CC: Tammy<[email protected] /* */ >;

Ashaya<[email protected] /* */ >;

Amara<[email protected] /* */ >

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 11.14 a.m.

SUBJECT: Patient A

Lara—I spoke to Tammy and Ashaya, got the latest update on our patient. Though my last attempt didn’t work, I’ve been going through my book (yes, again), and reading between the lines, it seems I have a distinct empathic skill that may help our patient.

I can’t prove it, as there’s no way to test the theory except on someone in her condition, but if you don’t think it’ll interfere with anything else we’re attempting, I’d like to try it.

FROM: Ashaya<[email protected] /* */ >

TO: Sascha<[email protected] /* */ >

CC: Tammy<[email protected] /* */ >;

Lara<[email protected] /* */ >;

Amara<[email protected] /* */ >

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 11.17 a.m.

SUBJECT: re: Patient A

As you all know, earlier today, Lara injected Patient A with a chemical agent Amara and I suggested. It may lead to a rise in the patient’s level of consciousness. I think it’s reasonable to assume that will only make her more receptive to Sascha’s empathy. I can’t see any harm in it, in any case. Amara agrees.

FROM: Lara<[email protected] /* */ >

TO: Sascha<[email protected] /* */ >

CC: Tammy<[email protected] /* */ >;

Ashaya<[email protected] /* */ >;

Amara<[email protected] /* */ >

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 11.58 a.m.

SUBJECT: re: re: Patient A

I’m open to anything that might help her. Sascha—I’ll give you a call and we’ll arrange a time for you to drive up. It might be better to wait till we can see if Ashaya and Amara’s formula is having any effect.

One of the senior techs has been in this week and recalibrated the equipment we’re using to monitor the patient, so we’ll see even the slightest blip of consciousness.

FROM: Tammy<[email protected] /* */ >

TO: Lara<[email protected] /* */ >

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 2.02 p.m.

SUBJECT: Life

I didn’t get a chance to talk to you about this while I was at the den, but I hope you’re not letting this situation with Patient A consume you, Lara. I know how hard it is not to get emotionally invested—most of the time pack healers have no choice—but we both know that’s not healthy, especially with this patient, given her prognosis.

I’m worried about you. Call me.

FROM: Lara<[email protected] /* */ >

TO: Tammy<[email protected] /* */ >

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 3.15 p.m.

SUBJECT: re: Life

I just tried to call, but your phone went to voice mail. I think you must be at the boys’ hockey practice. (Lord, how adorable do they look in those miniature uniforms?! I don’t know how you bear it.)

I’m okay, really. Walker and the kids keep me grounded, and Walker’s so protective, he literally carries me out of the infirmary if I’m being stubborn about resting. I’m not joking—he threw me over his shoulder the other night! Said I’d already gotten my warning.

I have to admit I might have snarled (okay, yes, I did), but I figure that’s healthy when my rational Psy mate suddenly turns into a caveman. And here I thought I’d have it easier than all of you mated to dominant changelings. Shows what I know.

Lara

p.s. The snarling didn’t last long. I have no willpower when he goes all strong, silent, and possessive. Just call me Woman of Goo.

FROM: Tammy<[email protected] /* */ >

TO: Lara<[email protected] /* */ >

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 3.27 p.m.

SUBJECT: re: re: Life

You are so crazy for your Psy, I can see the silly smile on your face right now. :-)

Nate mentioned to me the other day how he and Walker agree completely when it comes to “taking care of” their healers, even if we’re “totally unreasonable” about it, and—when I got over the urge to smack him—I decided to kiss him instead. We lucked out, babe.

Apparently they’re bonding. Nate dropped by the practice to see the boys, and I’ve been informed we’re all having dinner tomorrow night. I’m not sure if we should be scared about this development, but I can’t wait to see you so we can talk properly.

Here’s hoping Patient A responds to Sascha’s attempt.

Tammy

p.s. Attaching photos of my gorgeous little troublemakers from their game this weekend. Jules only got sent to the penalty box once, and Rome actually stayed in the game rather than coming off in solidarity. I’m happy to say that tightly knit as they are, they’re also turning into fierce little independent men.

<sent via mobile datacomm>

Chapter 24

HAWKE LOOKED AT the document BlackSea had sent through a few minutes ago and tapped Riaz for a consult, since the lieutenant had had multiple face-to-face contacts with members of the unusual “pack” while he’d been in Europe. He caught Riaz on his way down from the higher elevations, had to wait forty-five minutes for him to arrive.

“Had lunch?” he asked when the other man walked into his office. It was half past three, but he hadn’t had a chance to eat.

Riaz sprawled into the chair in front of Hawke’s desk. “No, but I won’t fade away.”

“I might.” Putting through a call to the main kitchen, he asked one of the kids on after-school kitchen duty to bring over two plates. “Pasta okay with you?”

At Riaz’s nod, he added in a request for dessert and grinned at the pert response of the head cook, Aisha, when the juvenile on the phone conveyed the request. Hanging up, he handed Riaz a copy of the BlackSea docs. “What do you think about this?”

Unlike most changeling groups, BlackSea wasn’t composed of one particular species of changeling, but was a conglomerate of all water-based changelings. Several worked on Alaris, the deep-sea station located in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the Mariana Trench, though the station personnel were by no means solely changeling.

A large number of BlackSea’s people had normal occupations—in cities located by the sea or near large bodies of fresh water, depending on their individual species. There weren’t, however, any water-based changelings in the greater Bay Area, or along the California coastline. Given SnowDancer and DarkRiver’s heavy dominance in the region, BlackSea’s people had given it a wide berth, not wanting to inadvertently cause a territorial skirmish.

Now they wanted not only permission to move freely in the waters in and around the territory, as well as leave to work in the region, but also an alliance with SnowDancer. However, their vision of the alliance process was very different from Hawke’s. Hence the consult. “Wait,” he said when Riaz began to speak. “Let me comm Kenji in since he’s the point person with BlackSea.”

Toby knocked on the open door right then, using his foot, his hands occupied by a loaded tray. A tug of pride in his gut at the sight of the boy who was now family, Hawke waved him in. “I hear you volunteered to do extra shifts in the kitchen.” According to Sienna, her baby brother was turning into an excellent cook.

Toby nodded, dark red hair sliding over his forehead as he placed heaping plates of chicken and mushroom fettuccine on Hawke’s desk, followed by a large bowl of salad, big hunks of warm garlic bread, two bottles of water, and two enormous slices of baked cheesecake. Last was the cutlery.

Beaming at having completed the entire operation without spilling anything, Toby leaned the tray carefully against the wall. “Aisha said to call if you need more.”

“Thanks, Toby. Give Aisha a kiss from us.” Hawke winked.

Toby left the office with a grin, closing the door behind himself at Hawke’s nod.

“I think she’s trying to fatten us up.” Riaz groaned as he dug into the fettuccine.

“Sorry, too busy dying of gastronomic bliss to talk.”

There wasn’t even a crumb left when they finished. Deeply satisfied, Hawke brought Kenji into their discussion via the big comm screen on the wall to the right of his desk.

“To what do I owe this honor?” Kenji asked, putting down a half-eaten burger, the mysterious bruise on his cheek from the night of the mating ceremony no longer in evidence, though his hair remained a sleek purple sans the gold stars.

Riaz held up the document in silent explanation.

Kenji grimaced. “Yeah, what’s that about? I didn’t say anything to their negotiator, but it’s not exactly how we do things.”

Face-to-face, changeling-to-changeling, that was how SnowDancer began a relationship that had the potential to turn into an alliance.

“BlackSea isn’t usual in any way, shape, or form,” Riaz said, stretching out his legs in front of him after changing position so he could look directly at the screen. “Because they’re scattered worldwide, they’ve had to develop other ways to connect. It doesn’t help that the majority of their membership is secretive and reticent to the extreme.”

Hawke rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, no one’s ever confirmed if some of the changeling species that are officially part of BlackSea even exist.” Water-based changelings didn’t advertise their species, and many chose to live on the small floating cities in international waters that had been permitted them under the accord signed after the Territorial Wars.

The cities were open to anyone—if you could find transport to the location: BlackSea had uniformly chosen dangerous stretches of water to anchor its cities, waters a fish alone would be able to navigate. And since they made sure there were no appropriate surfaces on which to land flying craft, the only visitors to their cities were invited ones.