“I can’t leave again during our shift,” Brock noted.
“Sure you can,” said Toby. “You have a good excuse. You’re visiting your mother in the hospital and taking along your friends for moral support. Come on. Do you really want to wait a few more hours?”
Brock bit the inside of his cheek. “No, I don’t, but if there’s another fire we might be too weak to come back and suit up.”
Nash slapped his hand on the table. “I forgot about that.”
“We can’t do it at the hospital.”
“So when, then?” Nash asked.
“Soon.”
Satisfied, they dispersed to get cleaned up.
Standing beneath the shower head, Brock felt a weight slowly falling off his shoulders.
First Mom, then Sky...
After getting dressed, Brock called his mother’s cell phone, one of the items Brianna packed and took to the hospital for her. She didn’t answer, so he left a message. He hadn’t seen Mom in over twenty-four hours. That wasn’t right. She probably felt he was avoiding her. He would make it up to her soon. Brock was about to call the land line number in her hospital room when his phone beeped with a voice mail.
The two minute message from Dr. Weaver told him everything he needed to know. His mother would be transferred to the local cancer center for specialized care that night. Hanging up, Brock went to gather the other three. Their shift would end the next morning, so the four could check out the cancer center facilities and decide on the best way to make it happen.
* * *
Brock, Nash, Toby and Jax arrived at the cancer center, and had to rethink the plan. Trying to heal Mom here was a bad idea. The place thrummed with activity. Toby, Jax, and Nash stood next to Brock at the desk while they waited for his mother’s room number.
“She probably doesn’t have her own room,” Toby suggested. “This is too risky.”
“Agreed,” Brock said.
“So where are we going to do it?”
Brock didn’t have an answer.
“Hey.” Nash nudged him. “Look. It’s Abby.”
Abby walked through the entryway in green scrubs. Catching sight of the four of them, she headed over.
“I just saw your mother,” she told Brock.
“How is she?”
“Comfortable. They plan to assess her for another round of chemotherapy once she’s strong enough.”
Brock stepped away from the desk, taking Abby’s elbow to lead her to a more quiet spot near some potted plants. Both Abby’s father and boyfriend were bear shifters. She was human, but they could trust her. “Abby, listen,” he whispered. “We came here to heal her.”
Abby’s eyes went wide. “You can do that? Will it work?”
“Here’s hoping.”
Abby looked off into the distance, thinking it through. “I guess it’s possible. Sure. I’ll help, but you can’t do it in the room she’s in.”
“Why not?”
“There are two other patients in there. Have you thought about what will happen if it works?”
“What do you mean?”
“Her tests will be like night and day.”
“I don’t care much about that. I’m sure these places have seen stranger things happen.”
“True. I just have to make sure you know. Her test results will be in her permanent health records.”
“Are you trying to tell me something? Should I be worried about it?”
“Zeke would have an earful for you.”
Brock cursed under his breath and rubbed his forehead. “Oh…I think I get it now. We’ll have to take that chance.”
“Sound good. I’ll find you an empty room. Give me some time to take care of it. I’ll be back soon.” Abby turned and hurried away, disappearing down a twisting hallway. Forty-five minutes later she was back. “All right, follow me.”
Abby took them down the main hallway, up three floors in the elevator and over to a quieter section of the center. She stopped at the end of a deserted hallway. Fluorescent lights flickered, and an empty gurney sat against the wall. Distant voices sounded from the direction of the elevator, but otherwise, the place was undisturbed.
“You won’t have much time. This department reopens in an hour, so if the staff show up early, I’ll have to give you a signal and get you out.
“An hour is cutting it close. It won’t take long to heal her, but we’ll be weakened.”
“Just do your best.” Abby clenched the tablet in her arms. “She’s already in there. I’ll keep watch while you work.”
The room was small and dark, with the curtains drawn and the lights off. A bed pressed against the closest wall, but Mom wasn’t in it. She sat in a wheelchair beside it. The four men stepped inside, and Toby quickly closed the door behind them. With five people, the room was packed to near capacity. It would take some problem-solving to fit four bears in the small space.
“Brock?” Mom asked. Her arms lay limp in her lap. The dim light from between the cracked curtains barely lit up her face, but Brock could still tell how tired she looked.
A lump formed in his throat. “Hi, Mom. We’re here to make you better.”