Negative Space Ch. 10

It was a simple statement, but it held all the tragedy he could muster. I held him a moment longer and pulled him back to look into his eyes.

"I did everything I could during the surgery to make sure that she would be able to have children in the future. The problem was that the fertilized egg was growing in her fallopian tube, not her uterus. If we had waited any longer, the tube itself would have ruptured and she would have had serious internal bleeding and a host of other problems. This way she still may not be able to use this tube anymore, but she still has the other one. And we'll just make absolutely sure, in the future, to monitor all her pregnancies very carefully so that we know what's going on."

I couldn't promise him that everything was going to be alright, but I could tell him the truth, and it seemed to ease his mind a little. I looked over to see Nora watching us.

"Hey there Nora, how are you feeling?"

"Sore, but alive. Thank you so much for listening when Felix asked for help. I know you usually only take care of vampires, but I—I would have died without you. Thank you."

"Oh Nora, you are so welcome. I am so happy I was able to be there for you. Do you mind if I check everything out?"

"Not at all," she said, but she grimaced as she worked to roll her body over for me. I pulled up her shirt a little bit to check out the bandage and saw that it was fresh, clean, and professionally done.

"Who placed this bandage?"

"Elliott did that early this morning before dawn."

"Elliott? Really?" I pulled it back to inspect the stitches, covering my confusion with work.

"Yeah, he—didn't you send him? He's been coming every chance he could to check on us, thank goodness. It has been such a relief to have him around. At first I was really nervous to have a vampire touching me like that, but he said he was only there because you were too sick to come yourself."

"He's an excellent nurse, isn't he?" I smiled, thrilled that Elliott had been there, but also beginning to feel particularly guilty I had just crashed and not checked on Nora at all myself. "Well, Nora, do you mind if I check it with the ultrasound now? It will probably have to hurt since I'll be pressing down, but that was I'll be able to see inside to see what's happening in your fallopian tube."

Nora nodded and braced herself as I turned the machine on and gently placed the probe on her abdomen. I scanned the area, extremely relieved to see how clear it was. There was one little pocket that showed up as an unclear dark patch on the scan that I was a little nervous about. I checked it from as many different angles as I could, coming eventually to the conclusion that it was a waste pocket, just pus that hadn't been able to drain because of the stitches. Since I didn't have the appropriate tools here in Nora's bedroom, I decided that instead of setting up a drainage catheter, I'd prescribe her a particularly strong brand of antibiotics instead. I explained this to her and Felix as I injected the antibiotic into her IV and noted it in the rudimentary medications chart we had made. The notebook was well filled by this point—both Elliott and Felix had been making all sorts of notes about vitals and moods and all sorts of info that was actually quite useful to me. I figured I'd use this as a basis for any future interactions I had with werewolves as a healer. This gave me an idea.

"Felix, is anyone else here in your pack feeling sick or needing a checkup of any kind? I might as well go through and give everyone the healthcare they need right now while I'm here if it would be appreciated."

"Oh, well, I don't know. Let me, uh, let me go talk to our Alpha."

Felix hurried from the room and I set about to cleaning and bathing Nora. Technically that sort of stuff is not a doctor's job, but I've always felt that the type of intimate healthcare that a nurse provides, including the bed baths, the tooth brushing, and even dealing with bedpans provides an intimate relationship with each patient that all doctors should be able to boast about. By the time I was finished bathing her, Felix returned.

"So yes, there are quite a few people who would like care. Do you think you can do that now?"

"Of course! Let me just finish up in here, and we can go."

Felix lead me to large living room type area full of people. Men and women and children, all in various states of dress, or rather, undress. It was refreshing to see so many people completely unconcerned with body image or type. Their heads all perked up when I walked in and I found myself wanting to bow or curtsy to the crowd. Instead I just smiled broadly and introduced myself. Felix showed me a small room off to the side I could do the private meetings, and so I put all my stuff in there and when I looked out again everyone had gotten into an orderly line. There must have been about 20 people there and I groaned, shaking my head. My big mouth would have me here probably through to tomorrow. I only had a two and a half more hours until 9, when I should be at my clinic. I put a big smile on my face, though, and called the first person in.

One pack member after another walked through the door, and I treated each of them with all the respect and consideration I could. Some had infected injuries, some had other small coughs, colds, or gastrointestinal issues. A few just came to see what I was all about. The last woman came to see if I had pregnancy tests. I didn't have them with me but I promised her I'd give her a test for free if she wanted to come by the clinic any time. She stared at me with the most sincere look on her face.

"What is it, Elke?" I asked the woman, pulling a chair forward to make sure I was eyelevel with her instead of towering over her. "You seem a little—well, I'm not sure what you seem. Maybe unsure? Confused? Tell me what's up."

If anything, the look in Elke's eyes only intensified. "I guess I just want to thank you. I really appreciate the way you treat us."

"Well of course! I wouldn't treat anyone any differently. But it feels like there's more to it than that."

"Yes, I suppose there is. You know my name, doctor, but you do not know that I am the Alpha of this pack. I agreed to allow you to come here as an experiment, and I was so impressed with your care of Nora that when you offered to see anyone else as well I readily complied. Still, I was somewhat disbelieving that you could possibly be so wonderful as everyone said, so I decided to come here to see you as well."

"Oh ma'am," I interrupted, suddenly very nervous. "Please excuse me if I did anything to offend you. I'm not sure of the were customs, so please accept my apologies. I mean no harm."

"Yes, well, that's just it. You're so—intuitive. Without being told of my rank, you treated me with absolute respect and kindness, something that no one in were culture does to someone as low ranking as I was pretending to be. And the fact that you were able to convince vampires to come care for us? Absurd. Beyond imagination. Vampires have always loathed werewolves. They talk about us like stray dogs. And yet you have them rushing around to make sure we're all right? Who are you? Where did you come from?"

I laughed a little, and told her my story. "Honestly, Elke, I'm nothing special. Just a human who has a knack for getting herself into scrapes."

"I'd be very surprised," she said after I finished, "if you were only a human. There are lots of variations out there—God certainly did not get bored creating new races."

I laughed and walked Elke out. "If you find out which one I am, please let me know. It'd be a great relief." I meant it as a joke, but Elke took it seriously.

"Dr. Crane, I want you to know: My pack is deeply indebted to you. You have saved the life of one of my children, and improved the lives of many more. We will do everything we can for you, and come to your call should you ever need us." She handed me a small piece of paper. "That is my private phone line. Only call it in an emergency, but know that I will always answer it and come to you immediately."

I was so overwhelmed with this woman's kindness that I hugged her without thought. She was stiff at first, but softened into my arms after only a moment. When I pulled back I suddenly realized that I could have just done something very inappropriate and apologized profusely. Elke just smiled and patted me on the arm.

"I suppose it would have been quite inappropriate if the circumstances were different, but right now it was just fine. It speaks your thanks more eloquently than any words could have."

I checked on Nora and Felix once more and found them content and comfortable, so I left in one of Elke's cars.

The driver took me straight into the city in less time than I thought possible and deposited me in front of my clinic's building only 15 minutes after 9. I rushed up, nodding to Megan, the receptionist, and squeezing into the elevator right as the doors began to close. I was a total jumble, still wearing the clothes I had been wearing for days now, my hair a mess and probably smelling through and through like sickness. I wasn't even thinking about the other people in the elevator until I heard my name. I spun around instantly to see Inga and Lux standing right next to me. Inga was grinning broadly and Lux was beaming. A little shifting bundle was attached to his front in a fabric sling.

"Inga! Lux! How are you?" I hugged them, smiling and laughing and peaking into the bundle to see the most beautiful baby I had ever encountered. "Oh my goodness! Wow! Look at that gorgeous baby!"

Inga blushed. "His name is Leo. He—well, we were going to name him after his uncle Theo, but since that would be a little confusing, and because we really wanted to thank you and honor you, Lana, we named him Leo. The 'L' from you and the 'eo' from Theo."

The elevator doors swung open and I almost began crying. "Oh Inga, Lux, you have no idea how much that means to me!" I hugged them both again and as the doors began closing Lux stuck his hand in the way and we all got off.

"Thank you so much. I hope you know that I will give little Leo all the love and adoration he could possibly need."

"I'm so glad to hear it," Lux chimed in. "In fact, we were coming here to bring him for his first check up! We hear you're some sort of expert now."

The family followed me into the clinic and immediately all the vampires in the waiting room stood and bowed reverently. I turned around in confusion to see, just in time, Inga and Lux nodding regally to the crowd.

"Come on into my office," I said, leading them down the hall. As soon as the door was closed I turned, eyes wide. "Are you some sort of royalty?" I'd lived with Theo for a several weeks, but he'd been very guarded with what he told me of the vampire world. I really knew very little more than he had told me the first day on the ride over to his house.

"Of course Lana! Didn't Theo tell you?" I simply shook my head, and Inga explained.

"OK. Um, maybe I should start with some basics. It's very rare that a vampire turns a human into a vampire. The process itself takes two or three days, and then you're in for many years of caring and teaching and parenting until the new vampire can be trusted not to rape and kill everything in its sight, much like human parenting."

"Well, that's not exactly what human children are like, but I get your meaning," I interjected, smiling.

"What's different, though, is that you are interminably linked to your progeny through your bond. And that means that you are able to feel all their emotions, sense their needs, and cannot help but feel drastically, desperately protective and mindful of them. Even though the bond dims over time or if a Sire stops having contact with his or her progeny immediately, most vampires are simply too selfish to put themselves in that vulnerable, protective state. Because of that, it was a big deal when Prometheus, my sire, decided to turn me and Theo, partially because it's so uncommon and partially because he is an ancient." At my confused looks Lux stepped in.

"An ancient is—" he glanced at Inga, "well, I'm an ancient. I've been on this planet for longer than you can possibly comprehend. I'm nearing 2,200 years old. Prometheus is, in fact, younger than me, but only barely. I didn't meet him until I myself was 1000 years old, but when he decided to become a Maker, I was already quite close to him." I leaned my head back on the wall behind me and let this sink into me. 2,200 years old? Older than Jesus? Older than our calendar system? He was right—it was too much for me to comprehend. Nonetheless, I pulled myself out of confusion, doubt, and certainty that I was insane, and nodded to Lux. "Go on."

"Immediately both Inga and Theo were granted high ranking positions in Prometheus' court. He ruled Greece at that point. The Prince and Princess were highly respected all over the continent, and soon Inga left to be an independent politician of sorts, eventually finding herself in my court. I was, I guess you should know, the Emperor of Italy."

Here Inga jumped in. "You're taking too long to tell this story, Lux. I'll be all the people outside are practically dying in pain and we're just in here boring her ear off."

"Oh, not at all. I'm absolutely fascinated."

"Well, let me finish up for Lux anyway. He gets a little carried away when he talks about how royal he is." She grinned at me, and even Lux chuckled a little bit. "I was in charge of the southern provinces when I first arrived, but only shortly after Theo and I were turned there was a major overhaul of the leaders of Europe. In order to avoid the inevitable bloodshed, some of the leaders peacefully took the resignations they were offered and came to the US. Prometheus never would have before, but once he became our papa he found himself more concerned with our safety than anything else, so he left, convincing this fellow to go with him. Lux ruled the southern states with the same judiciousness as Prometheus in the north, and I stayed behind to look over the transfer of power to Lux' own child. After a couple hundred years of helping him to become the Emperor that Lux had been, I came home to my family here in the states. Theo had come over only a few years before, and I was thrilled to be near him again. I went down to Lux to report on how the Empire was after he left, and, well, we fell in love."

I grinned. Their adoration for each other was so clear and warming it completely refuted any myths about the coldness and cruelness of vampires. It made me feel better just to be in the same room as them.

"Why don't I give little Leo here a check up? You two can keep making doe eyes at each other in the background and I'll just write down his info." They laughed and Lux gently lifted the baby out of his sling and handed him over to me. I smiled at his precious face and saw his big, wide eyes staring back at me. He waved his arms frantically as I set him down on the scale.

"He isn't quite used to not being in someone's arms—we like to hold him as much as possible." Inga said, nervously getting closer to him.

"That's totally fine. This will only take a minute." I wrote down some numbers and turned back to her as I picked Leo up again. "But wait, you never finished. What about now? Are you still royalty?"

"I guess now that Lux and I are together you could call me a number of things. At the same time that I'm Princess here in New York, I'm also Lux's wife, so Queen in Maryland, but what I do most of the time is work in DC as a judge." It seemed like the more information I was given, the more questions I had. I wrote down the baby's temperature and heart rate before asking what on earth Inga meant by that.

"We decided to mimic the humans' governmental system by keeping Washington DC a non-state and using it as a place to come for treaties, conferences, and all sorts of political issues. We still run monarchies, though, so when two kingdoms have issues with each other, but do not want to engage in war, they come to DC to meet before an appointed judge like myself. I hear both cases and give my ruling, but both kingdoms have to agree to accept it beforehand. That way we avoid having an even higher, overbearing government that would be necessary to enforce law upon the kingdoms."

I thought for a moment while I tested the baby's reflexes. They were much faster and stronger than a human baby's would have been at that age, but that made sense. All the vampire politics I was learning about seemed to make a certain sort of sense too.

"So what do I call you then, oh princess-queen-judge?"

Lux chuckled and took Leo back from me, tucking him into the sling. "You can call her Inga. Most people call her Princess, it's easiest, but you are our trusted healer. YOU can call her whatever you'd like."

As I was wrapping up I thought of the visit I had from Prometheus and how unnerving it had been. The way Inga was portraying him he was just a concerned father, but to me he had seemed like a calculating, manipulative...vampire. Nothing more human than that. I was going to just let it go, but Inga turned to me, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you so skeptical of?" She asked me, her hand going to mine.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, one of the interesting things about you is that you really fill the air with your emotions. More than any other human I know, I can tell if you're upset from anywhere in the building, even outside of it. It's like you're shouting your emotions to me. So right now, I can tell you, you're feeling skeptical. What's that about?"

"I guess I was just thinking about what you'd been saying about your Sire. Prometheus. Well, I met him, sorta. He didn't seem anything like the loving father that you describe."

"What? When did you meet him?" Inga was shocked and confused. "How?"

I explained to her how he appeared to me, first as a woman and later as a man, and how I realized that it was just an apparition and was able to block him out of my mind.

"But why? Why did he come to you?" She asked, clearly quite skeptical herself now.

"He said that I was really doing a number on Theo, and he wanted to check me out for himself. I guess he can feel all Theo's, and your, emotions at all times?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't usually get involved. I mean, he hasn't come to see me, even, since I had the baby." She looked at me closely, and was about to talk when Leo began whimpering. I smiled to see Lux immediately start the baby jiggle that all new parents quickly adopt to calm their kids. It didn't do much, though, so when Leo started crying in earnest, Inga turned to me.

"Well, thank you so much for seeing us. We need to go now, but listen to me. If Prometheus is showing an interest in you, you shouldn't squander it. He's very powerful. Go talk to Theo. I know that he hasn't been wonderful to you, but he has provided you with many opportunities, and I know he misses you. Just—go talk to him about your work. Thank him for the clinic. Become friends again. It'll come in handy, I know it."

The family left and again everyone in the lobby stood and bowed, nervously tittering after the door closed behind them. I thought about Inga's words as I saw patients. She was right, I realized. It was a strange position to be in, and I didn't necessarily like it, but I was at Theo's mercy in regards to the clinic. And he had responded immediately and without question when I asked for, no, when I demanded an ultrasound and other supplies for Nora. Who is a werewolf after all, not even another vampire.

After a few hours I opened the door to exam room 2 to find Elliott prepping for me. He paused only a moment to look straight at me, and smile. I couldn't quite read his eyes, but he was completely courteous an helpful through the whole exam. When the patient left I closed the door before Elliott could follow him out and I placed my hand on Elliott's arm.