Destiny

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kris had fought with her parents almost tooth and nail to get them to go home, to leave the Shifter lifestyle—to go home and be safe.

And they had agreed, on one condition: they’d leave just after they got to meet their grandchild. Kris had argued about this, but in the end, she’d given in to their wishes. They were going to be grandparents, after all, and she lived across the world. Letting them meet their grandchild was the least she could do.

Kris sat outside of the tent in the warm air. She looked down at her hands. They had been scrubbed free of the blood, but there was still a red tint to them, and they shook considerably. She inspected them more closely and saw blood underneath her fingernails.

At that moment, she felt her unborn son kick. Kris smiled and whispered, “That was too exciting, wasn’t it?” She ran her hands over her very large belly.

Her father came out of the tent, peeling off his gloves and stuffing them into his apron pocket. He sat down on the crate next to Kris, looked at the lengthening sun, and together they watched it in silence.

“You did well in there, Kris,” he said, and gave her a one-armed hug. She’d been dreading this moment—what he would say about her abilities in a situation like this.

Her father had wanted to stay for another reason besides meeting his grandchild. He’d warned Kris that not having a doctor, or even a nurse—anyone qualified for medical emergencies—was a death sentence this far away from the civilized world. Kris didn’t know how close they were to a real hospital, but it had to be over a couple hundred miles.

And he’s worried about the birth, though he won’t admit it. He wants to be here to ensure that everything goes smoothly. And can I blame him?

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, and she leaned into him, though it was hard with her bulging stomach. “It means a lot to me.”

“And you know I wouldn’t just say that to make you feel better,” he replied, grinning.

Her father was the best doctor she’d ever met. He was chief surgeon, head of an entire hospital, until he’d stepped away from it to come and find Kris over half a year ago.

“Do you miss it, Dad?”

“Miss what, honey?”

“The hospital. Surgery. Saving people’s lives.”

He hesitated for a moment before answering. “You feel guilty?”

“No,” she lied. Though in truth, in some little way, she did. She’d disappeared from college after she’d met Korrin and found out she was pregnant. Effectively, she’d dropped off the face of the earth. Her parents, worried that their daughter had been kidnapped—or worse—had traveled across the globe to find her. And it was all her fault.

“Don’t feel guilty,” he said, seeing right through her lie. “It’s complicated, I’ll give you that much. But don’t feel bad. I miss it, yeah. But I came here and saw you, met Korrin, found out you’re having a child. Those are memories that can’t be replaced. Other people can do what I do. They’ll keep saving lives. But I can stay here with you, for a little while longer anyway, and I can help you. Teach you. Teach some of the Shifters what to do. Pass on my knowledge. That’s what’s important to me.”

Kris nodded but didn’t respond. Her father had been training her and a few of the smarter Shifters, but she’d done little more than a few stitch jobs. She’d helped extract a bullet once, fired by a careless hunter. She’d set broken bones, though doing so was usually pointless. Almost everything she’d done to help was pointless. Shifters were just that tough at surviving injuries.

“He would have died, you know, if you weren’t there to staunch the bleeding. You did everything right. When I’m gone, I’m confident you’ll know what you’re doing. That you’ll be able to guide those others to help save lives.”

“Knowing and doing are two completely different things, Dad,” she reminded him. “You’ve taught me so much, but when it comes down to it, I’m not sure if I’ll be ready.”

“You’ll be ready,” he said, rising. He reached out a hand and helped her to her feet, which was much harder than she had initially anticipated. “I’m going to go see what your mother is making for dinner. Do you two want to come over later this evening and talk?”

“Yeah, Dad, that’ll be great,” she said. He gave her a hug, somehow around her massive belly, and disappeared into the camp. She smiled as she watched him go. Going to her parent’s house had been an almost night occurrence lately. They were giving advice on what it was like to be parents.

Kris peeked her head back into the tent and told the medical assistant, “If you need anything, you know where to find either me or my dad.” She then started to make her way through the camp.

It was a different world now than when they’d first set up camp here. Sure, the wagons were still as numerous as ever, and those heavy canvas tents the Shifters seemed to favor so much were still there as well, but there were also houses. Real houses. Real homes.

For once, everything was good. Korrin was happy, she was happy, her parents were happy. Kris felt less and less like an outsider with every passing day. She was no longer just some intruding human. She’d learned skills that the Shifters had taught her, and now she’d even helped save one of their lives.

Kris wasn’t a Shifter and never could be, but she was as close as she could get without outright being one. Korrin had taught her to fish, hunt, trap, and everything else necessary to live out in this life. She’d given other Shifters life advice, helped cut down a few trees, and even carried water over rough terrain to help make dinner. She could start a fire in less than five minutes with nothing but what she could find in nature. She could track and navigate by the stars.

Korrin had shown her the entire world, a place she’d never known had existed.

Her previous life living in the comfort of huge cities, going to college, getting a well-paying job—that had all been Kris’s idea of the perfect life, way back before she’d met Korrin.

And now, she could never imagine going back. She was happy.

And most importantly, she was home.