Mated To An Enemy

“Oh, hello. Do I know you?” Bell asked, a smile on her face as she circled the man that had walked into her office. “You look familiar. But I just can’t seem to remember your name… Jon? No, George? No… hmm… I just don’t know."

She sighed dramatically, tapping her index finger to her chin as though she were thinking hard about who he was. Finally, she walked back to her chair, dropping into it and leaning forward on her desk, staring at him with a smile.

Galen let out a light chuckle. He truly enjoyed her playful attitude.

“How could you forget this face?” he replied with a gesture of his hands toward his face and a wink.

“Oh no, the face I remember,” she said suggestively with a slight wiggle of her eyebrows, “the name escapes me. Must not have left much of an impression.”

“Oh, ok, now you’re just trying to hurt my feelings,” Galen laughed, “I’m sorry. I meant to come by the day after I saw you last, but Saul has kept me very busy.”

“Oh Saul,” sighed Bell, waving her fist to the air as though she were threatening him from afar.

“He’s a good guy,” Galen said, “very dedicated to his work. But a good guy.”

“He is,” Bell agreed. “His mate, Pearl, is one of my nurses. She’s great too. A little slow these days, but that can’t be helped.”

Galen gave her a look of confusion.

“The extra weight?” Bell said as though it explained everything.

“The waddle? Being out to here now,” she added, placing her hands as far out in front of her as she could reach.

Galen still seemed oblivious; she rolled her eyes.

“Dude! She’s pregnant. Ready to pop at any moment, pregnant.”

“Oh!” Galen responded, finally.

“Oh, good, you aren’t deaf, just dumb.” Bell laughed.

Galen rolled his eyes but still let out a light chuckle.

“That’s wonderful. I am sure Saul will be a good father,” Galen said, thinking about the idea for a moment.

He imagined Saul going from room to room of his home. Babyproofing all the corners and dangerous places and then crawling on the ground pretending to be a baby just in case he missed anything. Galen giggled at the image.

“Yea, they’re good people, they’re lucky, the kid’s lucky too,” Bell smiled.

Galen looked up at her. The smile she wore was beautiful. It held a tenderness she didn’t show very often. Seeing it made him want to reach out to her.

“Do you want that?” Galen asked softly, without a thought. “Family, with a mate and a child?”

Bell looked up at him before quickly turning away. But at that moment, when their eyes met, he saw a flash of pain that he couldn’t forget.

‘Why did I ask that?’ he chastised himself.

Finding your mate was a sensitive topic for any wolf. Knowing there was someone meant for you out there, but you might never meet them. Although it wasn’t something he understood the way others did, still, he knew better than to ask. He felt too comfortable with her. Being careful of his words took effort.

“Nah, I like my freedom too much!” she laughed.

He looked back at her. She was playful once more, though her eyes were guarded. Galen turned away.

“So, how about that tour?” he asked softly.

“No time like the present,” she replied, standing and heading for the door.

They walked out the door together with a distance between them that hadn’t been there moments ago.

***

“So, what is your specialty?” Galen asked as they sat back down in her office.

Bell had taken him around the hospital and back in roughly half an hour. It was no more or less than he had expected.

With how Winter chose to operate, their medical capabilities were minimal. So restrictive to many of the technological advancements offered by Summer or human interaction. It left them at a distinct disadvantage. But they were as prepared as they could be with what they had, and their team worked well together.

Galen had asked questions everywhere they went about the staff, the equipment, about emergency procedures. He had tried to find ways to sneak in questions about treatments of poisons, venoms, accidental or intentional.

Bell’s answers were very standard procedure. It wasn’t like she was hiding anything, more like there was nothing more to add.

In the end, he really hadn’t gotten very far in his search for information on the wolfsbane that had been used.

“My specialty?” she asked. “Hmm, that’s a good question.”

Bell turned in her chair, spinning and looking up at the ceiling as she thought about it.

“You don’t know your specialty?” Galen asked.

She stopped the chair as it faced the wall to the right of him. Then, looking at him over her shoulder, she gave him a brief shrug.

“It’s not that I don’t know so much as it’s that I don’t have one,” she answered, turning her chair back to face him. “We all work together, more general medicine than anything. Sure, some of us tend to migrate towards cases that we are better at or prefer. But we aren’t divided up into specializations. Honestly, there aren’t enough of us to do that.”

“Then what about specific care? Psychiatry? Emergency medicine? Or obstetrics even. What happens if there is a complicated surgery?” Galen asked, surprised by what she said.

The Summer medical program was top-notch. Not only were they specialized, but they also had their own buildings and research labs to advance their studies and technologies.

“Well, honestly, psychiatry is still pretty much a ‘pray to the Goddess for guidance’ situation up here in Winter,” she replied with a dissatisfied look. “Emergency medicine, well….”

Bell made a show of dusting off her shoulders and straightening her scrub top.

“I do most trauma or emergency medicine and surgeries. Surgery in general, me and two others are up first. But who takes the lead depends on what kind of surgery it is. Most bone repairs are not my forte.”

Her eyes moved up as though she were really thinking about the rest of her answer.

“Obstetrics…” her face contorted into a sort of grimace, “yuck.”

Galen couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips.

“What!” she called out, throwing a sticky notepad at him. “It’s gross! Yea, ok new life, miracle, amazing, ooh ahh yea yea… it’s still a gross process. I’m allowed to not like it.”

“I didn’t say anything….” Galen smiled.

“Uh-huh,” she squinted her eyes at him.

“What about prescriptions, long-term care, accidental poisonings, things like that?” Galen asked, changing the topic and trying to glean some information once more.

Bell smiled.

“Things like that?” she asked.

“Yea,” he said innocently.

“Galen, what exactly—”

The door to her office burst open wide, startling them both. On the other side of the door was a wide-eyed and winded Saul.

“Saul, are you ok?” Galen asked, jumping up from his chair.

“Have a seat Saul, tell us what’s going on,” Bell said, coming around the desk and pulling a stethoscope from her pocket.

Saul waved his hand at her and shook his head.

“No, you…” he gasped, “you need to come….”

“Is someone hurt?” Bell asked quickly. She turned to Galen and pointed, “Galen, grab my bag. It’s just behind my desk there.”

Galen quickly stepped around the desk and pulled up a small duffle bag, handing it to Bell.

“Ok, Saul, who is it? What happened?” Bell asked.

“Not hurt, we need to go….” Saul said. He stood up straight and tried to take a deep breath.

“There ya go, big guy, nice calming breath,” Bell said quietly. “Now, what’s going on?”

“She said she trusts you most,” Saul answered, “and you owe her.”

“Huh?” Bell asked, truly confused.

“Pearl,” he answered.

Bell gasped, and her eyes widened. She took a step back from him, shaking her head. “No…”

“Pearl is in labor.” Saul finally said.

“Damn it!” Bell shouted angrily, pulling her bag up over her shoulder. She pushed past Saul.

Saul looked at Galen, who shrugged.

“Come on, Saul, let’s go bring your slimy little offspring into the world!” Bell shouted back from the hallway.