Part 9 (2/2)

It had been several months since Nikki had thought about her former Protector friend. They'd both been captured by the dragon hunters almost a year ago when they'd been protecting Bram's mate, Evie Marshall.

Whereas Nikki had been detained and lightly tortured, Charlie had been drained of blood while in dragon form and murdered.

Charlie had been the first female to become a Protector on Stonefire and Nikki had looked up to her. Even after all these months, Nikki missed the older female's presence. To say she'd taken Charlie's death to heart was putting it lightly. The loss combined with Nikki's nightmares had made it hard to be her cheery self for several months. Even Jane Hartley had noticed Nikki's few lapses at keeping up her cheerful facade when she'd been struck by a memory.

And now that she knew the truth of why Rafe had acted the way he did, it started to make a whole h.e.l.l of a lot more sense about why he'd acted as he had. She was already halfway to forgiving him; although, she'd need the whole truth before she completely could.

Nikki sighed. You are too reasonable for your own good, dragon.

I am wise, that's all. You need to remember that. Her beast stretched out inside their mind. Now, talk to Rafe. You've suffered mostly in silence over the last year, and I would bet Rafe's suffered for nearly four years. You might be able to heal each other.

Yes, because Rafe and I are always discussing our feelings.

Her dragon huffed. You could try.

Nikki wondered if she could. She and Rafe had always been about battles and b.u.t.ting heads. It was hard to believe there was another side to him.

Then she remembered his rendition of a popular pop ballad. Rafe may act like he didn't think about feelings, but any male who could sing so pa.s.sionately must have them buried somewhere.

As she debated getting out of bed to talk to him, a knock on the front door silenced Rafe's singing. Not wanting him to find her lying awake, Nikki hefted herself out of bed. At the top of the stairs, Dr. Sid's voice drifted up. ”I hear Nikki moving about. She's awake.”

Before Rafe could answer, Nikki rushed down the stairs. ”Yes, I am. Thanks for ratting me out, Sid.”

Sid met her gaze and raised her brows. ”Were you trying to hide?”

”No. Although I believe you and I need to have a chat,” Nikki answered. ”You did tell everyone about my original adoption plans, right?”

Sid didn't miss a beat. ”No.”

”Why would you do that?” Nikki demanded.

Shrugging a shoulder, Sid put down her medical bag. ”Because if you do decide to go through with it, I will be the one adopting him or her.”

”What?” Rafe and Nikki asked in unison.

Sid raised her brows. ”Is it really that surprising?”

Taking a step toward the dragonwoman, Nikki whispered, ”But what if you fall into madness?”

Sadness flashed in Sid's eyes but disappeared in the next instant. ”Not that it matters. Mr. Hartley here is convinced you two are raising the baby.” Sid looked between them. ”I expected as much.”

”If you say it's because we always argued so pa.s.sionately, doctor or not, I will kick you out of my house,” Nikki growled out.

The corner of Sid's mouth ticked up. ”Just because I'm a doctor doesn't mean I'm weak.”

Rafe stepped between them. ”Forget the past for now. I don't know the first b.l.o.o.d.y thing about a dragon-s.h.i.+fter's pregnancy, and I somehow think Nikki is the same. Let's all sit down for dinner and chat about it.”

Nikki would rather eat a bowl of worms than admit Rafe had a point.

Sid shook her head. ”I can't stay that long. Little Eleanor has a low-grade fever and Bram is calling me over every twenty minutes.”

Eleanor was Bram and Evie's two-month-old daughter. And Bram was no less protective of his daughter than Nikki's dad was of her.

Nikki pointed to the kitchen. ”Go finish making dinner, Rafe. I'll talk with Dr. Sid.”

Rafe crossed his arms over his chest. ”Nikki, I deserve to hear everything, too.”

She raised her brows. ”I'm sure you'd love to hear about spotting or cramps.”

”Spotting?” Rafe echoed.

Sid answered, ”v.a.g.i.n.al bleeding.”

Rafe shrugged. ”I've had friends bleed out in my arms. Blood doesn't frighten me.”

Okay, Nikki's plan had backfired. ”Just go finish dinner. I want to talk to Sid in private.”

Meeting her gaze, Rafe remained quiet. Sid was the one to speak up. ”Go, Rafe. Let me talk to Nikki first and then I can answer your questions later. Even better, I have a pamphlet.” Sid pulled a leaflet out of her bag. ”I don't have one about what to expect if you're a human male about to have a dragon-s.h.i.+fter child. But it's good enough. Enjoy.”

With a sigh, Rafe swiped the brochure. ”I sometimes miss being in charge of my own unit. Here, it seems no one listens to me.”

Rafe continued to grumble on the way to the kitchen. Nikki pulled Sid to the farthest corner away from the kitchen and whispered, ”I can't believe you didn't tell everyone my plans. It's caused me a ma.s.sive headache since the frenzy ended.”

”As I said, if not you, then I would've raised the child. But I had a feeling Hartley would stick around, so the point is moot.”

”You're my doctor, not a matchmaker, Sid.”

Raising her eyebrows, Sid pointed to the couch. ”Sit down so I can draw some blood.” Nikki tried to reply, but Sid shook her head. ”We're finished with the discussion about the past. Focus on the future, Nikki.” She gestured again to the couch. ”Now, sit. Between Evie's worry about her daughter and Melanie wanting to know everything under the sun for her twins' one-year check-up, I'm busy and have lots to do. You have five minutes.”

Judging by the steely look in Sid's gaze, Nikki knew she wouldn't get anything else out of the doctor that wasn't related to the medical side of things. With a sigh, Nikki trudged to the couch.

Rafe leaned against the kitchen counter and read the pamphlet's t.i.tle: Symptoms, Dangers, and Phases of a Pregnancy. The t.i.tle was benign enough, but the cartoon picture of a pregnant woman with a little smiling baby inside her was a bit weird.

Opening up the pamplet, cartoon pictures followed the stages of pregnancy in a woman. When he reached the later weeks, the woman holding her belly flashed into one of Nikki, heavy with their child.

He darted a glance to the living room. It was hard to imagine Nikki any other way but toned and lean. The belly would no doubt throw off her balance and slow her reaction times. Add in the birth and subsequent recovery, and for the first time, he started to understand how much Nikki would give up for their child.

In that instant, Rafe decided to work as hard as possible on the Simon Bourne mission before Nikki became unable to take down the hunter b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Given that the dragon hunters had injured and even killed members of her clan, the satisfaction of capturing Bourne might help her move past it all.

Right, then. Rafe would give Nikki that gift if nothing else.

Dr. Sid stood up and looked at him. ”I'll run some blood tests, but Nikki appears healthy for the moment. If you think anything is amiss, call me.” Sid looked to Nikki. ”Especially since Nikki could be having a heart attack and would say she was fine.”

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