Tropical Holiday Tails - Zoe Chant Page 0,46

Stents don’t always work out for shifters, and his record didn’t indicate chronic problems in this...er...vein. These kinds of problems are usually caused by constriction of the arteries, exacerbated by sudden excitement or stress, of which there has been a great deal. Can you enlarge the veins?”

Mal was still for a moment, then shook his head. “It doesn’t really work that precisely. It’s...more like I can return a body to its recent state, not make fine adjustments to what’s there. I can’t leach poison out or correct existing problems, just put things back together.”

Caroline nodded. As magic went, that made a certain amount of sense. She had, for a moment, hoped that it was more along the lines of precision remote surgery and been excited to think of what they might do with it, but maybe that was too much to ask of wizardry.

“If we could get him to the clinic, then…”

Almost before she had finished the request, Mal was gesturing and opening a split in space directly into her dark clinic.

It certainly beat having to call an ambulance.

Liam and Breck stepped forward, intending to lift Mr. Danby, but once his feet were under him, he brushed them aside and insisted on walking forward leaning only on Caroline. They all made their slow way to the clinic, and Darla scampered ahead of them to turn on the lights and warm up the appliances.

The clinic was equipped with a top-of-the-line imaging machine, and Caroline was reassured by what she saw in the results. Shifter healing was already at work, and it was unlikely he would need any long term treatment.

Caroline found the thrombolytics in the supply she had requested and inserted the IV in Mr. Danby’s arm, keenly aware of the scrutiny of her audience. Fortunately, she got the vein on the first try, sparing her that embarrassment. She made him comfortable in the clinic bed and took his vitals, pleased by the numbers she was getting, and shooed everyone but Liam out.

Mr. Danby’s snores were steady and even, and Liam patted his hand in an undeniably affectionate way and tucked it carefully by his side.

“It’s midnight,” Caroline said in astonishment, looking at her watch. “What a day.”

“The beginning of a life, and almost the end,” Liam said in wonder, coming around to her from the other side of the bed. “You saved him, you know. No one else noticed.”

Caroline blushed and shrugged. “I gave him some aspirin and took some scans. He did the rest. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye, not yet. It was good timing that I was there, but that’s all.”

“He’s a stubborn old coot,” Liam said with admiration. They were standing close, close enough that she could feel his warmth, and draw comfort from his simple nearness.

Something occurred to her. “Merry Christmas,” she said, laughing wearily. “Merry Christmas.”

Liam’s eyes widened and he laughed with her. “Merry Christmas, my darling.”

My darling.

It sounded like home, and Caroline’s red panda all but rolled in delight. She closed the last distance between them, and his arms folded around her.

“I got you a present,” Liam said, and she could feel his nervousness as she wrapped her arms around him.

“You didn’t have to,” she said contentedly into his chest.

“I wanted to. I didn’t know what to get you,” he admitted. “So I made you a garden. Just a windowsill garden, in the kitchen, with some herbs and little strawberry plants. They’re still tiny, not much to see. And of course, if you needed anything sooner, Graham could always get them for you. But, I wanted something that would...grow. I don’t know if you like plants, even. Maybe I should have gone with succulents or something harder to kill…”

Caroline chuckled, feeling the flex of his chest against her ear and let all of the tension in her body flow away. “I love it,” she said sincerely. “I always wanted a window garden and I love the idea of growing things to eat.” She tipped her head and looked up at him, all the angles of his face already so dear. “I got you something, too,” she said gently.

“You didn’t have to,” Liam said automatically.

“I wanted to,” she echoed him. She slipped easily from his embrace and tripped to the bedroom, where she found a wrapped package near the top of one of the boxes marked ‘Important.’

Liam grinned at her when she returned, and eagerly took it.

“It’s a photo album,” Caroline told him as he unwrapped it and turned it over.

“It’s empty,” he said