“Sure, sure. Where did her owner come from anyway? It took him a while to get here,” I said as Jackson led me back to the patient rooms.
“He drove in from Renton. Said Lacey had gotten out in the middle of the night, he was trying to find her around his neighborhood, but she wandered a long way from home,” he filled me in before we reached room four and I knocked briefly before walking in. A tall, lanky guy stood up as soon as he saw us. He looked to be in his early twenties and had a cute boy next door look about him with the curly mop of hair and bright blue eyes.
“Hi, I’m Chloe Reinhart, or Doctor C.”
“Hi Doctor C, I’m Cody, Lacey’s dad,” Cody shook my hand nervously and I glanced at Jack who was pulling up Lacey’s file. “So how is she doing?”
“Well she’s just come out of a pain med fog and I haven’t been back to see her again yet. But she does have quite a bit going on with her left thigh and pelvis…” Cody’s eyes widened and he glanced at Jack.
“Uh, Jackson told me that everything was operable though?” he said and I pursed my lips. I didn’t know the state of Lacey’s sciatic nerve nor had I gotten a good take on her lumbosacral trunk. Jackson shouldn’t have told Cody that.
“Well as far as I’ve seen from some initial x-rays I’d say the bones appear operable. But I still don’t know if any of the nerves along her lower spine have been damaged. That would have to take priority over her bones before we do anything,” I told him. Cody took it all in with wide eyes and I felt bad for him, truly. It wasn’t anything a pet owner should have to go through. Plus, he was so young I wondered if he could afford what it would cost in the end to get Lacey back on all four paws even if I could try and work some things out for him.
After talking extensively with Cody and getting his consent on my proposed course of action I took him back to see Lacey. I stood by while Cody gave her kisses and Jackson tried to get him to look at the bright side of things. As I stood next to Lacey’s crate I felt an odd dizziness and had to hold on to a nearby counter. Had I drank too much coffee?
“You alright Doctor C?” Jackson asked in a low voice when he glanced over and saw me. I waved him off though as I could feel the dizziness passing.
“Yeah, I’m alright. So are we ready to get started?” I looked to Cody who gave Lacey one last pat. After a few more reassurances he left for the day and I snagged myself another tech to get started on fixing Lacey.
*****
“We did great today guys,” I high fived Jackson and my other tech, Melissa. We found that Lacey’s nerves weren’t damaged and even got the lag screw inserted as well as positioned her leg back into the socket. All that was left was to insert another screw into her femur so that the fracture could heal properly as well.
“Cody will be happy when he comes in tomorrow that’s for sure,” Jackson said and yawned. We all had stayed late, as well as a few other vets and their techs. The owner of the hospital was thinking of making us a twenty-four hour hospital since most of the vets stayed after hours. It wasn’t something I was on board for since I worked so much, but if he hired extra vets then I’d be more for it.
“Alright guys get home and rest, you went above and beyond today,” I told them and soon we were all filing out of the back entrance. As I made my way to my car another wave of dizziness hit me and I had to focus on each step so I wouldn’t fall over. I definitely needed to make it home and into my bed, my busy days at the office were obviously having a real effect on me.
I don’t know how I made it home. But as soon as I did I fed my orange tabbies, King and Charles, then went straight for a shower and bed.
The same dream that had taken residence in my subconscious of late was waiting for me as I fell into sleep. They were there, two men smiling at me and coaxing me forward. One had eyes so icy blue they could have been gems, and the other had eyes like amber and wouldn’t look away from me. I fell into bed with them every time, they were so warm and my dream self was filled with such need and passion that I could never refuse. I didn’t want to. When I woke up I always felt such a chill, as if they had been real and right next to me as I slept.
I sat up and turned off the alarm on my phone. My cats were curled up at the foot of the bed as they always were. I sighed, I was in for yet another crazy day at the hospital. As I got out of bed I felt more lethargic than usual, what with my vivid dreams, I wondered how much sleep I was really getting. I definitely needed a vacation and soon.
By the time I got to work I was debating taking a sick day. I couldn’t shake the lethargy, and the dizziness from the day before was hitting me hard. I practically ran right through the back entrance to get to the bathroom. I had just enough time to get to a toilet before I emptied the contents of my stomach.
“Doctor C? Are you okay?” there was a knock on the door, but I couldn’t even answer as another bout of heaving started up. After my stomach settled a bit I washed my mouth and opened the door to see Doctor Evan standing there. He owned the hospital and was looking at me in concern.
“Are you alright?” he asked again and I nodded.
“I think so, just need some ginger ale or something,” I said, trying to downplay things.
“If you have a stomach bug you know you can stay home and rest, take care of yourself,” he said and steadied me as I swayed a bit from the then ever persistent dizziness. Stomach bug wasn’t hardly the half of it.
“I think it could be a stomach bug…” I mumbled and rubbed my belly. My doctor said some of my symptoms should be subsiding. I really needed my body to hurry up and get used to being pregnant.
“Well then let me drive you home, you don’t look good at all,” he said in concern. Evan was your everyday dependable guy. He had an athletic build and strong masculine features. It was a joke around the office for people to call him ‘Doctor McSteamy.’ I couldn’t even form a response before he took my keys and my elbow to lead me back out to the car.
“You know Jackson said you looked kind of pale yesterday…he also told me about the dog Lacey. You did a fantastic job on her,” he said as he helped me into the car before rounding to the driver’s seat.
“Yeah she was a refreshing case actually. Though it was terrible how she was hit like that. I just liked that she was a bit more of a challenge,” I said.
“That’s why I hired you. Nothing but the best. All she needs now is for her leg to be fully set and she can go home. She’s actually pretty lucky,” he said. I couldn’t help smirking, the thing about Evan was that he could talk about animals and the patients at the hospital for hours on end. “Also I think it’s time for you to take a little vacation time for yourself. You’ve been working almost nonstop lately. I took a look at your charts…” he glanced at me briefly with a quirked brow and I chuckled.
“Yeah I have let work consume me a little. I barely have time for King and Charles anymore…” I debated telling him that I was pregnant, even though I should have right after my first OB appointment. I’ve just been heavy in some sort of shock or denial.
“Then it’s settled, I’m giving you two weeks’ vacation and I’ll take care of all your patients,” he said resolutely.
“Two weeks?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah, you’ve earned it. Plus, when is the last time you’ve taken any of your vacation days? Not to mention you’re sick so if you wanted two and a half weeks I could stretch it.” I stared at him with a dropped jaw.
“Evan that’s…I can’t be away from work for that long,” I said and he shook his head at me.
“I won’t have it. You need it more than anyone else in that office,” he said resolutely. I took a deep breath and had to say I already felt better just thinking about the much needed vacation. An idea formed in my mind already too. It was early fall; it wasn’t too cool out yet. I could call my dad and pick up the keys to our cabin out in the woods. He and Nancy wouldn’t be using it again until spring anyways.
“Thanks Evan. A vacation actually would be really nice,” I s
aid with a smile.
“Good. Oh hey, do you want to stock up on some ginger ale and saltines too? I heard they do wonders for stomach flus,” he said. Oddly enough, as he was speaking of stomach flus all my symptoms suddenly subsided. My stomach definitely felt a little tender still, but the dizziness went away and I wasn’t so tired feeling. I frowned, kind of puzzled that I felt fine all of a sudden. “You okay? Gonna upchuck again?” Evan asked warily.
“No, no…I was just thinking that you were right. I could use some ginger ale,” I said slowly.
“Alright then, I’ll make a quick stop by the grocery store,” he said. After the grocery store Evan dropped me off and had one of the interns from work come pick him up from my house. The first thing I did was go to my calendar and count the days. I’m nine weeks pregnant now, and I had another appointment next month. I was clear for a couple of weeks at the cabin.
“Nine weeks huh…” I sighed to myself then lifted my smock to take a look at my stomach. One would think that since I was having twins my belly would be showing by now. Charles, ever the chatty cat when I came home, meowed as he wrapped his body around my legs. Sometimes I felt like King and Charles knew I was pregnant. They hovered a lot more lately and sometimes just stared at me more than usual.
“You guys want to go out to dad’s cabin?” I asked and crouched to scratch Charles’s head. King came padding into the kitchen and greeted me as well. I grabbed my phone out of my bag and called my dad.
“Well looks who’s calling? How are you these days Chloe?” he answered on the second ring. His characteristically warm voice was what I needed to hear. I don’t even know when the last time was that I visited my dad and step-mom.
“Well, pretty burnt out actually,” I sighed.
“You work too much Chloe, when’s the last time you had a vacation?” he asked and I chuckled.
“Actually my boss just personally drove me home from work saying that. He gave me a couple weeks off,” I said.
“You know that Evan is a great guy, and that’s wonderful! You deserve it.”
“Yeah I was thinking about maybe going out to the cabin for a week or two,” I said.
“That’s actually perfect. I was about to take a trip up there to clean it out and lock up for the fall and winter,” he said and I heard him speaking to Nancy, asking her for the cabin keys. “I can drop the keys off now if you want. Maybe we can go out for an early lunch?” he asked. I hesitated to answer that, I hadn’t told anyone that I was pregnant yet. Especially my parents because hell, I didn’t know who the father was.
“Actually dad I’m not feeling up for lunch. I think I caught a little stomach bug…” I said, hating to lie to him…and continue lying.
“Oh well Nancy had made a great soup last night, I can bring some over for you,” he said. I knew that one way or the other he was going to come over.
“Sure dad, thanks.” I said and we ended the call shortly after. I sighed deeply and glanced down at King and Charles who were waiting patiently at my feet and staring up at me. I didn’t know how I was going to tell my dad that I was pregnant.
*****
After a long afternoon spent with my dad fishing for what was going on in my life and a mostly sleepless night of being sick, I decided to get a super early start on packing for the trip. My dad switched out his Jeep for my Mercedes so I’d get around easier in the woods. I had to say I was really excited to get to the cabin. It was situated right in front of a decent sized pond. The lot was peaceful and near Neilton which was a quiet town close to the Quinault.
I packed up relatively quickly and got King and Charles set too. I just had to swing by the store to get a few things I’d need then I was cabin free. The drive towards Neilton was a quiet one. King and Charles, who usually hated their car crate were pretty relaxed and I had a lot of space to think about things. Specifically, what I was going to do when my belly started to show and I had to tell people about the twins.
They’d all ask, ‘who’s the dad?’ And what would I say? I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure his name started with an A? That’s what I got for trying to live like I was twenty-one again. My friends took me out for my thirty-second birthday and we had way too much to drink. What’s worse is that I met someone at the last bar we visited and I know I ended up in bed with him. I woke up in his really nice hotel room, but he was gone. There was certainly evidence of our night tossed away in the bathroom trash. I figured that as long as we used protection I was fine and could put the whole drunken night behind me.
About five weeks later I realized I hadn’t had my period and went to the doctor, turned out I was carrying two little fertilized beans in my belly. I sighed heavily and focused on the road. Hopefully I could clear my head a bit and come to terms with basically having been artificially inseminated. I wondered if I could use that as an excuse.
When I finally made it to the dirt turn off that led to the cabin King and Charles woke up complaining about the bumpy road. Soon the cabin emerged from the pines and I pulled into the drive. The cabin was pretty nice compared to others I’ve seen. It only passed as a cabin and not a ‘vacation home’ because of the outer façade. It was two stories and had had four bedrooms, three and a half baths. A small library, living room, kitchen and dining room, and there was a wraparound porch on the outside. I got the cats out of the Jeep and set up in the cabin first before bringing in everything else. It took a few hours for me to get settled with everything put away. But I was able to relax out on the back porch with a cup of tea around late afternoon. The pond was peaceful and glistening, surrounded by thick tall pines. I loved this place, and if I could, I would live there forever.
I put my cup down to go fetch a book from inside. As I passed by the oddly placed mirror in the hallway I did a double take at my reflection. That famed pregnancy glow was starting to settle in on my cheeks. I had dark circles around my eyes though that made my usually violet irises appear deep blue. I sighed, then smiled at myself, trying to bring some life to my face. I’d never looked so worn-down before. Usually I took pride in my face and appearance, I was more or less attractive with my feline features, big eyes, and auburn hair. Lately I pretty much resembled a wet cat.
I rolled my eyes at myself and made to go pick a book, but there was a swift knock on the door. King ran over to hop up on the living room windowsill and look out. I wondered who it could possibly be at the door, it was a secluded cabin in the woods for crying out loud. When I opened the door I took pause, my jaw nearly dropping for what stood on the porch, or rather, who stood on the porch. Two huge guys, both equal in height and build stood there. But that was where the resemblance ended. One had silver blonde almost white colored hair, styled into a perfect coif, and the bluest eyes that were like bright crystals. He was gorgeous, with angular features and an intense gaze that seemed to spear through me. The other had odd amber colored eyes that reminded me of sultry nights and warmth. He was just as beautiful as the other one, though his features were kinder, and he appeared less dangerous.
“Chloe?” he said, shock evident in his tone. Though his gaze held a wealth of emotion. He glanced down at my belly and then back up.
“I’m sorry…do I know you?” I asked, puzzled that he knew my name. I glanced nervously at the silent one who was almost glowering at me.
“You don’t remember us?” the one with the amber eyes asked me and took a deep breath. He ran his hand through his shoulder length brown curls and I couldn’t help but compare him to a taller Kit Harrington with less of a baby face.
“I think I would remember…guys like you…” I faltered as I realized I did recognize them from somewhere. Like a dream—they were from my dream! Their eyes, I remembered their eyes. But how and why would I dream about two strangers? “I’m sorry, can I help you both?” I asked, trying to get things back on track.
“Uh…um, well we actually met a couple months ago. We met you at a bar…and ended up back at our hotel room? I’m Alex by the way, this is Luca,” he
gestured to the silent one who was then staring at my stomach.
“Alex…?” I spoke kind of weakly as I was slowly realizing that my dream was actually a memory. And the two standing on the porch were from my exceedingly big mistake of a night. My mind slowed to a halt as one: I had sex with both of them, and two: one of them was the father of my twins. “Oh my god…I think I have to sit down,” I said and Luca finally showed signs of life. He took my elbow with a surprising gentleness and led me to one of the rocking chairs on the porch.
“Did you just arrive in the area?” Luca asked me, his voice was softly accented and dignified. He was crouched next to the chair and I felt more than a bit unsettled by his intent gaze. Talk about an intense guy.
“Yes I did…you guys are from Neilton?” I asked cautiously.
“We’re from nearby. Can I ask you something?” Luca touched my knee to get my attention. I had glanced at Alex who suddenly seemed sort of jittery.
“I guess?”
“Are you pregnant?” my eyes widened as I wondered how the hell he could even tell.
“Um…uh…” I stumbled over my words a bit. Luca glanced at Alex who took a deep breath and sighed.
“Can we take you to see our doctor?” Luca asked and I recoiled a bit.
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t know who the father is do you? I think we should go about finding out,” he said crisply.
“Fine I’ll go only if you watch your tone,” I snapped. He shut up from mild shock and glanced at Alex, briefly at a loss.
“He’ll watch his mouth,” Alex said in a placating tone and took my hand to help me up from the chair. As if I couldn’t get up on my own. I glanced in the drive and only saw my dad’s Jeep sitting there.
“How’d you guys get here? How’d you find me?” I asked and glanced at the both of them with raised brows. They glanced at each other briefly and then Luca gestured to the Jeep.
“Do you mind if we drive?” he asked, completely ignoring my question.
Pregnant to an Alien King Box Set Page 186
