Kalugal to him and then whispered in his ear to bring him to you.”
That was good. Both were happily mated, and their interest in David could only be on her behalf.
Sari let out a breath. “I agree. David is perfect for me.”
Rubbing his eyes, Steven emerged from his office. “Good morning, Bridget. When did you get here?”
“Just now. I dropped my suitcase by the entrance and came here right away. What’s the status?”
“Let’s check together.” He motioned for her to follow him into David’s room.
Sari entered behind them and leaned against the wall to stay out of the doctors’ way.
The two chairs Kian had brought into the room had been removed to clear access to the sickbed, and only the one she’d sat on during the night had remained.
Steven picked it up and put it next to the wall. “You can sit down.” He regarded her with concern in his eyes. “Did you sleep at all?”
“A little.”
“You can’t keep on like this.”
“I can.” She waved a hand at David. “He’s your patient, not me.”
As Bridget and Steven went over David’s vitals, Sari watched Bridget’s expression closely, noting every frown and every tightening of the doctor’s lips.
Bridget was not an emotional woman, and the scents she was emitting were subtle, but she looked concerned.
She turned to Sari. “David’s temperature has been steadily climbing through the night and so has his blood pressure. Neither is in the critical range, but he needs to be watched closely.”
“Shouldn’t you give him something to lower the temperature?”
Bridget shook her head. “It’s part of the transition process, and if I do that, I will be interfering with it. But if his temperature goes over the safe limit, I will.”
“What about the blood pressure?”
Sari knew next to nothing about human physiology, but she knew that high blood pressure could cause a stroke or a heart attack. David’s twin brother and their father had died from heart failure, and genetics played an important role in a person’s health. According to Steven, David was in excellent physical shape, but that didn’t cancel out his genetic disposition, and Sari was worried.
“Not much we can do about that. I’m not going to give him medication for that.”
“What if it reaches a critical level?”
“Then we will worry about it.” Bridget put a hand on Sari’s shoulder. “Go, take a shower, sleep for a little bit. I’m here to take care of your guy.”
Sari looked down at her rumpled clothes. “I should shower and change. I’ll do it fast and come back here.”
Bridget nodded. “I understand your need to be by his side, but it really isn’t necessary. We are a community, and each of us has her or his job to do. You have a keep to run. Steven and I can take care of David.”
“This part of me agrees with you.” Sari tapped her temple. “But this part doesn’t.” She put her hand over her heart. “I need to be here.”
28
Kian
It was early in the morning when Kian got a text from Bridget, informing him that she’d arrived and was going directly to David.
Syssi was still sleeping soundly, and he would have much rather stayed in bed with her, but he had to greet Bridget and check up on David and Sari.
His stubborn sister had spent the night in the clinic, sleeping on a cot in the waiting room. She was probably exhausted.
Kian could empathize. He hadn’t been any better when Syssi had been transitioning, but back then, none of them had experience with adult Dormants transitioning, and the uncertainty had made everything much more terrifying.
They had gained some knowledge since, but that didn’t make the process any less stressful for the mates of transitioning Dormants.
“Where are you going?” Syssi murmured sleepily as he got out of bed.
“Bridget is here.”
“So? She doesn’t need you. Come back to bed.” She pulled on his arm.
“I wish I could, but after she flew overnight to be here for David and Sari, I need to at least greet her.” Leaning, he kissed Syssi’s cheek. “Go back to sleep. You need your rest.”
“Okay.” Yawning, she turned to her other side. “I’m not going to argue about that.”
He kissed her other cheek because it was impossible for him not to do so. It was warm from sleep and so soft. “I love you.”
“Love you too. Say hi to Bridget for me.”
“I will.” He leaned lower and kissed her belly. “How is my daughter doing?”
“Sleeping.” Syssi waved him off. “Get the greeting thing over with and come back