Strange Love

A tall man with pointed ears, a clean white polo, and pressed dress pants stood there. The tanned skin of his cheeks was tinted with a faint blush and his hand was fisted against his mouth. He cleared his throat. "I do hope I'm not interrupting your, um, sleep." He said. "I am Doctor Laringo. I was told the young lady needed my attention."

Arei nodded as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Yes, please come in. He smiled as the doctor looked away when he moved to get out of bed. "Fear not doc, I have pants on." A chuckle from the door got his attention.

Ry ushered the doctor through the door as he followed with a tray in hand. "How'd everything go last night? Did you enjoy your wild night in bed with two beautiful women?" He waggled his brows as the doctor shot his eyes to Ry then back to Arei and the bed, his blush darkening.

Arei laughed and rolled his eyes. Before he could say anything else the bathroom door pushed open and Shelly immerged. Even with all the fur, the poor wolf looked green around the gills. "Morning sickness again?" He asked taking her in. When she nodded, he turned back to the doctor. "Is there anything you can do for a pregnant wolf with morning sickness?"

The doctor's eyes widened farther. His gaze dropped to the wolf then to Arei then back to the bed. "I... um..."

Arei chuckled, "The child isn't mine. Aside from actual sleep there is nothing else going on in this room. I swear it." Arei followed the doctor's skeptical gaze to one of the posts of the large bed where a pair of leather cuffs hung. Arei through his hands up. "Those don't belong to me, they're hers."

The doctor cleared his throat again. "Whatever is or is not going on in this house, matters little to me. However, I do advise against... involvement... with individuals with such need for recovery."

Ry laughed as he listened to Arei and the doctor bicker back and forth. He set out a clean bowl for Shelly and poured the contents of a teacup into the bowl. "Here, an herbal tea my brother Tri used to make for his wife when she was pregnant." A bittersweet smile spread across his lips at the memories. He straightened and handed a mug of coffee over to Arei. He took a seat and waited for Arei to join. "I spoke to the council this morning. They want Jos there no later than next week. As of right now they are calling it a hearing. They simply want her side of the story. Isha left early this morning to finish up her end of things. She allowed Raven to stay behind under the agreement she accompanies you, Jos, and Shelly to Athens. You will all be staying at the Embassy as guests of the council."

"That's concerning." Arei replied, watching the dark liquid as he swirled his coffee in its cup.

Arei chuckled, "Ah, give ol' Fern a pet for me." He met Shelly's curious eyes. "Your uncle, Fernando, has proven to be a bit of a pain in the ass over the years." He nodded toward Ry, "We were sent out... what would you say 50 years ago? He tried to protest your father's coronation. He was put in his place rather quickly however and we didn't have to interfere." His words trailed off as his gaze moved over to the bed.

Ry whispered down to Shelly. "Your parents' palace isn't far from the cave Jos had lived in. He'd stopped by to see her before we left the island, but she hadn't been there. We'd found out later that the council had demanded she leave the island until our return. They didn't want a repeat of our last encounter with her... his last encounter with her, I guess."

Shelly nodded her muzzle falling into a frown as her eyes focused on Arei's face. He was now watching the doctor carefully, as if the man was handling something precious and irreplaceable. Her head turned to the bed as Jos let out a low moan.

Arei shot to his feet, his nearly full mug of coffee forgotten on the small side table. "What is it, Doc?" He asked, concern heavy in his voice.

The doctor frowned as he continued working his hands around her lower abdominal. There seems to be one bullet still lodged here. This is probably the cause of her continued comatose state. The shift was only able to repair the organ around the bullet, not force the bullet completely out." He frowned. "The operation will have to be done right away if there is any chance of saving her reproductive organs." The doctor moved his full attention to Arei. "You will have to move her to the other room where we have set up a makeshift surgical room."

Arei's brows furrowed, "Wait, what exactly are you saying?" He collapsed onto the bed beside Jos.

The doctor let out a heavy sigh. "I am saying if we do not remove the damaged organ and determine whether it has caused any secondary conditions such as infection, then she could lose more than a single ovary." The doctor stood and nodded to Arei and Ry in turn then moved toward the door. "She will not wake until the bullet and ovary is removed, and if it is not removed, infection and other complications will ensue." He pulled off his exam gloves with a pop. "So, as I said, if you'll move her to the surgical room..." He arched a brow to emphasize his point. "Then I will get to work immediately." With that he turned from the room, shutting the door behind him.

Arei's attention was focused on Jos. It wasn't until a damp nose brushed his bare arm that he realized Shelly had come over to sit by his side. "I... I didn't think of the possibility one of the bullets could have been left inside. I didn't even think to check for exit wounds."

Ry clasped his shoulder. "You did what had to be done. You saved her life. If you had taken the time to track each of the many bullet holes, she may have bled out there on the beach. If one lost ovary is the worst that comes from this, then so be it." He nodded down to Jos's sleeping form. "And I'd say she'd agree, especially since there's a good possibility the curse left her sterile."

Arei jerked back in disbelief. "Sterile?!"

Ry shrugged. "It was a theory Isha came across a few nights back."

Arei furrowed his brows in irritation. "How does one just stumble across such things?"

Ry glanced around the room uncomfortably before finally landing on Arei. "Do I really have to spell it out for you?" He pointed to the cuffs around the post of the bed. "As... active... as she and the boy have been, Raven had made a comment about how surprising it was that Jos wasn't the one throwing up instead of Shelly. Isha had simply brought up the point that many cursed creatures where sterile... or at least believed to be..."

Arei frowned, bringing his attention back to Jos. He ran his finger across her brow brushing away her unruly hair there. "If that's true, her future with the kid is even more fucked than we'd first thought." Another thought crossed his mind. "Do you think she suspects as much?"

Ry shrugged. "Hard to tell. You and I would be the last people she'd want to talk to about sex."

"It will devastate her, if it's true..." He said as he carefully slid one arm under her neck and then another under the bend of her legs. He lifted her and headed toward the door. "Lead the way." He said to Ry.

***

"You can't stay in here, Sir. You'll all have to leave." The doctor said with some irritation as Arei stood rigidly beside Jos, holding her limp but warm hand in his.

Ry clasped Arei on the shoulder, "Come on man, there's nothing else we can do here." He turned toward the doctor as he prepped some tools. "Text one of our phones or come find us when you're finished with her. We'll be upstairs in the office, most likely." Ry kept his hand on his brother's shoulder as they left the room, releasing him once they were outside the doors. "I have something you may be interested in seeing." He nodded toward the stairs leading to the second floor. He glanced down at the wolf who was staring at the door in worry. "Why don't you join us. It would have to be better than standing here worrying for the next however long this will take."

Shelly gave the door one last worried glance before nodding and following the mammoth twins up the stairs and into the office. She climbed into the chair Arei held out for her and watched as he took the one beside her. "What's up?" He asked as he crossed his leg over his knee and rested his arm over the back of Shelly's chair.

"This was recovered from DeMarco's computer, well technically it was recovered from his email account... but anyways... Look familiar?" He turned the screen of the desktop computer around to face Arei and Shelly. The wolf's eyes widened instantly, but Arei didn't seem too phased.

"It's just a screen shot from an internet search engine. The internet isn't known for particularly accurate information. Besides, what would it matter if he had suspected her of... what being the person in both these pictures and the dates being correct?" He gestured to the screen that showed two sets of pictures of Jos with Rin and his parent's with Shelly and Russ's parent's. In one picture Russ's parents looked rather young and newlywed. The picture was dated for the 1960's but the outfits wouldn't date it as so. Everyone wore either traditional ball gowns or traditional India formal wear. The other picture was dated for 2002 and the clothing was much the same with the addition of two tiny bundles. And there was the only problem of each picture... Joslyn... In both pictures she appeared as a child of no more than 10 to 12 years old. The same form she had been in when he and Ry had first met her. In the second picture, she was holding the blue bundle and Rin was holding the pink. The twin's parents were standing side by side with Rin's behind the chairs Rin an Jos occupied. Only on close inspection of the Boosilis's could you tell over 50 years had passed. "There's no way this alone would have been enough to raise suspicion. I promise you, he had no clue in Florida that she was anything more than a human girl."

Ry shrugged, "You're probably right, but the vampire clan could still use it against her. They could say she killed them all because DeMarco had found out and threatened her or something." His gaze shifted to Shelly. "I hate to ask this of you, but if it comes down to it, we have to know you'll do what's right. Will you testify on behalf of Jos? Will you tell your side of the story...? Will you relive the horrors inflicted on you by Dante DeMarco?"

Tears streamed down the wolf's furry face as she nodded her head yes. Arei stroked a large hand down her head and back. "I promise, we'll not ask it of you unless it's absolutely necessary." He patted her back as she nodded again. Arei met Ry's troubled eyes. "I feel like there's still something else you're wanting to say..." Arei asked.

Ry ran his hand through his short hair. "The council want's Russ there as well..."

"And?" Arei asked. "I figured as much, especially with him claiming the throne."

Ry let out a heavy sigh. "I don't think it's a good idea is all..." He flopped back in the office chair. "The kid's too unpredictable and too driven by emotions. One slip up and everything we've worked for so far could be fucked ."