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Opal wrinkled her nose, as if smelling something she didn't like, before forcing a smile on her face. “Thank you.”

The healer gave a little purr then began instructing the other healers about how to best move the bed through the station. Lexarit and Narmuna took positions on either side of the bed, each of them finding excuses to touch Cleo.

Cleo looked unsure, but with Opal on the bed she didn't seem as worried.

“I'll speak to her as soon as we get to medical,” I said, then left Moreum to stand next to Lexarit at the side of the bed.

“This is a lot,” Cleo murmured as one of the healers guided the bed. “I mean, you told me, but I didn’t really believe you.”

“I know,” Opal said with a chuckle.

Cleo shook her head as if having a hard time believing what she was experiencing.

As when we'd left, there were crowds gathered on upper levels in all the open spaces. They spoke quietly among themselves, but there was no shouting and nothing was being thrown. I was sure Moreum was responsible for that. I was thankful. This was already overwhelming for Cleo. I couldn't imagine how much worse it would be for her if the crowd acted out.

When we got to medical, I was surprised to see all the alcoves open and empty.

“Where's Sloane?” Opal and I asked at the same time.

“She's in the suite the station provided,” Healer Grifforum said. “One of us goes there every rotation to check on her. She is healing well, and we decided being in a larger and quieter place would be beneficial."

I highly doubted he'd let her go without a fight. Healers didn't like to release their patients until there was absolutely nothing they needed to do. Mieshorum must have insisted she be allowed to leave.

That couldn't have been easy. I was proud of Mieshorum.

“That's good,” Opal said.

“Suite?” Cleo said. “Fancy! I can't wait to see it.”

“You might need to spend a day or two here,” Healer Grifforum warned Cleo.

She frowned at him. “Why? A scan and a few tests shouldn't take that long.”

“We need to be thorough,” Healer Grifforum explained. “We can't be too careful with you and the pup's health.”

Cleo snickered. “I can't believe you guys call babies pups. I’m not having a litter.”

“Would you rather I used cub?” Healer Grifforum asked. I noticed he didn't offer to call her child a baby. Baby was what we called our own offspring, so I thought it might be too close for Healer Grifforum to feel comfortable. With my eyes open to what humans truly were, I could see all the word layers we built to separate us from them.

“Where is the cub's sire?” Healer Jastura asked

Cleo looked at Opal, who answered, “Jasper died.”

“Do you know what caused his death?” Healer Jastura asked. “If it was genetic we could look for the same markers in the pup.”

“I don't think that's going to be an issue,” Opal stated dryly. “I don't think dying in a poorly maintained station to ship corridor can be inherited.”

“Poor humans,” Healer Jastura said. “I wish the Ever Secure had found you sooner.”

Opal looked over and met my eyes. “I agree.”

Opal

The healers reluctantly let Cleo leave after only a few hours. She looked exhausted, and the winning argument came from Narmuna who pointed out she needed to rest and would do better in the suite than in medical.

I thought we'd be in the same suite as before, but the law keepers escorted us to an entirely different section.

“This is where employees and station residents live,” Moreum explained.