Two of a Kind - 9. Chapter 9: Help or Hurt

"Cavel!" Saulle came running out of the back door of the community center. "Dr. Waddel is on the phone." He was panting with his mouth open, looking at Bashta and Cavel anxiously.

"Did he say anything?" Bashta scrambled off Cavel's lap and they both began hurrying toward the center.

"No, I uh... I didn't wait to find out." Saulle flushed. "I just dropped the phone and ran to find you."

Cavel snorted and shook his head; Bashta smacked his arm. "Stop it. He's under a lot of strain too." Saulle's wife was one of the pregnant women who were sick and their kitling, Ariella lay beside her, coughing and running a fever. Cavel had sat with Saulle a lot over the last few days when his parents went back home to rest. He refused to leave his mate and daughter, afraid they would slip away if he did. He only slept when his body forced him to. Even then he would lie down between them with a hand on each of them, reassured by their breathing, waking every time they coughed or moaned.

Rubbing his arm, Cavel frowned but looked over at Saulle. "Sorry," he muttered. They were all trying desperately not to jump to conclusions about why the doctor was calling. They could have the antiserum ready or it could have been a complete failure. Almost as disastrous would be the need for more time. They were out of time.

"Yes doctor." Cavel stood by the phone, his back rigid. His hand clenched spasmodically as he listened intently. "We'll be back with what you need as soon as possible. Have the clinic ready." Cavel hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is it... Did they?" Saulle couldn't finish his question. Many of the adult clan members had gathered by the door, the whispered message that the doctor called had made its way quickly through the center.

"They have an anti-serum they think will work. But they need someone to test it on. They don't know if it will help or hurt, or just do nothing at all." Hearing the clan members instantly begin talking to each other, Cavel turned and saw the crowd at the door. "It's a risk. This cure could end up killing the kitling we take."

"They're already dying! All we can do right now is make them more comfortable as they waste away," one of the fathers spoke up. "Even with the medicine your mate gives them they grow weaker and weaker." Shawnel looked down at his mate, holding her as she cried. "Merilyn will die, maybe within hours, if we do nothing. Take her, help her."

Turning her head to look at them, Arenna added her pleas to her mate’s. "This is the only chance she has. Don't let Merilyn die for your fear of what might happen. Watching her die without being able to at least try to save her is the worst thing we have ever faced. You can do something; you can take her to the clinic." Her hands were clenched into fists, "Take her."

Bashta's own feelings surged through their bond. He wanted to help them, needed to help them. Cavel was shaking, "I can't take you, either of you. If she dies..."

Merilyn's mother interrupted him, "Then she dies with those who care for her just as much as we do. Your mate has enough love in him for all our children. We have seen it. I trust you, and him, with her life."

Cavel couldn't speak, he could only nod. He turned into Bashta's arms and buried his head in his neck. He was overwhelmed by the needs of his people, by their fierce hope and loyalty despite their almost overwhelming fear. That they would trust him meant more than any show of submission ever had. Bashta held him, just as Cavel had supported him earlier. Cavel had vowed to do whatever it would take to save his clan. Together, they would find out if their journey and trials had been in vain. He took a deep breath and then lifted his head.

"We will leave as soon as she is ready."

***

Saulle waited until Bashta had his harness on before he handed the pathetically small bundle of blankets over. Cradling her body close to his chest Bashta nodded at Saulle. Cavel was already flicking the numerous switches and pushing the buttons necessary to get their plane started. Once he composed himself he had sped their journey as fast as possible. It was a good thing Katrelen had brought the plane back that afternoon.

Cavel wasn't being unsafe but he was wasting no time. Saulle had barely backed away after closing Bashta's door before Cavel began to turn the plane and send it to the end of the runway. Bashta felt a bit nervous but most of his attention was focused on the very sick little girl he held tenderly in his lap. It helped that Cavel's iron determination flooded their bond.

Bashta could almost hear his thoughts repeating in a steady mantra, 'I will save my clan. I WILL save my clan.' If there was any way that Cavel could will the antiserum to cure Merilyn, it would. Bashta held the hot, listless body closer. Merilyn's fever had risen dangerously high and she was wracked with chills. Her face was now covered in the black lesions but she was too weak to scratch at them anymore.

Every breath she took was a struggle through the congestion in her lungs. Bashta prayed that she would make it long enough for them to reach the doctors and their medicine. Even with it she might not survive, not unless they got a miracle. Some of the machines he had seen in the clinic when they drew his blood had to be able to help her. This science Cavel was so excited about had to have more uses than boiling water very quickly.

***

As soon as the wheels on the plane touched down Cavel was steering them toward a car at the end of the runway. The white coat beside the car surprised him. When they got closer he could see that it was Dr. Pennelst standing in a pool of light from the hanger floodlight. When Cavel turned off the engine he rushed over to them, opening Bashta's door and holding out his arms for the small kitling. Bashta's arms tightened on her protectively.

"Bashta, let the doctor have her. He can help her." Cavel reached over and caressed his shoulder, hoping his faith would make his words the truth. Without the anti-serum... It was hard to let the little girl go, he understood that but there was nothing more Bashta could do for her. "You kept her alive until they could finish their work. He brought a dose of the antiserum with him. He can give it to her right now and then monitor her while we drive to the clinic. She's almost gone, Bashta. We have to let him do his job."

Bashta bowed his head and then reached down, gently passing Merilyn's small body into the doctor's arms. His large dark eyes were shiny.

"Please save her," he whispered.

Dr. Pennelst nodded gravely. "I'll do my very best." He hurried back to his car, carefully using one arm to open one of the back doors. Bending down he placed Merilyn gently onto the wide back seat. Using the stethoscope around his neck he checked her heart and then watched her breathe, small wheezes each time her small chest rose. Putting the stethoscope back around his neck he reached through the front seats and picked up a small black case. Unzipping it, he pulled out a small vial and a syringe. He looked at the little girl and hesitated, biting his lip as he slid on a pair of blue gloves.

"What's wrong?" Bashta asked anxiously.

Dr. Pennelst shook his head. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just trying to determine how much to give her. We need to give her a large enough dose to provide immunity but not hurt her. Too much is just as dangerous as not enough."

Cavel put his hand on the doctor's arm, stopping him from inserting the syringe into the vial. "What do you mean too much can hurt her? You don't know?" His voice was rising in his agitation.

"No. This is a brand new medication to treat a disease we've never seen before. Normally this would be researched and tested for months, years even, before it was ever used on a person. Your clan can not afford that. This is the only way we can save them." Dr. Pennelst looked up at Cavel, "I understand your fear for her, we worry that the cure might be worse than the disease but this is her only chance, a slim one that is the only option left for her. I can't take the time to test for reactions; I have to give her a full dose now. Let me try to cure her. I am very good at what I do, and what I do is make medicines that no one else can make."

Bashta watched in silence as Cavel stepped back, letting go of the doctor. He leaned over and put his arms around Cavel's chest, both of them watching silently as the doctor carefully extracted half a syringe full of the clear fluid and then removed the air. Putting it down he picked up a sterile kit and pulled out an IV needle. He carefully pulled back the blanket and exposed one thin arm. As he swabbed the area Cavel looked away but Bashta watched intently as the slender silver needle dimpled the skin and then broke through. Dr. Pennelst quickly tore off a strip of tape and secured the IV to the wasted hand.

"She is going to need fluids and other medications that would be most effective if delivered through an IV so we are going to leave this one in." He hooked up the thin tube coming out of a clear bag hanging on the garment hook. He carefully picked up the prepared needle with the antiserum and opened the second port on the IV tube. The doctor paused, briefly closing his eyes before he pushed down the plunger, making Merilyn whimper as the cold fluid was forced through the IV.

He quickly tossed the needle into a portable sharp container and removed his gloves. "That's it," he said, zipping up the case. "One of you needs to stay back here with her. We need to get to the clinic as soon as possible. I'll drive."

Without saying a word Bashta slid in the open door, quickly re-wrapping the blanket around the shivering kitling and pulling her into his arms. He looked up, his eyes showing his need for Cavel’s support as he watched over her. Cavel just nodded before he slid in beside them; they would both stay with her. Wasting no time, Dr. Pennelst drove them to the clinic, running as many yellow lights as he safely could.

***

Bashta held in his sneezes, not wanting to jostle Merilyn where she lay cradled in his arms as they hurried through the clinic corridors. Going down a different hall than before, Dr. Waddel ushered them into a colorful room with jungle scenes painted on the walls. There was a small bed made up with a purple blanket in the center of the far wall. Bashta headed toward it as the doctors moved around and got various equipment ready. Bashta carefully laid Merilyn down in the bed, easing her head on to the pillow and smoothing her hair away from her face. Her forehead was hot and her face was flushed under the black sores.

"It doesn't look like she is getting any better," Cavel said in a worried voice. His teeth came down to gnaw on his bottom lip.

"The medicine will take time to work. Actually the lack of response is a good thing. Her body hasn't had an adverse reaction so far which is what I was far more concerned with." Dr. Waddel looked very serious. "I'm a little surprised she's still alive as sick as she is, to tell you the truth. We'll get her on the monitors and start running a few tests in an hour. I'm hoping we will have some preliminary results within two hours or so after that. If she starts getting better you will still have to leave her here. Her body was on the verge of completely shutting down and her recovery could still be touch and go.

"If you agree, Dr. Pennelst can stay here with her and create more antiserum while I go with you back to your clan. We have enough to treat the sickest of your kitlings and can have enough ready for the rest in a few days. Once the kitlings are safe we can work on inoculating the adults before they get sick too." Dr. Waddel waited for Cavel's nod before he joined Dr. Pennelst in hooking up monitors and tubes to the small child lying deathly still on the white sheets.

Bashta worked his shoulders, his hands flexing as the white tips of his claws slid in and out of his fingers. The beeping of the machines worked on his nerves. He had a goal earlier and was able to overcome his fear and unease about the modern machinery around him. Now that Merilyn was out of his hands he didn't know what to do with himself. A soft whine in his throat got Cavel's attention.

Cavel's scent surrounded him as his arms wrapped around him. He whimpered again as he shuddered. Bashta turned, sliding his arms around Cavel's waist and burying his face against the strong neck of his mate. Cavel soothed him, rubbing his hands up and down Bashta's back.

Bashta's lips moved almost silently against the skin of his neck. "What if she dies?" he whispered.

"She won't."

"How do you know?"

Cavel's hands slid up Bashta's neck as he leaned back. He stared at Bashta’s beautiful eyes that were so full of pain. "Because you're here. The Jaguar wouldn't have sent you to me if the kitlings were going to die anyway. Without you, Merilyn wouldn't have made it to today, much less received the antiserum the doctors could only make from your blood." His thumbs caressed the lean cheeks, wiping away the few tears that slipped from Bashta's eyes.

"She'll be okay," he said softly.

"I don't know if I can believe that right now. I'm afraid this won't work." More tears fell as Bashta nuzzled his cheek into Cavel's warm hands.

"I know. It's okay to be afraid but we have to believe. We have to trust that the Jaguar would not have brought us together if there was no hope. The antiserum will work, the kitlings will recover, and we will put this plague behind us. Then we will be together; I'll take you home and we won't leave for a week. We just have to trust."

"I trust you. I just keep picturing how my siblings must have laid in their beds, just like Merilyn is now while I was being cured at the Temple. Except no one could save them, there were no magical cures or shiny machines. Why? Why did this happen to my family and your clan? Why was I the only one spared?"

Cavel hugged Bashta to him. "I don't know. I'm sorry your clan wasn't saved. I know it's not fair that they didn't have the same chance Merilyn has, that you had. I know how you must feel; the pain you have to feel that our clan will survive while your family had to die."

Bashta shook his head violently, "No, I don't begrudge the chance we have to save your clan. I really don't."

"I know, I know," Cavel soothed. "You just wish..."

"Yeah." Bashta nodded his head. He drew in a deep breath and looked up, "But now I have another chance. A new family and a new home."

Cavel smiled at him. "Yes you do. A new clan to help take the sadness from the one you lost. We will never replace them but our people love and trust you already. Just as I love and trust you."

"I love you too."

***

Saulle led the throng of clan that rushed out of the community center to surround the jeep. They stood silently watching as two men got out. Merilyn's mother and father were surrounded by their friends and family, the smell of fear flooding the air. They rushed up to Cavel, looking at him fearfully in the predawn light. Shadows of the pain they had endured were stretched across their faces as they felt their grasp fail on their last thread of hope.

"Where is my daughter? Why didn't you bring her back, she's dead, isn't she? Where is my Merilyn?" Completely panicked, Merilyn's mother fell into Cavel's arms as she struggled to get to the car behind him. Cavel's head bent down to slowly whisper in her ear, her renewed sobs shattering the stillness as everyone watched silently.

Cavel reached out and put his hand on Shawnel's arm and squeezed. The sympathy on his face made the man blanch. The doctor stood to one side by the car, his face impassive as he held his black medical bag.

"Oh god, no!" Shawnel fell to his knees. “She died!”

"No!" Cavel passed the sobbing woman to Saulle. He was Arenna’s brother and Merilyn’s rapid descent toward death had pained him as much as watching his own wife and kitling slowly get sicker. Saulle held her close to him and hugged her, hope rekindling in his chest for their clan.

Cavel dropped to his knees beside Shawnel and gripped his shoulders, making him look up and into his eyes. "She's alive!" Shawnel stared at him, his eyes not seeing him as his mind teetered on a total shut down. Cavel shook him a little, “I swear to you, she’s alive and was getting better even as we left.”

"She's alive?" Shawnel’s breath came in small pants as he struggled to control himself. "She... she's not, she didn't..." His arms came up and latched onto to Cavel's shoulders, his claws tearing his shirt and piercing Cavel’s skin in his shock and relief.

"Your daughter is still very sick," Dr. Waddel told the stunned couple, "but she should recover in time. Dr. Pennelst has stayed with her to keep an eye on her recovery and create more antiserum. I trust him implicitly."

Arenna looked over at Cavel from her spot in Saulle’s arms. “Where is your mate?” she asked. “We have to thank him for saving our daughter.”

“He stayed with Merilyn. He wouldn’t leave her alone, not until you could come be with her. He is…”

“He is a good man and he will be a great mate for you,” Saulle said. “I am glad you didn’t listen to me.” Cavel looked at him gratefully, nodding over the heads of stunned parents. Their grieving was cautiously turning to hope that what Cavel and the doctor said was true. Saulle helped his sister over to her mate. Shawnel managed to let Cavel go as he stood to gather her in his arms.

"Can we go be with her?"

"Yes," Dr. Waddel said. "The clinic is set up to house parents of the younglings we treat. I understand how much touch affects Carthera patients. Merilyn won't be miraculously healed but I know she wants you."

Arenna gasped, "She spoke?"

Merilyn had stopped speaking before Bashta and Cavel made it home, her happy giggles reduced to pained whimpers and cries. Arenna had given up ever hearing her precious voice again. Shawnel looked to Cavel who smiled at him and nodded.

"She asked for you," Cavel said with a soft smile, "and for her lovey."

Shawnel's wife began sobbing again, her hands clenched in her mate's shirt. He stroked her back and rubbed her neck. "She asked for us, Arenna. She's going to be okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore, Bashta did it. They saved her." Arenna nodded her head, still unable to speak.

"Sometimes a mother has to see for herself," Saulle said gently. "Katrelen can fly you to the clinic.”

“And bring Bashta back,” Cavel said, missing his mate by his side. They had only been bonded for a week but it felt as if it had been years. Already he relied on Bashta’s presence. Turning to him for advice, comfort, companionship had become essential to Cavel. Without him it was as if the entire side of his body felt cold and the place in his mind where he usually heard Bashta echoed uncomfortably.

Faintly, he felt love come through their bond. Stretched thin as it was, the fact that Bashta felt him and sought to reassure him hammered home the love he had found and how miserable he had been without it.

“Bring him back as soon as you can,” Cavel ordered Katrelen in his strongest alpha voice. He was ready to heal his people and put this tragic time behind him. Finding his mate was a source of joy to his soul, even with the traumatic beginning his mating had endured. He was ready for that alone time he had promised Bashta but first he needed his mate.

Saulle smiled and chuckled at Cavel’s eagerness. “You heard your alpha.”