Wild Love

Chapter 18

“Be safe, Jael!” Kira sent off her patient on his daily run in the woods. It had been three weeks since he moved in and she was going into the clinic for the first time since then.

Usually, the only reason she left the cottage was to go shopping for groceries. Although going to the clinic had been a daily occurrence for her, now that she hadn’t gone there in a while, it felt a little strange. But she had to turn in bi-monthly reports, Jael was still a patient under her care after all.

Kira could just mail her report to the clinic but she wanted to take this chance to visit Helena, her friend had done so much for her.

Helena had been the one to handle the case with Liam, and he had gotten a five-year sentence. It helped very much that he already had a past police record.

Kira was yet to thank Helena in person, they shared phone calls over the past weeks but she had to show her gratitude in person.

It was why she had baked an entire box of cookies for Helena. Her baking skills were improving with how often she practiced now but Kira couldn’t shake off the niggling feeling that someone kept eating out of whatever she baked.

She never brought it up with Jael though, paying no mind to it. She had probably eaten it and didn’t realize it.

So when Jael ran into the woods, she didn’t return to the cottage to wait like a wife waiting for her husband, she marched to her truck.

It was early March and it had stopped snowing completely; the first rain of the year would fall any day now and Kira was really looking forward to it. It meant that she could pick up gardening as well.

She was enjoying her extended vacation far more than she could have ever predicted. The thought of Jael trying to help her dig while she did her gardening was enough to make her smile widely and she really couldn’t wait for Spring.

Kira drove down to the clinic occupied with thoughts of Jael, he had gotten perfectly used to living with her. He still disliked fish but he complained less now and was always eager for baths. He still slept beside her bed and Kira was extremely close to letting him get on the bed with her.

The clinic was bustling with the morning rush, although it was a quiet Wednesday. Kira had called ahead to make sure that she caught Helena when she had some free time to spare.

She dropped off her files with Mr. Anderson’s secretary, there was no reason to see him in person and she would rather avoid it if she could. If he had any questions concerning her report, he could always email her.

“Helena! Hi!” Kira waved as she entered the locker rooms, a handful of other nurses exchanged greetings with her but most just stared awkwardly.

“Kira, it’s good to see you again.” Helena beamed, pulling her into a hug. “Come, let’s talk over drinks.” She invited, taking Kira’s hand and pulling her.

Kira let herself be taken, she was relieved that Helena had suggested a cafe because her fellow colleagues looked like they were a little too eager to eavesdrop.

“Pay no attention to them,” Helena said to her, leading the way to her own truck. They would have to drive down to town to find a cafe because the clinic was a distance away from the town proper.

“How are you, Helena?” Kira asked genuinely when they had both gotten in her truck.

“Never better!” Helena shot her a smile. “You look well.”

Kira looked out the windows, they were going down the road that led from the clinic to the town, tall trees stood on either side of the path. “I guess I could say the same.” She sighed then turned around. “That reminds me, I baked some cookies for you, as a thank you…”

Helena’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. “Really?”

Kira laughed softly, she knew that the redhead had a sweet tooth. “Yes, it’s right here with me and you can come over whenever you have some spare time, I bake often these days, I could always find something for you.”

Helena had a look of bliss on her face as she heard Kira say this. “You don’t need to offer twice.”

They headed into a cutesy cafe that was luckily not crowded and found a window-side table for two. Kira ordered a simple smoothie, she didn’t want to eat too much because she would go back to have lunch with Jael.

Helena on the other hand wanted a bit of every baked good they offered on sale and she got them.

“How has the clinic been? My absence hasn’t caused problems, has it?” Kira asked worriedly.

Helena looked up from her plate and then scoffed. “Please.” She bit into a muffin. “They only want you back so that they can slack off again.”

Kira laughed at this, relieved because for the first time she realized that she wasn’t ready to return to the clinic. “That’s a relief.”

“So how’s the patient doing?” Helena asked curiously. There was a brightness in Kira’s eyes that she had never seen before. In her opinion, the patient was doing more for Kira than she was for him.

“We’re getting along perfectly but there’s still no progress on the part of his rehabilitation.” Kira frowned.

Helena reached out to take her hand. “Don’t give yourself a headache about it, these things take time.” She pulled her hand away to munch on more muffins. “Why, I would be rightfully terrified if you accomplished it in mere weeks. Give it a couple months, okay?”

The blonde omega let out a sigh of relief. “You’re right, Helena. I’m working myself into a fine state for no reason…”

They spent the rest of the visit not talking about anything in particular, Helena didn’t make any mention of Kira’s status, pretending like it didn’t exist.

And when Kira drove her truck back to her cottage, she thought back to her visit to Helena, very grateful for the other nurse’s presence in her life.