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Chapter 2

Something warm spilled onto my muzzle and it felt good. Dimly, I remembered dreaming of pain, drugs, and someone trying to strap me down to a hospital bed last night. What a nightmare that had been. It was just another stress induced dream. I'll wake up in my apartment having survived another grueling final exam. I cracked open my eyes and quickly shut them as intense sunlight stung them. My body felt numb, and for a brief moment confusion seeped into my mind. The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and dull pain assured me that I was anywhere but home.

I moved my right arm; stiff and cold muscles protesting my demands. Reaching up I rubbed the dull headache I had; my hand jarred an oxygen tube taped into my nostrils tickling my nose into a sneeze. Being careful not to dislodge the tube I proceeded to rub my forehead a bit weakly. The room smelled of antiseptic, tension, and strawberries. I couldn't understand why I smelled strawberries amid the scents of surgical rubber, sterile plastic and cold stainless steel. The scent even seeped through the ozone tang of oxygen flowing up my nose.

"Welcome to the land of the living Ahmeh. How are you feeling?" The scents of strawberries were stronger and seemed to be attached to the sincere tones of a female.

I asked a bit groggily. "Where am I?"

"You are in Foxingale's Temple of Healing recovering from surgery. You were in a severe accident." The gentle voice explained. "Would you like a sip of water?"

"Yes. Water sounds great. What accident was I in?" My head was a swamp filled with remnants of anesthesia and morphine. "I was supposed to be taking an exam. Did I pass out from stress and crash my car?" I asked.

"No. A floor collapsed at a medical center and you were pulled from it. Now don't strain yourself asking questions. Just rest and Dr. Wolf will be in shortly." said Miss Strawberries; I decided to label that gentle voice.

The feel of a plastic bendy straw brushed my muzzle and I took the straw into my mouth. Cool water hit my cotton dry tongue and it felt like heaven. All too soon the straw was pulled from me taking heaven away. I couldn't blame Miss Strawberries. If I was recovering from surgery it wouldn't do to have the patient drown.

I heard the nurse leave and I tried opening my eyes one more time. The sunlight didn't hurt as much this time. I was the sole patient today in a room painted in soothing tones of blue, an ICU room. I passed my emerald gaze over my raised right arm. A six inch swath of white fur was shaved and an I.V. was firmly taped in. A glance past my right shoulder told me where the directional buttons for adjusting the medical bed were hiding. A few taps of the up button and I was sitting upright. Pain suddenly flared in my hips. I tried to bite back a moan of pain that escaped from me.

My head swam as I leaned back, pain laden tears trickled down my cheeks. I felt annoyed when I couldn't feel my left hand wiping away my tears. Then I noticed my tears still clung to my fur and I didn't feel my left arm, just aching pain. Throbbing in my hips echoed the throbs of my left arm. What had happened to me? Digging into my soul, past the fog of anesthesia and pain relievers I summoned the will to open my eyes against the throbbing pain. If I had just been through surgery then a morphine drip should be around here. Emerald green eyes spied the morphine drip pump. Reaching over with my right hand, the feel of cold metal tubing greeted my senses. I pulled the little machine that was attached to the metal pole close to me. The pump was pushing eight units of morphine into my I.V. already. The pump could be set no higher and yet pain was still present? I may not have had the best grades in med school, but even I knew that the maximum dosage of morphine for my size should be leaving me feeling nothing. I should be on pink clouds and not sitting in a blue room.

Moving the pump back, I gave a glace down at the white linen sheets and noticed that were my legs should have been, slightly wrinkled bedding resided. Horror bit into my belly like a viper biting prey. My legs, where are my legs! God, why did they take away my legs? Panic slithered from my belly up my spine, inch by cold dreadful inch toward my heart. Do I look at my left arm? What if it was gone as well? Maybe if I don't look my arm will be there? Maybe my arm was just numb from the drugs? Curiosity infused with panic forced my eyes to move to my left arm. Heavy bandages indicated where my left arm used to be. The world fell apart around me as the impact of losing my mobility crashed through the anesthesia. I was crippled, alone, and most likely going to spend the rest of my life useless. I wrapped my right arm around my belly seeking to feel something reassuring but only feeling loss. More tears mingled with the droplets on my cheeks dripping onto my light blue hospital gown. Not even the smiley faces in green ink smiling back at me on the gown could make me feel better.

Soft footsteps approached ICU. The scent of a male with overtones of heavy antiseptic filled the room. A baritone voice spoke, snapping my wet emerald eyes up from staring at my missing legs. Before me was a man in light blue scrubs with a metal clip board in his hands. Auburn hair peeked from under a surgical cap, and blue eyes looking warm behind a pair of wire framed glasses. The man's skin was a healthy bronze tan. A silver name plate was clipped to his scrub top reading, Dr. Fleetian Wolf.

"Ah, you're awake at last Ahmeh." Dr. Wolf shifted the clipboard in his grip. He must have noticed me crying as he pulled a stool over, placing a comforting hand on my right arm.

He said softly, "You must be feeling like hell right now."

I didn't bother with niceties or sympathy when I growled out. "Why are my limbs gone?"

Dr. Wolf went quiet for a moment writing a few things down in a chart. I let my emerald eyes bore invisible holes into him willing him to look up at me. Putting the pin away he clasped his hands on top of the clipboard.

"Ahmeh, you were pulled from a serious landslide. The EMT's had to restart your heart three times. When you arrived in the ER you were bleeding profusely. Both of your legs and your left arm were crush. Your left ribs are held together with pins and wishes. I am truly sorry that I removed your limbs but restoring them was impossible. The loss of freedom you must be thinking about must be great. I do want to assure you though, that a Ms. Herasha has given her approval on behalf of the Angel's Whisper Medical Center to contact the finest research department in prosthesis, Coalesce Bio Blends. Our records indicate that you are a medical researcher Ahmeh. I am sure you are familiar with the Coalesce Bio Blends facility in Tacoma and what they are famous for. You will be receiving the finest prosthetic limbs they can offer." Dr. Wolf explained slowly.

Panic slowly crawled to a halt as I listened to the reasoning behind my missing limbs. The fact that Herasha had signed off on what had to be nearly three hundred thousand dollars worth of medical implants surprised and scared me. I was going to end up owing the woman my soul.

"Will the prosthetics function with my unique racial structure? How long will recovery take?" I asked hesitantly.

"Ahmeh, you are not that different from a human. I am positive that CBB has been notified about your special needs and has made the adjustments to the prosthetics. The specialists will be attaching your nerves directly to the prosthetics. As far as recovery is concerned, you will need to rest and allow the implants to be accepted by your body. Physical rehabilitation will be needed as well. If you do well, I believe you will be back to work in a little over a year. I do want you to know that I will be available for you every step of the way and have contacted a well trusted physical therapist to take over your rehabilitation. Now then, please excuse me while I attend to my other patients." Dr. Wolf stood and walked out of ICU.

Ahmeh tried to think on all of this information. She was going to have a lot of metal implanted in her. Well going through airports were going to be a bitch now. Things could be worse. She could be dead. Laying back she took a deep breath. The cloying scent of strawberries wafted in letting Ahmeh know the nurse was coming back before she heard the footsteps. Glancing at the nurse for the first time, Ahmeh was impressed. The lady looked beyond professional even in her nursing scrubs. Raven black hair held in a tight pony tail, wire framed glasses just like Dr. Wolfs, and brown eyes that held a lot of intelligence in them. The silver name tag the nurse wore read ATRN Tammy Hill.

Tammy brought in a pitcher of cool water and a plastic cup with a straw. She sat the pitcher beside my bed after filling the cup. Tammy held the cup just below my muzzle so the straw was accessible. A few attempts with her dry, rebellious tongue and I managed to seize the straw with my teeth. The cool water was heaven once more to my drug dried mouth.

"Small sips at a time Ahmeh. A bit later, I'll have you try some gelatin. If you can hold that down, then I'll bring you some dinner. We have hearty beef broth and crackers tonight. Now let me help you get everything in place." Tammy said with a soft, caring voice.

I raised a furred brow in surprise. I was being treated humanely for once in my life.

Noting the raised brow, Tammy simply smiled and explained. "You are very fortunate that the EMT's transferred you to this hospital. Dr. Wolf is the only surgeon this side of the Cascade Mountains with knowledge of Anthro biology. By the way, my name is Tammy. I am one of the few Anthro Trained Registered Nurses in Washington. I'll be caring for you while you are recovering in the hospital. Here, everyone, Anthro's included are treated like family."

Finished with sipping from the straw I leaned back with a grunt of pain. Looking at the white tiled ceiling the dot pattern was boring. Why couldn't hospitals be like dental offices? A few Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbes strips would definitely help alleviate a patient's mood instead of row after row of dots. "I don't seem to remember a landslide Tammy."

"I am not surprised about that Ahmeh. Trauma can induce a mild amnesia. I wouldn't worry about it much. Would you like me to contact Ms. Herasha for you? Maybe put her on speaker phone?" Tammy offered.

"Not right now. I don't think I can speak with her until I can stop my world from spinning. I'll try in the morning after I've slept on a few things." My stomach decided to growl at that point. "Some gelatin would be nice though." I gave Tammy a white canine smile.

******

Click. Click. "In today's news, rescuers are finished combing the collapsed rubble during a renovation accident at Angel's Whisper Medical Center of Spokane. Investigators are still looking into what caused the basement floor to collapse, though they are suspecting a mild earthquake. So far five employees have been hospitalized with one in critical condition. No fatalities have been reported. In other news, preparations for the 4thof July parade have begun. As we speak, pyro-technicians are rigging the Space Needle for a spectacular fireworks show. Now for the weather..."

Click. Silence, well at least from the TV, the heart monitor was still beeping and my tail twitched with each beep. I wanted to turn the beeping off so badly that I had managed once yesterday and was severely scolded by Tammy. Scolding's rarely worked on me anymore. No surprise there. Grow up as a foster kid your whole life and it fades into the background with the rest of the noise you filter out as a teen. Tammy though had an imaginative way of scolding. I grinned laying back on my over fluffed pillow recalling her words. That monitor is there for us to know whether you're alive or not. We need that beeping to keep tabs on you. Touch the mute button and I'll have your hand in a cast before you can blink.

One of the other nurses over hearing her had come to reassure me that she wouldn't have broken my hand. I just laughed a little and told the nurse I understood that a cast wasn't only used just for broken bones but can make really handy restraints. Life in a dorm during med school taught me that much. Honestly though, when you're bedridden in a hospital waiting for the next round of surgery why do they put the worst shows on the TV? Picking up the clicker once more, I dutifully turned the TV back on and resumed the scan of several blocked channels, a slew of infomercials, soap operas, and the same news that's been repeating since 7 am.

A knock on the door of my room saved me from wanting to strangle the cheesy looking chef trying to sell a knife that can cut through cement and still fillet a fish for $19.95 plus shipping and handling. A look over my bandaged shoulder to the door and I gave a small gasp. Lahan was fixing me with a warm smile, though it looked like her eyes were a bit dark and puffy. She held a gift basket in her arms and I could see the tattered straps of my backpack hugging her shoulders. I clicked the TV off and motioned her to come in.

"Come to see the Screw-Up of Angels Whisper?" I asked Lahan.

Lahan seemed to shrug off my sarcastic question and put the basket on a table near my bed. I could see my well used olive green back pack being slung onto a guest chair. Before I could say anything more, Lahan turned to fix me with a stare that would have made my foster mom proud.

"You are not a screw up, Ahmeh. A little rough around the edges still, but you never screw things up. You've been with me for over two years now. Accidents happen. I am just thanking Rah you're still around to help me with our research." She moved to the foot of my bed and sat.

I didn't know how to respond to her words. Compliments were rare in my life and Lahan rarely used the name of her favorite Egyptian god lightly. I dropped my gaze, and that view didn't help as it only reminded me of what I lost. I turned my emerald gaze to the gift basket and the window. I normally try not to avoid Lahan's eyes but when she was upset they tended to have a life of their own.

"Are you going to sit here and wallow in self pity?" she asked. I didn't answer. "Honestly Ahmeh, I know this has been quite traumatic for you. It would be for anyone, but you can't let this throw you. What is our department's motto?" Lahan asked with a soft tone.

"If the gryphon bucks you off, shake off the dust and get back on." I mumbled flatly.

"Well, the gryphon sure bucked you off, but are you going to stop riding it?" She asked pointedly.

"No." I whispered.

"Glad to hear it. I know I am sounding harsh, but I want to know that if I get you back onto your paws that you're not going to tuck tail and crawl under a rock. Now that that is aside, I brought you a few things that may cheer you up." Lahan gave a sweet smile as if she wasn't sitting on the bed of a close friend who lost several limbs.

"I do hope it's not dog biscuits." I said snidely. I was allowed to be touchy and a bit bitchy given what I've been through.

Lahan just laughed and waved away the remark leaning over on the bed and snagged the gift basket with ease. She tore the bright red, white and blue cellophane that kept the gifts inside from spilling, releasing them from the basket like entrails from a gutted animal. I just watched as she quickly organized them. The lady was hardly a neat freak. I've seen her office too many times so I chalked this new habit to stress. Maybe if I stress her out more the resource library would stay organized. I hid my grin from that little thought when Lahan looked up.

"Don't take this the wrong way Ammy, but given the current situation, I found a few things that can be handled and operated with one hand. I got you an mp3 player with a touch screen. I know you love Blackmore's Night, so I bought every album online and loaded it for you. I also got you an electronic book reader with all of your favorites, including the Brothers Grim fairy tales." Lahan seemed to be enjoying this.

The gifts didn't stop there. She had gotten me a nice hair brush, a bright orange stress ball, a handheld pinball game, a back scratcher, a notebook and pen, and a spa card with no limit. I forced a smile onto my muzzle. The mp3 player would be heaven. Finally I could drown out the beeping heart monitor. The other gifts I may use or pawn off on a kid or something. Lahan was trying, I could tell and I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Thanks, Lahan. I noticed my poor back pack made it here. What did you stuff in there?" I was curious as the last time I had used it, a half eaten sandwich and two road maps were in them with my route for my vacation. I planned on taking the Cascade Loop and sightseeing in Washington. I even planned to stop and look into a few leads on possible relatives on Whidbey Island.

"I packed a change of clothes for you in there and tossed out your moldy sandwich. I couldn't help but notice the maps with your vacation plans scribbled all over them. The Cascade Loop is a really nice drive and I hear Whidbey Island is a nice stop. But I would be lying if I didn't say that there wasn't some research work lurking in your pack." She gave me a tense little smile.

My sigh of relief caught her by surprise. "Good. I can get to work on paying off the medical bill my fluffy butt is racking up sitting here. So what am I researching this time, trolls, gnomes, dwarves, the sock monster in the washer and dryer?" it might have come out a little snide but Lahan rolled with it.

"Actually it's a bit sketchier than our usual research. Do you recall the research into the Noble Houses of the Undead?" she pushed her glasses back up into place after they slid down.

"How can I forget? I did the field research for that report, and let me tell you something Lahan, spending three months tracking down chemically induced zombies across the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge was not fun; nor was meeting their kennel masters." I shivered with the memories that surfaced from that research. Vampires were very real and they tended to like my scent a little too much.

Lahan chuckled a little seeing me shiver. "You should have taken that repellent I offered you, but no, what does a lady from Egypt know about the undead?"

"That spray makes me sneeze, and it smells like burnt tire, raw steak, and turpentine." I said with wrinkle of my muzzle.

"Some sacrifices keep your furry tail safe, but I guess that is in the past. Back to the research work sitting in your pack. I've had a few stories and reports come across my desk reporting a recent rise in patients exhibiting depression, anxiety, and personality disorders from Central Whidbey Medical Center." Lahan spoke with ease.

"Depression in Washington is rising? You sure it's not an explosion of seasonal attention disorder? We have been getting more rain than usual." I suggested.

"I looked into that as my first thought to why these cases were happening and that wasn't the cause. All of these patients have two common symptoms. A general type of anemia, though their blood count and iron levels are normal; mental instability in patients with no family inheritance of mental disorders." She countered.

"Interesting, I will check things out once I am out of rehabilitation. I don't know where I'll be staying. Who's been taking care of Spud?" Spud was my 2 year old Pembroke Corgi. He was my travel and field buddy. Between our two noses, nothing is missed.

"I took Spud home with me. I am sure he hates the luxury of canned food, playing with Nile and Tems all day, and sleeping on a silk dog bed." Lahan laughed.

"He better not be eaten by those behemoths you call Pharaoh Hounds. The rest I am sure he can live with. Just don't make him too chubby. Not much clearance for the belly he does have." I smiled some.

"I'll make sure he stays spuddly. Now you rest and hang in there. Let me know when you leave the hospital and where you're staying for rehab. I'll visit when I can, and don't worry about your car. It is locked safely in your garage." She stood and moved for the door passing Tammy who came in with a tray of pills and food.

"By Lahan," I said tiredly. I couldn't believe how draining it was to carry on a short conversation. Tammy sat the tray on a serving table and put it over my bed. A nice feast of chicken soup, a roll, and wobbly red gelatin greeted me. Before Tammy left I asked her to put the ear buds that came with my mp3 player in my ears. With white wires dangling from my furred ears I tapped the pink player on and let the music flow, drowning out the beeping heart monitor. Tammy just gave me a smile seeing me relax and left me to my lunch.

******

"Nurse, hand me the power drill. Smoothing bore bit, size 4 please." The voice belonged to a surgeon dressed head to toe in black surgical scrubs. The voice was smooth as silk with a few undertones of boredom.

"The drill will be ready in ten seconds Dr. Yovin." Tammy spoke.

"What are the patient's vitals?" Dr. Yovin's voice asked with calmness. He swabbed blood away from the artificial rotator cuff joint.

"The patient's vitals are strong and holding. They don't build Anthro's any hardier than the Lupinossai. The drill is ready." She placed the battery operated power drill into Dr. Yovin's gloved and waiting palm.

Silence fell between Tammy and Dr. Yovin. The hum of the power drill filled the silence. Dr. Yovin moved with the precision of a man who had done this type of surgery for years. He worked at smoothing the ceramic rotator cuff. No matter how many times he installed artificial joints the smoothness and accuracy of them had to be adjusted for each case. A glance at the clock indicated that only two hours had passed in surgery, and he was almost done with installing the shoulder joint. Most of the nurses had a small betting pool that said the implants would take at least eight hours, and a rehab specialist named Myrlene had the highest wager. Dr. Yovin smiled behind his mask with a slight hint of fang. They didn't realize he could hear past the glass of the observation window. He would have this Lupinossai done and in ICU within two more hours.

"Unpack the shoulder assembly please. Increase the rate of blood transfusion as well. The patient's blood count smells a bit low." Dr. Yovin instructed as he cauterized a few bleeders.

Tammy gave the doctor a slight look of disbelief. The patient smells a bit low on blood? Checking the patients capillary refill time she agreed. Adjusting the transfusion drip, she unpacked the sterilized shoulder assembly. She'd only helped with minor artificial joint procedures and this was a whole new ball game for her. Holding the part, she spoke. "Shoulder assembly ready doctor."

"Good. Hold it above the incision sight. A bit higher please. Thank you." His calm voice directed. With swiftness he began attaching the nerve clusters into the shoulder assembly's wiring harness.

Tammy just watched with fascination. She felt like she was in a movie or on some sci-fi TV show. This was pinnacle technology she was seeing and it made her heart skip a beat. Tammy was happy to see that newer technology was finding its way into the medical treatment of Anthros.

"Lower the shoulder assembly." Dr. Yovin switched from forceps and sutures to a second drill and a tray of stainless steel screws. The drill hummed as the bit slid through guide holes on the shoulder assembly and into the ribs, scapula, and collar bone. Soon he was fastening the assembly with screws. Placing the drill aside, he touched a small depression on the front of the assembly and a little green test LED told him that the patient's nerves were sending impulses to the assemblies' sensors.

"Well done Dr. Yovin." Tammy spoke and moved the trays over to the patient's hip region. "You make this procedure seem boringly easy."

"Installation of the joints is the easiest part. Connection of the limbs and pseudo muscles after surgery is the more difficult part." He glanced at the exposed scar tissue where the patient was amputated to the hip. "Dr. Wolf should have let me operate a week earlier."

"Ahmeh was in surgery for a long time. Dr. Wolf believed she would do better if given the chance to recover for a week." Tammy spoke in defense of her own doctor.

"I suppose, but I have operated on patients with less blood volume with no issues before." He went to work, excising scar tissue and cleaning up the hip sockets. Soon he was tapping into place more ceramic sockets.

"I see. May I ask, Dr. Yovin how long you have been performing surgeries? You have grace, speed, and very sharp accuracy."

"I have been performing surgical operations since 1812. My stint with prosthetics has only been in the recent ten years." Dr. Yovin's spoke coolly.

Tammy began to reply but fell silent hearing the date. Dr. Yovin has been operating since 1812? That would make him at least two hundred and three years old. That can't be? It must be a joke he plays on his assistants. She checked Ahmeh's vitals once more feeling better having spoken her name. She didn't like to refer to the living as just 'patients'.

"I have been operating for so long, that I can do most of these procedures without thinking. Unpack and hold up the left hip assembly." He spoke again, his hands working on their own.

Tammy did as she was told. Two hours later, the artificial hip sockets and shoulder had been implanted. She stretched feeling her back muscles complain from holding certain positions for too long.

Dr. Yovin touched similar depressions on the hip assemblies that match the shoulder assembly. Both LED's winked green. "I must compliment Dr. Wolf on his sound surgical techniques that kept the nerve clusters viable. This was a very successful operation. I'll let you finish up here. I need to go collect on a bet from some unsuspecting nurses."

"I will see to it that he hears your compliment Dr. Yovin." Tammy commented softly the smiled behind her own surgical mask. So he had somehow heard about the bet? "When will the prosthetic limbs be ready for attachment?"

"In two days. I will be back then and install them. Until then, make sure the patient, I mean Ahmeh is well rested. If those LED shift from green to red, call immediately." Dr. Yovin left the surgical suite and pulled his surgical mask down. He was still grinning. Pale hazel eyes glanced at the group of nurses at the windows. "Which one of you is Myrlene? I have some wagers to collect."

******

Something was stroking my hair. The stroking had roused me from a deep, dreamless sleep. Cracking an eyelid, I caught the blurry image of Tammy sitting beside her. She still wore that strawberry perfume. As my eyes focused I noticed her slender hands were actually not stroking my hair, but rather wrapped around my hair brush working the tangles out of my red mane of curls. Tammy smiled at me.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Tammy asked with the sound of tangles snagging.

"You've asked me that once before." I mumbled into the hospital pillow. "How did the operation go?" I asked with interest.

"Dr. Yovin is a master of what he does. Everything went off without a problem and your new limbs will be here in a day or so." Tammy continued to brush my hair out.