Endangered Ch. 09

***

Chris stirred, his inner dialogue feeling sluggish. The dragon's thoughts felt distant, blurry, sleepy. It was confusing, as if a heavy blanket of fog had him imprisoned in a chilly embrace. However, there was an infallible sensation that the sun was slowly burning its way down to free him. His limited consciousness moved listlessly, not comprehending much except the slow return of self-awareness.

Movement against his left side drew his attention to the warm presence of someone close to him. He felt instinctively comforted. Murmured noises of reassurance sank down through the mist to him, he felt a tender caress through his hair. A faint scent, Annabel.

He struggled to stir something meaningful from his sluggish body again, but it was no use. His limited capacity for reasoning told him if she was there, it must be okay. He relaxed, lay back and let it come.

Her voice came to him softly, somehow full of love, pride, and concern all at the same time.

"Rest, my brave, beautiful dragon."

***

Michelle's eyes squeezed shut tightly as she looked away from the screen. They were stinging, red, and dry, protesting their extended abuse at the hands of huge screens in her new office. She rubbed and pinched the bridge of her nose reflexively, a habit from the days not long ago when she'd needed glasses. Thankfully, it still gave some measure of relief.

She focused her eyes away, out of the window of her new 6^th floor corner office. They jumped from lamp to lamp down the relatively quiet late-night street arrayed below. There wasn't much to hold her attention so it wasn't long before she was back to watching the screens.

It was late and she had the lights off, letting the ambience from the street and the harsh glare of the monitors mix. She'd sent Kat and Lisa away hours ago, there wasn't anything they could really contribute at this stage. They were still settling into a new city and needed all the personal time she could allow them. Now her only company was a vampire. She shook her head, how her life had changed.

On the displays before her, a man was about to get away with it. His power, his money, his family's ties; he'd used it all and it was working.

She'd passed this problem to her higher-ups and no one had the balls to dish the beatdown this criminal deserved. And the man was a criminal. However rich or connected he might otherwise be, there was no doubt in her mind about that. If the confession of his pet scientist wasn't damning enough, the evidence she'd collected once she had access to his company's electronic records was irrefutable.

Still, the issue got bucked back and forth as the justice system bickered about who landed with the responsibility for charging him. No department wanted the category 5 legal shit-storm that would promptly rain down on them if they filed charges. This was old American money.

There was good reason to be wary too, if they pushed too hard, he could blow the whistle about the Revelation. They were sitting on a proverbial grenade, he had his greedy hands on a string attached to its pin. One little tug and he would be the least of their worries.

She let out a sigh of bottled frustration. It wasn't her first. Two hours ago, she'd tracked him enroute to a private airport. Now, he was going to get away.

"Let me deal with this," Lillian spoke quietly from the armchair in the corner.

"I can't, that's not how we do things," Michelle's response was mechanical, they'd had this discussion before.

"He's guilty?" the vampire whispered, her Russian lilt making Michelle's lips twitch in exhausted amusement. She couldn't help it if the vampire sounded like some FSB counterpart trying to lure her to treason in times gone past. For all she knew, the vampire might have been at some point.

"Yes, but the system..."

"Screw your system," Lillian hissed. "I have let you handle this so far but he is slipping from your grasp. It's time you let me deal with this. Our way."

The problem was, Michelle didn't disagree.

Beings brought them the power to serve justice in an entirely new dimension. Was truth syrup or mind reading a violation of human rights? Maybe. But by all accounts, they had already been stealthily putting these tools to use on the broader population of the planet for several thousand years without ill effect. Why shouldn't they use these resources now, when so much hung in the balance?

But that wasn't entirely true. She'd been encouraged to use magical resources and a heavy hand in her new role when dealing with hired thugs. Now she watched as wealth and influence tipped the scales in the criminal's favour. Lillian was right. Screw the system; if this was possible, the system was broken. Not just their justice system either, entire elements of their society.

She supposed she knew that already in a way. Why did people and companies pillage the environment? Why did famine and war still exist? Why did people kill each other over ignorance, intolerance, or ideological belief? People were shitty if they could get away with it. Society allowed for it. Being society wasn't much better from what she'd seen, the wealthy and powerful still got away with things they shouldn't. However, with their magical tools at her disposal she felt like she almost had the ability to do some good in human society. If she'd been allowed to.

Now this man was going to get away with kidnapping and murder. She had the power to do something about it but only if she bucked her yoke.

Okay, she thought, her lips twitching but not saying it, gathering courage.

"Okay," she spoke. It still came out reedy and quiet before she cleared her throat and continued. "Okay, but we wait until Chris is on his feet. I need another moral compass on this, I don't trust mine and I suspect yours is completely fucked."

***

When Chris finally surfaced through that fog, he found himself in an unfamiliar, rather stark room.

He was groggy and stiff but otherwise not obviously the worse for wear. His eyes roamed the unfamiliar ceiling for several confusing moments as he wondered where he was, searching for recent memories. It was his nose that finally told him he was back in Denver, somewhere in the Compound. It also told him that Petra was near.

He sat up cautiously from what he discovered was a rather luxurious, oversized hospital bed and looked around. A curtain partitioned part of the room and he wondered if there was another patient in there with him. Cables of all kinds hooked on and into him. A strange sensation let him know there was something going on with his penis. He surreptitiously lifted the sheet and pulled aside his cotton gown to look. Yup, there was a catheter tube leading from his tip off over the edge of the bed.

It was a bit dismaying to wake up like that. Most concerning though were the thicker tubes of dark fluid leading from his forearm to a whirring machine next to his bed. He thought he recognized the slowly spinning circles from a TV show or something. It was filtering his blood.

"What the hell?" he mumbled hoarsely, his voice raspy, unused.

A rustle of cloth alerted him to someone behind the curtain. A moment later, a beaming Petra ducked around the partition and came to him. She was a sight for sore eyes. For some reason he felt himself starting to choke up with emotion, his throat thick and painful.

"Shh, shh, shh," Petra saw his distress. She sat on the bed beside him and took him gently in her arms, nuzzling her face into his neck. "It's okay. You're okay. We're all safe."

"What happened?" he croaked, squeezing her, holding on desperately. The familiar scent of her almost silver hair bringing comfort.

"Michelle and Lillian came and found you. You and some other Beings were sedated and being experimented on. Before they could free you, the woman who was doing the experiments used you as a bargaining tool to stay alive. She poisoned you, Chris."

"Poisoned?" Chris's astonishment was clear, separating their bodies a little. "So that's what the dialysis machine is for."

"Yes. It was some sort of nasty cocktail she designed. Very clever, that woman, but very dangerous, too. She's been giving you the antidote for the last few days. Lillian comes close to deciding to kill her at least once every few hours I'm sure."

"Days! How long have I been out?" he asked, pulling back to look at her. "How are the girls?"

"We've been worried about you but everyone's fine, Chris," she laughed happily at his concern and placed her hand over his heart. "This is the fourth day since Michelle and Lillian brought you home. We've been taking shifts staying here in case you woke up. No one really knew when you would."

"Oh, okay. Does this mean I'm cured?"

"We don't know. The woman, Emilia, said it could take up to a month to clear a human's system. Hopefully it will be less for you. Lillian says she can taste it in your blood still."

"Well that sucks. Did we at least catch the bad guys?"

"Umm... sort of?" She smiled, reaching up to smooth his frown away with her thumb and run a hand lovingly through his blond hair. "It's complicated. Michelle and Lillian can explain it all to you. They found the other kidnapped Beings though, so I call that a win."

"I feel stupid. I never should have let them knock me out like that."

"Maybe, maybe not. It's in the past so all you can do is learn from the experience," she consoled. "Hey, I've got something which might cheer you up."

"What?"

"Well, Claire and I are only about a week apart and the doctor said it would be okay if we had our first antenatal check-up together. We were hoping you might want to come?"

He took her back in his arm again, hugging more gently this time.

"Of course I want to come," he murmured in her ear, kissing softly into her scalp. "I love you all so much, my two dragonesses and our little belly-bumps. Are you showing any more yet?"

"A little." She found his lips and kissed him passionately, making sure her own love was known. Then she pulled away and stood, leaving him reaching for her, cables dangling. "Want to see?"

"You know I do," he grinned, starting to feel lecherous once more. She was doing a fantastic job of taking his mind off being stuck in a hospital.

She ran her hands sensuously down her sides and over her hips, watching him follow her smooth movements. Her fingers gently tugged at the buttons of her light blue shirt, eyes never breaking contact with his as one by one, she opened a gap over her tummy. Her hands slipped delicately inside to caress soft, creamy skin.

Chris shifted, eager to see underneath her shirt. Merciful as she was, she stopped her teasing and pulled the cloth aside to reveal her barely evident pregnancy.

"It is bigger," he said in awe, reaching toward his unborn child.

Petra came closer, insides melting into gooey affection at his reverent look. His rough, calloused hands were so gentle when they finally touched, sending a frisson up her spine.

"He," the dragoness announced proudly.

"He?" Chris looked up questioningly. "How do you know?"

"He feels like a boy. I can sense him inside of me now, so strong, just like his father," she radiated love and pride to her young mate, placing her hands on top of his own. "We'll find out for sure in another month and a half's time."

Chris looked back down, feeling her warmth, her softness, the contour of her small bulge. He had done this. He had put his seed inside this beautiful woman, his mate. They had shared body and soul to make this wondrous new life. He couldn't help but be aroused. She was so gorgeous, especially like this. His cock twitched, coming to life with an astonishing vengeance.

"Petra I... That's strange... Fuck! Oww! Shit!" he yelped.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm getting an erection and it feels really weird with the catheter," he whipped off the sheet but paused, unsure what to do about it now that his raging cock was exposed and free. His hands hovered over it, indecisive. Could he pull it out himself?

Petra laughed. He looked so funny, whipping back the sheets and looking dismayed to find his big cock pulling angrily at the dangling tube like a leash. She managed to clamp her hand over her mouth and reduce it to a few muffled giggles. For a moment she'd worried something was really wrong with him. Typical of her young mate, he was simply too randy for his own good.

"Damn you, woman," he couldn't help chuckling himself, infected by her honest mirth. "This is your fault anyway, you're too god damn sexy."

"Poor you," she crooned, paused, and began laughing again. "Wait until the girls hear about this!"

"Go get a nurse or something. Please, Petra!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry, dear."

She was still laughing as she tucked her shirt back in her black jeans and went in search of professional assistance. Chris sighed, shook his head, and leaned back down in the bed, still throbbing and decidedly uncomfortable.

With her previous experience in nursing, Petra could probably have attempted to remove it herself. However, Chris was not under her care. It could be considered quite rude to Dr. Chang for her to start pulling tubes out of his patient.

She was actually very impressed with what she'd seen of the Compound's medical expert. A lot of Beings in the medical profession fell behind keeping up with human advances in medical science. That was easy enough to understand as they tended to focus on magical means of healing their patients.

Dr. Chang, however, understood the value of being fluent in both languages of healing. The sponsored practice was small, consisting of himself, two nurses, and a technician. However, it was outfitted with as much of the latest medical diagnostic and laboratory equipment as it could hold. Petra had learned that it was part of the deal he'd struck with Reyla when she headhunted him from the west coast territory to service her own.

It was good to know that Chris' care was in the hands of a competent doctor, someone who could actually understand what his body was fighting against with this darkly crafted poison. Petra didn't trust Emilia Mayer one bit, and Lillian wasn't the only one who bristled when she was escorted to Chris' bedside every morning to administer the 'antidote'. Someone who designed and used such a tactic without remorse could never be left unsupervised. It was like having a pet scorpion, all well and dandy as long as it was securely in the terrarium.

It was only now, with Chris awake, that the dragoness conceded that the mad old scientist might be keeping her word, for now.

When Michelle and Lillian had dragged the researcher back with them from Wisconsin, Petra had been sorely tempted to rip the woman's head off and trample her lifeless body under giant draconian paws. It galled her to think that Reyla had struck a deal with the ruthless woman. Vassalage and Chris' uneventful recovery in exchange for amnesty, protection, and the rest of her life in 'productive detention.'

If all went smoothly, Dr. Mayer would soon be continuing her research under Reyla's supervision. It was almost exactly as she'd planned when she first poisoned Chris and that galled most of his brood. Petra's only comfort was that Reyla was probably enough of a ruthless, cold hearted bitch to handle the doctor.

"Ruth?" Petra asked as she approached the receiving room and found it empty.

"In here Ms. Godran, one second," the nurse poked her head out of the breakroom. "I'm just warming some food for our patient. I saw on the monitor's that he's awake."

Petra grinned evilly, thoughts of Emilia Mayer discarded at the prospect of teasing the poor nurse. Ruth, a lovely water elemental had been particularly fussy and attentive to Chris ever since he'd arrived. The dragoness was positive Ruth was indulging in the effects of his pheromones. It was going to be wonderfully fun to see how she handled Chris' current little situation.

"Thank you, I'm sure he's going to be hungry but first we're going to need an ice pack."

***

Chris expected to be up and about as soon as all the tubes could be pulled out of him. Checking on Stephen and the three goblins was at the top of his list. He couldn't wait to see their progress and they were probably desperate for a crystal refill by now. He also needed to get down to Michelle's office and get a proper update on everything that had happened while he was out. From Petra's brief recount, he owed Michelle, Lillian, Katherine, and Lisa a thank you for coming to rescue him so quickly.

No-nonsense Dr. Harold Chang shattered every one of his hopes and plans. Chris was to stay in the clinic around the clock until the doctor was satisfied the poison was sufficiently scrubbed and filtered from his body. It would probably take a minimum of a week. Worse, he was to stay supine as much as possible and avoid exertion. Tests showed that his liver and kidneys were working overtime at the moment and therefore stress of any kind was to be kept to a minimum. The doctor thought his body would handle the toxin better if it stayed in a low metabolic state, hooked up to the dialysis machine as much as possible. Chris was sorely tempted to vanish into the Ether and avoid any further encounters with the blunt doctor-wizard.

He might have, if Petra hadn't looked so concerned as the doctor described his situation. His mates were counting on him to make a swift and full recovery, so he would. The only good news was that the big dialysis tubes would be coming out for the rest of the day and overnight to assess his condition and allow him to sleep safely.

Word soon spread that Chris was awake. He spent the rest of the day catching up with his lovely ladies, each stopping by as their schedules allowed. Claire came down from the hotel suite to see him right away, snuggling up against his side and kissing him very tenderly. While her mother appeared stoic, the younger dragoness was obviously rattled. He squeezed her tight, playing a soothing hand through her beautiful red hair. Unable to promise to stay away from dangerous situations in the future, he settled for wrapping her in his arms and holding her, safe and cherished.

Susan and Annabel showed up for about an hour at lunch with Immi in tow. They brought a selection of delicious treats and fresh fruit they'd picked up at a local deli on the way. Chris was ravenous. This backfired on his two mates, as he gave only a quick moment of intimacy to each of the women before attacking the contents of the hamper they brought. Annabel and Susan smiled at each other as he inhaled a whole packet of salmon avocado sushi and dug into the rest, sure that his appetite was a sign of his returning health.

Immi hadn't grown noticeably but Chris was surprised to see her wrapped, somewhat immodestly in a piece of white silk. Despite making her look like some sort of painted virginal sacrifice, he had to admit any sort of clothing was a big step for the little sprite. Despite her hate of 'scratchy' clothes, silk was apparently tolerable. Besides, she had to practice for when she was bigger.

Chris noticed that she seemed a little subdued from her usual bubbly self as she sat on one of Annabel's thighs and nibbled with disinterest at a ripe strawberry he shared with her. Just before Annabel and Susan had to leave, Chris remembered that the pint-sized little princess was probably very hungry for something else. She chirped her delight as he apologised and drew on his magic to condense it into a golf-ball sized nugget of sprite food. Newfound manners forgotten and speaking around mouthfuls, Immi proclaimed her thanks but described in pornographic detail how she would have preferred he feed her. Everyone laughed as her vivid imagery brought redness to Chris' cheeks.