Wolfblood
Trouble in Paradise 4
For some reason, I felt like trying to continue this from where I left off. If this does well, I may make it a series. If you want me to do that, then remember to review. I'm looking for this to break ten reviews before I try to go any further than this though.
For the ninety-eighth day in a row, Maddy and Rhydian were woken by the sound of two screaming babies.
"Welcome to parenthood." Rhydian muttered.
"Go back to sleep. I've got this sorted." Maddy growled as she hauled herself from the warm sanctuary of her bed with superhuman effort.
"No, I'm up now." Rhydian's joints audibly protested as he too got to his feet. "I've got Connor, you take Kira." The 'happy' couple trudged into the nursery and unlatched the sides of the cots. They sat down on the chairs next to the beds of their crying children and scooped them into their arms. Instantly, they knew something was amiss.
"Is it me, or does Kira feel hot to you?" Maddy asked, holding Kira across to Rhydian could check her temperature.
"Connor's the same." Rhydian muttered. "Get dressed and I'll try to keep them cool. As soon as we're both dressed, we'll take them to A&E." Maddy nodded and raced into their bedroom. Rhydian grabbed two gel packs from the mini fridge they'd put in the corner for just such an event. The babies were shivering, so were typically doing everything in their power to keep the gel packs off their heads. Maddy ran back in and took over while Rhydian hurriedly threw on the first things he could find and grabbed his car keys off the key rack. By this time, Maddy was already out and waiting by the car. Rhydian threw her his phone as he ran to the driver's door.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Maddy asked.
"Call your parents and tell them what's happened." Rhydian strapped in and started the engine as Maddy got in beside him.
"They'll be asleep for god's sake!" Even with their children's lives at stake, being woken up this early clearly wasn't having the best effect on Maddy.
"You can leave a message." Rhydian said calmly. Maddy didn't understand how he could be so level-headed. This was their children's lives they were talking about! Rhydian pulled out the driveway and drove as fast as he dared to go over the limit. They made it to A&E having set only two speed cameras off and jumped one level crossing. By some god-given miracle, there was barely anyone in the queue for the reception desk, and those that were let them straight through when they saw it was a problem involving babies.
"What name is it under?" the receptionist asked as soon as she saw them.
"We're the Morris family." Rhydian told her. The receptionist typed this in and then paused for a second.
"I'm sorry, but no medical history is coming up for any of you."
"We're normally under private doctors." Maddy said.
"Okay, what branch name are they under?" the receptionist asked.
"We're registered with the Segolia Corporation." Rhydian replied. At this, a smile spread across the receptionist's face.
"If you just go through the door to your left, take the first corridor on the right and go into the room at the very end, a doctor is already waiting." Maddy and Rhydian thanked her and headed in the direction she indicated. When they reached the room, they were met at the door by the doctor.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Morris. It's been far too long." Doctor Whitewood said.
Line Break!
It was a good few hours later when Doctor Whitewood emerged to where Maddy and Rhydian lay slumped against each other on the line of chairs. One of the Segolia nurses had gone sick, so she'd been asked to fill in for her. At the sound of her shoes on the floor, Rhydian drifted back to reality.
"Your children are okay." Doctor Whitewood assured him before he'd even opened his mouth. At this, Maddy jolted awake and looked around for a second before realising where she was and what she and Rhydian were doing there.
"What was wrong with them?" Rhydian asked.
"They were both running a high fever." Doctor Whitewood said. "I think it's the early stage of a virus because it just would not break no matter what I did. From the blood work I did, I estimate that Connor was the first to become infected and then Kira caught it from him. You two will probably be carrying it at well, so I recommend you nuke yourselves with Vitamin C and I'll give you some baby-friendly antibiotics that you're going to have a hell of a job trying to get them to take and that they will make your lives a living hell over."
At that moment, Emma and Dan burst into the room.
"What's going on?" Emma asked. "We've only just got Maddy's message."
"They should be fine." Rhydian told them, watching as their expressions melted into relief.
"Can we see them?" Maddy asked.
"I would give them another twenty minutes or so under observation just to make sure they stay stable." Doctor Whitewood said. "Also, don't cuddle or even hold them more than you need to. Excess body heat might push their temperatures up again."
"Thank you for everything." Emma shook Doctor Whitewood's hand before easing herself down next to Maddy and Rhydian. Dan stayed standing, preferring to keep his legs moving to stop his circulation problems from getting worse.
"God, we are so lucky." Rhydian muttered as Maddy leaned her head against his shoulder again.
"I know you are, pet." Emma said. "That could have become so much worse in such a short space of time."
"Just out of curiosity, is there anything we should know at this stage?" Maddy asked.
"Not really. Their wolf doesn't usually show until six months." Emma replied. "You'll know when that happens because they'll be really sensitive to light. I know females get it the worst. I remember how you were with it."
"How do we help them through it?" Rhydian asked.
"We blindfolded Maddy in the end." Dan said. "I used to joke that the only thing missing was a piñata." Rhydian had to laugh at that.
"So all we have to do is blindfold them and be careful their eyes don't turn yellow in public." Rhydian summarised.
"No, the eyes glow blue when they first come through." Emma told him. "It's just like a baby wolf. The thing you have to watch out for is people seeing the actual transition in their eyes if they're usually a different colour. The veins are also a bit of an issue. You'll have to keep the blankets up to their necks in public to stop people seeing their veins turn black."
"So what time do their eyes usually turn yellow?" Maddy asked.
"It's usually not until they're about ten that they get the yellow eyes." Emma said. "Boys can get it earlier, but it's quite rare; and for girls it sometimes comes later. I know your eyes didn't change until you were about twelve." Emma said to Maddy.
"So is the change in them a gradual thing or is it immediate?" Rhydian asked.
"Usually it's immediate." Dan said. "One day your wolf turns your eyes blue, and the next day your eyes shine golden. It's actually really risky, because if you lose your temper and the wolf comes forward when you don't know if the change has happened or not, that could be the secret out."
"So that's why they stand in front of the bathroom mirror every morning and call the wolf forward to check." Maddy knew that from when her parents had made her do it. It'd been the morning ritual from her tenth birthday right up until one month before she turned twelve.
"I didn't even know my eyes changed until just before my first transformation." Rhydian said. "Then I lost my temper, saw the black veins and then left it a couple of days before deciding to bring the wolf as far forward as I could in front of the mirror to see what happened. I nearly got caught as well. One of the foster parents walked in at just the wrong moment. I had to pull my shirt up over my face and pretend I was just about to get into the shower." Maddy sucked in a breath. Rhydian's life really must have been hell. Many times had she tried and failed to know how he must have felt for all those years, but little insights like this slammed home the revelation that she would never truly know how he felt. It must have been hell on earth for him.
Line Break!
Rhydian and Maddy were taking a walk in the rear hospital garden, enjoying the sunshine and each others company while knowing that their children were in good hands. Their hands were tightly intertwined as they walked, with Maddy leaning against Rhydian as she let the moment carry her away. They sat down on a bench at the back that stared straight into a clearing in the woods. They chatted idly for a while as Rhydian placed a hand on Maddy's back. He rubbed small circles between her shoulder blades just as he knew she liked.
"Thank you, by the way." Maddy said after a while.
"What are you thanking me for?" Rhydian asked.
"For staying so level headed." Maddy replied. "When things were at the worst, you were at your best. You didn't panic; you just got on with it. You were amazing."
"We're parents now, Maddy." Rhydian said. "If we panic, the kids are going to panic. That just makes things worse. They pick up the signals we give off. That's how they start to learn."
"You're right." Maddy rested her head on Rhydian again. "But still, I don't know what I'd have done without y-." Maddy's response was cut short by movement in the clearing some distance away. Rhydian saw it too, and instantly their eyes began to burn yellow. The figure spotted them too and broke into an unsteady run towards them. As he came closer, Rhydian's expression softened. Maddy's face remained the same though. The last time she'd seen this man, he'd tried to kill her. To her surprise though, Rhydian left her side and jumped the back fence of the hospital. She followed uneasily, but was taken aback as the man met Rhydian at the edge of the fence and wrapped him into a hug.
"Did you miss me, boy?" the man asked, still able to tower over both Rhydian and Maddy.
"How have you been, Alric?" Rhydian replied.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Maddy snapped, memories of that time clearly still flashing through her mind. Alric turned awkwardly to her, clearly knowing better than to try and hug her too.
"I've changed now, Maddy." Alric said. "I've still got a long list of people to make amends with even now. I always swore I would come back and apologise before it was too late, but I worry that too much time passed too quickly." As he said this, Maddy looked at the crooked way he was standing. He'd obviously been in a fight. Just then, Rhydian noticed it too.
"Are you alright?" Rhydian asked.
"Of course I am." Alric replied briskly. Maddy just shook her head before pointing.
"Your leg…" Alric took a fleeting glance at his left leg, before meeting her gaze with an unconvincing smile.
"I'm tired, young Wolfblood. That's all that's wrong with me."
"If you're sick or injured, there are people here who can make you better." Rhydian told him. "This is a hospital. They have doctors here who work like pack healers, just with very different methods."
"There are some things no amount of healing can overcome." Alric said. "I'm old, Rhydian. It's been that way for a very long time. Everyone has their time on this earth, and mine is almost over."
"Don't say that!" Maddy shrieked, tears falling from her eyes. She may not have trusted Alric from the last time they met, but she wouldn't wish death on anyone. "Just come into the hospital with us and have them look at you. They'll heal you and you'll be fine."
"In truth Maddy, I've already been to a hospital." Alric said. "I came to see Jana just one last time and she dragged me to one where I could see a Wolfblood from that 'Segolia' place. I've consulted healers from any pack that would let me stay for long enough to be looked at, and both the tame and the wild Wolfbloods all say the same. I'm dying and there's nothing anyone can do."
"Isn't there anything we can do to help you in any way?" Rhydian asked.
"You can remember me." Alric told him. Maddy suddenly burst into tears. She'd spent all her life hating him for trying to kill her and using Jana to take Rhydian away, and now here he was asking for forgiveness and in the worst state possible. It was too much for her to take in. Rhydian wrapped his arms around her. She relaxed into him as his warmth spread through her. When she looked up again, Alric was gone. In his place were a set of wolf tracks, leading back into the woods. Maddy and Rhydian vaulted the fence again. They held each other close, once again feeling secure in each other's arms.
"Maddy, Rhydian; Doctor Whitewood needs to talk to you." Emma called.
Line Break!
Over the next few days and weeks, Connor and Kira continued to improve. But the weight of Alric's revelation never left Maddy. Eventually, Rhydian couldn't stand her feeling so depressed any longer. He couldn't stand the sight of his wife getting depressed over something that, while obscenely sad, was totally beyond the control of either of them. After the third week, he eventually picked up the phone.
"Hi Rhydian, pet; How are you doing?"
"Hi Emma, I was wondering if you could have Connor and Kira over tomorrow night?"
"Of course, love. Is everything okay? We haven't heard from you for weeks."
"Yeah, Maddy was just hit a bit hard by what happened with the twins." Rhydian lied. He didn't want Emma worrying about the issue with Alric too. "I'm thinking of surprising her tomorrow; so if I could leave the terrors with you and Dan, and then setting everything up, that would be excellent."
"Is there any particular time you wanted to drop them off?" Emma asked.
"She usually goes out to take photos for her portfolio at around twelve and gets back at six; so if I could drop them to you at twelve-thirty, that gives me five and a half hours to set everything up."
"Twelve-thirty it is then." Emma said. "I'll be waiting at home for them, and Dan's probably going to be in his workshop."
"I'll see you at twelve-thirty." Rhydian confirmed. The two said their goodbyes, and then hung up. As soon as Rhydian had put the phone down, the doorbell rang. Grouching about 'never a moment alone', Rhydian rushed to the door. As soon as he opened it, he was greeted by a double hug from Shannon and Tom. As they wrapped him in their arms, the imbalance of weight caused Rhydian to fall backwards. Shannon and Tom were dragged with him and as he hit the floor, Shannon's head crashed into his ribcage. As they untangled, Rhydian tried to get to his feet; only to slide sideways as his brain registered the fact that his lungs didn't have any oxygen in them.
"Are you okay, mate?" Tom asked as he picked himself up before reaching for Shannon's hand.
"How many times have I told the pair of you not to do that when we're in the doorway?" Rhydian growled.
"Sorry Rhydian." Shannon picked herself up with more caution than Rhydian had ever seen her use.
"Is it okay?" Tom asked.
"I'm more worried about the freaked out husband." Shannon kissed Tom's cheek and smoothed down the back of his jacket.
"Is everything okay?" Rhydian asked. "I'm clearly not singing from the same hymn sheet you two are."
"Do you want to tell him?" Tom asked.
"Do you remember how jealous we were when Maddy told us she was pregnant?" Shannon turned to Rhydian.
"How could I forget?" Rhydian asked. "You'd been trying for god only knows how…" Tom and Shannon watched Rhydian's expression shift as the penny dropped. "Oh my god, that's great!" As the three embraced in celebration of the good news, the sound of crying drifted from the lounge. "As if on cue, here's your chance to get some experience." Rhydian said, leading them in to the living room, where Connor was crying and trying to shield his face.
"Do you think Kira hit him with something?" Tom asked as he picked up Connor and sat him between himself and Shannon.
"Does this sort of cry usually mean anything for him?" Shannon asked.
"It usually means he's in pain of some kind." Rhydian said. Is there a mark on his face at all?" Shannon checked Connor's face but found nothing. Tom noticed something important though.
"His Wolfblood veins are showing!" Tom said suddenly. Rhydian raced over and had a look. Sure enough, the normally emerald green eyes shared by his children glowed ice blue. Quickly, he checked Kira over. Her eyes were normal. There was no sign that her wolf was coming through.
"Okay then; Shannon, can you run into mine and Maddy's room and get the blue strip of cloth that's on the mirror please?" Shannon returned with the baby blue strip of cloth and handed it to Rhydian, who tied it around Connor's eyes.
"So, what was wrong?" Tom asked as Connor proceeded to calm down instantly.
"Emma warned me about this." Rhydian said. "Connor's wolf came through, so he's become photosensitive because he's not used to the enhancements to his sight. That said, I thought you did really well. If you can find what's wrong with a Wolfblood baby, a human would be no problem. Just then, they all heard the door open. Rhydian turned to see Maddy walking in.
"Is everything okay?" Rhydian asked. "You're not usually back until six."
"I forgot my lunch." Maddy replied. Then she turned to Tom and Shannon. "It's nice to see you two visiting. Couldn't you wait until I got back, or is this urgent?"
"To be honest Maddy, this is pretty big." Tom said.
"I'm pregnant." Shannon blurted. There was a pause as Maddy visibly absorbed this sudden two-word burst of knowledge. Suddenly, she'd crossed the room and wrapped Shannon in a hug.
"How long has it been?" Maddy asked.
"I'm about two weeks in." Shannon said as Maddy drew back. Both of them had their eyes swimming with tears.
"If you want, I've got a ton of books on child birth and pregnancy you can borrow." Maddy said. "My mum got them for me shortly after I told her I was pregnant."
"If you had a word with Dan, I'm sure he'd put a cot together for you." Rhydian added. "If he charges you at all for it, I know it'll be much cheaper than any you could get and it would last twice as long too."
"We'll do that." Shannon nodded. "The bit I'm not looking forward to is actually giving birth."
"I've been there." Maddy reminded her. "If you want to talk about nine months down the line, I'm either here or on the moors taking pictures. And after hearing this, I don't think I'll be going back to the moors today."
"Does anyone want a drink?" Rhydian asked. "Tom, you can come and give me a hand. You'll need the practise for when she's less able to move. I took two weeks off work to wait on Maddy hand and foot." Tom started griping as he got up and trudged after Rhydian. Maddy unclipped the straps from her camera and flicked him on the back of his upper thigh.
"Run boy, run!" Maddy flicked him again, causing him to beat a hasty retreat into the kitchen. Shannon was holding her stomach and rolling around on her back, unable to stop laughing.
"You're insane." Shannon giggled as Maddy sat next to her while re-clipping the strap to her camera.
"I'll get you one of these for Christmas." Maddy said, setting her camera on the table.
Line Break!
Just as planned, Maddy came home at six o'clock on the dot the next day. As she walked through the door, she recoiled at the unexpected yet delicious aroma of roast lamb coming from the kitchen. She crept in to find Rhydian just serving it up as she got through the door. He'd clearly put a lot of work into timing this just right.
"Do you want gravy?" he asked, looking up as though he hadn't realised she was home.
"Did you do all this?" Maddy asked.
"The kids are with your mum and dad, so we have the whole place and all night to ourselves; the rose petals on the table are from your favourite kind of rose and the lamb is done just how you like it." Rhydian rattled off. Maddy could feel the heat rising in her face. She shouldn't have been surprised, but he'd really concentrated on her and her favourite things.
"I love you, Rhydian." Maddy said. "Thank you so much for this."
"I love you too." Rhydian said. "You've done so much for me since we first met, and I realised that in just over twenty years now, I've not done anything I feel makes up for all the help and all the opportunities you've given me in my life just by being here. Sometimes you say that you feel like I'm always running around catering to you, but you deserve it just for putting up with me all this time." Maddy walked over and threw her arms around him.
"This is one of the best surprises you've ever given me!" she said happily.
"Maddy, other than when I proposed, it's one of the only surprises I've ever given you. I really should have done something before now, but there really weren't that many idyllic picnic spots in Canada." The two Wolfbloods sat down and tucked in, their legs locked together under the table. If she liked the food and the rose petals that much, he couldn't wait to see what she thought of the rose petals he'd scattered on the duvet when they went to bed.
Line Break!
"So do we have a deal then?" the caller asked.
"You break me out of this damn Segolia prison, I'll be more than happy to replicate my research and give you all of it you want."
"So I take it we have a deal then?" There was a pause while the person on the other end of the phone considered.
"There are two other things I want!" he added quickly. "Getting out of here is no good if there's any record of where I've been. I want anything criminal erased and a seamless yet memorable cover story patched over it. Also, I want money. I want enough to start a new life in a big house that's built from scratch to my exact specifications. I want no record left of this detainment at all. If you can promise me those two things, I'll not just reconstruct the research; I'll do your job for you and wipe out those filthy beasts myself."
"Whatever you want, you can have it." The caller wrote down the changes on a spiral bound notebook. "Is there anything else you wish to add to the deal before we finalise?"
"The only other thing is that I want my PhDs reinstated." That sounded fair, so the caller noted that down as well.
"The prison you're in will be hearing from my people soon, and we'll be getting you out with a bang." The caller calmly regarded the bomb sitting on the table in front of him. "It will be a pleasure working with you in the near future, Mister Kincaid." The caller hung up and put the phone down before turning to the page of calculations on his desk. There was a lot to be done over the next few years, if they were going to humanise every Wolfblood walking the earth. The flies slept peacefully now, but soon they would wake up and see the trap the spiders had spun for them. All the caller knew was that when they did, there would be serious trouble in paradise.
End!