Darien shifted in his sleep. Memories flitted through his dream disturbing his rest.
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"Hey, Claire," greeted Darien entering the Keep. "I'm in for a fillup."
"Darien." She smiled at him broadly. "I have some very good news, " she said as she slid the needle into his vein releasing the counteragent into his system.
"Good news? Am I getting a vacation?"
"Better. I can remove the gland."
"What?" Darien stared at her open-mouthed searching for signs that this was a joke.
"Last month the labs made a new breakthrough in the analysis of the gland and a new possible solution for removal resulted. I received the final test results this morning. We can remove the gland."
"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" he yelled grabbing his keeper into a giant hug making her go "Eep." as all of the air was squished from her lungs.
"Darien! Darien, put me down," she laughed hitting him playfully over the head with a file as he picked her up and danced her around the room. "I mean it. There are some risks with the procedure and I need to know that you understand them before you agree to this."
"What kind of risks?" asked Darien immediately becoming serious. "It hasn't been 100% successful during test procedures. We've been able to remove the gland for a long time but your body has become dependent on it for survival. The procedure we have developed to break the dependence only has a 75% total success rate. There is a 95% partial success rate but it is still a risk."
"Would you agree if it was your choice?" he asked watching her intently.
"Yes," she answered with no hesitation.
"Then when can we do it?" he asked with a grin.
"Well, we have some tests to run on you but I don't see why you can't be glandless by the end of the week."
"Great! Thanks, Claire!" He kissed her quickly on the cheek. Suddenly his face lit up. "Oh! I've got to go tell Hobbes!" With that he raced out of the Keep. It was the happiest day of his life.
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