Psy (Alien Castaways #3) - Cara Bristol Page 0,22

d’Alene.”

He shook his head. The med pod at the house can diagnose and treat any illness I might have contracted. I’ll get scanned, and you can report I have a clean bill of health.

I suppose your alien technology is more advanced than our medicine anyway.

Light-years, he telepathed.

Cassie highly doubted he had the mumps, but she would love to see where he lived and an alien medical pod.

Chapter Nine

Psy left Cassie seated on the sofa and dashed to Tigre’s room.

“What happened to your face?” his friend gasped.

“Mating reaction.” He grinned through the pain. “Cassie is here—”

“Oh great! I get to meet her!” Tigre’s striped face lit up.

“Well, yes, but I came to ask if you can give me a hand operating the med pod?” He gently probed the underside of his jaw. “Cassie’s employer doesn’t understand about how our mating glands react. She worries I could infect other people with an Earth disease called the mumps. She insisted I get a medical evaluation. I promised her I would.” He’d jumped at the chance to get Cassie familiar with the med pod and show he was open to a medical exam. She could see how the unit worked. Then, hopefully, at some point in the future, she’d be receptive to a med scan.

Tigre swished his tail. “Your glandular reaction is more severe than any I’ve seen. The scan is probably a good idea.”

“Veritals are unique.” Psy shrugged.

“All ’Topians are,” he replied.

“True that.”

Cassie leaped up as they entered the living room, her eyes widening at the sight of a grinning Tigre, his saber teeth prominent.

Psy introduced them and then said, “Let’s get the med scan over with and then we can talk.”

They kept the med pod in the dining room, the only space large enough to accommodate it. They didn’t need the room for dining, preferring to eat on trays in front of the TV. They all loved watching television.

Cassie crept up to the med pod and peered through the transparent lid into the capsule. It’s…smaller than I thought it would be. Her face blanched, her eyes rolled back into her head, and her knees buckled.

“Herian!” Psy swore and caught her before she hit the floor. As he started to lift her into his arms to carry her into the living room, she roused. Blinking, she pressed a hand to her head. What’s happened? Why are you holding me?

“You passed out.” Linked to her mind, he should have gotten some forewarning, but there’d been none. One second she was fine, the next she’d keeled over.

“Let’s put her in the med pod.” Tigre opened the hatch.

Cassie thrashed her head and pushed at his chest. No! No. Please don’t—I can’t—

“It’s a good idea,” he said calmly. “You fainted for no apparent reason. We need to find out why.” He still didn’t know if the med pod would work on a human, but it wouldn’t hurt her. And possibly, hopefully it could provide some answers. It might fix her voice…

I have claustrophobia. Seeing the tight space triggered the faint. I didn’t realize your med pod would be so…tiny, enclosed. I can’t climb in there. It would trigger a full-on panic attack.

The pod occupied almost the entire dining room. The unit had been designed to accommodate large beings—like Avians with wings or shapeshifting Xenos. Phobias, by nature, weren’t rational. Fears were blown out of proportion to the threat. Although his consciousness hovered at a surface level, he should have been able to sense her anxiety before she passed out. That he’d gotten no forewarning suggested the phobia might be deep-seated.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. You can release me now. I’m okay.

Maybe you should wait in the other room during my scan. It won’t take long.

Please. I’m okay. She peered up at him. I would like to watch.

He was proud of her for wanting to stay. Maybe seeing the unit in operation would alleviate her anxiety, although he realized the chances of getting her to climb into the med pod to diagnose and treat her vocal issues were about nil at this point.

Psy said aloud for Tigre’s benefit, “She’s feeling better. I suggested she wait in the other room, but she intends to stay.”

“I’ll take good care of her.”

Psy tapped instructions into the screen. “I’m programming a full diagnostic scan with orders to treat any anomalies.” He eased into the pod and stretched out. He extended his hand, and Cassie clasped it. “I’ll be done in less than a minute. You’ll be able to watch me