Dr. St. John walked alongside her. Everything he said was true. All the children had a slightly elevated temperature and flushed skin.
Her grandmother walked over to where she and Dr. St. John stood off to one side going over the results of her examinations. "Ellie, the dosage of the painkiller and fever reducer has helped to settle the children, though some are still whimpering in their sleep. They calmed down when any of the Bolivars or Grant laid a hand on their heads. In all my years of nursing, I have never heard of a sick person acting differently because of someone in the room. It might make sense if the children were reacting to one of their parents, but I can't figure out why those four."
Ellie chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about what her grandmother had said, when she felt a warm hand at the small of her back. She practically jumped out of her skin.
Grant scowled. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you," he said in low tones.
She shook her head. "It's not your fault. I was lost in my own little world." She turned to the doctor. "Dr. St. John--"
He held up a hand. "Call me Nathaniel, please," he practically begged. "Everyone here calls me Doc. I think I'll forget my name if someone around here doesn't use it. Besides, we'll be working together, and Dr. St. John is a mouthful."
She smiled. "I know the feeling, and you can call me Ellie."
"You can call her Dr. Kimball," a deep voice murmured from behind her. Her grandmother snickered, and Nathaniel gulped. "Dr. Kimball..." he started, reverting back to the more formal address. "I'll help your grandmother keep an eye on the children while you head to Level One. I believe Prince Magnus wanted an update as soon as possible." He sighed and cracked his back. "We had hoped to brief you before throwing you to the wolves, so to speak. Looks like you will get the baptism by fire."
"Isn't that always the way? I did my residency in the ER."
He grinned. "So did I."
A low growl caused her to turn; Grant was shooting daggers at the smaller framed doctor. She should be furious at his caveman behavior, but she was thrilled down to her toes. No one had ever been jealous or as possessive on her account before. She ducked her head to hide her smile.
Nathaniel paled. "On that note, I'll go take another look at our patients." He hurried away to the center of the room where the cots were. Her grandmother pecked her cheek and grinned at her. "I'll speak with Adora some more to see if we can figure this out. While you're gone, I'll also start getting blood samples." When her grandmother walked away, she turned to her mate.
"That was rude," she said, staring up his face.
He shrugged, and then he looked around, his eyes searching the room until they landed on Adora who was holding Benji on one hip.
"He'll be fine with her," she assured him.
"I was just making sure he was okay," he refuted as he blushed slightly.
Had there ever been a more beautiful man? She swallowed hard and twisted her fingers in front of her. "Could you go with me to Level One?"
He nodded shortly and began walking away. Confused, she watched him walk out of the courtyard through the back door of one of the houses. Hearing a chuckle beside her, she turned to one of the mothers. "I think he means you to follow," the woman explained.
"Oh." Ellie didn't know how to interpret that.
"It's not you, sweetie; he doesn't talk much," the woman volunteered. "My name is Susan Garcia, and I'm Benji's foster mother. Trust me when I tell you he's one of the good ones. It takes a special man to care for another's child." She winked. "You better hurry. There's no telling if he'll figure out you're not there."
Ellie blinked. "Right." She quickly waved at her grandmother and hurried out of the courtyard. She caught up with him just outside the house.
He was scowling. "I thought you were behind me. Sorry."
"I didn't know if you wanted me to follow."
"Did you still want me to show you Level One?" he asked, sounding confused.
"Yes please," she confirmed.
He nodded and then walked away again. Ellie threw her hands up in the air and had to practically run to keep up. When they reached the edge of the tunnel, she hesitated. "I hate this thing."
Grant sighed. "So do I, especially since I can't float." He turned, looked around, and was about to pull the walkie-talkie from his belt when two redheaded figures came bouncing toward them. "Perfect," he muttered.
"Grant, we were looking for you. They want you and the new doc in a meeting down on Level One." The redhead turned to her. "Are you the new doc?" Ellie smiled, she couldn't help it. He reminded her of an enthusiastic puppy. "Yes, my name is Eleanor Kimball; I'm a pediatrician."