“I’m glad you’re alive.” He glanced at her and then back to the road.

“Me too.”

“Next time you don’t leave Reservation without a full escort.”

She relaxed in the seat. “Not a problem.”

“Tiger will be fine. We’re strong and heal quickly. He shouldn’t have been released from the hospital until his bones had knitted firmly but he went a bit insane when he learned of your kidnapping. This set his healing back but it will be fine. Stop worrying.”

She hugged her chest and fought the urge to cry. So much had happened that she knew it would take time to recover from it mentally. Her emotions were too close to the surface.

“Don’t shed tears. Tiger will heal.”

Tiger claimed to have no memory of the episode in the hospital. Her eyes closed as that information settled in. It left her wondering if, in his drugged state, he might have stated what was in his subconscious. Did he think they shouldn’t be together? That she really was the enemy?

The Jeep halted and Smiley escorted her inside the building. The medical staff was on alert, all of them waiting inside to handle any emergencies sent their way. Zandy was led to an exam room and a female doctor with a male Species nurse followed her into the room.

“I’m Dr. Allison,” the woman introduced herself. “You are?”

“Zandy Gordon.”

“She works here at Reservation,” the male nurse stated quietly. “She was brought in once before to be treated by the younger Dr. Harris after an incident with the protesters at the gates.”

“Thank you for the history.” The doctor flashed a smile. “I’m usually at Homeland but the helicopter crash victims needed my attention so I was brought to Reservation. I’m afraid I don’t know that many of the employees here but it’s nice to meet you. I just wish the circumstances were better.” She put on gloves and gently gripped Zandy’s jaw, turning her head to study her cheek. “Someone hit you?”

She carefully detailed the attack at her house and consequent kidnapping. The entire story of what she’d endured came pouring out. “So that’s all of it. Tiger needs you more than I do. He thinks his leg is broken.”

The woman turned her head to glance at the nurse. “Go make sure Harris has it handled, okay? We’d both like an update.”

The New Species left the room quickly and the doctor smiled tightly. “Tiger is better off in Harris’ care. We had a big argument yesterday. He wanted to leave the hospital but I was adamant he stay there. I’m the last person he’ll want working on him. He’d probably snarl at me if I said ‘I told you so’.”

“He saved my life. He could have burned to death with me if the top of the motor home had collapsed.”

“I’m glad to hear it was worth the pain he must be in. Are you hurt anywhere besides your face?” The woman’s gloved fingers touched her bruised cheek, frowning. “What are these red marks from along your jaw?”

“They put duct tape over my mouth. I used my tongue to wet it and worked it away from my lips but couldn’t do anything about the rest of it. The jerk in charge of that group tore it off right before he tried to kill me. It hurt so bad that I couldn’t even breathe for a few seconds. Ouch! Now it just feels tender.”

“The skin didn’t tear but it’s going to hurt for a while.”

“My ribs and waist hurt too. They had me secured with belts that dug into me.”

“Lie back.”

The doctor carefully examined her. “It’s just some bruising. I don’t feel anything broken. You came out of this ordeal remarkably well. You’re lucky. Any trouble breathing from the smoke you inhaled?” The doctor cleaned some cuts she found on Zandy.

“No. It was windy enough to blow most of it away from me.”

“You can sit up.” The doctor snapped off her gloves. “You were lucky, Zandy Gordon.”

“Can I ask you something?”

The doctor arched her eyebrows. “Sure.”

“Um…” Zandy hesitated. “Something happened that is bothering me. Tiger said some things to me at the hospital when he woke and he claims not to remember it. Do you think the drugs made him blurt out things that he might feel deep down?”

The woman sighed and glanced at the door, then back at Zandy. “I’m not sure what you were told but you do work for the NSO so I’ll assume you can be trusted. Some of the drug cocktails discovered in Mercile’s files were experimental. That’s what they did. They created drugs to test on New Species. Some of them have reacted quite violently when the drugs were given to them. They were aggressive to the point of being dangerous, while others have had some unique side effects that range from blackouts to severe personality changes while under the influence of some of the drugs. Was whatever he said normal or something you would expect him to say?”

“I don’t think so.”

“There’s your answer. If it’s bothering you, ask Tiger. New Species are known for their honesty. I’m positive that he’ll want to clear up whatever issue you had with him. Did he threaten you or try to attack? I have spent a lot of time with him and that isn’t normal for him. He’s actually a sweetheart.”

A bit of jealousy rose. “Have you two dated?”

Dr. Allison shook her head. “No. You’re not just an employee, are you? I’m guessing you are involved with him?”

“We were before his accident. He…um, kind of ended it with me when he woke up. He said he doesn’t remember saying any of it and apologized.”

“You have your answer already. Talk to him. The drugs are out of his system but he’s going to need to go back on them. They accelerate their healing.”

“How?”

Dr. Allison hesitated. “You’re with Tiger? I thought those were bite marks when I was examining your shoulder.”

“Yes.”

“You’re in love with him. I see it in your eyes when you talk about him.” She smiled. “They were genetically altered. Their DNA was spliced with various animal genes. Mercile was able to manipulate them enough to, well, in layman’s terms, make their bodies go into hyperdrive with certain body functions. Their immune systems are amazingly resistant to illness, disease, and they heal very quickly. The drug cocktail we discovered in the records causes rapid healing. He’ll need more doses if he did in fact break his leg again. It will heal in days rather than weeks. They hate being down and are terrible patients.” A wistful look softened her eyes. “In most cases. I have one patient the drug doesn’t seem to work on at all. He’s in a coma and we haven’t been able to wake him.”

“I’m sorry. I hope he recovers. Was he in the helicopter crash with Tiger?”

“No. 880 was rescued and brought to Homeland some weeks ago. I hated to leave him in the care of others but they needed help here. I still have my hospital privileges in this area. Most of the other doctors who have worked longer for the NSO don’t since they were brought in from different parts of the country. That’s why I was called in.” She turned away for a moment then faced her again holding a syringe. “I need to give you this. You have some cuts and this is an antibiotic. I’d feel better giving it to you. I can tell those aren’t fresh, probably happened when you were taken, and germs fester in a matter of hours. When did you have your last tetanus shot?”

“Okay. I’m up to date on all my shots. I never miss an annual checkup.” Zandy winced and looked away as the needle sank into her arm. She hated shots.

“That was a strong antibiotic and it’s going to mess up your birth control.”

“I’m not on anything.”

The doctor’s eyebrows rose. “You aren’t?”

“No.”

“Okay. I’ll spare you the lecture about condoms then since Tiger is already using them. These shots have been known to mess up your cycle. You could skip a period or have two back to back.”

“I don’t have any diseases. Tiger doesn’t have to use condoms.”

The other woman turned away to dispose of the syringe and alcohol swab she’d used to clean the injection site. “I wasn’t informed you were his mate. They really need to tell us these things.”