Saved By Her Dragon (5 page)

“Pretty
much the same thanks, but we did learn something that might help
and I need Grace’s help. But, I wanted to make sure she was feeling
okay before I bothered her.”

His friend sighed heavily into the phone and when he finally
answered, Devon had to work hard not to laugh. “Yeah, she’s
fine.
Hell
, she’s
better than I am and she’s the one that’s pregnant. I keep telling
her to take it easy and she keeps telling me to shut the hell up.
So yeah, she’s good. Whatcha need?”

“During the ritual Kyra felt the magic that’s keeping my mate
in a coma, but without being in close contact she can’t identify
the type or the user. She and Royce are headed back so she can work
her magic. Until now hanging at the hospital was okay, but with
this new information, there’s no way we can do what has to be done
without drawing attention to the fact that we’re
different
. We need to move
her to the lair and that’s where Grace comes in. Sam says we need a
legal document giving me permission to make decisions to keep
everything on the up and up and most importantly, to make sure our
fine doctor stays out of trouble.”

“Okay,
hang on, let me take Grace the phone,” Aidan answered.

A second
later, Devon heard his brethren curse, “Shit, Babe. Where the hell
did you come from? I thought you were resting.”

“And I
thought you were going to leave the mothering to me?” Grace
responded, making Devon laugh.

“Grace,
honey…”

“Don’t
you ‘Grace, honey’ me, Aidan O’Brien. Give me the phone.” Grace’s
tone was priceless and one Devon recognized as her ‘lawyer voice’.
His poor friend was completely outmatched and obviously loved every
damn minute of it, even though Devon was sure Aidan would never
admit it.

“Hey,
Devon, how are you?” Grace’s sweet, concerned voice was such a
contrast to how she had just spoken to her mate that Devon hoped
she didn’t hear the laughter in his voice.

“I’m
good. How are you and those babies?”

“Oh, we’re fine. Thanks for asking. I’m only a little over six
weeks and not even showing yet. Mostly, I’m tired of your
brethren
and his constant
hovering.”

Devon
chuckled, “I’m sure it’s a pain in the ass but it’s only because he
loves you. Remember how Rayne was with Kyndel?”

“Oh,
crap, don’t remind me. I’ll go stark raving mad if Aidan gets that
bad.”

“I hate
to tell ya, but you better get ready. Your boy’s got an extra dose
of protectiveness when it comes to you.”

“Thanks, Dev…thanks a lot,” Grace giggled. “Now, I caught most
of what you said. I’m guessing you need a health care surrogate
form, which will be a little tricky since we don’t know her name,
but I’m sure Judge Walton will give us a hand, considering Aidan
and I helped him find the thief in his
office. Give me a few hours and I’ll get back to you. I’m
assuming we need this like yesterday?”

He
grinned at the way Grace asked her rhetorical question. “Yep, sure
do. Sorry for the rush.” Devon answered, truly sorry for asking for
such a huge favor and in a hurry to boot.

“Not to
worry. Now take care of your girl and I’ll get back to you as soon
as I can.”

He could
tell that his friend’s mate was already deep in thought, but he
wanted to convey his appreciation for her help. “Thanks Grace. I
don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Remember that when I need a babysitter,” she laughed. “Talk
to you soon.”

“Talk to
ya”, and with that he hung up and headed back to his mate and
family.

Lance
immediately asked, “What next, Bro?”

“Well, it looks like we wait to hear back from Grace. You guys
can head out if you want. Thanks for everything. I’ll let you know
as soon as I hear anything at all.” He knew he was giving them the
bum’s rush, but it felt like forever since he’d been alone with his
mate. Although she still slept, he felt the unwavering need to tell
her what was going on and to just
be
with her…
alone
.

The
knowing smile on his mother’s face told him she knew exactly what
he was feeling, but it was Sydney’s yawn that sealed the deal. Sam
picked her daughter up and motioned to her mate as she spoke, “Miss
Priss here needs to get home, have a hot meal and a bath, and then
a good night’s sleep. Whatcha say there, Syd?”

The
sweet child nodded, laid her head on her mom’s shoulder, and then
answered, “Can I have chicken tenders and watermelon?”

Lance
laughed as he joined his family, “Yes, Sweetpea, you sure can. Now,
let’s get outta here and let Devon get some rest. Sounds like
tomorrow’s gonna be a helluva day.”

Sydney
squirmed in her mother’s arms until Sam set her on the floor. She
ran over and hugged Devon’s leg until he lifted her to eye level.
She kissed his cheek and whispered, “Sweet dreams, Devon. Tomorrow
you get to meet your mate.”

He
answered, “Sweet dreams to you too, Punkin. From your mouth to
Heaven’s ears.”

As Sydney climbed down and returned to her parents, Devon
looked into the faces of his family and friends and saw the same
hope he felt reflected back at him. He felt compelled to speak,
“Thank you all again for all your help. I couldn’t have done
any
of this without you. I
owe you a debt I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to repay, but I’ll
damn sure try.”

Lance
stepped forward with his signature shit-eating grin plastered
across his face and Devon prepared for whatever his pain-in-the ass
brethren was about to say. As usual Lance did not disappoint. “Now,
don’t go getting all teary eyed on us, Dev. I’d hate for your mate
to wake up and think she was stuck with a crybaby.”

Quicker
than Devon could answer, Sam was beside her mate, smacking him on
the arm and chuckling, “Leave Dev alone or I might just have to
tell him about your less than manly response to ‘Finding Nemo’ the
other night.”

Everyone
roared with laughter as Lance’s face turned an exceptionally
brilliant color of red. Never one to be outdone, his brethren did
the only thing he could…he smacked his mate on the butt, grabbed
his daughter, and jogged across the room to avoid Sam’s swinging
hand. Their antics once again reminded Devon how lucky he was to be
a part of such an amazing family and clan.

As the
laughter died down, Lance and his family exited, saying one last
goodbye. The younger healers followed with their bags of candles
and supplies, leaving only his mother behind. She stood looking
from him to his mate and back again. It was several long moments
before she spoke, and her words were overflowing with love, “You
need to get some rest, Son. We made great strides today, but there
is still a long row to hoe and you are going to need your
strength.”

She
paused and smiled before continuing, “And you might want to think
about a shave and a haircut before you officially meet your mate.”
She let the laugh she had obviously been holding at bay out and the
sound of it comforted Devon in a way nothing else could. He stood
on the precipice of one of the most important events in his very
long life, and was so incredibly grateful for all the woman
standing before him had done to make him the man he was. He closed
the gap that separated them, nodded while placing his hands on her
shoulders and said, “As soon as she is safely at the lair, I
promise I’ll shave and get a haircut. And…Mom?”

“Yes,
Son?” Siobhan answered, looking at him as only a mother can look at
her child.

“Thank
you for everything.” As soon as the words crossed his lips, he
pulled her into a hug that lasted until a nurse coming to take his
mate’s vitals knocked on the door.

Devon
recognized her as Melanie, his favorite of all of the nurses, and
one that didn’t usually work in the evenings. “What are you still
doing here?” he asked.

“One of
the night shift girls is home with the flu so I offered to stay and
help out until her replacement gets here. Sorry to interrupt,”
Melanie said as she headed to his mate’s bedside.

“You’re
not interrupting, Melanie, I’d like to introduce my mom, Siobhan.
Mom, this is Melanie, one of the best nurses in the world. Mom was
just heading home.”

Melanie
blushed and giggled, “Thank you, Mr. Walsh.” Then she looked to his
mother and stretched out her hand, “Nice to meet you,
ma’am.”

The
ladies shook and Siobhan replied, “No need for formalities, just
call me Siobhan and I am very happy to meet you. Thank you for
taking such good care of our girl, here.”

“It’s my
pleasure.” It was obvious Melanie was about to say something else
but the cordless phone in her hand interrupted.

As she
moved away to answer it, Devon walked Siobhan to the door and
watched as she met up with the young healers waiting by the
elevators. He watched until they were out of sight before turning
on his heel and returning to his mate’s bedside. Melanie was just
finishing her exam and as soon as the young nurse was gone, he took
a deep breath, reached for his beloved’s hand, and sank into the
recliner, thankfully still positioned next her bed. It was the
first time in ten days that he actually relaxed, simply wanting to
spend the next few hours talking to his mate.

Devon
brought her hand to his lips, taking her scent into his lungs. His
eyes slid shut and his dragon all but purred as her scent infused
every fiber of their being. The need to rest overrode his need to
talk.

“I have
so much to tell you, Sweetheart, but I can barely keep my eyes
open. I’m gonna put my head down for just a few minutes and then
we’ll talk, okay?” He chuckled at himself as he actually waited for
her to answer.

He laid his head on the pillow of their joined hands and spoke
directly into her mind,
“Rest well, mo
chroi’, big things are just over the horizon.”

Devon
waited as long as he could but when his mate didn’t answer, he gave
up his battle and drifted off into a deep, dreamless
sleep.

Stuck
somewhere between completely asleep and barely awake, Devon could
hear a very persistent, extremely annoying buzzing sound that he
swore he would destroy if only he could locate its origin. The
offending noise stopped, only to immediately begin again. When the
cycle of buzz…stop…buzz started for the third time, he forced his
eyes open. The flood of light from the huge window across the room
let him know he had slept through the night.

As he
lifted his head, it became apparent that his six-foot three-inch
frame was not meant to spend the night doubled over in a recliner,
and he would pay for his decision to spend the night as a pretzel.
He stretched, feeling every one of his hundred and twenty years
right before the horrendous buzzing sounded again. Finally
conscious, he realized it was his cell phone and fished it out of
his back pocket, answering just before it went to
voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Good
morning to you, too,” Grace chuckled on the other end of the phone.
“Long night?”

Devon
grinned at the lawyer’s sunny disposition so early in the morning,
remembering how much his brethren, her mate, hated mornings. He
cleared his throat before answering, “Actually, I slept pretty
well…just waking up. How are you?”

“I’m
good, always was an early riser and seems as though pregnancy has
amplified that condition,” she answered. “Aidan is less than
thrilled,” she added with a chuckle. “But what I really called for
is to let you know that the judge is signing your paperwork as we
speak and I just got off the phone with the hospital administrator
who is waiting for the fax. As soon as Sam gets there and signs the
release orders, you’ll be free to bring your mate home.”

“Hot damn
, Grace, that’s great news!
Thank you so much!”

“Sure
thing, Dev. Gotta run. Got some bad guys to put away. Talk to you
soon.” Devon smiled at the attorney’s response.

“Be safe
out there,” he said at the same that Royce and Kyra walked into the
room.

Devon
disconnected the call and stood to welcome his friends. “Morning,
guys. How’s it goin’?”

Kyra
hugged him hello before answering, “We’re good. Talked to Lance and
he said you were working to get her back to the lair, but we wanted
to stop by anyway and see if there was anything we could do to
help.”

Devon
shook his head, “Just hung up with Grace and the paperwork is on
the way. As soon as Sam signs her part, we’ll be good to go. Thanks
for coming.”

“No
problem. Great news, Bro,” Royce finally spoke.

“Damn
straight. If you guys want to head home to grab food and sleep, I
can holler when we get there and are all settled in.”

The look
of relief on Royce’s face said it all; his oldest friend and the
oldest of his Force needed some shut eye. Kyra picked up on her
mate’s exhaustion and said, “If you’re sure you’re okay then I’m
gonna take the big guy here home so he can rest his old
bones.”