Eight
“Nonsense. You have been awake for more than thirty-six hours, Dani. You need to sleep. I can sit with Allison. I used to be a nurse in my day and remember the drill with transfusions. I’ll keep an eye out for any symptoms that there is a problem and record her pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate . . .” There was the sound of paper fluttering and the woman with the slightly husky voice queried, “Hourly?”
“It isn’t usually checked that often in the hospital by this point,” a softer voice acknowledged, sounding weary. “But we aren’t in a hospital so I’ve been watching her a little more closely than usual.”
“Of course,” the husky voice said with understanding.
Allie frowned slightly, wondering what TV show Liam was watching. It sounded like a medical drama, but he was more a cartoons kind of kid. Actually, she thought now, they didn’t have a TV anymore. She hadn’t been able to afford one of those for a while, so he must be watching something on the computer. She was silently running through the list of movies and TV shows she’d downloaded on the computer in search of which one he could be watching now when the soft voice said, “I’ll just examine her one more time and then I’ll go lie down for a bit.”
In the next moment, Allie felt a cool hand on her forehead. Startled, she was about to open her eyes to see who was touching her when it was done for her. At least, one eyelid was pulled up gently.
Squawking in surprise as she found herself staring up at a petite blonde she didn’t recognize, Allie tried to raise her arm to knock the woman’s hand away, but her arm wouldn’t move. It was restrained somehow.
“You’re awake,” the blonde said with surprise, and then assured her, “No, Allie. You aren’t restrained. I mean, your one arm is, but only to keep you from knocking out the IV.”
Allie opened her mouth to speak, and then grimaced at the pasty feel in her mouth. She’d obviously been sleeping on her back with her mouth open for a while. That was the only time she experienced this disgusting taste in her mouth, and her throat was dry so she’d probably been snoring as well.
“Leonora, could you fetch some water for Allie, please,” the blonde said, glancing across the bed.
Allie shifted her eyes to see an attractive woman with black hair hurrying from the room. Once the door closed, she peered warily at the blonde again.
“She’ll be right back,” the woman said reassuringly. “She just—”
The blonde fell silent and they both looked toward the door when it opened. Allie felt relief slide through her when Magnus entered. She couldn’t have said why. He was a virtual stranger to her. Still, she was relieved.
“It is good to see you awake,” Magnus said, moving to the bedside.
“I’m afraid she was a bit alarmed when she woke to two strangers in the room with her,” Dani admitted quietly.
“I knew I should have stayed,” Magnus said with a frown as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand reassuringly.
“You’d been here all night,” Dani pointed out. “I pretty much had to threaten you to get you to go feed.” Smiling wryly, she added, “It just figures she’d wake up five minutes after you left.”
Allie’s eyes widened at the news that he’d sat at her bedside for so long, and then the door opened again and the black-haired woman returned, carrying the promised glass of water.
Dani unstrapped her arm and Magnus helped her sit up. He then took the glass from Leonora, and asked Allie if she could hold it. When she nodded, he held it out to her. Allie smiled at him crookedly as she took the glass.
They all watched her drink, which made her feel ridiculously self-conscious. But she felt better after a couple of sips and lowered the glass with a sigh, then looked around the room she was in. It was different than the last room where she’d woken up. This one was a pale yellow with a unicorn border along the top of the wall, and dolls lined up on the fireplace mantel. A little girl’s room.
“This is Sunita’s room,” Dani said with a faint smile as she followed where her attention had gone. “Elvi’s daughter.”
“Tricia mentioned her,” Allie said quietly, grimacing when speaking hurt her throat a bit. “I must have been snoring up a storm or something. My throat hurts.”
When amused grins were her only answer, she knew she had been and felt her face heat up with embarrassment. She also found she now had trouble meeting Magnus’s gaze. Clearing her throat, she said, “So we must be in Port Harry.”
“It’s Port Henry,” Dani corrected gently.
“Oh.” She peered at the woman with curiosity. “Why don’t I remember the helicopter flight here?”
“You fainted at the Enforcer house,” Dani reminded her. “I arrived minutes later and examined you. You weren’t in very good shape. You were low on blood and suffering tachycardia. You needed a transfusion, but I had to get some test results first so took some blood samples and sent them to the lab, then gave you a sedative to keep you calm and stable for the trip.”
“So I was low on blood and you took more?” she asked with amusement. “You must be Dr. Dani.”
The blonde smiled wryly. “It sounds counterintuitive, I know. But I needed your blood typed and matched,” she explained, and then added, “And yes, I’m Dr. Dani Argeneau Pimms.”
When the petit blonde held out her hand, Allie shifted the glass she’d been holding in both hands to one and shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you. I’m guessing since I’m feeling better that you gave me the transfusion?”
“Yes. Now we’re just watching to be sure there are no adverse reactions. You’ll need to be monitored for twenty-four hours.”
Allie’s eyebrows rose. “I had no idea blood transfusions took so long.”
“Took so long?” Dani looked confused. “It only took a couple of hours.”
Now it was Allie’s turn to look confused. “Sorry, I thought I heard . . .” She glanced to the dark-haired woman. “Leonora?”
“Yes.” The woman smiled at her brightly. “Hello.”
“Hello,” Allie murmured, and then said, “As I woke up I thought I heard you say Dani had been up for thirty-six hours?”
“Oh,” Dani said with understanding. “Yes. Well, I have, but that’s not down to you. You only fainted yesterday after lunch. Lucian wanted you moved here at once, so I came with you so that I could oversee the transfusion once we got the test results back and knew what blood type to use. He was able to get a plane quickly, and we landed at a little after two in the afternoon. The lab had the test results shortly after that, but you just happen to have golden blood, which is extremely rare and hard to get ahold of. In fact, I didn’t think they’d be able to find any. I should have known better. Never underestimate the abilities of Argeneau Enterprises,” she added with a wry smile, and then shrugged. “They found a donor, convinced them to give blood, and flew it straight here. It arrived at five o’clock this morning and I started the transfusion at once.”
Allie stared at her blankly for a moment and then said, “I’m pretty sure I have red blood, not golden. At least, it’s been red every time I’ve cut myself and bled.”