“Are you sure about this?”
She sounded so hopeful. Brock almost said yes, but he didn’t want to lie. He felt fairly certain, but how could he promise her anything but that he’d try his best? They were staking a lot on Zeke being right.
“I hope so. Just relax, Mom. We’ll get started.”
“How’s this going to work?” Nash whispered. “This place is the size of a broom closet.”
“Here,” Jax responded, pushing the bed all the way to the window. It cleared a bit of space and the four of them moved behind the wheelchair.
“Don’t look, Mrs. Moore,” Nash joked. “I know you want to, but I blush easily when I’m naked.”
“Seriously?” Jax said, but Mom just chuckled.
Throwing their clothes on the bed, they spread out and shifted. Brock embraced the surge of energy. His skin rippled and stretched. He could feel his pores sprouting hair and bones cracking, flesh and muscle reshaping themselves.
Fully shifted, the four bears took up almost every inch of space. They couldn’t come down on their front paws without bumping into each other or crowding Mom. With some careful maneuvering, the animals finally got themselves situated around the wheelchair, with Brock directly behind his mother.
The process itself was simple enough. A gentle laying of paws on her head and arms for less than a few minutes was all it took, with Brock at the head, as the alpha, and also because this was his mother. That heavy thrumming of energy as it drained through their paws filled Brock’s ears. A final surge of energy left Brock, and then all out exhaustion overwhelmed him. The healing was over. Removing his paw, he fell to the cold floor. The linoleum welcomed him, tickling his fur with its coolness. The other bears collapsed too, Toby’s back falling against Brock’s.
Now came the hart part. It had to do with the animals’ exhaustion after they passed their healing energy to Mom. Getting their strength back took some time, and left them all weakened for hours. They made do with the time they had, and got some rest while their patient slept too. Mom would be out for a while. If things worked out, she would be good as new when she woke up.
Brock forced his eyes to stay open. They couldn’t stay where they were. They needed several hours of sleep, yet Abby could give them the signal to leave anytime. Brock made his friends find the energy to change back to human form and get dressed, and he followed suit. There would be fewer questions finding four men passed out around Mom than four black bears. If they could just get themselves down to the waiting room, that would be enough. No one would question four men sleeping in chairs at a medical center.
The door opened a crack. “How’s it going?” Abby whispered.
Brock let out a weak grunt.
“She looks better already.” It was true. Mom’s hair and skin looked brighter. In her sleep, she breathed in deeply, and had a peaceful look on her face.
“She does,” Brock agreed, relieved.
“I don’t think we have much time left.” Her voice was frantic. “Are you done? Can you make it back downstairs?”
Brock stood, his limbs shaking in protest, but had to try. Fighting the urge to sleep, he gave Mom a kiss and headed to the door. The others could hardly stand, let alone walk. “We have to go,” Brock whispered.
The others didn’t protest. They understood what would happen if anyone found out.
Abby hovered in the doorway, her back turned to them. “Ready?” she whispered over her shoulder.
“Yes,” Brock answered.
Abby scurried behind the wheelchair and wheeled Brock’s mom out to the hallway. The others lethargically followed.
“We just have to make it to the waiting room,” Brock explained. “We need sleep.”
“I already thought of that. Follow me.”
The men leaned against the wall, trailing behind Abby. Halfway down the hallway, Abby stopped under and exit stairway sign. “I’ll get Iolana back to her room. Take the stairs to the first parking level. I arranged a ride. You can come back for your vehicles when you feel better.”
Brock led the way, and made it out the door to the parking level. A few yards away a familiar car idled, its engine running and ready to go.
Sky.
Brock couldn’t believe it. She leaned against the driver’s door as she waited for them, and straightened up when she saw them.
Sky swept her eyes over the group before opening the back door behind the driver seat. What explanation had Abby given to Sky when she asked her to give the men a ride home? It couldn’t look good, seeing them this way, as if they hadn’t slept or eaten for a week.
Nash, Toby, and Jax stumbled forward into the back seat by default. Sky closed the door behind them then cleared her throat and looked at Brock.
“You get the front seat, I guess.”
21