Chapter 370

Accidental Surrogate Chapter 370-Dr. Hank

Ella

I stumble through the doors of the clinic with immense difficulty, Cora leaning heavily and moaning on

my one side, Rafe’s

carrier bouncing against my other.

People’s eyes go wide when they see us, but they quickly scatter out of our way to make room,

shouting for nurses and

doctors to come and help. I hold my breath, my eyes fastened on the clinic’s familiar front counter as I

pray to heaven and

back that Hank is here, that he’s on duty tonight.

I exhale a that huge breath in a sob of relief when I see him come, wide-eyed, around the corner, trying

to figure out what

the big fuss is about. Hank gasps when he sees us, dropping his clipboard and dashing into the waiting

room to get to our

side.

To my immense relief, Hank recovers quickly from his surprise and is, quite suddenly, the calm and

efficient surgeon I’ve

come to know and trust.

“What’s wrong,” he snaps as he gets his shoulder under Cora’s other arm. Where is she hurt?”

“Her lower back,” I say, my words coming slowly as I try to get my frantic mind in order. “She was

stabbed – we were

attacked, Hank – I’m so sorry – ”

“Enough,” he says harshly, dismissing my apology with a glare as he helps me basically carry Cora into

the back, to where

we can help her. “A stab wound?! Why the fuck didn’t you get her to a hospital, Ella!”

“It’s not bad,” Cora mumbles, and Hank’s head snaps up, as if he didn’t really realize that she’s

conscious enough to talk.

“Tell me.” he says, guiding us all into the first room. Then, as Cora talks to him in some kind of medical

jargon I don’t

understand, Hank and I help her up onto an examination table where she lays on her belly. Hank

hisses when he sees the

amount of blood soaking her shirt and her pants.

I take a step back, holding on to Rafe’s carrier tightly in both of my hands, finally taking a moment to

glance down at my

son. He’s fussing unhappily, wanting to be held and comforted, but I’m so, so grateful to see that he’s

essentially

unharmed. My whole heart breaks as I watch him cry – but I resist, knowing that – that Hank might

need me to help that

Rafe just has to wait –

I turn my eyes back to Cora then, watching as Hank pulls on latex gloves and then begins to peel back

her clothing so that

he can see the wound. I see him take a deep breath at first and then slowly breathe it out as he quickly

begins to work.

My eyes flick to Cora as nurses come into the room, ready to spring into action. Hank gives them quick

demands before

glancing to me.

“She was right,” Hank calmly informs me. “It’s not it’s not fatal, Ella,” he says, turning back to his work.

“I mean, it’s critical

– we have to do some work but it’s a relatively shallow stab, and the knife missed her major organs – ”

“Hank,” I say, breathless with worry as I glance between my sister – her eyes closed as she lays on the

table, faintly

breathing – and the doctor I know can save her life. The doctor whose heart she broke so little time

ago. “Hank,” I

continue, shaking my head, “she’s – she’s pregnant.”

Hank goes perfectly still and pale as he takes in my words, and I can almost see the thoughts passing

through his head

Cora, pregnant Roger she left him for she’s human humans can’t get pregnant by a wolf –

His eyes dart back to her as I see him come to the logical conclusion, the same one Cora did –

But I’m at his side at an instant, my hand on his arm. “Hank,” I say again, drawing his attention back to

me as I shake my

head, “Roger father.” Roger is the

He frowns at me, confused – “That’s impossible, Ella —“

Slowly I shake my head, willing him to believe me. “We have no explanation,” I say, holding his gaze.

“But Roger sensed it

the baby, it’s his blood – ” –

Hank takes another deep breath and roughly scrapes his palm down over his face, putting the thoughts

together. Then he

turns away from me, barking something out to the nurses about getting an ultrasound machine in here

right away.

He turns back to me. “Do you know how far along she is?” he asks, stern, and I see him tucking his

emotions about the

news away, hiding behind his professional identity alone.

“No,” I say, shaking my head, “um, not long? Maybe – maybe a week after her missed period?” I shrug,

confused, “I don’t

know?”

He nods, satisfied. “With a wolf pregnancy…” but then he turns to me again, confused, “wait, is it even

a wolf pregnancy?”

I just shrug and shake my head – honestly, we don’t know. Hank sighs and stares at her, at my sister

who I think maybe

has slipped into a daze as the nurses continue to prep her.

“If it was a wolf pregnancy,” Hank says, folding his arms, “then it would be long enough, now, to detect

a heartbeat. But if

the baby is…human? I don’t know, Ella.” Then he turns to me. “Either way,” he says, “the knife wouldn’t

have itself harmed

the child. But her blood loss…”

He sighs again, shaking his head. “I’ll do everything I can.”“Thank you,” I breathe, taking one hand from

Rafe’s carrier to quickly wrap an arm around Hank’s shoulders, giving him a

little squeeze. Then, knowing Hank’s not a very huggy kind of guy, I step away, moving to a chair

against the wall so that

he can get to work.

Hank nods to me, understanding, and then ignores me for a long time. I watch everything as Hank and

his nurses work

quickly but methodically to do what they can for Cora. I only take my eyes away to lift poor Rafe out of

his carrier, to begin

to feed him a little, hoping that the warmth of me and the comfort of nourishment will calm him down.

And, frankly,

because the familiarity of the routine will calm me as well.

When he’s finished, Rafe burps a little and then falls calmly asleep in my arms, which I’m grateful for.

Because as much

as I love my baby, I can’t…I can’t truly attend to him with all of the love I want to give while I’m so

worried about my sister.

At some point, a very kind nurse comes to me and asks me if I need anything. Remembering Henry’s

instructions not to

use his phone to tell the boys where we are – and suddenly very, very struck with worry about Henry,

and feeling terribly

guilty that I haven’t remembered him until now – I ask her for a phone – any phone.

Grateful to be able to help, the nurse slips her own phone out of her back pocket and hands it to me.

Quickly, I type

Sinclair’s number into the message box and send a quick text.

It’s Ella. Cora’s hurt, but she’ll be okay. Rafe is okay. We’re at the Clinic – I couldn’t help her. They

bound my wolf and my

gift when we tried to leave. Hank is working. Come when you can – go to your father first. I have no

idea if he is okay.

Love you.

“Thank you,” I say, handing the phone back to the nurse, smiling at her as much as I can. “Do you need

me to tell you if

there’s a reply?” she asks, still eager to do something, anything.

“There won’t be,” I murmur, turning my eyes back to my sister. The nurse nods and goes away. She

comes back a little

later with some wet wipes and a blanket, and I just blink at the wipes for a second before laughing as I

realize –

As I realize that I’m covered in blood. I laugh a little at the absurdity of it before thanking her and taking

a moment to wipe

off the blood that I can from my face and arms. Then, I warp the blanket around my baby and myself,

settling back in my

chair to wait.

Because that’s all I can do now. Wait. While Hank does what he can to save my sister’s life, as well as

her child’s.