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“Who’s that? Are we letting any old stranger in there now?” Scorpio scowled in Alice’s direction.
His protective nature was explainable, but rude. He would not treat her that way, not on my watch.
“Go and get some sleep,” I told him.
He glared, his eyes narrowing on the doctor. What was he so afraid of? I had already texted him to let him know that I was bringing someone who knew what to do.
“Sorry,” I said to Alice when he didn’t reply or move. “This is my brother.”
Tucking her blonde hair behind her ear, she smiled at me. “Please, show me the patients.”
Her dismissal of Scorpio made me bite my lip to prevent myself from smiling. He wasn’t used to being ignored by pretty females. Before Aries found Natalie, the pair of them, and Leo, would go out on the town to find women, all the time.
“Right this way.” Picking up a mask and gloves from the living room table, I didn’t have to ask her to do the same.
She knew the drill. I admired her efficiently and determination to help. It reminded me of why doctors and nurses did what they did for a living. To help save lives.
Scorpio stood watching us. I had sent Taurus back to stay with Kerry until we had sorted everything. He had wanted to visit, but he knew how important it was to contain the threat. We had always been strict on containing any threat towards our mission, it was how we worked.
“It will be fine, go to bed.”
Nodding, Scorpio trotted up the stairs, explaining who Alice was to a couple of the others who were hanging out on the balcony. Alice would have to know about us to a certain extent. Our weird names, and the fact that there were so many of us, warranted questions.
“You’ve done a good job of keeping everything quarantined from what I can see,” Alice said as I opened Aries’ door and went in.
Scorpio had turned on the air conditioning to get the air moving in the room. Aries was sitting up, leaning against the headboard as he looked down at Natalie. Her chest was moving slowly, her skin sallow.
Libra was on her side, her eyes flickering open and closed as she tried to fight sleep. Her forehead was still sweaty. If we didn’t get the antibiotics into them quickly, they would remain very ill.
“You need to help her,” Aries said. “Who’s that?”
He was pale, his face no longer burning up. Maybe the salve and tea had started to work on him.
“This is Alice. She’s my boss, so she knows a lot about Anthrax. She’s going to help us.” I glanced at her, my cheeks flaring red when I caught her staring.
Clearing her throat, she went over to Natalie and leant down to inspect her. Using a torch and stethoscope, she checked her vital signs, asking me to write them down. Taking out my pen and pad, I scribbled them, doing the same when she checked Aries and Libra.
Just having her there made me feel more confident. If she could help me to get them well again, I could worry about the consequences of what I’d done after.
“That’s Natalie,” I said, pointing. “That’s Aries. Yes, it really is. And, that’s Libra.”
Her raised eyebrows went ignored as she shook her head. I would make up a story later about our names. If I’d ever let anyone know about my siblings before, I’d always made up some excuse.
As Alice spoke to Aries, asking his symptoms, I got the medication out of the bag and put them in neat piles on the chest of drawers. One end was the pile of oral antibiotics, the other was the Raxibacumab.
“We need to get them on the antibiotics first,” Alice announced, coming back over to me as I dug the bags out.
Handing her two, I took the third one over to Libra and put it on the table next to her. Taking a needle out of my box, I proceeded to set up a cannula in her hand. Alice worked with Natalie first, obviously realising that she was the worst off.
Once she was ready, I hooked Libra up to the antibiotic, using a nearby nail in the wall to hook the bag onto. It wasn’t exactly professional, but it was all I had to work with. At least she was getting the much needed antibiotic.
“Thank you,” Libra whispered.
Smiling, I stopped myself from kissing her cheek. Seeing my siblings so weakened wasn’t anything I’d ever seen before. We were all unstoppable. All warriors.
“When they’ve finished these...” Alice jolted me from my thoughts as she went over to Aries to prepare his cannula and hook him up. “...we need to get the antitoxin in them. It’s probably what’s effecting Natalie so badly.”
Nodding, I left her to go and put the rest of the bags in the fridge. Capricorn was in the kitchenette area, cooking up a big lunch of...sandwiches.
“You must be starving,” she said, putting each individual sandwich into a bag and sealing it tight.
Her meticulousness made my insides smile. She was doing a great job at making sure nothing was contaminated. And, I could really do with eating something.
“How are they doing?”
Handing me several bags, she also placed a couple of packets of chocolate on top, winking when I raised my eyebrows.
“They’re still bad. Aries is sitting up, so that’s something, but he’s still ill. You know how pig-headed he can be, he’ll try and fight it while still preparing the wedding or something.”
Smiling to herself, Capricorn rested her gloved hands on the side and leant forward slightly. “And, Natalie? Will she make it? Scorpio isn’t hopeful.”
“She will!” My snapped response caused Capricorn to cringe.
My shoulders sunk as I realised that I had taken my frustration out on her. It wasn’t her fault, it was no one’s fault except Nick’s. If we could just make sure that everyone got on with their part, it would work out fine. And, that way, I could just focus on healing the others.
“Virgo, have you...? What about your power?” Cap’s words were quiet so that Alice couldn’t hear.
Swallowing, I glanced towards Aries’ bedroom door before I came closer to my sister. “I’ve given them my salves and tea. It’s not working.”
Although I often healed all of the others’ scrapes instantly with my potions, they weren’t worthy enough for Anthrax.
“I know you can make the earth shake, but have you ever thought that maybe you could heal just by touching them? I was reading something the other day that was scientific about intention. If you intend to heal someone with your touch, maybe your power would radiate through that?”
It was unusual for Capricorn to be so open minded. She was an earth sign, like me. We were grounded and practical, but she could have a point.
“I’ll try it,” I whispered, smiling at her.
Leaving her to finish the food, I went back to the room. The patients couldn’t eat solid food, so they’d been given soup for their lunch. Scorpio had done a very good job of looking after them when I was gone.
“Yes, we need to,” Aries said, stroking Natalie’s head.
She giggled slightly, her hand slowly coming up to stroke her stomach. “Okay,” she breathed.
Alice spotted me as she picked up Aries’ laptop and handed it to him. “Apparently, they’re planning a wedding?”
Stifling a laugh, I shook my head at my brother. He was determined to not let a little bacteria like Anthrax ruin his wedding. It was typical of him to want to push through. His fiery nature always made sure he got what he wanted.
“How are you feeling, Nat?” I asked as she drifted into consciousness.
Separating the sandwiches from the chocolate, I put them in neat piles on the table in front of the sofa. Libra winced as she turned to face away from us, her arms wrapped around her waist. She would feel a lot better once the antibiotics started to work. Hopefully.
“I feel awful.” Nat clenched Aries’ hand. “The baby’s not moving as much. Is she okay?”
Alice came straight over. “Do you mind if I check the baby’s heartbeat?”
I bristled, my back straightening. I was just about to ask the same thing, but she got in there first. She might be gorgeous and intelligent, but this was my family.
“It’s okay, I’ll do it,” I said, going over.
Shrugging, Alice smiled at Natalie before retreating to check on Libra. If anyone was going to check on my niece, it would be me. Bending, I lifted Natalie’s nightgown and put my stethoscope on her stomach. Moving around, I put my hand over my heart when I heard the faint heartbeat. My eyes filled with water as I glanced up at Aries who stared at me, his face full of concern.
“Here,” Alice said, handing Aries some gloves. “Put these on and you can have a listen.”
He shook from illness and nerves, but managed to get them on before I gave him the stethoscope. Leaning over, he pressed the end onto Natalie’s belly. A smile blossomed on his cheeks as a tear dropped from his eye. He could hear his child’s heartbeat.
Blinking, I looked away as he looked down at Nat. Alice was watching me, her expression soft. It hardened, looking away as soon as our eyes made contact. My heartbeat increased as butterflies did somersaults in my belly. Was she watching me to gage my skills as a nurse, or more...?
“We need to keep planning the wedding, baby,” Aries whispered to Nat as she batted him away, ready to sleep again.
She had hardly eaten anything, the sores around her mouth bothering her too much. If she didn’t start to perk up soon, she might not make it. My palm sweated against the gloves as I took the stethoscope back and put it on the side, ready to be sterilised.
Going back to Natalie, I placed my hand over her forehead with the intention of healing her. Just like Cap had suggested. Nothing happened as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“So, where are you getting married?” Alice fiddled with the meds, plucking out what she needed next.
Moving away from Natalie, I went over to the chest of drawers. I wanted to stay and listen, but I had to get the oral antibiotics to the others. Smiling at her, I counted out the amount of boxes I would need and took them out of the room. Aries spoke slowly, subdued, but he told her of his plans to book a beautiful manor house. I had never taken him for that type of man.
“Wait,” Alice called, apologising to Aries for interrupting him. “Virgo, you need to go and get some sleep. I’ve got everything covered here.”
Pausing with my feet on the threshold, I looked over my shoulder. Could I trust Alice, who was practically a stranger, to look after my family? We had got off to the wrong start, but her dedication in helping me had made my estimation of her go up enormously. My whole body was flagging. She was right, I needed to sleep.
“Thank you.” Rushing back into the room, I threw my free arm around her awkwardly and squeezed.
She stayed frozen as heat exploded through me, warming me up from the inside out. What was that?
Moving away, I ducked my head and left the room without saying another word. I had no idea why my body had reacted to her so violently. My hands shook as they held the boxes, almost causing them to tumble out of my arms.
“Virgo?” Aries called.
He was so quiet, I almost didn’t hear him. Popping my head back into the room, I raised my eyebrows. “What’s up?”
He pointed at Nat, who was trying to lean up on her arms. Alice stopped her, telling her to lay back down.
“Natalie has something to ask you.” Aries lowered himself to the bed, obviously too tired to keep sitting up.
Going back to my friend, I looked down at her, waiting to see what she needed. Her eyes were red raw, her lips cracked, but she managed to reach up and clasp my hand in hers.
“Virgo, will you be my maid of honour?”
