Ignoring the thudding of my heart, I made myway toward the doctor’s office. I desperately needed a distraction, and checking on my patients would provide just that. After jogging up the wooden steps to the office cabin, I avoided Jenkins’s office and veered right into Rory’s room.
The overly clean, bleach smell was gone, thankfully. They’d listened to my suggestion to open the windows and let the kid have some fresh air. My nose greatly appreciated it, so I could only imagine how Rory’s sensitive dragon nose was feeling.
“Hey.” I smiled as I entered the room. Rory was propped up on a small mountain of pillows. His brunette curls stuck to his forehead as he slowly sipped on the tea his mother was giving him.
“Miss Rowan,” his mother greeted warmly. “He’slovingthe tea, managed three whole cups today,andhe’s shivering less.”
She turned to her son with a look of relief I hadn’t seen since I’d arrived. “This is the nice healer I told you about, Rory.”
“This is yummy,” he muttered weakly, taking a small sip of the tea.
“That’s because of all the honey.” I chuckled, crossing the room to the bottle of sanitizer and pumping some onto my hands before making my way over to Rory. “You’re looking good. How are you feeling?”
With my hand on his forehead, I used the old-school trick to check his temp first. He was warm; then again, dragons usually ran on the hotter side. More importantly, he was no longer clammy to the touch, a good sign that his fever was subsiding. Considering he was happily drinking the tea, I didn’t see the need to interrupt him and take his temp orally. It could wait.
Rory frowned. “I still don’t feel good. But I feel less ‘not good’ than I did yesterday. You know?” His brow furrowed in confusion as he tried his best to find the right words, unknowingly putting it in the perfect way.
“That makes total sense to me.” I smiled, laying a hand on his knee and squeezing to reassure him. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling great, but we’ll get you there soon enough. You’re making excellentprogress. You’ll be back to causing chaos and stealing cookies from Ma in no time.”
“He’s stopped taking all the medications from Dr. Jenkins,” his mother said, nodding decisively.
“Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways. There’s a reason the dragons of old had such strong hordes. We have plenty we can learn from them. Now, I think, as you’re managing to keep the tea down, we should start working on soup. Get a little more nutrition into you. Dragons eat a lot, especially growing dragons.”
“I’ll be abigdragon, based on how much I usually eat.” Rory laughed lightly.
“Probably,” I agreed. “Who’s the biggest dragon here?”
That smile of his brightened, and he sat a little taller. “Alpha Orsen!”
I nodded, trying my best to keep a smile on my face at the mention ofhim. I’d walked into that one. The horde leaders were usually the largest dragons because they were responsible for protecting everyone and keeping them safe from outside threats.
“Well, maybe you’ll be even bigger!” I chuckled.
Rory’s eyes widened, and he swiftly started drinking the tea again, as if he might start growing, right there, on the spot.
I turned to his mother. “Have you managed to get some rest?”
She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was paler than it had been when I had arrived a few days prior. That was the thing about caring for someone: you needed to take care of yourself too.
“I’ll rest when my son is better,” she whispered.
“Leah,” I said, keeping my tone gentle, “you need to sleep. If Rory keeps improving like this, he’s going to need you to be energized when he comes home.”
Those first few days were always vital to recovery, and I wasn’t about to treat his mom for exhaustion when her son was finally improving.
Leah nodded. “I know, I know. I just don’t want to leave him.”
The medical room was pretty large, though.
“I totally understand,” I said, walking around to her. “How about I ask Ma to bring in a bed. If anyone can get a few of the younger dragons to do something, it’s her. That way, you can sleep when Rory sleeps without leaving him.”
Leah’s eyes widened. “W-would you be okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Being near Rory is what’s best for you, and what’s best for you is also what’s best for him. He needs his mother at least a little rested so she can help him heal.”
“It’s just…” She trailed off uncomfortably.
“What?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, suspicion nagging at my nerves.
