The door opened a few minutes later and the doctor sat down in the chair next to Meg with a thump.
“First off, he’s fine and sleeping off the anesthetic. Thank you for being such a quick thinker and apparently a race car driver,” said the doctor with a tired smile on his face.
“Can we go and see him?” asked Meg.
“As soon as we get done talking here,” he said. “Now, the bear did a lot of damage to his neck and shoulder. Missed the artery and veins by centimeters. His collar bone is broken and I had to rebuild his rotator cuff and most of the shoulder. However, he will heal. There will be scars, but he is alive. Hardest part will be keeping him from shifting.”
“Why don’t you just keep him sedated?” Ginny asked.
“Well, I could do that, but that leads to other problems as you know,” said the doctor.
“What kind of problems?” asked Meg.
“Sometimes shifters have trouble with the anesthetics. Just like old people hear or see dogs or cats, shifters sometimes do the same thing. It is like their four legged side tries to take over. We have to use heavier doses than for humans too and after too many doses they become hypersensitive to the drugs. Luc hasn’t had too many surgeries or serious injuries, so he may be okay. On the other hand, his dad had terrible issues. So, I am loath to dose him anymore than I have to.
“And why do we need to keep him from shifting? I thought you healed better when you shifted,” said Meg.
“We do. Right now, Luc is in four legged form. What I don’t want is for him to shift back to human form, said the doctor. He was trying to be patient with Meg. He’d only learned a few minutes before he came to see the women that Meg was human and rather new to the whole shifter world.
“Oh, said Meg who realized that there was so much she didn’t know about Luc. “Is me visiting him going to make him want to shift back?” she asked.
“We don’t know. How long have you been mated?” asked the doctor.
“Um, he just gave me this,” she said as she touched the necklace. “But, I’ve known him for a couple of months and we’ve been living together most of that time.”
“Plus with the bear attack, he will probably fret if he doesn’t smell she’s okay,” added Ginny.
“There is that,” added the doctor. “By the way, my name is Jeff. Before you ask, yes, I shift and I’m a doctor and a veterinarian.”
“Oh, I … I didn’t even think about that. I guess it would be helpful to be both,” said Meg.
“It was really difficult to be honest. Especially as my wolfish side kept seeing all the patients as prey,” said Jeff.
“Ewww!” said Ginny.
The nurse walked in and gestured towards Jeff. “Sir, Luc is whining.”
“We’ll be right there,” said Jeff and turned back to the women. “He probably smells you and is fretting. Let’s go see him and see how he reacts.”
They got up and headed back along a hall to a suit of rooms. Luc was in the far left corner on a bed that looked like an elevated dog bed. He had lots of bandages wrapped around his neck and shoulder, but wasn’t moving much. He whined louder as they walked into the room. Meg walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his head and nose.
“Luc, it’s okay. We’re safe and you’re all fixed up,” she said softly. She still didn’t know what he understood, but figured it didn’t matter.
“You scared the hell out of us Luc, but I still love you,” said Ginny as she patted his back away from the bandages.
Luc whined again and tried to move towards Meg. Meg looked at the doctor who nodded and she then moved up onto the bed. Luc wrapped around her as best he could with his hurt shoulder across her lap. He sighed. “Soft one safe. Now rest,” he thought and then with a shudder went back to sleep.
“Good,” said Jeff.
“How is this good? He just curled up and went to sleep on me. What am I suppose to do?” asked Meg.
“Well, I suggest that you curl up and sleep. Just don’t lay on his bandages. If you’re hungry, we can get you some food. Or, we can spot you if you need to go to the bathroom. However, if you tried to leave, he try and follow. I didn’t realize how new your mating was or how attached he was to you. I take it the wolf side of him chose you before he gave in?” asked Jeff.
“Yes,” said both women at the same time.
“Not surprised. Never thought he’d ever mate. Stubborn bastard,” said Jeff.
“You know him?” asked Meg.
“Went to school with him. We were always best of friends or worst of enemies. Depending on the day or the minute,” said Jeff with a smile.
Ginny nodded. Meg sat there wrapped in wolf taking all this information in and trying to make sense of it.
“Are you hungry?” asked Ginny.
“Yeah, it seems like breakfast was ages ago,” said Meg. “I take it your hospital food is better than regular hospitals?” she asked wondering what would be on the menu. Kibble? Peanut butter dog biscuits? Raw steak?
“It isn’t too bad. Meat for those that want it or can eat it, and we order out for families,” said Jeff, knowing what must be going through Meg’s head. He smiled.
“Oh, okay. I’d love a salad with chicken on it,” she said after a moments thought.
“Grass? You want grass with chicken?” teased Jeff.
“What?” asked Meg, knowing she was being teased, but not understanding the how of it.
“Canines eat grass when they’re sick. So eating salad is like eating grass to some of us,” he explained as he turned and walked out the door to order Meg some food.
Ginny nodded. Meg just rolled her eyes.
*