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Doctor Nelson turned up just before lunch the following day and after another hour, when Rocky’s blood was tested again as well as Mal’s, he deemed it worth letting Rocky shift back to his human form. But they weren’t allowed to be alone.

“It’s too risky.” Doctor Nelson shook his head at Rocky’s show of teeth. “I know you’re keen to get out of here, but you will need to stay here for at least another twenty-four hours. We have to know the curse is completely gone.”

Mal tuned out the cursing Rocky was sending through their mating link at the doctor’s assessment. Patience wasn’t one of Rocky’s skills. Frankly, Mal was quietly relieved the doctor hadn’t just shot Rocky in the ass with an antidote, let him shift, given him some clothes and then sent them on their way.

The shift back to human form wasn’t immediate. Rocky’s wolf was lying on the hospital bed, Mal right by his side. Mal’s stomach was a mass of nerves.

Rocky had spent hours murmuring nonsense to Mal through their bond the night before – ideas he had about what they’d do when they got back to Arrowtown. Rocky wanted them to get their own house, somewhere between the sheriff’s office in town and their friends’ house. It would be a place for us, Mal. That home we used to dream about when we were sleeping under bridges.

But that was then, and now in the light of day, Mal was scared. He watched the wolf closely, looking for signs of a change, and when Rocky’s wolf form started to shimmer, Mal forced a smile. If the slightest hint of rejection was on Rocky’s face when his human side formed, Mal would…would…well, he’d deal with that if it happened. For now…Mal’s smile widened as Rocky’s human features appeared.

“Look at you. You need a shave.” Mal thought his cheeks would crack with the strain.

“And a damn shower.” Rocky rolled off the edge of the bed, catching Mal in his arms. Mal was suddenly up close and personal with Rocky’s nakedness. That was new. “Hold me,” he whispered in Mal’s ear. “It’s all right. You can do that now. I’ve got you.”

Mal was sure he looked like a crazy person – his cheeks still aching with the width of his smile, and tears pouring down those same cheeks. He wrapped his arms around Rocky’s waist, leaning his forehead on his mate’s chest, sobbing and laughing all in one go.

“I’m all right. The devil from my chest is gone. I swear, Mal, it’s gone. You did it.”

“We did it – us and our friends and Doctor Nelson.” Mal wiped away the tears and blinked, trying to pull himself together. “You’re also naked and there’re people…”

“You’re always watching out for me, you always have.” Rocky’s hand was gentle against Mal’s face. “I’ll put clothes on, because I know that’s important to you, but babe, I have to tell you. You smell so good. It’s like I’ve been living with a nose block for decades, and now I can breathe freely.”

“Still the same Rocky, you’re talking shit.” Mal’s cheeks were hot enough to sting. “There’s never been anything wrong with your nose. You’re one of the best trackers our friends have ever known, and you know that.”

“But I couldn’t smell you. Not clearly.” Rocky inhaled deeply. “Now I can, and my world finally makes sense.”

Mal tapped his chest lightly.

“I know. I know. I’ll put clothes on. But damn, I can’t wait until we have some privacy.”

/~/~/~/~/

Stroking Mal’s face one last time, Rocky let go of his mate and whirled around. He grabbed the pair of sweatpants Doctor Nelson was waving in his direction, purposefully ignoring the goons the doctor had brought in with him. Stepping into the pants, he pulled them up, tightening the drawstring. “Now what?” Rocky asked the doctor. “Are you going to bring me in a large cake and try and tempt me with it? I’m definitely hungry.”

“Nice to meet you, Rocky, especially now you’re coherent.” Doctor Nelson smiled with a professional flash of his teeth. “Actually, cake is a good idea. I know Mal got a lovely smelling package from his friends in Arrowtown – I doubt there will be any cake in there. But I had one specially ordered for you. I’ll get Amy to bring both treats in and we’ll see what happens, shall we?”

I already know what will happen. It wasn’t that Rocky had taken an instant dislike to the doctor. The elephant shifter would probably be a fun guy to have a drink or two with. Rocky just wanted some privacy to be with his Mal, and Doctor Nelson was messing with his plans.

The nurse came in, that smile still in place. “A cake for you, Doctor, and Mal, here’s your package from home. It smells amazing.”

“It does, thank you, Amy.” Mal got up, taking a large foil wrapped box from her. “It smells like the house we share with our friends.”

“If I can have your attention, Rocky,” Doctor Nelson said. “How do you feel when you see this cake.”

“It’s a cake. Fergus at the Arrowtown bakery could probably make a fancier one.” Rocky dismissed the doctor with a wave of his hand. “What have you got there?” He peered over Mal’s shoulder, who was sitting back in the chair by the bed. Mal was reading the note attached to the box.

“Our friends were worried I wouldn’t have enough time to source some of our favorite foods, so Ra contacted the specialized courier company he uses for his sculptures to ship me some home comforts. Wasn’t that sweet of him?”

“It depends. What’s in the box?” One of the smells was soooo familiar and Rocky just had to see.

“It was sent to me. It’s my name on the parcel.” Mal laughed, twisting his body around with the box on his lap, away from Rocky. “Hmm. There’re Mrs. Hooper’s ready-made meals. Oh, Doctor Nelson, honestly, I’d guess there’s not one single restaurant in the whole of New York who can cook like Mrs. Hooper. She makes the best stews and roast meals.” He lifted out meal packages Rocky was familiar with and set them on the edge of the bed.

“There’s more. There’s more.” Rocky tried to reach over Mal’s shoulder. “There’s something else in the package.”

“Yes, there is. Look.” Slapping Rocky’s hand away, Mal reached in and pulled out some drawings obviously made by children. “Aww, isn’t this sweet? All the kiddies care about you - they made pictures for you, or for me to hang by your bed. Can you imagine them all around the kitchen table with their paper and crayons?” Mal sighed. “I do miss those guys.”

Rocky barely glanced at the pictures. They were sweet, adorable, pictures of his big wolf drawn from a child’s perspective and complete with scribbled grass. Get well soon Uncle Rocky, was written over the top of the pictures, along the bottom, and one aspiring artist child had written the words along the side of the page.

“They’re cute. You know how much I love the little darlings. But those pieces of paper don’t smell that good. What else is in the package?”

“You already know.” Mal pulled out a foil wrapped plate and sniffed as he pushed the packaging off his lap. “Ah, now that’s the true smell of home.”

“What’s in there?” Doctor Nelson asked. “It smells incredible, whatever it is.”

“One of our friends, Brutus, is a bear shifter. He makes the best, by far, the best chicken wings I’ve ever had, and we used to travel all over the place before we settled in Arrowtown, so we consider ourselves connoisseurs.” Mal sniffed again. “A full plate of Brutus’s chicken wings and they are all mine.” He wrapped his arms around the plate and even dropped his head over them as if protecting them.

“Hey, what about me?” Bending down in front of Mal’s knees, Rocky tried to see his mate’s face. “Mates share everything, right?” He tapped Mal’s knees. “I should have some.”

Mal shook his head, his expression trying to show concern, but Rocky noticed the twinkle in his mate’s eyes. “Doctor Nelson hasn’t cleared you for chicken wings. I mean, you didn’t even say anything nice about the beautifully decorated cake he ordered for you.”

“It’s a cake. It looks nice.” Rocky didn’t even look at it. “A slice of it would probably be tasty with a cup of coffee, but Mal, you’ve got Brutus’s chicken wings. You have to at least share!”

“Er… Doctor Nelson,” one of the goons said. Rocky noticed he had a clipboard and pen. “Is it possible that the wolf’s curse has morphed onto a different food group?”

“No,” Mal said, chuckling, before Doctor Nelson had a chance to answer. “This is normal Rocky – well, as normal as he was before his curse was retriggered. We’ve always said that when Brutus made a plate of wings, you had to get in quick before Rocky did.”

“I still think you should share.” Rocky sat his butt on the floor, giving Mal his best impression of puppy dog eyes. “It would be torture if you ate them all in front of me. Absolute torture.”

“You’ll also note,” Mal added to the goon who was still looking concerned. “When Rocky was in the throes of his addiction, and if this was cake, he would’ve yanked this plate out of my arms, dived under the bed, and fought anyone who tried to take it away from him. This pouting, puppy dog eyes, and hopeful expression is Rocky’s stock-standard way of getting me to share my food with him.”

“It used to work,” Rocky muttered. “I must be losing my touch.”

“I think on that note, I’ll leave you to your chicken wings. There will be two people outside of your door until tomorrow.” Doctor Nelson got to his feet. “As I mentioned earlier, this is just a precaution, but a necessary one. Try to ignore them and perhaps you two should use this time to think about your future life together. I have every confidence that you two will be very happy no matter what you do. In the meantime, I’ll check in with you later.”

He picked up the cake plate. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you Rocky? This was freshly made this morning.” He wafted the plate back and forth.

“I think I’ve had enough cake to last a lifetime,” Rocky said. “But triple meat burgers for later would be lovely, thanks.”

Doctor Nelson was still laughing when he left, although Rocky barely noticed their audience leaving. His eyes were riveted on Mal’s hands which were slowly peeling apart the foil covering the plate.

“I don’t know how they did it, but these still feel warm,” Mal said, leaning forward to sniff at the tiniest of openings he’d made. “I bet Brutus was up first thing this morning getting these ready for me. Do you remember every time he was cooking these things the smell used to linger through the house for hours?”

“You’re being a deliberate tease.” Rocky increased his pout. “I didn’t think you’d do this to me.”

“You know darn well I’m going to share,” Mal said, completely opening up the foil. “But you can go and have a shower first and tidy yourself up. I won’t eat too much in the time it takes for you to get back.”

“Ugh.” Rocky threw up his hands and jumped up. “Just have one and savor it. I’ll be five minutes.”