11. Ell-rom

11

ELL-ROM

E ll-rom closed his laptop and put it down on the bedside table. He'd been practicing English with the help of the AI teacher every day for long hours, but today, he couldn't concentrate. The feeling that Jasmine would finally wake up was so strong that he kept lifting his head from the screen and looking at her, hoping to see her eyes open.

It wasn't very conducive to learning.

Jasmine had been unconscious for ten days, which was a long time, but not as long as some of the other transitioning Dormants, who had taken weeks. Everyone was telling him that he had nothing to worry about, and maybe they were right, but Ell-rom was all out of patience.

He needed his Jasmine back.

He had memorized every detail of her face during his long vigil—the arch of her eyebrows, the curve of her cheeks, the slight parting of her lips as she breathed.

So, when there was the tiniest change in her breathing pattern, he noticed it immediately, and his heart rate accelerated rapidly.

He jumped out of his chair and stood at her side in a split second. "Jasmine?" he whispered, taking her hand.

Her fingers twitched in his grasp, and her eyelids fluttered while the steadily beeping monitors beside her bed picked up their pace.

"My love?" He leaned closer, hardly daring to breathe. "Can you hear me?"

A small furrow formed between her brows, and she turned her head slightly toward his voice. Her lips moved, though no sound emerged, and her eyes remained closed.

"Bridget!" he called out, not taking his eyes off his mate's face. "Jasmine is awake!"

The door opened a moment later, and Bridget walked into the room. She stood next to him and smiled. "Welcome back, Jasmine. Ell-rom missed you like crazy."

Was that a ghost of a smile he was seeing?

It vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"I'm here, my love," he said softly. "Can you open your eyes and look at me? I've missed you so much. You're transitioning, and you've grown taller by more than two inches. I don't know if you'll be happy or upset about that. Bridget says that if you don't like the extra inches, she will gladly take them. She is right here beside me, so she can confirm that she said that."

He was throwing everything he could think of at Jasmine to cause her to want to wake up, and it seemed to be working.

Her eyelids fluttered and opened briefly before closing again.

"I'll dim the light," Bridget offered. "It might be too harsh for her."

She pulled out her phone and adjusted the lighting using an application that controlled everything in the patient room. He didn't know how it worked and didn't care.

"Try again, my love. The lights are dimmer now."

When Jasmine's eyes opened this time, they stayed open, though unfocused at first. She blinked several times, her gaze gradually sharpening until it found his face.

"Ell-rom?" Her voice was barely a whisper, rough from disuse.

"Yes." He had to fight back tears of relief. "Welcome back."

She tried to lift her hand to his face, but her coordination was off. He caught her hand and pressed it to his cheek. "I’ve missed you so much."

"How long?" she managed to ask.

"Ten days," he told her. "You've been transitioning and taking your time because your body was growing."

Her eyes widened slightly at that, and he wondered whether she'd heard him before when he had told her that she had grown in height.

"How much taller?" Jasmine asked.

"Two inches," Bridget said. "Now you are the standard height for a supermodel. Congratulations."

To his relief, Jasmine gave a weak laugh. "Yay. Did my ass shrink?"

He frowned. "I hope not. I like your ass just the way it is."

Chuckling, Bridget motioned for him to step aside. "I need to check a few things."

When Jasmine's eyes widened in fear, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'm not going anywhere. I will just give Bridget room to work."

Jasmine nodded.

As soon as Ell-rom made room for her, Bridget stepped forward. "How's your vision? Any blurriness or light sensitivity?"

"A little blurry," Jasmine admitted and licked her lips. "Can I have a sip of water?"

"Of course." Bridget moved over to the sink, filled a paper cup with water, added a straw, and brought it over to Jasmine's lips. "Not too much. Just a little sip."

As Bridget continued her examination, Ell-rom kept eye contact with Jasmine, unwilling to take his eyes off her even for a moment.

He'd known she would wake today and had felt it in his bones, but the reality of having her conscious and alert again was overwhelming.

Bridget adjusted the bed so Jasmine was slightly more upright, allowed her another sip, and then handed Ell-rom the cup.

"Morelle?" Jasmine asked.

"Awake and doing well," he assured her quickly. "And she's even discovered her special paranormal talent. She can nullify others' abilities."

Interest sparked in Jasmine's eyes. "That's unusual."

"So I've been told." He smiled, amazed at how quickly her mind was working despite just waking.

"You should be with her," Jasmine said as her eyelids slid shut. "Stay?" she murmured despite her previous statement.

"Of course." He leaned over her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. Annani is taking care of Morelle, and so is Brandon."

Jasmine probably hadn't heard that because she was already asleep, and the only reason Ell-rom wasn't panicking was that Bridget didn't seem concerned.

Unbothered by her patient dozing off, the physician finished noting her vital signs. "Everything looks good," she said quietly. "She'll probably sleep for a few more hours but don't worry. This sleep will be natural, not transitional unconsciousness."

Ell-rom nodded, not taking his eyes off Jasmine's peaceful face. He should probably text Annani and tell her that his prediction had been correct, but for now he just wanted to savor this moment, watching his mate sleep and knowing that when she woke again, she would be stronger and stay awake longer.