Page 27 of The Emerald Boa's Lover
Then I just wanted to go home and cry into a beer. Fuck, this day went from fantastic to fucking hell.
Chapter 21
My Charlie is suffering
Dalahan.
My Charlie is suffering. We did not celebrate Gcorket. Charlie has barely left the hospital in 3 weeks. I drop him off and collect him from the largest hospital in Orna. I don’t know who he managed to charm, but he got himself a temporary reassignment to the hospital. He also got himself assigned to Tumva’s medical care. He was welcome to it, he tells me, as the Ucfeni doctors didn’t want to treat a Death Striker. I am not all that pleased for Charlie to treat him either, but that wasn’t a fight even worth attempting.
When he isn’t checking on Tumva, or checking on his lab work, he is in the same ward he always is whenever I drop him off or collect him.
The incubator ward.
It turns out that our traumatic encounter with the lovely Gjenti is something Charlie calls the ‘gift that keeps on giving.’ Her sister was killed in the fight. Gjenti has no other family. Four very viable eggs are thriving in the incubator, with no one to claim them. In a few weeks they will be shipped off to a Group Nest. Younglings are easier to get adopted, as you can see them and interact with them. Scent their pheromones and see if you connect on a personal level. Eggs? You have no idea what they will smell like until they hatch. That put off prospective foster or adoptive parents. The eggs need regular interaction, or their chances of being still and not hatching increased. Whilst in the incubator ward, the attendants gave the eggs a turn being held. Charlie told me it’s akin to FTT in humans, failure to thrive. The incidence in orphaned Ucfeni eggs is high. It’s why if the mother dies and leaves her clutch behind, and if there isn’t a father to take them, the next of kin does. Eggs don’t survive long without living breathing contact with someone. They go still in an incubator for prolonged periods of time without it.
Learning this racked Charlie with guilt. He couldn’t save their mother, and now they were at risk of perishing as well. He has nightmares about Gjenti dying in his hands. He’s already made the decision that once he sees Asma through her pregnancy, he’s petitioning Allico Inc to have him removed from active duty. He said he’d hunt down and threaten Alaric with his fists if he had to. He was done with living patients who could die on him. He wanted to work in a lab, as agreed, on immunological boosting agents and antimicrobial applications of local fauna and flora.
I offered to call Rerasha on his behalf and bully my cousin into putting pressure on his lover, if it would help. Charlie shed a single tear, thumbed it away, and cleared his throat before thanking me. I would do anything to stop Charlie's suffering. He takes some solace from the patients he sees in the hospital clinic, and Tumva of course, but the rest of the time he is occupied with the pregnant patient he suddenly lost, her at-risk eggs, and the pregnant patient he still has.
Asma is so gravid now she struggles to leave her nest. Charlie has managed to get her a hospital bed, and hasn’t told her he’s paying for it. She thinks she’s getting it as part of the hospital’s charitable works. The only reason I know, is because I overheard Charlie paying for the bed on his com-gem one evening and asked him about it. I worry how determined he is to succeed with her case.
She’s down to two viable eggs now. She’s already had to have the still ones removed before they go septic and risk the remaining eggs. Charlie was present for each procedure to reassure her, and to take extensive notes. He paces at home with her patient file open and goes through the procedure. He talks it aloud like he’s conducting the nurses and doctors through their roles. So he’s ready, he says.
Last night I woke up before dawn to the sound of him sniffling. He looked up to see me looking at him, and told me firmly ‘don’t ask’. He turned over and I felt my heart breaking for him. I slithered down from the hammock and prepared myself for his wrath when I coiled my tail loosely around him in the bed. I held him and whispered to his ear that I was with him in his pain, and if he needed anything, I was here for him. Charlie seemed to ignore me for 5 long minutes, before he reached behind him and pulled my arm over his waist. He held my hand in his against his chest and gripped it tightly.
I awake this morning with Charlie already awake and facing me. His blanket is draped over his hips and he’s wearing his sleeping shorts. I can see bags under his eyes and a level of alertness that tells me he’s been awake for a while.
“Good morning Charlie.” I smile and slide my tail up his back to bring him closer to me. I cup his cheek, feeling stubble there, and I scent at his nose affectionately with the forked tip of my tongue.
“Morning Dal.” He speaks softly and there is something about the way that he’s looking at me. Like he’s thinking deeply about something and looking into my emerald eyes for the answer. He also appears comfortable with my arms and tail around him, so I make no moves to release him. I see sadness in his lovely green eyes. It’s like his soul is crying out in pain, and I reply by ululating softly for him through my mood tube. I wish I could cure his worries like he cures an infection. Heal the wound of his big heart as easily as he stitches together scales. “You’re purring like a kitten again, sugar.” He chuckles and I smile around the cooing noise I exhale towards him. He lifts a hand to cup my cheek and strokes his thumb along my cheekbone. “I’m not working today.” I nod carefully so I don’t dislodge his hand from caressing my face. “The last time I went to the hospital on my day off, and Doctor Chada hounded me all day about the importance of rest.” I nod. I’ve met Doctor Chada. The big yellow Ucfeni was trauma chief at the hospital and the one who approved Charlie’s assignment transfer. He also became Charlie’s doctor, and has been nannying him almost as much as I have. “He’s told me I’m banned from stepping foot there, unless I am being rushed in for medical treatment myself.” I nod, still ululating, and completely agree. I tried to suggest to Charlie that he didn’t torture himself by standing outside the incubator room on his day off, but he marched over there anyway. The fact that the trauma chief himself had banned Charlie saved me from having another argument with him today. “But hehaspromised me that if Asma goes into early laying, or there’s a complication, he will call me in.” I nod. That’s good. Charlie has invested so much of his time into her case. It would feel wrong for him not to be there. “Are you working today?”
“Yes.” I have to stop ululating to answer him and flick my tongue at his chin. “I work from home anyway. A perk of being the boss. I can therefore still take care of you and make sure you rest. That way?” I continue as he opens his mouth to argue with me. “You can be in top condition when you go back to work tomorrow.” He accepts defeat and smiles at me.
“Sure. What do you have planned today then?”
“Well?” I kiss his forehead gently and hug him against my chest, taking the opportunity to snuggle with him. “I thought I would run your corner bath for you to relax in and bring you a cup of coffee and toast to eat.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Then…” I am now making this up on the spot. “…I’ll massage you with bath oils.”
“Oh?” His tone lightens and it’s the most playful I’ve heard him in weeks.
“Yes. I’m very good with my hands and tail. I’ll work out all your tension.”
“I’m not sure.” He sings and wriggles back to raise a brow at me. “I have a lot of tension.” I adore the curve to his lips. Like cheeky charming Charlie is peering out from behind the fog of worry he’s been lost in for so long.
“I’m quite determined.” I move to kiss his mouth, but swerve to his cheek, remembering that he doesn’t like kissing until he’s brushed his teeth. “And I’m thorough.”
“Yes I know.” Something about his tone changed the mood. He wasn’t being playful anymore. I leaned back and saw his Adam’s apple bobbing like he was trying to swallow something down. “This is so weird.”
“What is?”
“Being on this side.” I blink and turn my head to look around the bed. He normally sleeps in the middle, or on the left, so I’m a bit confused, but I don’t mind moving.
“Do you want to be on the other side of the bed?” Charlie laughs and turns his head to press his face to the pillow his golden head is resting on. “Charlie?” I hold his shoulder and try to tip him back, but he beats me to it and sits up.
“Wow, I need a piss.” He gruffly clears his throat and hurries off the bed to make a beeline for the pulley system. “Coffee and toast sounds great, by the way.”
