by KD Jones
“We can go together just as friends, if you like,” JadEN offered.
“No, we can’t. You want more from our relationship than friendship. But I don’t.” She had to be strong. She wished she felt differently, but she didn’t.
She headed down to the Medic Wing. She planned to discuss his sacrificing his career for a mating that was not going to happen. Suddenly, the lights in the building started to flash and an alarm sounded. The Katieran warriors rushed by in a panic. She found JadEN giving instructions to the other medics. He turned her way when she entered the room.
“What’s going on?” Kat asked.
“The breeding female has been abducted and taken off planet,” JadEN told her.
“Cassie? Who would kidnap Cassie?” Kat felt her stomach knot up. She was worried for her friend and the babies she carried.
“We were told that it was two members of the EWG, Senator-in-training Scott McCormick and Senator Rowe, and the senator’s daughter, Erica Rowe,” JadEN informed her. All three had been put under house arrest and were scheduled to go back to Earth on the next transport ship.
“We are on standby because we believe that the abduction has caused the female to go into early labor. We have not had a birth in many years and never one so complicated. We are unsure what we need to do.” JadEN looked worried.
“If you don’t mind me stepping in, I’ve had experience with complicated pregnancies and deliveries.”
JadEN nodded his approval. Kat was finally going to be able to do something more than just assist. They needed her.
“We need to make sure that we have the necessary surgical tools in case we have to perform a C-section,” she said, opening the medical bag she had brought from Earth.
“A section what?” JadEN asked. All the other medics stopped what they were doing to listen to their conversation.
Kat looked up and felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Every medic in the room was watching and listening to her. “A C-section, or Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother’s abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies.”
“You cut the female to remove the young?” Medic JamAR questioned.
“Usually we would perform this in situations where a vaginal birth would be too dangerous for the mother and baby. Most multiple births are done with C-sections,” she told them.
“What would you need if you had to perform this ceasar section?” Medic JadEN asked.
“Typical instruments used are retractors, clamps, forceps, scalpels, scissors, and staplers.” As she listed the instruments, she pulled out what she had in her medical bag. Most of the instruments she needed were there, except for clamps and forceps. She explained to the medics what each instrument was used for.
“But this would be like torturing the female. How would she stand the pain?” one of the other medics asked.
“We use anesthesia, a type of medicine that keeps you from feeling pain during a procedure. For C-sections, spinal and epidural blocks are the most commonly used anesthetics, but general anesthesia is sometimes necessary. That is my biggest concern. What do you have here on Katiera that we would be able to use for anesthesia?”
For the next hour and a half they discussed alternatives to use in case a C-section was necessary. Medic JadEN contacted Prime Medic SydEL against Kat’s objections. He insisted that the Prime Medic had the best scientific mind of all the Katierans and that he would be the one to know how to make the proper alternative medications.
It seemed they were on standby for forever after they were first informed about Cassie’s kidnapping. She worried about her friend. When the call finally came that the shuttle with Cassie on board was landing, Kat was very relieved. She and JadEN rushed to the landing field with another medic. Prime Leader RendEL was carrying Cassie off of the shuttle. The woman was very pale.
“Are you having contractions?” Kat asked Cassie.
Cassie nodded. “Five . . . minutes apart.” She was having a hard time catching her breath.
“Did your water break?”
“Yes . . . and the bloody plug came out.”
Kat looked at Medic JadEN in alarm. “They’re coming fast. Get everyone ready.”
Prime Medic SydEL was already in the South Medic Wing waiting with the other medics. “I have a room prepped already,” he told Medic JadEN.
Kat took a moment to look into SydEL’s beautiful dark brown eyes, and then turned her attention firmly back to the current situation. She went into the room they had set up for the birth. She looked over the instruments she had brought from her own medical bag. The surgical forceps were there. She looked at the medical scope settings; a low-level analgesic substitute was programmed into it since the Katierans didn’t have epidurals. SydEL had come through for them. Now all they needed was to deliver Cassie’s twins safely.
Chapter 6
What seemed like an eternity only took a couple of hours. In the end, two beautiful, healthy little girls were born. The blond baby girl was named IsabELa and the smaller red haired baby was named GabrIEla. They were perfect. No matter how many births Kat assisted with, it was still a miracle each and every time.
The culprits who had caused all the chaos were being handled very efficiently. Senator Rowe, his daughter Erica, and Scott McCormick were exiled from Katiera. They were transferred to a Katieran transport ship under tight security and were waiting to be taken back to Earth. The EWG had stripped both the Senator and Cassie’s ex-boyfriend of their status with the EWG and both men were scheduled to be sent to prison As for Erica, the EWG planned to put her in a mental institution for five years.
Kat was amazed at Cassie’s speedy recovery from the C-section, thanks to the second set of nanos they had inserted right after the birth. The nanotechnology was incredible. They needed to get this technology to Earth as soon as possible. Just to think of all the lives this could save after surgeries by preventing infections!
A few days after the birth of the first set of twins born on Katiera in centuries, a new celebration was scheduled to happen. Cassie and RendEL were to have their mating ceremony on the white sandy beach before the green Waters of Katiera. The two suns setting in the background gave everything a beautiful golden glow. Afterwards, a reception was held in a ballroom in the Prime building.
If Cassie hadn’t made Kat promise to attend the reception, she would have headed back up to her suite. She really hated these things. She ran her hand over her short hair, smoothed down flat against her head. She wore a soft pink dress with spaghetti straps. Luckily, she had perky, firm breasts that allowed her to go braless. She was also wearing uncomfortable white pumps. Cassie and Jaxon had assured her that she looked hot. She had never really been into the girlie stuff. She was more at home in a pair of scrubs.
She hid in the shadows of one corner of the ballroom. She watched the other women from Earth in their pretty dresses dancing with the Katieran men, laughing and flirting. None of that stuff came easily to Kat. She could lecture medical students on dissecting a cadaver with her eyes closed. But having to interact socially with the opposite sex was completely out of her element. That was probably why she got along so well with Jaxon. The other woman seemed to be just as clueless about men as she was. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear or see the large man that approached her until he spoke.
“Why are you in the corner instead of out on the floor dancing?” Prime Medic SydEL asked.
“Shit!” Kat clasped her hand to her heart.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” SydEL held up his hands to show he meant her no harm. The female was very prickly.
Kat attempted to gather her composure. “Good evening, Prime Medic SydEL.”
“Please, call me Syd. I was looking for a dance partner and spotted you standing here alone. Where is Medic JadEN?” He looked around the ballroom for the other male but did not find him. Excitement had been building inside of him since the mom
ent he caught sight of her tonight. Truth be told, he had come here tonight looking for Kat specifically. He wanted no one else.
She was worth the effort. The little pink dress was lovely on her. Her hair was smoothed down, showcasing her delicate facial features. Her scent . . . he had smelled her from across the ballroom despite all the other people there.
“I have not seen him this evening,” she replied, ignoring his request for her to call him by his name.
He looked at her intently. “I thought that the two of you were attending the reception together. He told me that you were when I saw him a few hours ago in the Medic Wing.”
“I came here alone.” Why would JadEN tell SydEL they were attending the reception together? He had asked her several times, but she had firmly declined all his invitations. She watched SydEL move closer to her and felt her body start to respond. She needed to get away from him as soon as possible.
“Please excuse me. I’m sure you will have no problem finding a dance partner. I hope you enjoy the festivities, Prime Medic.” She turned and walked away at a quick pace. She headed out onto the balcony, hoping that some fresh air will help calm her nerves.
It was a beautiful at night. The suns had finally set and the moon shown full and bright. She could see lights gleaming off the dark waters. It was peaceful and romantic. She felt someone move up behind her. She knew without looking who it was. Would the man never leave her alone?
“Are you following me?” she asked without turning around.
“Yes,” he answered, somewhere close behind her.
“Why?”
“I still wish to share sex with you,” he whispered against her ear.
Kat shivered and her nipples hardened. She felt him press his body against her back. He was so warm. He placed his large hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She knew she should pull away from him, yell at his inappropriateness. She should do something . . . anything.
He gently turned her around to face him. The female was so lovely. Her short pale hair emphasized her heart shaped face. Her skin was glowing alabaster. He wanted to run his hands all over her. Her soft brown eyes with the strange black pupils made something inside of him melt. He couldn’t explain it. She simply undid him from the inside out.
Kat felt herself falling deeper into an abyss. Being this close to him made her brain freeze. She couldn’t concentrate on anything. She needed to move away from him desperately. She took a step to the side in an attempt to walk away. But with each step she took, he followed her, keeping pace. He thwarted all her efforts to return to the entrance of the ballroom.
She rallied her willpower together. “You need to take a step back and let me pass.”
“No, I don’t think that I will.” He closed in on her.
“I said step back, Prime Medic SydEL!”
“And I said to call me Syd.” Prime Medic SydEL stalked toward the female until her back hit the wall of the building.
Kat attempted to dash past him, but his large hands reached out and grabbed her. He was gentle but firm as he pulled her into his arms. He lowered his nose to her neck and took a deep sniff. He didn’t try to hold back the growl that rumbled out of him.
“You smell so good, female.”
“It’s my perfume.” Her voice sounded breathless even to her own ears.
“You don’t wear any perfume, Kat.” He pressed his lips against the skin on her neck. The female’s arousal was driving him insane. He slid his nose up her neck inhaling her arousal. When his lips hovered over hers, he waited until she sighed her acceptance. Then he gently kissed her.
It was like the world around them evaporated. It left nothing but the two of them. Nothing else mattered. Everything male in him demanded that he claimed her for his own. Mate her. Kitana! What was happening to him? He had not sought her out to mate with her. This was happening too fast. He managed to find some control, releasing her.
Kat was breathing heavily. Her heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. She had never been so turned. Her legs felt rubbery. She prayed to God that she didn’t fall down.
“Perhaps we should head back inside?” he offered with a shaky voice.
“I think that’s an excellent idea.” She turned and headed to the ballroom without looking back. She knew he was following her. She made her way to the refreshment table and proceeded to take huge sips from the glass of Katieran Juice that was offered.
“Where have you been?” Medic JadEN demanded as he approached her angrily.
“What?” Kat blinked a few times. The man glaring daggers at her and SydEL was not the same calm, smart, gentle man she had spent hours, days, and weeks with. The man standing before her was angry, demanding, and brimming with violence.
SydEL stepped in between the angry male and Kat. “You need to calm down, Medic JadEN.”
JadEN ignored the Prime Medic and addressed Kat. “I can smell him all over you. What have you been doing?”
Jealous. JadEN was extremely jealous. It was a first for Kat to have a man be jealous over her. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She made it clear to JadEN that they were not a couple. She didn’t appreciate JadEN’s possessiveness.
“It’s none of your business what I do or who I do it with.”
“Of course it is. I plan to mate you,” JadEN stated arrogantly.
“No, JadEN. We’ve been over this. A mating is not going to happen,” she told him with regret
“Kat, please . . .” JadEN’s anger started to fade and his eyes pleaded with her.
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head, turned, and ran out of the ballroom. Tears streamed down her face. She had never hurt anyone intentionally. She had never wanted to hurt JadEN, but she simply wasn’t in love with him. He deserved to have that with someone.
Kat went back to her suite alone and miserable. She had finally ended it with JadEN. It was the right thing to do, but it felt like shit. She changed into her pajamas and sat down on the couch. Now she needed to figure out what she was going to do about SydEL. She decided to get herself a drink.
She wasn’t sure how long she was sitting there before Jaxon came home. She just kept going over and over her encounters with the Prime Medic. He was beyond sexy, so her desire for him was only natural. What scared her most was how she sought him out for his opinion. She would look up research he had recorded so she would be able to understand how he thought about things. He turned her on intellectually as well as physically. The man drove her crazy.
“Damn frustrating man,” she mumbled.
When Jaxon came home, she took a shower and changed into her pajamas. When she came back out, she sat down on the coffee table directly in front of Kat. She grabbed Kat’s glass from her and placed it on the table. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She came out of her trance and stared at Jaxon with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Doc, we can play Twenty Questions, or, you can just tell me what is up with you and Prime Medic SydEL.”
Kat blushed. “How did you know?”
Jaxon reached out and squeezed Kat’s hand comfortingly. “Doc, I saw you tonight on the balcony.”
“Oh God.” Kat tried to bury her face in her hands. She was so embarrassed.
“No one else saw and I left before I saw . . . too much,” Jaxon reassured her.
“The man is self-important, stubborn, and just . . . impossible!”
“So, what’s happening with you two?”
She sighed heavily. “There was an instant clash of wills when we first met. The circumstances were not great. He was the first medic on site when Cassie had her collapse. I didn’t know who he was and I threatened to have security remove him.” Kat flushed, reliving that first meeting in her mind as she told Jaxon about it.
“Wow that must have gone over real well.” Jaxon couldn’t help but laugh.
A few seconds later, Kat joined her in laughing. “Not well at all.”
“From what littl
e I did see tonight, it doesn’t seem to me like he holds that first meeting against you.”
“He treats me as an inferior, like I have no intelligence or skills!” Kat was getting worked up.
“You’re a doctor. Of course you have intelligence and skills. You are responsible for the safe delivery of Cassie’s twins.”
“I was partly in charge during Cassie’s delivery because I was the only one with experience in twin births. Afterwards, they expected me to go back to only assisting the other medics in routine procedures.” Kat wiped away a stray tear slipping down her cheek. “I worked my ass off in medical school and gave up a personal life so that I could pursue a surgical career. My knowledge and experience have been treated like rudimentary skills because I’m a woman.”
“I understand. I’ve had to prove myself a lot. Once, we were helping with a Para rescue mission near the Middle East. Our objective was to go in and recover those injured. The area was supposed to be secure. Out of nowhere rapid gunfire erupted. My commanding officer ordered me to remain in a secluded house with the rest of the rescue team until the army sent in help. But I didn’t listen to him. I knew that if I could just get on the rooftop, I could locate the source of the gunfire. So I disobeyed direct orders.” Jaxon told her.
“Did it work? Did you find the shooters?” Kat asked, intrigued by the story.
“Yep. Got shot three times, but I found the shooters and took them out. Sometimes you have to go against orders to get the job done.”
“Every time I try to do research or question something about the Katierans' problems with conceiving, I’m met with suspicion and resistance. I think there’s more to their problems than they have led us to believe. They just won’t let me get close enough to find out. Why don’t they understand? I only want to help.” Kat sounded dejected.
“Maybe you could have Medic JadEN speak to Prime Medic SydEL on your behalf,” Jaxon suggested.
“It’s a little more complicated. I don’t want to involve Medic JadEN in this. I am so confused most of the time. Prime Medic SydEL runs hot and cold. One minute he acts like a Casanova, growling at me, giving me heated looks. Then he talks to me like I’m a wayward 10-year-old that needs to be constantly lectured. I’m fed up with him.” Kat pouted.
