Chapter 2

Damn it Chuck! Can't you at least miss some of the bumps?. Clunk - Ow! my head. "We'll get there soon." I hope so because my stomach's starting to churn again. The trip in seems to take forever but it doesn't take more than ten minutes and with how I'm feeling right now, I'm glad Callie made the appointment yesterday.

As he parks, I lean out the door and puke before saying "Hopefully, they'll be able to figure out what's wrong" in a tired voice. I hate being sick and not knowing just makes it worse.

With Chucks help, I soon stagger into Sloan's office where sitting down hard, I tell him " I've been sick to my stomach and puking and I'm getting scared." "I can certainly understand and we're going to run a few tests to narrow things down" says the Doc before asking "Who's this with you?" Chuck drove me in and is going to stick with me. Callie assigned him as my keeper today and I'm glad he's here. Like all marines, he's got a strong back and weak mind but he's loyal and can follow orders. Chuck interjects, "Tease all you want Tom but I'm not going to leave you after what Callie said to me". What? You're scared of a woman now? "Damn right I am. She fights damn dirty and I'm not going to give up her cooking for anything as it's better than mine." Laughing as he looks at us, "I can tell you're in good hands Tom so let's get down to the lab for the blood work." Getting a hand up and a shoulder to lean on, I say "Let's get out of here Chuck. I hear there's a vampire infestation and I'm not up to dealing with it today."

"I hate needles" I say. Every time I see a doc, they always want blood. Why can't they take some sweat instead? "Oh I'll be getting plenty of sweat from you later, when we get to the other tests" says the med tech. What? Oh hell. Chuck, it looks like you're going to be carrying me home tonight. The docs are gonna run me ragged and I didn't bring any garlic or silver.

"Funny - not." Don't worry, I'll be able to handle your little weight if I have to carry you. Thankfully the tech didn't laugh as he attempted to draw blood. "I'm having problems getting anything from you. Either the vein is collapsing or something else is going on" says the med tech.

Doc Sloan soon returned and the tech tells him "I couldn't get any samples from him for some reason. You're going to have to try." Are you going to try Voodoo next or play Witch Doctor? Laughing, Sloan answers "Nope, it's time to get medieval on you and break out the Rack and Leeches." Taking a fresh syringe, he hands me a ball and says "Squeeze this hard" before hitting the vein. Three vials later, I'm done and we head to another lab for further tests. "What we're going to check is your heart and breathing. It's possible the problem is from one of the two." Then why the blood work I ask. "There are several illnesses without a fever that can make you faint." Okay that I can understand. So how does this test work? "It's a treadmill and you'll be wearing a mask that's calibrated. This way we know how well you breathe while on the treadmill."

The nurse hands me a pair of shorts and tells me to change before drawing the curtain. Having little modesty anymore, I simply strip down to my underwear and change in front of the nurse and Chuck. Doc Sloan asks "Where'd you get those scars on your back Tom?" Which one? I ask before explaining; They're from many places. The oldest are from falling out of a tree when little. Others are from accidents and injuries while in the service. The recent scratches are from Callie last week. She did a good job while having lots of fun. Hell I didn't even feel em when she did it. "We sure heard both of you though" says Chuck laughingly.

The test starts with the treadmill level and after a while, it speeds up again and again. I'm surprised that my breathing is so easy even with the mask on. Then it starts to tilt, like climbing a hill, yet I'm having an easy time of it. The test ends after 20 minutes and both the Tech and Sloan are surprised. "Did you have any trouble breathing Tom" Sloan asks. I'm surprised that I didn't. Something is real screwy here and I want to know what. "Did you ever find evidence of the Plague" I ask them only to get "No" in response.

Finishing up with all the testing, Sloan promises to have the results as quickly as possible but he hasn't found anything as yet "Go Home" he says, "I'll call you with the results."

Getting back home we walked into a wall of noise. Beating Drums, Screeching Violins, Whaling Whistles and such. It was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think. Quiet!! Sudden Silence as most of the noise stops. "Follow Chuck into the Salle and set everything to one side," I tell them. "Chuck, run em through the First Kata a couple of times and have those better at it help the others." I'll be in shortly and we'll all do some meditation" before I growl "then you can make noise."Dawnslight comes out of her classroom and with a sigh and hug, whispers "Thanks".

All the children are soon in the Salle where Chuck and Shawn lead them through the first Kata. Stepping in, I see a pleasant sight, almost all of the children are successfully completing it and several adults have joined in. One pup catches my eye as he's having difficulty with the Kata. Walking over, I have him go through the problem section again, this time watching him closely to see why. "Okay Danny, stop here and let me check something" - putting my hands on his right leg I have him move slowly so I can feel what's wrong - "your leg isn't strong enough yet" - "I been do'en the cises you showed me, honest Alpha" he says in a petulant voice. We'll have Bobby work with you on getting that leg stronger and you better not give him any lip pup, or I'll work with you like I did Shawn.

Danny looks at me in shock before saying "yes!". Yes what pup? "Work whiff me like ya did Shawn and play whiff my like ya do Bobby." How do I play with Bobby? His whispered answer "Shower and play whif my tailhole" surprises me into silence for a bit. "You will have to earn the privilege then and it wont be so easy. First we need to fix that leg" calling out to Cindy "C'mere Cindy, we've got some healing to do" and as she comes over, I sit on the mat before pulling him into my lap, then saying "We need to fix his weak leg."

We both look at his legs with mage sight and seeing a difference we discuss what we need to do. Pointing at a spot, I show her a tangled mess of knots, asking "does this look like the problem to you or is it one of them?" It's certainly a problem and we'll need to fix this first before anything else gets done. Saying " you lead dear since you're the better healer."

"Then let's get started untangling that mess of knots Alpha." It looks like pulling this red one will start untangling things Cindy. "No! Don't pull that one." Why not? "It'll make things worse. Look closely at where it goes."

Shit! Good catch Cindy. I'll help but you're going to have to guide me as I'm almost blind at this level. "Okay - we start with the black one under everything - that should start to unravel the mess but I'm going to need your strength. Can you keep the rest of them from moving while I slide it out?" That I can do easily. Do you need me to lift the tangle at all?

A muttered "maybe" is all I hear as she starts teasing the first of the tangle out. I'm not feeling any strain yet when suddenly "Shit, shit, shit! Hold that bunch tight. I've almost got it free".

I can't see what she's doing but I know she's working as she's leaning on my strength enough I've had to tap the reservoir to keep us standing. "Yess" she hisses. "It's free."

Looking at the mess, it seems to pulse with a feeling of evil. It now has a malignant feel to it and is beyond what Cindy can handle. "It's no longer a healing matter - it's become a battle" I say before calling "Checkov, Spock - now!" As they come over, I look closely at the mass and begin planning how to attack it, telling Cindy "you stay put, I may need your help". Danny starts to get scared as everyone else realizes this is serious as I've got my war face on. Chuck suggests "Why not use one of the mage classrooms" to which "That's a damn good idea Chuck" and suiting action to words, I stand with Danny in my arms and lead the others to the closest classroom.

Bobby thinks, quite rightly, that Callie needs to be told, so off he goes.

Entering the shielded room, the mess we're trying to fix pulses angrily and I can feel the evil radiate from it. This will not be my first fight against evil, thus I'm prepared for almost anything to happen.

Shielding the center of the room to protect our observer, I say " I'm going to cut the entire mess out at one shot while both of you hold bypass threads around it. This way, there should be no break causing damage."

"Cindy -stay outside the shield here. I don't expect any trouble but better safe than sorry." Sitting on the floor again, I gather Danny back into my lap and begin to focus on his leg. Damn!We're going to have to work fast as it's already fighting us. Grabbing power, I begin to focus on the malignancy while they connect the bypass threads - soon all is ready and I make a single strike to excise whatever it is. A soundless screech of rage is heard by all of us before Spock collapses.

Although my strike was precise and I no longer detect any evil, I'm slow to drop the shield around us as Cindy hurries to check on Spock.

Danny, do you really want me to teach you like I did Shawn? "Pwease! I wanna be strong wike him." You know he worked real hard? "Yes." Starting tomorrow before breakfast, you will meet both Shawn and me in the Salle - if you're not there, you will have to wait until your birthday to ask again. "Yea!" Remember, if you aren't there, I wont teach you like I did Shawn and you'll have to wait before asking me again. "Yes sir! I be there!" Now scram and go play.

Is she hurt Cindy? "No but I'm not sure what's wrong with her. You take a look and see." Hmmh. That's not right. Checkov what do you see? "I'm not sure but it's not good" Spock suddenly wakes and on seeing Cindy growls at her. "You can't have him, he's mine" she says. Who is yours Spock? "Daddy! I'm burning up. Take me, make me your bitch. I want no one else."

What do you mean? "I've never wanted anyone else dad. I've been waiting for you to recognize that I'm grown up but I'm done waiting and I want you now."

"It's her heat Alpha" says Checkov before taking Cindy's hand and telling me, "take care of her and I'll tell the others to leave you two alone."

As they leave, Spock stands and I suddenly smell her arousal and my body begins to react. Wanton and needy, she slinks towards me, demanding the attention of any male who sees her.

Rising, I hold my arms open, inviting her presence within.

Where did the scrap of fluff I found go I ask in silent wonder

She is certainly not the little pup I raised, she's now all female and wants only one thing.

Thank You Gaya. I've needed all of the gift you gave me tonight. She was insatiable and I ended up transforming for her. She is now mine not only as Tom but as the Alpha. All I wonder is what the pups will look like.

You will keep this secret from everyone else. Eventually, I will surprise the others with it but until then, it remains between us and No! we don't have to explain how you got pregnant to anyone other than as a Gift from Gaya.

Walking into the dining hall, there are numerous ribald comments and cat whistles directed at both of us. Ignoring them, I take my usual seat while those on serving duty bring my meal and first cuppa tea. "Alright everyone, settle down" I say. "I've already thanked Gaya for her gifts because I needed all of it last night", which causes Spock to blush. "The bond that I share with her has been strengthened beyond anything I'd ever thought to experience and she's let me know in no uncertain way that none of you are worth her time - so don't even try.

"Danny - Shawn told me that you were there this morning and I'm sorry I wasn't but I will be there tomorrow" I say as Callie comes out to sit with me saying "the helpers can handle clean up for now".