Page 39 of Sanctuary
Patton shook his head, dazed. “No, just sick. Real sick. Ambulance?” For a moment, he couldn’t remember what the word meant, it was just noise in his head, and then he remembered flashing red and white lights and a hospital on the television screen. “Thank you!” He rocked Ori and prayed like he’d never done before, begging Lysoon, Lysoonka, and the Lady of them all, Medeina, not to take his Ori away from him.
He didn’t even realize he was crying until the paramedics were prying him off of Ori’s still body and one of them handed him a tissue as they lifted Ori onto a stretcher and put him in the back of the ambulance.
“Those your bags?” one of them asked.
Patton nodded.
The paramedic pointed at them. “Throw them in the front, you can ride with me in the back and give me his medical history.”
They’re taking me with them! Patton jumped to obey, then climbed inside and sat on the end of the long bench across from Ori.
The vehicle swayed out onto the road and the scream of the siren made Patton jump. Beside him on the long padded seat, the paramedic wrote a few things on a form, then turned to Patton. “Tell me his name.”
And Patton began to lie.
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - S E V E N
O ri woke up flat on his back, the bitter smell of disinfectant filling his nostrils. For a moment, he panicked, but the rich earth-like smell that Ori always associated with Patton drifted underneath the overwhelming hospital smell. He wasn't quite ready to open his eyes yet and look for his mate--he still felt hot and cold, and his mouth was as dry as if he'd been eating flour, a trick he'd tried as a pup and had immediately regretted. Who knew that the things that went together to make cookies didn't taste as good on their own as the cookies themselves?
He turned his head, the pillow crackling underneath him with the movement and tried a squint in the direction of Patton's scent. The motion made the room whirl disconcertingly for a moment, but as soon as he stopped moving his head, the room stopped moving too, so he was fine. Patton was slumped in a chair next to Ori's bed, fast asleep, with their bags piled in the space beneath his chair and his hat tipped down over his eyes.
"Pat?" Ori said, or tried to, but it came out as not much more than a puff of air. He licked his lips and tried to work up enough spit to make his vocal cords work. It was tough going, but when he tried again, "Pat? You awake?" he could, at least, hear himself.
Patton woke with a start and a flailing of limbs so wild the chair squeaked across the floor. "Ori?" he exclaimed and rushed over to the bed. "You're awake! How do you feel?"
"Not great. What happened?"
"You passed out in the car.” He glanced over his shoulder and put his face right down beside Ori’s. “You went a bit feral there, scared Jannalie and she left us in a parking lot."
Oh, Lysoonka. He must have been bad. “Did she…figure us out?” he asked, his heart racing.
“Think so.” Patton pressed his lips sternly together for a moment, then shook his head. “Don’t think she’s told anyone, though. Least ways, no one’s come lookin’ for us so far. And you’re lookin’ a lot better than you were when we got here. The doctor said you were dehydrated, said that made it worse. I don’t think he looked too close, you know?”
So Patton didn’t think the doctor had figured out they were shifters. "Where are we?"
"Hospital in Denver somewhere. They're giving you fluids and antibiotics, said your leg was pretty bad and yelled at me for not getting you to a hospital faster." Patton looked down at the floor and his knuckles whitened where his fingers had wrapped themselves around the rail at the side of the bed. "Never been so scared ever," he muttered, and avoided Ori's eyes.
Ori put a hand over one of Patton's. His skin felt cool against Ori's palm and he realized he was probably still running a fever. "How long was I asleep?"
"Couple hours, I think. And some in the car." Patton's gaze met his again, the corners of his eyes pinched with anxiety. "You're feeling better though, right?"
Ori nodded, forgetful of the spinning problem, and then closed his eyes when the room did its dance.
"Ori?" he heard Patton say, his voice oddly indistinct, like he was far away.
"I'm here," Ori managed to say, and then his stomach rebelled and scrabbled at Patton's hand. "Bucket!" He pulled himself to half-sitting, hauling on the railing, and hung over the edge.
Patton shoved a pale blue dish underneath Ori's face. Just in time, too, because Ori's stomach was convinced it still had something inside it to get rid of. He heaved and gasped, spitting strings of spit but not much else into the bowl. Patton handed him a tissue to wipe his mouth with, then helped him back onto the bed when the nausea had finally faded.
"Thanks, Pat," Ori said faintly and reached for Patton's hand, grateful for his mate's warmth, even if it was only his fingers.
"You feel better now?" Patton squeezed Ori's hand. "The nurse said to get her if you woke up before she came back.
"Yeah." Ori frowned. "Did they give me anything that would be bad for the baby?"
Patton shook his head. "I don’t know. I don’t think so—they asked if you had any allergies, I said no.”
It wasn’t like Ori knew too much about the kind of stuff they gave you in a hospital, but if all they’d given him was antibiotics and liquids, then the baby was probably fine. Not that there’s much you can do about it now. Next time, don’t be an idiot. He shook his head and regretted it immediately, but the dizziness took less time to fade, even though he’d only been awake a few minutes. It made him feel better about it, though, to know that whatever they were doing was working. “So, what next? When can we get out of here?” The longer they stayed, the more likely it was that someone who knew something about shifters would notice them. There weren’t a lot of differences between humans and shifters—not on the outside—but if they ever got Ori’s jeans off… Which reminded him— “I’m still wearing my jeans.”
