Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Eventually they tired of swimming and body surfing and decided to explore the lunch the hotel had packed for them. Colvin was watching her dress when a spot on her chest caught his eye. Grabbing her hand as she was about to pull her top on, he said, “Let me look at this mark.”
Ivy blinked and craned to see the place in question, near her heart. “Oh, I hadn’t noticed it before. A bug bite maybe? But it doesn’t itch.”
Reverently he touched the tiny green dot with one fingertip. It was vaguely star shaped. “It’s not a bite or a freckle, it’s an Ardannan fated mate mark. I never even hoped to see one of these manifest for me because they’re so rare.”
She sat down on the blanket with a thump. “It’s a what?”
“On rare occasions a couple learns they’re fated mates,” he said.
“The mark appears over the woman’s heart and if they love each other and commit to each other, it becomes permanent.
If they don’t love equally, then the mark fades and goes away.
You can be perfectly happy without the fated mate mark of course but it’s an extra blessing from the Ardannan gods.
” He hadn’t entertained any doubts whatsoever that Ivy was the woman for him, even though they’d only known each other for two days but the mark was an unexpected gift and he hoped it would reassure Ivy if she was in any doubt about their status.
“Let me see yours,” she said, pulling at his tee shirt.
“The men don’t get them.”
“How is that fair?”
“I can’t explain it any better. Something in the DNA I guess. We’re not human,” he reminded her a little reluctantly.
“Human enough for me.” She straddled his lap and kissed him. “How hungry ae you for this lunch? Because I think the fated mate mark is hot, even if you don’t get one of your own.” Rolling her hips over his rapidly hardening cock, she added, “You have other attributes to make up for the lack.”
And lunch was delayed yet again.
Eventually they did eat, although the hotel had packed such a generous spread Ivy ended up packing away the leftovers in the hamper for later.
They scattered a few handfuls of crumbs for the birds, watched a whole parade of tiny baby turtles claw their way out of the warm sand and struggle to the water’s edge and finally made their own way to the AGcycle.
Colvin took a fairly straight route through the undeveloped areas this time and they arrived at the warehouse shortly before sunset.
“A perfect day,” Ivy said, shaking her hair loose from the helmet. “The turtles hatching was the final touch. I’ll have to let Delain know to mark that section of beach off-limits in the future since it’s a nesting ground.”
“I think I’m going to buy this bike from IDA if they’ll sell it to me,” Colvin said. “It’ll cost me a fortune to ship to Ardanna Prime but we can ride it while I’m here and I’ve gotten attached to it.”
“You were right, there’s nothing like the freedom of riding the wind,” she agreed.
Her handheld buzzed and she took it out of her jacket pocket.
“I felt it vibrating on the way back here but I wasn’t about to let go of you to try and reach it in my pocket.
I hope the office isn’t having a crisis.
” She flicked the com to answer and a holo of an obviously distressed young woman came up.
“Oh, Ivy thank the Lords of Space,” she gasped.
“Marisa?” Colvin saw Ivy visibly pale and he left the bike to stand close to her.
“It’s Darien—I had to take him to the hospital, he’s running a high fever and then he had a seizure—”
Colvin put his arm around Ivy as she sagged in shock.
“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” Ivy said, choking on a sob. “Tell him I’m coming.”
“The doctors are taking good care of him but he’s asking for you. See you shortly.” Marisa signed off.
“Where’s the hospital?” Colvin asked. “I can get us there in a few minutes.”
“I shouldn’t have left him, this is all my fault—”
“Hey, little kids get sick, it’s how they build their immune systems,” he said. “And sometimes when they run a high fever they’ll have a seizure. One of my nieces did that and she’s fine now. Give me the directions and let’s go.”
Ivy projected a map from her handheld and Colvin took note of the blinking dot representing the employee medical facility, which was fortunately not far away.
“Can you hang on?” he asked her because she was shaking.
“It’s five minutes if I redline it but you’ve got to hold on. Take a deep breath, all right?”
“He’s never sick,” she said in a wondering tone. “Never.”
Colvin took her into his arms for a hug. “Breathe and then we’ll go.”
She took a deep breath and held it before letting the air out in a gusty sigh.
He helped her with the helmet and then escorted her to the bike.
Mounting as fast as he could, he gave her a hand to climb on behind him.
Fortunately they hadn’t had time to open the warehouse doors, so there was no need to linger.
He punched the initiator and the AGcycle took off in a flurry of dust and a roar of the powerful engine.
Colvin had noted a few places where he could cut directly across open fields using the antigrav and he made it to the hospital in the promised five minutes, parking close to the entrance.
Ivy was off the bike, tearing her helmet from her head and running toward the door even before he cut the engine.
He raced to catch up with her, not about to leave her by herself in this crisis.
He was already making tentative plans in his head to get the boy transferred to the medbay in the Ardannan battleship orbiting overhead if the medical care here wasn’t up to par.
Military doctors might not be pediatric specialists but the Famptror was bound to have more up to date facilities than a resort’s employee facility.
He found Ivy at the reception desk, demanding to know where her son was.
“Third floor, pediatrics,” the receptionist said in a soothing voice. “There’s a waiting room up there and I believe the person who brought him in is already there.”
Ivy turned to Colvin and extended her hand. “Come with me?”
“Of course, I’m not leaving you.”
They took the antigrav lift to the third floor and as soon as Ivy stepped out of the silvery stream the young woman who’d commed her came running. The two women hugged in the middle of the corridor while Colvin stood to the side, assessing the place. So far he had a positive impression.
“He was cranky this morning,” Marisa said.
“Wouldn’t eat breakfast. And then by midmorning snack he was complaining of a headache and had a slight fever.
I took him home to your house but then the fever spiked over the afternoon and then he had the seizure so I called the first responders and we brought him here. ”
“What has the doctor said?” Ivy asked. “And where is he? I need to be with my boy.”
“He’s in treatment right now,” the childcare teacher answered. “Which is why I’m out here. Dr. Kenned was on duty today and you know she’s the best.”
“Why don’t we go in the waiting room and sit down?” Colvin asked, noticing how the nurses and aides had to go around them. “You can talk more privately there.”
“This is General Lawben, my—my friend,” Ivy said in response to Marisa’s puzzled expression.
He shepherded them to the waiting room a few steps away and they’d barely sat down before the doctor entered the room. Ivy jumped to her feet and ran to meet the physician. “How is he?”
“Doing well. It appears to be zanguin flu—”
“I had him vaccinated for that on his last office visit,” Ivy said.
“In rare cases the inoculation doesn’t take completely in one so young.
I’ve given him a booster and of course the pediatric specific for the virus.
His fever has come down two degrees and there hasn’t been another seizure so I’m optimistic he can go home by morning.
We’ll keep him under observation for the night. ”
“I need to be with him,” Ivy said.
“Of course. He’s in room 305 and he’s asleep right now.
He’s had an infusion of fluids and I left orders for him to be given juice and jellied cubes after he wakes, if he’s hungry.
I’m on call till midnight and then Dr. Florres will take over.
I’ll see him in the morning and make a decision about releasing him. ”
“Thank you, doctor. I’m so grateful.” Her voice shook.
“Do we need to worry about any aftereffects from the seizure?” Colvin asked, not because he was overly worried but because Ivy had been so distraught about it earlier. He wanted her mind to be set at rest.
The doctor shook her head. “Not really, especially since there was only one. It’s a fairly common symptom for children his age who contract zanguin and develop the high fever. He can go back to the childcare facility the day after tomorrow, assuming the fever subsides completely.”
With that she was gone, no doubt with a large number of patients and families waiting.
“May I go with you to look in on him?” Marisa asked. “Then I’ll head home unless you need me..”
Ivy enveloped her in a big hug. “Of course you can see him. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of him today and getting him here.”
“It was my pleasure. I’m so sorry he got sick. I think there have been a few milder cases of zanguin in a few of the older kids this month but nothing as dramatic as Darien’s case.”
They walked to the room and Colvin hung back while the two women went inside.
Ivy turned to see him by the door and gestured for him to join them.
There was a little boy in the bed, sleeping and snoring, hooked up to sensors.
Colvin noted how strongly Darien resembled his mother which was a blessing for the boy, considering what Ivy had said regarding his criminal father.
His heart was touched by how small the child appeared in the big bed.