Kave
Kave was at his wit’s end. He needed to figure out how to get Humility to love him again. It was driving him crazy. She wasn’t mean to him, and perhaps that was the problem. She just avoided him in that cold way that only a female could manage, with an indifference that made his heart ache to see her smile.
She had not smiled since she had helped deliver the two warriors. It should have been a moment to be proud of. His mate had seen a problem and then calmly proceeded to organize and delegate until the crisis was over. Without her, the medic would have been overwhelmed, and with the complicated deliveries, one or more of them might have died.
And yet she would not smile. Humility wandered to the garden every morning and hacked away at the vegetation. She read on her tablet and dealt with all the problems and duties that came her way but mostly avoided him. Kave had tried to give her little gifts, but everything was polite, without a hint of romance. He was afraid to touch her, lest she turn him away in rejection. He would not be able to bear it if she turned away. Kave had to find a way to make her happy again.
Kave had to get her father treatment. He had to get her father here. Here, it would be a simple matter of telling the medic to treat him, but if he remained on Terra, red tape would keep the matter tied up for years. It took connections to get someone that kind of Mahdfel care on such a backward planet. Even if he could get him off the planet, it would be months of travel by ship, and such a trip might not be something he’d even survive. But Kave had already cashed in all his favors with Etlon. And there was no way that Athen would show him any favoritism now either.
“You look gloomy,” Odette said to him, as she cradled her new son. She’d swaddled the child so that he’d probably die of heat exhaustion. Although she had been told that her children could not burn, that Mahdfel skin was too tough for that, she refused to let the little warrior get any direct sunlight.
“My mate will not forgive me,” Kave said as he sat down next to her at the mess table.
“Yeah. I kinda got that.” Odette did not sound sympathetic, but Kave did not need sympathy right now. He needed action.
“You will talk to her?” he prodded. He tried on his best sad face but Odette didn’t seem fazed.
“That’s not what she needs right now. She needs her father. He is sick. Dying. And the only way to get her father treatment is if he comes here.” Odette had obviously been discussing this with her mate.
“True,” Kave replied.
“And the only way to get him here is through something like compassionate leave.”
“That is also true.”
“Then it would seem that Humility needs to catch some fatal disease.”
The thought of Humility near death sunk his heart. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Surely killing her was not the only answer.
“You ever heard of this play called Romeo and Juliet? It’s one of the most famous of Terran literature.”
“I have not.”
“Well, in the play, there are two lovers whose families are from rival houses, clans, if you will. So their friends hatch up this plan where Juliet takes a potion that simulates death. Romeo is supposed to pick her up after a few days and they’re to run off together with her family none the wiser.”
“Simulated death.” Kave was beginning to see where Odette was going with this.
“Yeah. Except things go wrong and they all die in the end.”
“Things will not go wrong.”
“That’s what they thought. But anyway. I’ve been studying some of the local botany and I might have found a plant with similar properties. I can’t guarantee that it won’t have any bad effects on a pregnancy though.” She placed a vial on the table between them.
“You have already created it,” Kave said, glancing at it.
“I have created nothing. I’m just leaving this here on the table. It has nothing to do with me. I will say that everyone knows what would have happened the other day if Humility hadn’t taken over. Train wreck. So I owe her one.”
“But you wish no credit.”
“For poisoning her? Hell no.”
“Shall I tell her ahead of time?”
“That’s up to you. But if I were her? I’d think I’d like a little notice.”
The baby started to fuss. Odette stood and walked away, leaving the vial on the table. Kave scooped it up. It looked innocuous enough. Just a clear blue liquid that could be anything.
He didn’t have to use it. He could find another way. She would forgive him if he waited long enough. But every cold glance, every quiet night in bed made his heart break a little more.
Later that evening, he laid in bed next to Humility who was trying desperately to pretend to be asleep. Didn’t she know he could tell the instant her body relaxed next to him, that he could hear the changes in her breathing and the slowing of her heart rate?
“What if I could make you happy?” he asked her.
“What kind of question is that?”
“It is underhanded.”
“Pardon?”
“The way I could make you happy. It is not truthful.”
“How is that any different than what you normally do?”
“It-” Kave sighed. “I am normally very truthful.”
“Yup.”
He suspected that was sarcasm on her part. Or skepticism. Or maybe both.
“There are risks. Should I take them? If I think it will make you happy?”
“Look, do what you want. I have a feeling that’s what you always do. Either way, I don’t care.”
***
The plan had been simple to follow, and it was only when he saw the deathly pallor creep over her skin that Kave began to realize the complete ramifications of what he had done. He had presented her with oatmeal for breakfast. Mixing the vial with the sweetener she insisted on using, the blue tint was hardly noticeable. The effect was near immediate. One second, she was standing up to head to the garden, the next, she was in his arms, her breathing nearly stopped.
What if she didn’t wake up? What if Athen didn’t play along with his plan? It was a clear misstep to think that Athen would automatically grant the compassionate transfer. And what would he tell her family? He could not tell the truth over the com. Kave would have to tell them that she was dying. Just the thought of having to relay such news sent his soul howling, and he actually knew she wasn’t dead.
It was done now. Time to clear his head and take responsibility. Kave scooped Humility up in his arms and then sprinted over to the med bay.
Clover and Odette were already one step ahead of him. Clover practically ripped the med scanner out of Scrubs’s hand.
“Yup. Deadly all right,” Clover said before she handed a tablet over to her husband. “Authorize this.”
“I have yet to examine the patient.”
“I’m your wife, and if you want to have a second kiddo, you’re going to authorize this.” Clover gave him a slow, deliberate look.
“After I authorize, you will let me examine my patient?”
“Of course!”
A stare down ensued, but the medic did not have the backbone to stand up to his mate. He authorized it and handed it back to Clover.
“Whatever substance she has ingested has not been registered on our med scanner. It will take a while to process. Until then, she appears to be stable,” the medic said.
“Good. Here.” Clover handed the authorization tablet to Kave. “And you better remember this when it comes time to requisition me a new ship. And I want my cat back. Not a new cat. The same cat. Got it?”
She didn’t wait for a confirmation. She kissed her husband on the cheek, picked up the baby and left.
“My wife is very particular about her pet. Her grandmother gave it me to give to her. It is very soothing, this cat, with an adorable pink nose and white paws,” Scrubs explained.
Odette nodded, and patted Kave on the arm. “Now you just need to break the news to her father. Good luck.”