Chapter 35 Doctors Orders

Sara tried to blink away the darkness but nothing happened. For a moment she felt fear. But Evodine calmed her fear with a wave of emotional support. It felt like she was saying that they were okay because they were not alone.

Evodine? Sara whispered. Her body felt heavy and coated in warm sweat.

I am here. Came Evodine's study reply.

Whats happening? Why cant I see? Sara felt her hysteria rising again. She could hear a study thumping and a soft beeping that kept almost perfect time with each other.

I believe you must open our eyes. She sounded so calm. Why was she so calm?

I tried. It didn't work. Sara explained calmly. Evodine's emotions calming her own.

Keep trying. You have not given up yet why do so now? Evodine questioned. Sara paused. Oddly the question made her feel better.

Her eyes refused to open but she felt her body more keenly then before. She felt the pull of the mate bond in the center of her stomach. She realized that she had missed it when she had been trapped with Evodine - wherever they had been trapped. The fact that it was back made her feel better. Her neck and the side of her head burned. It was a dull burn like when you grab the handle of a pan that is hot but it has had a few days to heal. She felt her muscles but was unable to move them. She wondered if that was also the problem with her eyes. Her skin felt tight on her face, and it was warm. She felt sticky all over.

Something shifted and she heard the sound of cloth rubbing together. A click sounded above her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." she heard a familiar voice coming from the same area as the clicking sound.

"That's fine. I expected you." Sebastian said from her left. Sara wanted to move. She wanted to turn her head and open her eyes. She wanted to look a her mate. He sounded so tired.

"I ran her blood test. She's 100% Lycan so I expect her to have a full recovery."

If Sara had been able to move she would have flinched when a cold hand touched her neck. Worse she felt her skin shift and pull.

"The healing is slow."

She recognized the voice now. Steven Patton the packs doctor. As soon as that knowledge settled in her mind it brought more with it. The attack. She suddenly felt vulnerable. She had been so stunned she hadn't protected herself. How badly had she been hurt?

"If she's Lycan why is she healing so slow?"

"She's newly shifted, Sebastian. How long since her first shift?"

There was silence for a moment. "Almost two months. She'll be 21 in three days." he added.

Nine weeks had passed? It seemed longer. So much had changed. She had a job. An apartment, she knew things about herself that 9 weeks ago would have never been imagined. It was hard to believe that just four weeks ago she had signed paper for an inheritance she hadn't known about. She had gotten a letter from Uncle Trevor just yesterday, no, that wasn't right. She got the letter five days before her birthday. Two days ago? Yes. She should have opened it.

She had wanted to open it with Sebastian after they had seen the Alpha and Luna.

What is he doing? She wanted to demand when Steven caused her face to sting. The sting came again. Stop it. She wanted to yell at him. The stings came again and again.

"I'll put sterile strips on afterwards but She'll be unable to get them wet for at least a week."

"You really believe she'll wake up today? Don't lie to me Steven. I need her. I think she needs me too but we haven't even had a chance to really know each other."

"Sebastian, I wouldn't lie to you about this." Steven said and glanced up from removing the stitches from the side of Sara's face.

"Don't give me that. I've seen you do it. You lied to Farre minutes before he died." Sebastian glared at Steven even though it wasn't him he was angry with.

Steven looked down and resumed pulling the stitch he had just snipped. "Farre was dying, Seb. There was nothing I could do but give him a few minutes of peace. If thinking that his mate was going to survive was all I could give then I would do it again. But your mate will be fine, Seb. If she weren't I would tell you so you could prepare for it. Farre didn't have to know so I didn't tell him."

A nurse walked in pushing a cart. She smiled at Sebastian but her smile died when she saw his eyes. She looked away. "I'm sorry. I'll come back in an hour." She said and readied to turn around.

"No. Get the iodine ready and open the sterile strips. I'll open the adhesive when I'm ready to use it. I'm going to need more bandages 2, 4 and 5 inch."

Natasha nodded, "Of course, Dr. Patton." She abandoned the cart she had pulled in the room. She went to the cart that Steven had pushed into the room. It took her only minutes to do as Steven asked. She lined the supplies on the top of the carts metal top. "I'll be back in a minute with the bandages." she said. She waited a moment and left the room.

Sebastian had no excuse not to look at his mate. She still had bandages covering most of her face. There was bruising and swelling. A few drops of blood oozed from the holes the stitches had left. Steven continued to snip and remove stitches.

For the first time Sebastian wished that she would sleep longer. He didn't want her to be in pain when she woke up. There was no way that she wouldn't be in pain if she woke up now. "Is she in pain?" he heard himself ask.

"No. Her IV is Methadone and pentobarbital. We started weening her off of the pentobarbital early this morning. But she isn't in pain."

"Is that why she hasn't woken up?" Sebastian demanded. "I thought there was more wrong with her,"

"Sebastian, calm down, before you shift." Steven said glancing up from his task. Sebastian's entire body was shaking. Steven watched him. Slowly the shaking stopped. "No," he said when Sebastian had regained control, "The swelling to her brain was the main reason she didn't wake." He resumed the task of removing stitches as he spoke, "Pentobarbital was used to deepen her sleep as coma reduces the size of the veins in her brain, reducing swelling and promoting healing."

"Why wasn't I told?" Sebastian ask. The door from the hall opened and the nurse returned with the bandages.

"Sebastian, I think it would be best if you took a few moments to go shower, eat and shift. Your wolf is anxious and you need fuel." Steven said as he went about removing more bandages.

"No, I want to stay with her."

"Go eat. Mates draw energy from each other. Even though you haven't completed the mate bound I can tell you are ready to collapse yourself. It is stressing your wolf and shifting in here out of exhaustion or hunger is a very bad idea. Doing that won't help her either."

Sebastian sighed. He tilted his neck, cracking the bones and pulling stiff muscles. He admitted that Steven had a point but he didn't want to leave her. What if she woke up and he wasn't there? He shook his head.

"No. She may wake up. I have to be here." he said his eyes glued to her hand.

"She wont wake for hours, Seb. Go." Steven said his tone more gentle then it had been. "Go." He said glancing up at Sebastian. "If she so much as twitches a muscle I will mind link you so you can head back here. Deal?"

They waited in almost silence for a few moments. The only sound was the nurse arranging the tray with supplies. Natasha glanced up when she finished her task. "If it's okay with Dr. Patton I'll stay with her. I'll even notify you both of even the slightest twitch." She offered glancing at Steven then Sebastian then Steven again.

Steven glanced up at Sebastian, smiled and went back to work. "There, Seb. Sara will be well looked after."

After a moment Sebastian nodded. "Okay. But I wont be long. Link me as soon as anything changes."

Natasha nodded and they passed each other they each moved around the hospital bed. Sebastian paused unable to actually leave the room. He watched Natasha clear the bedding and fold the bed back into a small love seat. He fleeting thought that he should have done that for her as it was his mess.

"Go, Seb." Steven said without even looking up from the stitch he was pulling.

Reluctantly, Sebastian turned and left the room. He made his way to the forest where Sara had shifted last. He figured he could take care of two task at once. Shift and let Taron run as well as hunt and eat.

He didn't think to wonder if he wore clothing suitable for shifting. He simply shifted as soon as he passed the ATV garage. The outlying area had very little in the way of pray but he found a rabbit and killed it quickly. He allowed Taron to consume the meager meal and bury bones and organs. Unfortunately, they were both still hungry.

Taron said it would be faster to eat in town as they wouldn't need to stalk and hunt their pray. In truth he simply wanted to be closer to his mate. Sebastian agreed for the same reason.

***

~~~~~A/N~~~~~~

I changed the name!!! Finally!

I finally came up with a name I liked. Then I typed it in and found many with the same name. Ssssooooo..... The search continues.

Please don't forget to vote and I would love to read some comments as well.

May the creator bless you and give you the sleekest fur.