"I started getting them in college as part of my yearlies."
"Good, then you know the drill. Normally I would step out of the room while you undress, but to save time, I'll just be over here assembling the needed supplies, that is, if that's okay with you?" Rheia handed her the paper gown.
"Fine by me, I'm just glad it's you looking up my who-ha and not Adam. Can you imagine how awkward that would have made family holidays?" Meryn asked.
Rheia snorted and started opening the other cabinets. She found a speculum and the lubricant and lined them up side by side on the metal tray. Looking around she found an assortment of non-latex gloves by the sink. She put on a pair and turned to find Meryn playing around with the blood pressure cuff.
"Ready?" she asked sliding the tray in her direction.
Meryn nodded and tried getting on the table but it was too high. They found the small metal step stool and she hopped up on the table.
"What do you guys listen for when you use that thing anyway?" Meryn asked, pointing to the cuff.
"Your heartbeat, now lay back and get comfortable."
Meryn reclined back.
Rheia pulled out the stirrups from either side of the bed. "Okay scoot down to the edge of the table."
Meryn wiggled down and Rheia helped place her heels on the stirrups.
"Okay, while I do this, you can tell me about matings, because to be honest with you, everything feels like it's moving too fast for me," Rheia said, starting the exam.
"Well. Being mated to a paranormal is way different than being with a human. It's like you're slipped this really cool happy drug that makes all your defenses come down and bam, you're exposed. But you realize it's okay, because no matter how crazy or broken or unworthy you think you are, your mate loves and wants you just the way you are. And just when you're about to freak out that this stranger can see right to your heart, you realize his walls are down too. Before you know it, your souls are reaching out for one another and you feel incomplete without him. You look at this man you just met and know that no other will ever compare. Plus the sex is really hot, hence my current condition."
Rheia finished the exam and helped Meryn to sit up. "You're a nut, you know that right?"
Meryn nodded. "Yeah, but I can be nutty and crazy, immature and brilliant and it doesn't matter, because Aiden loves me no matter what, even after I accidentally shot him, so everyone else who can't take a joke can fuck off."
Rheia took off her gloves and washed her hands. "I'll step out so you can clean up, I'll wait for you outside."
"Okie dokie."
Rheia handed Meryn a box of tissues and opened the door to step out into the hallway. A couple minutes later, a dressed Meryn emerged. "So is everything kosher down in lady town?"
Rheia laughed. "Yes, everything is fine."
"Good. I have enough problems with functioning with no caffeine and having low iron."
"The supplements should help a lot."
"Thanks. Hey, can I ask you something?" Meryn stopped.
"Sure."
"Why doesn't Penny talk?"
Rheia shook her head. "I don't know. She wasn't physically injured during the attack which killed her parents, so it has to be psychological. When I asked around at the hospital, to get a recommended course of action, they all said to institutionalize her. There's no way I would do that to her, so I decided to let her go at her own pace. When she's ready to talk, she will."
"That's cool; I just didn't want to put my foot in it, in case it was something specific. I do that a lot," Meryn admitted.
"You?" Rheia asked, feigned surprise.
"You're so funny." Meryn smiled. "She's a really neat kid; I've never met another Whovian who was so young before."
"It was the only thing that caught her interest after I got her."
Meryn made a face. "I'm not judging, because I think that's a dick thing to do, but as much as I love the Doctor, do you think it's appropriate for a little kid?"
"Trust me I know exactly what you're talking about. I tried every cartoon in existence, even the annoying singing ones, but she would stare at me then turn off the television."
"Some of the bad guys can be pretty scary."
"She's seen real monsters. I don't think much scares her anymore."
"I've seen them, too," Meryn said quietly.
"Meryn, be honest with me. How safe is it here? The things that attacked my house, they were like rabid dogs." Rheia shuddered at the memory.
"It's safe, but it isn't."
"That's helpful."
"It's safe because we're surrounded by unit warriors. They do patrols at all hours to guard the city's perimeter. It isn't safe, because the ferals know where to find us."
"There's no way to keep them out?" Rheia asked.
"The men are working on it." Meryn resumed walking, heading back to Adam's office.
Rheia opened the office door and they walked in.
Adam stood. "So, everything okay?"
"She's fine. If you hand me her chart I'll make notes." Rheia held out her hand.
"Good to hear." Adam walked over and handed her the folder.
Rheia made her notes and handed it back to him. "What hours are you thinking of for me?"
"How does a typical nine to five sound? We can rotate nighttime on-call hours," Adam offered.
"Sounds heavenly compared to my old schedule. Did you need help setting up the machines?"
"Yes, please. Beth tried to help but she didn't know what the machines did, so some of the room set ups aren't very logical."
Beth grimaced. "Sorry, Adam. You're right though, knowing what the machines are and what they do would make the difference."
"Don't be sorry, your organization of patient files and data input saved me weeks of work, it's not your fault you don't know what the machines do." He turned to Rheia. "The machines are heavy so I'll see if I can get some volunteers to help with the heavy lifting."
"If you can't find anyone, let Aiden know. He can check to see if one of the units can help," Meryn offered.
"Thanks, Meryn." Adam kissed her cheek.
Meryn turned to Ryuu and Beth. "You guys ready to go?"
"Yes, I'm ready." Beth stood and everyone walked to the door.
"Bye, Adam!" Meryn waved.
"Bye, hun." He turned and went back into his office.
"Let's go check on the men," Rheia said.
Beth frowned. "Don't you mean check on Penny."
Rheia grinned. "Nope."
Beth sighed. "Oh, dear."
*****
Bing!
Colton collapsed against Aiden, laughing.
"Motherfucker!" Quinn exclaimed.
Aiden snapped upright. "Quinn! Language! I know it's hard to believe because she's kicking your butt, but there's a toddler on the field."
Quinn blushed. "Sorry Aiden, Colton." He turned back to his defensive position in front of the Gamma bell tower.
Bing!
In the middle of the field, the Delta bell tower chimed.
Graham shook a finger at Aiden and Colton. "Y'all are cheating by using magic!"
Grinning broadly, Colton shook his head. "Sorry, but my baby girl is just that good."
Aiden turned to him. "Has she hit the Beta tower yet?"
Colton shook his head. Beta had done an excellent job of creating high partitions to keep out the small four-year old.
Aiden looked down at his watch. "Two-minute warning!" he bellowed.
The field grew louder as the trainees stomped, yelled and waved their arms trying to distract their assigned units. Colton looked at Aiden to see if he noticed. Aiden nodded. No bells had gone off after the two minute warning.
"She's going for Beta." Colton whispered.
"If she gets them, I'll buy her an entire cake." Aiden whispered back. Both of them stared at the Beta bell tower.
Aiden looked down at his watch. "Thirty seconds!"
Lorcan Ariav, the Beta Unit leader, bowed to them loo
king smug.
"She has ten seconds." Aiden stared down at his watch.
"Five, four, three, two..."
Bing!
"Sonofabitch! Impossible!" Lorcan turned around to see his bell swaying back and forth.
Aiden and Colton whooped and yelled, dancing jigs and laughing their heads off.
"Penny, come out, come out where ever you are," Keelan sang.
"Oh shit!" Colton heard Darian yell.
Colton turned and Penny was sitting on top of the bell tower. Instead of going after the well-defended rope she had gone for the bell itself. She was currently trying to get down but looked stuck.
"Penny!" The men all raced around the bell tower.
"Keelan, do something! Float her off!" Colton ordered.
"I'm trying, but she's an animate object, it's a bit tricky," Keelan snapped back, sweat running down his face.
One second she was trying to swing her leg over the rail and the next she was falling.
"Darian! Leg up!" Colton yelled and ran towards the fae warrior. Darian knelt down and cupped his hands. Colton stepped into his fingers and Darian flung him in the air. Colton flew up and wrapped his arms around Penny's body. He turned, but didn't have enough time to land on his feet. Holding her tight, they hit the ground and he rolled them. When they came to a stop, Colton sat up with her in his lap.
"Is she bleeding? Is she broken? I can't tell! Keelan, can you do something about the mud!" Colton yelled frantically.
Between Keelan and Quinn, Penny's face and clothes became spotless and her hair tucked back in a perfect ponytail.
Penny beamed up at him, her eyes lit up in excitement.
"Oh Gods, I think she's okay." Colton felt weak with relief. Hands helped him up and he walked back with her to the front of the training grounds. Penny pointed from bell tower to bell tower excitedly showing them the path she had taken. At the end, she stuck her tongue out at Lorcan and flexed her arms.
The men erupted into boisterous laughter. Colton was the first to collapse to the ground equal parts exhausted from worry and relief. Around him, the rest of the men sank down and rested against each other, it had been a long afternoon.
Penny went up to Aiden and held up two fingers. Opening one eye, he nodded. "I promised, didn't I? We'll start your two weeks tomorrow. Tonight, I'll let you choose from my stash of snack cakes." He winked at her. Hopping up and down Penny threw her tiny arms in the air.
The sound of tires crunching gravel had all the men turning to see that Meryn, Beth and Rheia had returned from the clinic.
"Men. Not a word," Aiden growled.
"Do we look stupid?" Sascha asked incredulously.
The women walked up, frowning. Penny ran up to her mother bouncing up and down happily. Rheia's face transformed from worry to sheer joy at the sight of her daughter exuberance.
"What did you do while we were gone?" Rheia asked Penny. Penny stopped bouncing and looked over her shoulder to the men. Meryn, Beth, Rheia and Ryuu stared at them. Colton knew that the men looked wrecked. Penny looked at the ground, then shrugged.
"Bless that baby's heart," Quinn whispered. Around him, the men all nodded.
Rheia eyed them all carefully. "You know what? I don't want to know. Come, on Pumpkin Dumpling, I think I have some Teddy Grahams leftover in my purse, let's go in for a snack." Rheia took Penny's hand and the women headed for the house.
Rheia stopped at the door, allowing Ryuu to open it. She picked Penny up and kissed her on the head, then frowned. "It's so strange; you've never been so clean after playing outside. You even smell clean. How did you stay so clean?"
Colton held his breath. The ladies walked in and Ryuu turned to them, smiling slyly. "Must be magic," he said simply and went in after them, closing the door.
Colton, Aiden, Keelan and the rest of the men lay on the ground breathing hard.
"How old is she?" Graham asked.
"Four. She's four," Colton answered.
"Ninety-six more years until she's considered an adult and you don't have to worry about her," he said.
Colton turned his head. "Do you really think I'll ever stop worrying about her?
Graham shook his head. "I probably won't stop either. You have one hell of a kid Colton."
"Yeah, yeah I do."
"Hey Aiden, you weren't really serious about babysitting right?" Quinn asked nervously.
Aiden just smiled.
"Aiden? Uhh, sir?" Quinn pleaded.
"We're so fucked," Sascha said sounding depressed. All around the field the men groaned.
Penny, one. Beta, Delta and Gamma Units, zero.
Colton chuckled and stared up at the blue sky.
"What a wonderful day!" He sat up and looked at Aiden. "I feel like some Teddy Grahams."
Aiden waved him on.
He got to his feet and headed towards the front door whistling. He opened the door and then went looking for his family.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rheia watched as Colton and Penny played at the table.
"See this teddy? This is Sascha; he is outflanking that group of teddies, which are the Beta Unit. He's moving in." Colton set up a mock battle on their paper plate.
"And we captured this one," he said handing the small snack to Penny. She popped it in her mouth.
"We're not taking prisoners, ehh? Good. Oh no! He tripped. Silly Sascha!" Colton said making one teddy spin on the paper plate. Penny covered her mouth, her eyes laughing.
"Okay, he's back up. Look he's tricked them all, he's captured all of the Beta Unit. Hurray!" Colton made the teddy dance. Penny bounced around in her seat.
Rheia was shocked at the dramatic difference between the solemn little girl she'd known living in Jefferson to this happy child.
"Okay mom, all the teddies have been eaten," Colton announced.
Rheia smiled and picked up Penny's learning backpack. "Okay, Penny, quiet time." Penny hopped down and took her hand. Rheia led her to the family room and sat down next to the coffee table. She laid out all of Penny's favorite books along with her tracing paper and letter book.
"Practice your letters until the big hand is pointed down," Rheia said pointing to the clock over the fireplace. "When you're done with your letters you can watch Doctor Who until dinner time. Meryn's set up the TV in here so that when you turn it on, it's already on Netflix." Penny nodded. Rheia stood and watched as the little girl pulled out her favorite pencil and began to meticulously trace her letters.
"I'll be in the dining room if you need me baby, okay?" Rheia asked, almost wishing she was needed.
Penny simply nodded, without even looking up.
Sighing, Rheia turned and walked back with Colton to the dining room. Colton shut the door.
"Okay, what's wrong?" he asked wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. He wasn't being pushy or trying for sex; if he had she could have easily shot him down. The look of concern on his face was genuine and his arms comforting.
"A couple months ago Radek asked if I was still comfortable raising Penny. He knew how hard it was being a single mother. He offered to bring her here to Lycaonia to be adopted by shifter parents. I told him she was mine, and I didn't want to give her up. But seeing her here, with you, in this environment, she's getting better by the hour. I can't help but think I was being selfish keeping her with me," Rheia said admitting her fear.
Colton pulled her close and she rested her head on his broad chest. It had been so long since she had felt like it was okay to let go, that if she fell apart, someone would be there to not only watch Penny, but to help pick up the pieces.
"There's no way to prove Penny getting better is linked to coming to Lycaonia. It's probably all your months of working with her paying off and you just happen to be here. It could be that she feels safe. She knows she's living with unit warriors. All shifters teach their children from a young age that unit warriors are to be trusted, and if they are ever in trouble to seek us out. She may not remember her parents teaching her this,
but I bet they did. Wanting to keep her with you isn't being selfish; it's being a good mother. If it makes you feel any better, I have asked Aiden to be Penny's Athair, she has another layer of protection in our world," Colton said and pulled back to she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"What is Athair?"
Colton paused. "It's sort of like an uncle, only more. If anything happens to us, he'll be there to protect her and make sure nothing happens to her. Among paranormals, the child's father chooses the Athair, someone they trust above all others," he explained.
"In the human world we call that a godfather. I wish you'd asked me about it first, she has uncles on my side, you know."
"You couldn't ask for a better Athair than Aiden. He hasn't known her long and he would already tear the world apart for her, of course, he's a huge marshmallow when it comes to the softer sex, but don't tell him I said that."
Rheia smiled. "Your secret is safe with me. So, what did you all do today?" she asked.
Colton eyed her carefully. "I thought you didn't want to know."
"I didn't, not until I saw how relieved everyone was that I didn't want to know. So now I want to know."
"I will tell you, I promise, but how about six months from now?" he said trying to negotiate.
"Why six months from now?"
"Because by then you'll be head over heels in love with me and you will be less apt to cut off pieces of me we both may need later."
Rheia sighed; she knew it had been dangerous. "Did she have fun?"
Colton nodded his breaking out into a huge smile. "She is something else! She outsmarted three units! She's like a tiny master ninja. She's great at hiding and stealth."
"It's how she survived, remember?" she asked gently.
She watched as all the color drained from his face. "Oh, Gods! You don't think we traumatized her, do you? I'm such an idiot!" His voice grew more panicky.
"She's fine. She was happy, smiling and dancing around. Whatever you did helped." She rested both hands on his chest; she could feel his heart beating wildly. You couldn't fake this. He was genuinely upset he might have hurt Penny.
"Meryn said that when you find your mate, it's like your defenses come down, but that it's okay, because your mate's defenses are down as well and it helps for your souls to meet. She said that's why it's so easy to fall in love so quickly, because there's nothing left to hide."