Chapter 16

  Kennedy had never let their link drop after she’d run off behind Director Swan. Cait did her damndest to quietly support her during what was clearly an intensely private conversation, while at the same time not paying attention. The juggling act wasn’t easy, and eventually Cait just propped up what she could in Kennedy's mind and did her best to check out of the link entirely. It seemed like Kennedy’s mom was handling things anyway.

  Given the hour and recent exertion, everyone else had returned to the Palace for some well earned rest. Cait, though, figured there was something better she could do with her time, since sleep was unnecessary. She approached the campus hospital, and chuckled as she always did when she noticed it.

  Instead of some famous historically relevant or prestigious hospital, this was a replica of the setting for a lurid prime-time soap opera she’d watched alongside her mom in her tweens. Black+Stone Memorial was nice, and had actually been an excellent choice to add to the beautiful AEGIS campus.

  Cait asked the nurse at reception, a redhead with actual fox ears and a cute button nose, for Dawn’s room number. She didn’t even flirt with her before she headed upstairs.

  She found the deer resting, letting herself smirk at the fact they’d had to push the bed away from the wall to accommodate her antlers. There hadn’t been much time for visitation yet, but Cait still saw a single rose, a red so bright it almost shone. She picked up the card resting against it.

  Remember that you are the best of us.

  -E.S.

  Huh. High praise, considering the source, Cait thought.

  Cait hoped Dawn was just resting, but with what Breastman had told them about her condition, even odds this was a coma. She grabbed the chart at the foot of the bed.

  She couldn’t make out a ton of the traditional medical chicken scratch, but was able to read ‘cranial hemorrhage’ and ‘recovery: slow’. Cait hissed in a breath, eyes flicking to where the deer slept. She was no doctor, but that was not good. That said, they had magic, and geniuses like Gwyn. Who knew, maybe slow here meant a matter of days rather than instant healing.

  She wouldn’t find out tonight, so she pulled the room’s cuck chair up to the side of the bed. Wiggling about till she got comfy, she took Dawn’s hand in her own. She realized she’d never really touched the deer before. She was soft, at least the thin fur over her fingers. Warm and comforting, just like her presence. Cait smiled as she settled down, and fell back into herself.

  Cait’s restful trance was something Kennedy had taught her a few days ago. She remained baseline conscious, sorting through thoughts and feelings, but time seemed to pass much faster. It was a little like lucid dreaming, but she could pull herself out of it whenever she wanted. When she opened her eyes as activity in the hospital picked up that morning, she realized that she’d kept going that long uninterrupted because Kennedy’s link had never broken.

  Usually, when the girl went to sleep, it cut out pretty quickly thereafter. That always pulled Cait out of the trance, and when she’d actually slept it had just woken her up with a weird feeling of loss. Smiling, she pulsed some good morning vibes Kennedy’s way before she realized the odd roil of emotions she was getting in return would almost certainly mean the girl was dreaming.

  Ah well. Hope it made them better.

  Her eyes focused on Dawn, and found that she’d rolled over to face Cait, still asleep, but had pulled both their hands up to rest under her cheek. Cait smiled at that. She, again, was no doctor, but it didn’t seem like coma patient behavior. Her breath tickled Cait’s wrist in a steady rhythm.

  “Oh!” the cute fox-girl nurse from earlier gasped as she entered the room, holding a clipboard to her chest. Cait noted that chest was now adorned with a white coat, and chastised herself for internalized misogyny.

  “You’re still here!” the fox-girl doctor stage whispered. “Hi! I’m Dr. Tolson. You might also know me as Relief, but I prefer Dr. Tolson or just Siobhan.”

  “Sorry for spookin’ you Siobhan,” Cait said. “I’m Cait. I’d shake your hand, but…”

  She gestured at Dawn with her free hand.

  “Oh that is adorable.” Siobhan’s face lit up with a genuine smile. “Has she woken up at all?”

  “Not while I’ve been here,” Cait responded with a shake of her head. “And I don’t exactly sleep, I think I would’ve noticed.”

  “Ugh, wouldn’t that be convenient,” Siobhan said, picking up Dawn’s chart but looking over it at Cait with envy. “Just because Altered Doctors with Meta-Tech means we can handle a fuck-ton of patients on our own, doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

  “Will she wake up Doc?” Cait asked. Best to rip the band-aid off.

  “What? Oh, right you’re new. Yeah, definitely! Long as folks aren’t DOA, we can pretty much always save ‘em. Even then, Death ain’t batting 100 against ol’ Siobhan,” the doctor bragged with a wink. “Your friend there will probably come to today some time. That said, neurological damage is a bitch to heal, magic and meta or not. She’ll be out of action for awhile while we teach her brain how to use the right side of her body again.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Cait winced, but the fact was it was good news. She’d lost her Grandmother to a brain bleed like this, and even before she died, there was little chance she’d recover. It sounded like Dawn might be back to 100% eventually.

  “How long we talking?” Cait asked, still worried about Dawn, but with everything going on, she was also wondering if they’d need to fill a slot on the team.

  “Weeks, probably. Maybe more before she’s really field ready,” the doctor said offhandedly, jotting down some numbers from Dawn’s blinking read out. Cait winced again.

  She is not gonna like not being able to take the fight to the motherfucker that killed Chance if things come to a head before that.

  Siobhan misread her expression, frowning at her.

  “Hey, I think that’s pretty good for a massive hemorrhage like that,” she said, both teasing and defensive. Cait turned her best disarming smile on the doctor. Judging by her immediate blush, it worked.

  “No, sorry Siobhan. Don’t know how up to date you are on the fight last night, but…well, fuck, no way to say this that makes sense, but a zombie of her boyfriend made out of book pages did this to her. She is going to be out for blood when she wakes up,” Cait explained.

  “Holy shit. I was told this was a hit from Freeflow though, assumed it was some sort of accident?”

  Oh shit.

  “I, uh, guess I don’t know if this is public knowledge yet, but the attackers yesterday were copies of dead Altereds. I killed a Roidrage realer than anything I’ve fought in sims. They included Freeflow.”

  Cait watched the gears turn in Siobhan’s head, before her eyes went wide.

  “Holy shit, that means Freeflow is dead?”

  Cait grimaced, then nodded, and the doctor’s rosy cheeks went pale.

  “Holy shit,” she repeated, more softly. “How did any of you…?”

  “Didn’t just survive, we took that mockery down,” Cait gave her a wicked grin. “Weren’t you at my welcome dinner? Fuck is some track star gonna do against thirteen terrible tentacles! BREAST MAN popped his lid.”

  Siobhan’s eyes nearly boggled out of her skull.

  “The tentacle guy!? I kinda thought he was… well, more of a joke!”

  Cait scowled at her, and found she meant it.

  “Hell no! I mean, nothing can kill me far as we know, but he could use me as a club to kill everyone at AEGIS, and with how good he’s getting, I’m not sure anyone could really stop him. B-man is badass.”

  She’d maybe been a little overzealous defending her friend, as the doctors face went a shade paler. Cait’s scowl softened to a sheepish smile.

  “Hey, he’s on our side right? Hero’s heart and everything. He pulled me out of a trucks engine block!”

  Probably best not to mention he hit me with the truck when I’m trying to do character rehabilitation.

  Siobhan’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Uh, yeah! Glad about that!” she gathered her clipboard and made for the door. “Gotta check on everyone else! Give a call if she wakes up!”

  Cait gave a weak wave as she left.

  Damn. Haven’t fumbled a first impression that bad in…. Shit, maybe ever.

  She focused back on Dawn, still sleeping peacefully, still using her hand as a pillow.

  Welp, good thing I don’t get pins and needles anymore.

  She summoned her comm, and settled back down to chill.

  L: where u at?

  L: half of this fucker went un-cuddled

  She’d attached a selfie of her, weirdly in Cait’s bed, cuddled up with Cait’s cat. Salad glared grumpily at the camera, he’d probably been napping before Lira took the pic.

  Two in a row, good to know. If I want SFW pics from Lira, give her a cat.

  C: stayed with Dawn.

  C: with everything with Chance, last thing I wanted was for her to wake up to an empty room

  L: fuck

  L: FUCK cait

  L: literslly just woke up and now I feel like shit

  L: im rallying the troops, be there soon

  That wasn’t the only thread she’d missed.

  K: thanks

  Not entirely sure what for, honestly.

  And one more

  Q: I didn’t think we were finished?

  This selfie was not sfw. Qi laid on her fire blanket bed, the framing of the picture only catching one mischeivious ruby eye, as it peeked out from the corner. The rest was dedicated to her toned naked back, trailing down towards where her tail hid the cleft of her ass, but not the smooth swell of her hips.

  Cait closed that quick.

  Nope! Team comes first! Gotta be better now.

  Knowing she shouldn’t, Cait checked the news. Elevated Race idiots were already agitating against AEGIS’ response, crying that if Altereds had full control the attack could have been avoided. Never seemed to have any real ideas on how, but that was par for the course. When a roll of the nights losses began to play, the smiling faces next to the names of the fallen ARMOR officers did not help her mood, but at least she could be certain Taylor wasn’t among them.

  Mom’s gotta be having a fit.

  She opened up a group chat with her parents.

  C: hey guys, i’m fine, my team-

  She looked at Dawn before she finished.

  -my teams fine.

  No point worrying them.

  C: we kicked ass, don’t worry, AEGIS has got this

  A cavalcade of footsteps sounded in the hallway, and she looked up, grinning at the team as they piled in.

  HOW IS SHE

  WE SHOULD HAVE FUCKING CHECKED

  “Doc says she’s gonna be alright, don’t worry. But it’ll be awhile, unfortunately. She’s probably going to have to sit this one out.”

  Kennedy hissed out a breath.

  “She is not gonna fucking like that. Remember what she did to the Risen River? That thing didn’t kill her boyfriend.”

  “Heh, that’s what I told the doctor,” Cait chuckled. “Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to think it would make much difference with recovery time. Also, I think I scared her when I tried to hype you up, B-money, so if a cute fox-girl is looking at you weird, my bad.”

  IM TAKEN

  He held up a tentacle with a blastring already on it. He was fully geared with crossed bandoliers this morning.

  “Damn, y’all move fast!” Cait laughed, extending a hand for a high tentacle. Looking around, Kennedy had thrown her combat harness over her street clothes and was also covered in weaponry. Cait smirked at both of them. “Guys, I get the intent, but I’m pretty sure all of us were naked when Samsara grabbed us anyway.”

  “Not naked,” Kennedy mumbled, and Breastman shared her blush.

  “Still, good idea. Least everything would be close,” Cait nodded, deciding that teasing her team about preparedness was counter-productive.

  A nuzzle against her palm grabbed her attention, and she looked over to see Dawn’s big doe eye slowly crack open.