Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Remember when

The hospital was quiet compared to Serena‘s last visit when it was over whelmed with an emergency

situation. She waved to the nurse at reception. She couldn‘t remember the other woman‘s name. “Has

Beta Carson been moved into recovery?” she asked. The nurse pulled up a file on her desk. “Let me

see,” she said, thumbing through the file. “Yes, he‘s been moved to room 305.”

“Thanks,” Serena said, offering another wave before turning and heading to the elevator. Outside the

hospital recovery room, Serena paused. There wasn‘t a window for her to look into, so she listened to

make sure he didn‘t have a visitor. While she was there as a doctor, she didn‘t have her, lab coat or

stethoscope, and she didn‘t want to barge in looking out of place. There was no sound from inside.

Carson was probably still asleep. Serena knocked and let herself in. Carson was awake, trying to prop

himself up on the pillows. “Don‘t strain yourself,” Serena said. Carson grunted and laid back. “I‘m one

of your doctors. I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing.”

“I‘m fine,” he said. Serena raised an unconvinced eyebrow at him. “Let me see the wound,” she said.

She pulled at the edge of his hospital gown, opening it up so she could see the surgical sight. “We

were escorting a transport convoy back into Night Sky territory when we were attacked,” he told her.

Serena made a thoughtful hum,

gently probing the afflicted area with her fingers. It was healing nicely, and the stitches didn‘t look like

they were getting infected. “I‘ve heard there has been increasing trouble with the Moonshine pack,” she

said conversationally. Carson sighed heavily. “Yes,” he agreed. “I was able to head off the attack. Of

course, that meant I took the brunt of the damage.” He sighed again. “It looks good,” Serena said,

replacing his gown and the sheet over top

of him. “You‘re healing nicely.” “Hey, you‘re the doctor that lived in the human world, right?” he asked.

Serena smiled softly, nodding.

“I am,” she confirmed.

“What was that like?” he asked. Serena hadn‘t known so many pack members would be curious about

her time in the human world! It was a bit of an anomaly, but she hardly thought it was worth everyone

asking! “Different,” she said with a shrug. “Sometimes lonely. I guess I missed my family and the pack

community.” “Do they not have communities in the human world?” Carson asked, propping himself up

on his elbows. Serena pulled his chart off the end of his bed and looked over the nurses‘ notes on his

vitals and recovery treatments.

“They do,” she confirmed. “They aren‘t as tight knit as the pack, well, unless it is a cult. But cults have

their own issues.”

“What is a cult?” Carson asked. Serena chuckled and replaced his chart. “Usually, a religious based

organization whose leader acts like some kind of messiah or prophet. Followers are sort of

brainwashed into believing that, and will do almost anything in the name of their messiah,” she said.

She shook her head. “They are closed groups and don‘t really abide by the laws of the world. That gets

them into trouble.” “That sounds complicated,” Carson said. Serena shrugged. “To my knowledge, they

aren‘t that common,” she said. Carson laughed, which ended with him yawning and falling back on his

pillows. Serena went to the head of his bed and fluffed the pillows slightly. Carson smiled at her; his

eyelids drooped. “You‘re tired, you should rest,” she said. Carson groaned and shook his head.

“Everyone here acts like I am some fragile, injured pup,” he protested. Serena giggled and rolled her

eyes. “There was a recent pack emergency, and you were the most injured,” she said. “Of course,

everyone is going to worry.”

“There is nothing wrong with me,” he said. “I am fine!” “Are you sure?” Serena asked. Carson nodded.

“The only thing that‘s wrong with me is that I am starving,” he insisted. “Alright,” she said. “If you need

anything, I‘ll be around.” “Thank you,” Carson said. “You‘re already a great doctor. I hear that the

surgery you performed saved my life.” I “It did,” Serena said with a nod, heading towards the door. “You

don‘t have to thank me; it is what I do.” Carson laughed as Serena left the room.

Heading back through the hospital, she walked past the nursery. There were a few squalling infants

kicking at their swaddles, hands and legs trying to break free. Serena stopped walking and looked at

the babies. They had wrinkled, red faces. She put her hand against the glass, remembering how

adorable and soft her on babies were. The ones in the nursery now were so tiny, they could only be a

few days old! Thinking back, Serena thought about how she had found out about her twins. She‘d been

in class at medical school. It had been a few weeks of headaches, feeling queasy at odd hours, and

general bodily discomfort. Being at medical school, there was an on–sight clinic. Serena had gone

early to get a checkup. The doctor in the clinic had given her a physical exam. She‘d been concerned

about infections, so she‘d taken Serena‘s blood.

It wasn‘t until later in the afternoon when Serena was in one of her chemistry labs that she had gotten

an email with the results of her bloodwork.

No infections, her blood was clean of that, but the bloodwork did show her what was wrong with her.

She was pregnant! The news hit her like a punch in the gut. Dropping her phone and her notebook,

Serena had run to the nearest trach can, getting sick. Everyone in the lab had stared at her and the

professor had stopped lecturing. “Serena, are you alright?” the professor asked. Serena wiped her

mouth and coughed a few times to clear her throat. “I think I’m going to call it a day,” she said. Her

professor had nodded,

and Serena went back to her table long enough to grab her things and leave. Back in her dorm, she

had begun to panic. There was no way she could deny that this pregnancy was the result of her fairly

recent one–night stand at the graduation masquerade! She hadn‘t slept with anyone since, and the

timing fit! Groaning, Serena dropped her bags on the floor and crawled into her bed. She pulled the

covers up over her head, trying to shut out the rest of the world so she could think.

Putting her hands on her stomach, Serena thought about what having a baby would mean. She didn‘t

know the name or identity of the father. It wasn‘t like she could go knocking on doors in Night Sky

territory, asking if anyone remembered having a one–night stand in a tree house! Groaning to herself,

she rubbed her stomach in an attempt to smooth out the uneasiness that was rising again. What would

her parents and brother think? Would they understand? Would they accept bastard

children? Would they be mad at her? There were too many questions she couldn‘t answer. Having a

kid on her own would be hard. She was still a med student, and she was in the human world. Far from

home and family and any support. She didn‘t think she could possibly get rid of her child. Abortion was

so…it was too much to think about! She felt like she would be punishing her child for her mistakes. She

couldn‘t do that! She‘d heard that some parents in the human world put their children up for adoption.

She couldn‘t do that, either, though. She couldn‘t send a werewolf baby off to live with humans. They‘d

never be safe, never understand themselves! That left her with just one option, raise her baby on her

own. It would mean long hours, sleepless nights, and lots of tears. As a med student, that was what

she had been planning on for the next several years, anyway. She could ask her parents and brother

for help, but that would mean leaving behind her career. She‘d worked so hard to get into medical

school, and she didn‘t want to give up that future. Besides, Serena didn‘t know how much help her

parents would offer, given the circumstances. She knew they‘d eventually accept it and support her, but

she didn‘t want to feel like a burden to them. Especially if she couldn‘t finish her degree! There was

only one course of action that Serena could take to raise her child and finish her career.

It wouldn‘t be easy, and she would be isolated from her pack, her home, and her family, but there was a

life growing inside of her. Serena knew it would all be worth it when she saw her baby’s face. It was

decided. She would be having her baby and raising it in the human world. She didn‘t know at the time

she was carrying twins!