Page 6 of Healing the Leonid Doctor’s Heart (Felix Orbus Galaxy #6)

Say it, Marcus. Say, I want a family again, Abigail.

Not just any family. I only started thinking this way when you arrived.

I don’t think that’s a coincidence, even though I’ve tried to tell myself otherwise.

Even in my dreams, my late wife lectures me, telling me that your arrival here is destiny, a miracle, that I shouldn’t be a coward and miss my chance.

“I want a family again, Abigail. Not just any family. I only started thinking this way once you arrived and I... I had a friend again.” No! No, no, no, fuck it, the word friend was not supposed to be in there!

But, it was too late to swallow his fear, or find the courage, or whatever it was that had just derailed him so hard that he bit his tongue and tasted blood. The words were falling, and he was falling, and Abigail was looking at him with wide, shocked eyes.

Anytime, now, Abi. Show me that I’m going to fly—or let me crash now; end the wondering.

Marcus swallowed. “I don’t think I’d recommend you for some cold, clinical sort of surrogacy, not because you lack anything, but because you have such an abundance to give. And because I’m selfish. I want you to be mine.”

“Yours? Your what?” she gasped out, voice living in some strange valley between happy and frightened.

Whatever you wish. Partner. Co-parent. Queen. Yes, my Queen. My lover. But aloud he said, “My friend and my surrogate. If you’re serious about this, that is.”

HER HEART WAS SHOOTING up and up and up, colliding with the top of her head. Am I serious about this? I was just talking about it. I was serious, but I never expected...

It was true. She might have wished or fantasized about Marcus taking a romantic interest in her, but she would never have expected this outcome.

Friends, he’d said.

Marcus’ voice pierced the bubble of clamoring, conflicting voices in her head.

“Abi? Are you serious about this? I’m sure you need time to think it over.

There are lots of Leonids who could offer you more, probably set you up with a brand new life in one of the biggest cities on the planet, and I’m sure some would be amenable to some sort of co-parenting arrangement. ”

Sure, some might be richer. Some might offer me that chance. But none of them would be Marcus.

Building a new life was scary, and she wanted to build the second half of her life—hopefully the half she would truly enjoy—with the people on this ship, the ones she’d come to trust and value.

The top of that long list was Marcus.

It’s a gamble to start over, to even think about this. That’s a risk you have to take when you love someone.

Love someone? Do I love him?

Does he love me ? No, he can’t. Friends, he said.

That’s fine. It’s not like I love him. Is it?

Do I love him?

No, I love things about him. I love being his friend.

“Abigail, I usually find the way we can sit in silence comforting. Reassuring. There’s an easiness to it that I enjoy, because when you’re a doctor teaching something new to an entire galaxy, and also trying to keep a crew alive, it’s stressful.

But this time, it’s killing me. Tell me you hate the idea so I can go find Kamau and drink a bottle of borde , and then we’ll pretend this never happened. ”

“I don’t want to pretend this never happened! I can’t believe this has happened!”

Marcus stared at her for a second. “Can’t believe it in an ‘Oh, how wonderful!’ way or in an ‘I can’t believe this old gray-maned idiot would be so inappropriate’ way?”

Abigail’s cheeks flushed. Oh, yeah. The sex part.

Him and me. Doing the biological things that are necessary to make cubs.

But it would be medical, and respectful.

Probably brief. An action between friends, like helping dress someone who has a bad bout of interplanetary flu. “It’s not inappropriate. Is it?”

“Abi, that doesn’t answer the question!” he hissed.

“I can’t believe anything so wonderful would ever happen to me. That I would have a desire—to be a surrogate—and that desire would mesh with yours. What a happy coincidence.”

Marcus nodded at her. “Fate. Miraculous, some would call it,” he said, eyes suddenly closed over.

“So, I’m not one to throw away a miracle. Let’s look into it!” Abigail said, clapping her hands together once, hoping her broad smile would outshine the nervous shaking in her voice. Too old to be scared. Right?

“Okay! Let’s look into it!”

“Yes!” She held out her hand.

Marcus clasped it in both of his paws and pumped her arm so hard she thought he might pull it off. “Yes!” he roared.

Dax pushed his head through the examination bay door, not bothering to ask permission. “Doc! Abigail! Wendy and the baby are trying to rest, and Talos is going to come over here and tear you to pieces if you wake the baby! Shhh!” He put a finger to his lips and glared.

If there was something the sweet, young man couldn’t quite manage, it was looking serious. His pursed lips and lowered brows only made a loud guffaw of laughter burst from her.

Abigail bit her lip and tried to muffle the laughter, but Dax didn’t help, throwing up his hands and practically pouting!

“Geez! Doc, what’d you do to her?” Dax demanded.

Abigail and Marcus exchanged a look. This wouldn’t be secret for long, but for now, she really hoped Marcus wouldn’t tell everyone.

What if she couldn’t get pregnant? What if she took off her clothes and he found her so unattractive he couldn’t even fathom sexual intercourse with her, a puny human, when his wife had been one of those gorgeous Servali Queens?

“Hm? Nothing. I just... We’re just celebrating our friendship. This is my friend, Abigail.”

“Ohhh, shit. Did you take something, Doc? Is one of the anesthetic tanks leaking?” Dax eased his way in, biting his lip and reaching for the exam light in his pocket. “Say ‘ah.’”

“Stop that!” Marcus shooed the young man away. “I didn’t take anything. We’re perfectly healthy.”

“Yes, we’re grand. It’s not every day you find out someone you admire so much considers you a very dear friend.” A friend who will share a child with you...

Dax cocked his head in confusion. “Wait, Abigail didn’t know you liked her? I thought everyone knew that.”

“You have patients to see to,” Marcus said quickly, launching at Dax with his paws outstretched.

Wait. Likes me?

She felt like a silly schoolgirl with a crush. Of course, Dax must have misunderstood.

But Dax ducked under Marcus’ arm, shaking his head. “I thought you two were a couple since like—I don’t know. Pretty much the start. You always sit next to each other at dinner. Around here, that’s like putting on an engagement ring.”

Marcus glowered at his assistant. “That’s enough, Dax.”

“I’m sorry! It’s just obvious to anyone with eyes—no offense, Abi.”

The Leonid grabbed Dax by the collar, steering him back towards the exit. “Sometimes it’s just friendship.”

“Oh, I guess. Maybe at your age. No offense, Marcus.”

“Offense has been taken,” Marcus snarled. “Speaking of age and a basic inability to notice what’s right in front of him, I’m sure that you’ve noticed that Skyla is waiting for you to formally acknowledge your feelings for her?” Marcus crossed his arms.

“Me? Skyla? No! No, no, Doc. We’re just friends. She’s waaaay out of my orbit, and I’m no fool.”

Marcus scrubbed his hands through his mane. “With respect, you are a colossal fool. She likes you, idiot. I mean that in the kindest possible way, Dax. Go read up on Canid courtship signals, particularly the way females act when they want a man to take action. And mind your own business.”

Abigail watched Dax sag into the nearest chair, toppling empty hemoanylzer tubes and specimen cups sitting in their sterile rows as he did so.

“Me? She likes me ?”

“Yes, and thank Bastet, because you look at her like a starving man at an all-you-can-eat feast whenever you think she’s not looking. That’s the folly of it, isn’t it? We drop our guards when the objects of our affections aren’t watching, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is blind.”

“True, I guess. Although I wouldn’t say you look at Abi like you’re starving—more like she’s some really rare, really expensive medical equipment, and you can’t wait to take her home and try her out,” Dax mused.

Abigail gasped as Marcus suddenly seized his assistant and “helped” him out of the room.

“It was just an observation!” Dax hollered as he went skidding into the waiting area of the med bay.

Talos emerged from Wendy’s room, fire in his eyes. “Someone is making too much noise,” he growled, the thunderous snarl rippling ominously in the air between them.

“Abigail and I were just leaving. Come on. Buy you some cinnamon custard and we can talk?” Marcus held out his paw to her.

She took it, and this time she let herself feel the warmth of his pads on her skin, let herself feel the flurry of tingles in her chest.

“You’re on duty, Doc!” Dax hissed.

“I’m not leaving the ship,” Marcus said drily. “If you need me, send out a call.”