Cora, A Sidelines Story from Clayton

Midwife's musings

The Characters of Clayton, Rya, Kennedy, Dallas, and the Valentines belong to Rachelle. The character of Cora is expanded on with Permission from Rachelle, and is written for the pleasure of the International Wildflower Pack, the WhiskeyQueenn fandom. #WildflowersUnited #iwp    

::Thank you Rachelle Whiskeyqueenn for your inspiration- 6.16 Clayton #5 in Werewolf stories::

Midwife's Musings

Midwife Gretchen's POV

Dr Valentine waited for me to finish with my patients before he came into my office, he always required my presence when he checked Cora. I think being around her grieved him. Her near-death in the fire and troubled pregnancy reminded him too much of his past. His pregnant mate died, drowned in an accident. He tried to kill himself afterward. His grandfather told me about how hard it was for their family. They used the wealth and influence of the Valentine pack to get him into medical school. I myself had used the skills my mother had given me as a midwife to survive and travel after my rejection. Experience I used to help many she-wolves who were rejected or mate-lost for more decades than I could remember, experience I was using to help a she-wolf from Adams training under my best student, and even this poor male unawares. He needed to learn to feel again, to breath again, to love again. 

"The medicinal burn oil has done an amazing job, Ms Gretchen. I don't think Cora needs it anymore," Dr Valentine announced. He was amazed that the concoctions of an old she-wolf could be so effective. My old wolf wheezed a laugh at this young pup; he amused her to no end.

"It works well for silver scarring as well, Dr Valentine. I will have Cora write the recipe down for you. A few years ago we had a young she-wolf it would have benefited greatly, but it must be used from the start and I was traveling when she was whipped. By the time I returned, it was too late to do anything for the poor girl or her scars. I always keep a supply of it available but the healer at the time... Well, let's just say the Alpha wanted the girl to bear the scars as a warning to others." I watch him carefully, I know that he is friends with the Alphas. He makes a sour face, one that portrays the prejudice collected from others. I realize in that moment just how different he is from his mother and father. I rise from my desk. "Do not believe the tale you have been told about that day, young pup. Rya is more gifted than both of us, she is moon blessed."

He looked thoughtful, weighing and studying my words as he always did before discarding them. His mother and father would be disappointed.

'Oh Goddess, why are the young so foolish? Was I ever that way?' 

It was so long ago, I no longer remember. I watched the young doctor Luna Catherine had hired at great expense to replace Peter, as he used his training and gadgets to check Cora and Corina. He was interested in the medicinals I used for my she-wolves and the oils used to treat Cora's burns, but not in my methods. Very few burn treatments could be used on wolves because of the silver content and severe burns would scar us as easily silver. The oil used for thousands of years treated silver sickness, burns, and wounds better than any modern ointment, and he wanted to understand exactly how it worked. It wasn't enough for him that it did. We had very different views of doctoring, I trusted instinct and experience, while he trusted technology and training. His bedside manner left much to be desired. 

Was he a competent medical professional? 

Absolutely, he had skills I had never dreamed possible. 

Was he a good doctor who healed the spirit as well as the body? 

No, no he was not. 

He could heal a body, but struggled to mend a heart or spirit. His lack of empathy and overly controlling attitude prompted Peter refer to him as Dr High-and-mighty. It could be because he was an Alpha, born and raised, but I felt it had more to do with the loss of his pregnant mate the first year of their life together. If he didn't feel anything for his patients or anyone, then he didn't have to feel anything for himself. Mate-loss often kills a wolf, especially an Alpha who is programmed by the Goddess Herself to protect and preserve the lives around him. It was a wound that did not heal fully and was easily re-opened , like rejection. He failed her and it crippled him. He was the same age as Leong when his mate had died; two young alpha wolves facing the same horror, yet how different they had turned out. I wondered if Cora's gifts could heal him as well, although she seemed to have a great dislike for the Alpha turned physician. He may just have to heal himself. I wondered if young Dr Valentine would ever be able to love again without hesitation or manipulation. Would his jaded fear would give way to trust? If he would ever let the Goddess lead his path without resistance. I knew he would be able to say the words any she-wolf would long to hear and believe in the warmth of the morning, but when the storm came, would he stay the course?