ended with a scalp massage. He was extra careful to avoid the bandaged areas where tubes were previously inserted into her flesh.
Once he finished with her front, he gently turned her and began again with her back. As he washed her, he checked that there were no sore spots or tender areas that might be an indicator of forming bedsores. Amazingly, to his inexperienced eyes, she looked good.
When she was clean, he lathered his hands with oil again and began her massage. He took his time, giving extra special care and attention to these muscles that she’d lain on for so many days. As he massaged her, he spoke to her.
“I love your feet, how they’re so dainty and narrow. And these slender ankles of yours.” As he massaged her arch, her foot seemed to jerk in his hands.