Page 59 of Fractured Constellations
“You’re here?” I question as he swoops down, picking me up like he always seems to. I’d protest, but aside from having no fucking energy, this feels like a dream, and so I snuggle into him.
“It’s not a dream, baby. We’re all here and you have some explaining to do,” he replies, and I realise I must have said that last part out loud, but I’m just so fucking glad he’s here. And the others too?
“What’s wrong?” Thorn’s voice drifts over to me as we enter the institute, Blade heading over to the reception area and taking a seat on one of the white couches.
“You really are here too,” I marvel, wanting to reach out and cup his face, but although my hand reaches out, my arm just falls limply at my side.
“Clearly she’s not being looked-after properly,” Blade snarls, jostling me as he reaches down and grabs something from his bag, the sound of ice in a metal cup filling my ears before he presses the edge of a metal straw against my lips. “Swallow.” He doesn’t give me much time to even make a rude joke before thecool taste of ice-cold water is filling my mouth and I’m doing as he asks, drinking down the refreshing liquid. “We can’t even give her glucose or the protein shake because she’s fasting.”
I gulp down another mouthful of the water, already feeling a little better as Thorn sits next to us and Chase comes striding over.
“I fucking knew he was full of shit,” Chase hisses, and the curses take me aback. He only ever usually swears during sex. Normally he’s so proper, but there’s a flush on his cheeks and his chest is heaving with his panted breaths. “Her check-ins from Jerry have been showing she’s not being taken care of, her vitals dipping.”
He kneels in front of me, and I move my lips from the straw. “Hey, Chase,” I murmur, a small smile tugging up my lips. It’s like the grey cloud has lifted now they’re here. Like I can breathe again.
“Hey, Star. Try and drink some more water, okay?” He presses the straw back to my lips, and I take a mouthful. “That’s it. Good girl.”
My cheeks heat, regardless of the fact I was seconds away from passing out just moments ago.Greedy fucking pussy.
Three male chuckles fill the air, and a tingle sweeps up the back of my neck and across my face. “I said that out loud again, huh?”
“You did, Goldilocks,” Blade mumbles, nuzzling his nose against the side of my head, pressing his lips to my temple in a brief kiss as his arms tighten around me. “And I promise we will fill up your greedy pussy when we get home.”
“Luna Wilder?” a female voice enquires, and I startle to find that we’re no longer alone, a nurse with a chart waiting just beyond our little circle. “Dr. Harrison is ready for you.”
“You okay, baby?” Chase asks, and I legit melt as his hand cups my cheek and he looks into my eyes.
“I really fucking missed you, Chase,” I tell him instead of answering his question, and his lips tug up into a smile that I’ve only ever seen him give me.
“I really missed you too, Star.” He darts in, pressing a quick kiss on my lips, uncaring of our audience or how we’re making them wait. “Let’s get your scan done and we can take you home.”
Taking an inhale, I give him a nod, already feeling much better now I’ve had a little water. Perhaps I was dehydrated, especially as I can’t remember the last time I drank anything and have been fasting for the past six hours.
Blade lets me get to my own feet, with Thorn’s and Chase’s help, and we make our way to the consultant’s room where Dr. Kim is waiting for us. He’s younger than Dr. Harrison, and is of Asian heritage, if I had to guess. His deep brown eyes are kind, wrinkled at the corners, and that reassures me, knowing this man smiles a lot.
“Luna, good to see you. How are you doing?” He takes a seat behind his desk and indicates the two chairs in front of it. I take one, Chase next to me, and Thorn and Blade standing at my back.
“Honestly? Like shit,” I answer, and he blinks, but his lips twitch like he’s amused by my cursing. Probably isn’t used to posh people swearing at him, I guess.
“Well, it isn’t an easy treatment, though it’s positive that you’ve had no more sepsis episodes,” he tells me, looking down at a folder which I assume are my notes that Mount Vernon sent over. “So, today we’re going to do a Positron Emission Tomography scan, or PET scan for short. This is a crucial imaging test for evaluating where you’re at and how the treatment is working so far. We can also use it to help guide our next steps.”
“Okay,” I reply, my hand seeking Chase’s. I knew all of this from before, but it’s good to have a refresher. There’s a knockon the door, and Dr. Kim calls them in. I twist to find a nurse waiting, a smile on her face.
“Hi, Luna, so lovely to meet you,” she greets, and I must admit she also has a calmness about her that I’m appreciating right now.
“Nurse Susan will take you to your room for the radio tracer injection pre-scan. She’ll explain it all to you, and I will see you again in a couple of days with the results. Any questions?” Dr. Kim asks, and I turn back to look at him.
“Nope. Thank you.” Chase helps me to my feet as Blade and Thorn follow Susan out the door. I’ve been through this before, so I know the drill, but it is nice to have the reminder.
Susan leads us to one of the rooms down the hall, and like the rest of the space here, it’s more like a bedroom in a fancy hotel than a hospital.
“I just need to check your blood glucose, then we can get started,” she tells me, and I lie down on the bed, Thorn sitting next to me, Chase on the chair, and Blade leaning against the wall. “I’ll grab another chair or two for you all.”
She does the check, happy with the results, then starts to prep me for the radio tracer by inserting an IV. I fucking hate those, and look away, wincing while the line goes into the back of my hand.
“You probably know, but I’ll tell you again anyway. This injection is of FDG—fluorodeoxyglucose—a radioactive glucose compound. The cancer cells which consume more glucose will absorb more of the tracer, so we can see where they are using the PET scanner.”
“Thank you for explaining again,” I tell her gratefully as she preps the needle.
