Page 12 of Colvin
He took the other chair and watched the mother and child. He felt fiercely protective of them both and wasn’t leaving them alone here unless Ivy told him to go.
As if she was reading his mind, she raised her head and gave him a wan smile. “I appreciate your support. The hardest part of being a single mom is being alone in a crisis.”
“You’ll never be alone as long as I draw breath,” he said. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine for now but thank you. Just having you here is enough.”
Darien stirred a bit on the bed, clutching the stuffed animal more tightly and Ivy’s attention returned to him but he didn’t wake up.
The nurse flitted in and out several times to check on the boy and told them his vital signs were much better than when he’d been brought in.
After about an hour, Darien blinked and stretched. Opening his eyes he did a doubletake and reached for Ivy. “Mommy! I missed you.”
Colvin could tell she was fighting tears as she hugged him. “You gave us a little scare, kiddo, but the doctor fixed you up. How are you feeling?”
“My head doesn’t hurt any more and I’m not hot. Can we go home now?”
“Not yet because the doctor wants to be sure you’re really better. Are you thirsty or hungry? She said you could have juice or jellied cubes.”
Darien made a face. “I’d rather have ice cream.”
“I can go ask,” Colvin volunteered. “I suspect the doctor wants him on clear liquids first though.” He waved casually as the boy tried to figure out who he was and why he was in the room. “Hi, I’m Colvin, a friend of your mom’s. I was with her when she got you your Moomenny. I think she picked out the best one for you.”
“Fred,” Darien hugged the animal and then held it out to Colvin. “You want to share?”
Maintaining a serious expression, Colvin took the toy and stroked its fur a few times. “Very soft. But I think he wants to be with you today—I’m not sick.” Handing the toy to its owner, Colvin said to Ivy, “I’ll go alert the nurse and see if we can get anything other than the two approved foods for him. I’ll be right back.”
The nursing station was busy, which surprised Colvin. He hadn’t expected the hospital to be so full, since it was for employees but he guessed since Resort Planet had roughly the population of a large city at the moment, there was a corresponding need for medical care. He wondered if guests were brought here if the clinic in the resort wasn’t enough. When he tracked her down the nurse was happy to hear her patient was awake and offered Colvin a choice of frozen fruit pops as a compromise. He took two berry flavors and walked to the room with her.
It was reassuring to hear Darien laughing as they entered the room and he beamed when Colvin offered him the fruit pops. Ivy took the second choice one and they had fun comparing their colored tongues as they ate the frozen treats. The nurse did her exam and review of the sensors briskly and departed, promising to let the doctor know.
“I want to go home,” Darien repeated. ”It’s boring here.”
Ivy looked helplessly at Colvin.
“I’ll go check out the gift shop down on the first floor,” he said. “Maybe they have children’s books.”
“That’d be great.” She took out her handheld. “In the meantime, I do have a couple of kids’ games on here he and I have played in the past. Could you see if there’s anywhere you could get me a synthcaff or tea?”
As he walked out of the room, Darien was chortling over the game and his first moves, which Colvin thought was an excellent sign. By the time he returned with the requested synthcaff, a sandwich and three books he’d judged acceptable for Darien’s age range, the boy was napping again and Ivy was reclining in the chair, eyes closed. She opened them and accepted the drink and the food gratefully. “Did you have something? I remember you told me Ardannans have to eat a lot because of your metabolism.”
“You’re such a good caretaker,” he said with admiration. “But yes, I’m kinda used to managing for myself, you know. I’m fine. Save your energy for the boy.”
“I think the fever took a lot out of him,” she said. “He fell asleep in the middle of defeating me on the third level of Treasure Island Animal Throwdown, if you can believe it. His favorite game. I usually have to limit how long he can play but not tonight.”
“He looks better, not so pale. If I had to guess we’ll definitely be going home in the morning.” He stretched his legs and tried to get comfortable in the chair, which was clearly not designed to be used by humans his size. “I ordered a groundcar so I can get you both home and I’ve arranged for my AGcycle to be picked up and shipped to Ardanna. Your boss, Mr. Delain sends his best wishes. He’s efficient—I approve.”
Ivy stared at him. “You’re very efficient. I’m impressed—I hadn’t gotten as far as thinking about how to get home.”
“I’m here take care of you both,” he said.
Darien had several more periods of wakefulness and each time he was more active and insistent on going home. By the time the doctor released him in the morning he was grumpy. The hospital insisted he ride in an antigrav chair to the front door, which was a novelty and diverted him and then Ivy carried him to the groundcar, which Colvin pulled up to the entrance. He’d ordered a car seat and once Darien was safely strapped in, clutching Fred, Colvin and Ivy put their heads together to decide the best route to her apartment in the employee complex. It was a short drive and on the way Ivy commed Marisa to let her know Darien was fine and going home.
The teacher’s relief was palpable. “And will he be returning to childcare tomorrow? Will you need me to take care of him overnight for the rest of the week as planned?”
Colvin and Ivy exchanged glances. “I don’t know yet,” she said. “I’ll see how today goes and let you know later, okay?”
When they got to Ivy’s apartment building, Colvin was impressed by the well laid out complex and the landscaping, which was obviously maintained efficiently. Her place was a large, airy two bedroom on the first floor, with a small backyard. Darien took Colvin by the hand and insisted on showing him his room and all of his toys. When Ivy eventually went to see what they were doing, she found them on the floor building towers out of Darien’s toy bricks, which he would then demolish with one of his toy cars, making pew pew sounds as if the car was firing a blaster. Her son was chortling with glee and Colvin seemed equally amused.
