Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

HALABY

W e cleaned up and dressed again before continuing the conversation. I would never look at any sort of cooking oil again and not think of taking Tobias across this little table, but we did need to discuss our future together. Since my talk with Ghosha yesterday, I hadn't been able to think of anything else. Not even exploring the sea around the island had been able to calm my mind. I needed Tobias's input.

"So you said you were here for the rest of the month, right?" he asked as he stomped into his boots.

"Correct. I'm on leave." I cleared my throat before admitting, "It's a forced leave for my mental health."

Tobias came over and sat opposite me, clasping my hand on the tabletop. "Are you doing okay?"

His concern touched me, and I smiled at him. "I think so, yes."

"Do you want to tell me the issue?"

The way he'd phrased his question had me thinking he would take it in stride if I didn't want to talk about things. While I appreciated that, he deserved to know what his mate was dealing with.

"I recently lost a patient and wasn't able to handle it well. The experience brought back struggles I had after losing patients in the past, during the war. The captain of the ship knew me then, served with me, and recognized what was happening. He ordered me to take a leave. Eventually, I knew he was right."

Tobias nodded a couple times before saying, "Okay, I don't want to go deeper than you can here, but what war? It's hard to believe the Norlons have ever been at war with anyone."

"Well, we didn't start it, if that's what you mean," I said with a grin. "But it was done in our defense against the Vigzek, an elitist people bent on enslaving us."

"Wait, wait," he said, pointing at me. "I know that name. Oh! They were abducting humans, right? Little green men?"

"That's right. All the humans on Nor prior to us coming here were those we rescued during the war."

"How long ago was all of that? Twenty years?"

"Yes." And yet, sometimes, it felt like yesterday.

"But…" He squinted at me like he was confused. "How old are you?"

"Forty-eight."

"Huh." He grinned at me. "I'm twenty-four."

I wasn't sure why that seemed to tickle him since our ages meant nothing. Both of us would live for decades more thanks to the medical technology available to us. We would have a long life together.

"It makes sense to me," he said, "that anyone who's been involved in a war would have issues. The civilians, the soldiers, no one makes it out without something affecting them."

I squeezed his fingers. "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course! If there's anything you need from me, please ask."

I had to laugh. "Finding you has been very good for my mental health."

He scooted out from his side of the table before doing something that made it tip up. He secured it to the wall with a hook, and then came over to straddle my lap. His bright orange pants creaked as he settled on my lap, the thickness of them hiding every detail of his body from my appreciation. He cupped the back of my head and kissed me with a gentleness that went straight to my heart.

Yes, Tobias was very good for my mental health.

"So what we need to sort out," he said, "is what happens when your leave is over."

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his hips. "Exactly."

"Okay then, what are our options?"

I could've given him several, but there was one that kept running through my mind. "The one I can't stop thinking about is that maybe I don't go back."

"Oh, really? Okay," he said when I nodded. "Can they get along without you?"

"Well, in the infirmary, they would elevate another doctor to lead the team, either temporarily until my replacement could arrive from Nor or permanently. If temporarily, the timing of my departure might depend on when?—"

"The next shipment of sex workers is ready to leave," he said with a grin and a little shimmy of his hips.

I chuckled at him. "What was that for?"

He shrugged, still grinning. "I was thinking about signing up."

A bolt of possessiveness shot through me, making my claws come out as I gripped his ass through his trousers. "Tobias…"

He laughed like it was startled out of him. "I'm not still thinking about it! There's no need to growl at me, Doctor. And don't you poke holes in these pants either."

Embarrassment heated my skin as I retracted my claws and patted him. "Apologies."

"No, it's good." He kissed me briefly, looking me in the eyes. "I want you to keep me to yourself."

I grabbed his head and claimed his mouth, kissing him deeply until I had him moaning. Everything in me said to take him again. I honestly wanted to dive into the water and have him there. But the temperature was far too cold for him, and we hadn't decided anything yet.

He pulled back, gasped a breath, and laughed. "I swear, someday I'm going to pass out while kissing you."

"I certainly won't allow that to happen." That was reassurance for him and a promise to myself.

Tobias kissed me gently again, his thumb caressing along my whiskers. "So what if you did leave your service as the ship's lead doctor? What would you do here on Earth?"

"My role is two-fold. One, I am the lead doctor for the ship, as you said. Two, I'm leading the medical branch of the delegation. That means I've been involved with the distribution centers mostly, educating the politicians and the public, sharing the technology and usage methods."

"It sounds like you've been doing two very intense jobs." Concern filled his blue eyes and he began combing his fingers through my fur across the top of my head and down my neck. "That's a lot of stress to deal with on top of dealing with patients."

"It is." I couldn't deny that there had been days when I'd begged off one job or the other, too caught up in a single aspect of one to do both.

"Could you stop doing one of them? Just be a delegate? Just be a doctor?"

"A delegate," I said so quickly, I surprised myself.

"You could quit being that?"

"No, I… I think I might like to quit being a doctor."

He nodded encouragingly. "Be an administrator for the delegation only."

"Yes," I barely whispered, the possibilities coursing through my mind.

"From Earth?"

I shivered as everything started to take shape and shared my thoughts aloud. "I do think that would be possible. It might even be preferable. Of all of us, I could see a permanent position for a medical lead to remain on Earth, overseeing the centers. As we learn more in every country, we've had to adjust the message and practices, adapting to what the humans need. Doing so remotely has been fine, but I could see traveling to the centers and speaking in person as well."

"So you could do the job from here?"

"I could."

Tobias smiled brightly. "Then you should do that."

A laugh bubbled out of me, and I hugged him close. There would be much to do before such things could happen, but just thinking about it was easing something inside me. I loved being a doctor, but stepping away from the day-to-day of working with patients appealed to me. I also loved being an educator, which the delegation work provided me an opportunity to be. Every time I'd stepped back from one side or the other, it had been the doctoring that I'd put aside. Partly because I was confident that there were several others perfectly capable of taking over in my absence and partly because it was too easily breaking my heart.

Tobias rested his head on my shoulder and sighed. "I'm going to have to introduce you to my family."

"Will they object to our mating?"

"Oh, no," he said as he sat up. "It's all of this." He waved an arm around the room.

"Because of what happened to your sister? I will apologize profusely for my part in causing her to fall. I understand your parents may not forgive me as readily as she has."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Believe me, my father forgot all about that once he heard about the fish. I mean, not like it didn't matter, but like the fish mattered more since she was fine." He slumped on my lap, and I hated how defeated he looked. "Last year, I went in as a partner with a couple other families running an aquaculture farm. They started it when the queen first announced the coming legal changes, and we're about a year away from taking the fish to market. And then we'll have a huge crop every year."

"Then why are you on this boat?"

"Because my father refuses to change! He's going to meet you and immediately ask you to fill the net again. He won't care that it's probably illegal or?—"

"Oh, no! Was it?" That had never occurred to me. One of my first acts on the planet, and I had broken the law.

Tobias shrugged. "I really don't know, but the point is that Pabbi wouldn't care. He wants the fish in his nets like the last six generations of Ahlbergs have had and that's the end of the conversation."

"My mother is the one who struggles with change," I said to let him know I could relate, "but we can get her there eventually. Will seeing the profits from the aquaculture endeavor help move your father?"

"That's been my hope. Helli and Mamma have been working on him, too, but he still won't budge." He backed off my lap and wandered over to straighten a magnet attached to a small refrigerator. "I just don't want to put you in the middle of things."

I got up and went over to hug him from behind, pressing my cheek against his. "Being mates means helping each other through our problems, too. I want to do whatever I can to get your father on the right path for the future of your family. If that means telling him I didn't realize I was breaking the law and will not do so again, so be it."

He hugged my arms to his chest before turning around and reaching for my face. We kissed, and I tried to convey reassurance that everything would be alright. At first, anyway. Kissing Tobias fired my blood every time, and soon I was pressing him against the wall and tugging on his hair. He let out a deep moan that had me trying to find a way into his entirely too-thick pants again.

"Oh, come on!" Helli hollered from above before stomping on the deck three times. "Nothing about this boat is soundproofed, you know!"

Tobias and I stared at each other for a moment before stepping apart. He cleared his throat and gestured toward the stairs. "Maybe we should?—"

"Yes, of course." I held my hand out so he would precede me up the stairs.

"So," Helli said when we appeared, her arms crossed. "I guess you do know his name, huh?"

Beside me, Tobias was turning bright red. "Um, Helli, Halaby's my…mate."

She screamed with an incredible volume, and I cringed back as Tobias jumped. But then she was smiling and fumbling for her phone. "Oh, my god , I have to tell everyone! Squish together. I want a photo."

"Helli," Tobias said with a groan, "I haven't even told our parents yet. You can't?—"

"They don't follow me. It's fine." She held her phone up, clearly waiting for us to pose for her.

Tobias looked at me, and I wasn't sure if he wanted me to cooperate, protest, or possibly toss Helli overboard. Since I didn't mind someone accepting and enthusiastic of our mating announcing it to their friends, I grabbed Tobias and hugged him from behind again. He laughed and covered his eyes, while Helli took several photos from different angles. I gave her my information so she could send them to me as well.

"You're ridiculous," Tobias whispered to me on a laugh.

"I'm proud to call you mate and for everyone to know it."

He sighed and his eyes seemed full of a heartwarming emotion. Could love be so quick? I believed maybe it could.