Alex flew back to her apartment. Although she hated to be obvious, she flew straight to the second story door and landed on the small wooden landing. There was no way she could carry Cale for more than two steps. As it was, she fell to her knees when she landed. She struggled with the doorknob, but Gabe flung open the door.
"Cale!" Gabe reached for his brother.
"What's wrong with him?" Rile accused as he shouldered aside his oldest brother. "What happened?"
"Where did you find him?" Gabe asked.
"I knocked him out. Put him on the couch."
She surrendered her burden and followed them across the living room. Once they were satisfied that their brother was breathing, his pulse was strong, and he wasn't chilled, they turned to Alex.
"What happened? Why you go out alone? Why didn't you tell us what you were planning?" Gabe asked rapid fire.
Alex sank down into the armchair. "One question at a time, boss."
Rile knew there was trouble ahead when Alex called Gabe "boss." It filled him with anticipation. With luck and a little nudging, the two could be provoked into an epic fight.
"First, off with these killer shoes." She flung the spike heels across the room and massaged her foot. "I've broken my feet."
"Why are you dressed like that?" Gabe asked.
"Part of my plan. Didn't Rile explain it to you?" Alex cast a hopeful look at him.
"He said you rushed in, put on a lot of clothes you swore you would never wear, and that you were catching some guy from Hermann's lab." Gabe crossed his arms and stared sternly at Alex, who favored him with an expression like a schoolgirl caught sneaking in late.
"Is that all I said?" she squeaked. "I thought I explained more."
Rile's concern for his brother overturned his desire to watch the big fight. "Can we skip this verbal tug of war for a moment? What happened to Cale? Why did you zap him?"
"Those creeps at the lab kept him sedated with something related to heroin, a nasty, illegal, addictive drug. When I woke him up, I also started him to withdraw from the drugs. As he was choking Robert, I had to do something."
"Robert?" Rile asked, full of suspicion and again, checked Cale's pulse. Some part of him believed that if he checked it often enough, he could make his middle brother better.
"The guy from the lab," Alex waved her hand as if it were irrelevant. "He helped me find and rescue Cale."
"He helped you?" Now Rile was past suspicion and into outright disbelief.
"I was surprised, too. I originally planned to blast him once he led me to Cale. Before I could, though, he opened Cale's cell. What could I do? I couldn't leave him to take the blame."
"You couldn't?" Gabe's tone was more hostile than unbelieving.
"No. Haven't you been listening? I said he helped me rescue Cale."
"I heard you say that he pumped Cale full of drugs."
Alex heaved an exasperated sigh. "Gabe, why are you being difficult? I retrieved Cale and . . . oh, I get it. You're jealous that I was able to rescue Cale when you couldn't. Not only that, I didn't need your help, either. Looks like Rile isn't the only one who doubts my abilities."
Rile inwardly cheered the challenge that Alex issued to Gabe. Before the battle could begin, however, Cale moaned and twisted in pain. Gabe rushed over, but Alex pushed past Rile and Gabe to reach him.
"I don't understand. I gave him enough juice that he should be out for hours. Rile, look in the stack of books on the blue shelves for a drug or vet manual or something. I have enough books to choose from."
"Cale, what's wrong?" Gabe turned his brother's head to face him.
"Gabe?" Cale's voice was a dry rattle. "It hurts. Everything. All over."
"I can't find anything like that." Rile pulled all the books from the first shelves. "Why didn't you buy the package that bundled internet with cable like I said?"
Alex ran over to another set of shelves and searched the books, letting the rejects fall about her feet. She selected two, and tossed one to Rile.
"Look up withdrawal, dependence, narcotics, or heroin and read it to me." Alex flipped through the pages of her book. Her gaze flew over the pages and she flinched when Cale moaned again.
"We should call Doctor Dewey." Gabe held Cale's hand, his fingers crushed with each of Cale's spasms.
"Are we reading all night?" Rile demanded, but at Alex's sharp look, kept flipping through the pages.
"No." Alex dropped her book and stepped over to the couch to take Cale's hands.
She and Gabe exchanged long looks before Gabe surrendered his grip. Rile inwardly cheered again at Alex's second challenge to Gabe.
"Cale, tell me if this helps." She powered up, the sparks flying and hissing.
"No! No!" Cale cried, twisting in pain.
Rile dropped his book and rushed to the couch.
"Alex, stop. You're making it worse." Gabe pulled her away. "He looks in agony now."
"It should have helped."
"It didn't, genius," Rile snapped as he held Cale down. "Do you want to kill him now or torture him more?" His grip slipped and Cale's arm flailed about, hitting him twice before he could pin it down again.
"Can we ice him down? Slow down his metabolism?" Alex asked.
"Ice would not 'slow his metabolism'. It will kill him," Rile snapped.
"But reptiles get sluggish in the cold," Alex tried again.
"We are not reptiles from your world," Rile snarled. "Cold kills us."
"But Gabe—"
"Gabe was not sedated because he was cold. He was cold because he had been sedated, by your kind," Rile exploded.
"I have nothing to do with human men, so don't link me to them. I have suffered more at their hands than any of you. I hate them more than you ever could," Alex shot back. "Now back off, Rile, literally."
She tugged him off balance until he was out of her way and fired a full blast at Cale. He stopped thrashing and lapsed into unconsciousness. Alex was pulled in opposite directions by Gabe and Rile.
"What are you doing?" Gabe demanded.
"I was being sarcastic about killing him," Rile hissed.
"Robert said the longer we could keep him unconscious, the better off he would be." She pulled her arms away from them.
"Now we trust the word of some human who captured Cale?" Rile asked.
"Robert helped me rescue Cale. Besides, he's a lab tech. Dr. Hermann's in charge."
She regretted telling them the name as soon as she said it. She didn't want them risking capture in search of revenge.
"We'll deal with him later," Gabe said. His tone was sufficiently grim to convince them that he meant it. "First Dr. Dewey should see Cale. Rile, please ask him to come."
"Why don't we call this Robert to come over, too? That way he can turn us all in while we're vulnerable," Rile said.
"Vulnerable? Since when?" Alex asked.
"Since you started snuggling up to lab techs and inviting them over for dinner."
"I didn't invite him over for dinner. In fact, I made sure he didn't know my address or my phone number. Why are you giving me such a hard time? I used him to find Cale."
"Is that all? With the way you're dressed?" Rile's gaze raked over her outfit.
"What?" Alex set her hands on black velvet hips. "Is that what's bothering you? How do you think I got him to cooperate? It's not like I slept with him or anything." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at them. "I hope you did not entertain such a notion."
Rile's face showed that he had, but Gabe's was unreadable.
"Oh please." She threw up her hands. "He's human. Pond scum. I only did this for Cale. You know men make my skin crawl."
Human men, that is.
"I believe you." Gabe walked over to the couch and knelt by Cale. "We're worried about Cale."
"What's Rile's excuse the rest of the time?" Alex asked.
"I don't go around knocking my friends unconscious," Rile retorted.
"I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps find a friendly neighborhood drug dealer and purchase some heroin?"
"Why don't you call your lover Robert and ask sweetly for some?" Rile was so not done with this fight.
They froze at the knock on the door.
"It's Dr. Dewey. Please let me in."
"Rile," Dr. Dewey said, voice professor calm when he opened the door.
At the sound of Dr. Dewey's voice, they dropped their attitudes. Dr. Dewey laid gentle hands on Cale.
"I saw you fly down when I looked out and saw the light on. Careless, Alex. Please tell your story." Dr. Dewey started his exam.
"After Cale disappeared, I staked out Hermann's lab at the university. I chose a single lab tech. I encouraged him a little, and he invited me to dinner. Immediately after," she glared at Rile, "He took me to his lab. I was surprised when he helped me rescue Cale. He told me that the professor kept Cale sedated with a heroin derivative. When I woke Cale up, he went berserk."
"He was in a lot of pain," Gabe added.
"I knocked him out. Robert—"
Rile hissed at the name.
Alex glared at him again before continuing, "Robert said it was withdrawal from the drugs. He wasn't sure how to treat it, but said if we kept him unconscious until the withdrawal was over, he wouldn't feel the pain."
"Did Robert know how long it lasts?" Dr. Dewey's voice held no condemnation.
"He wasn't sure. I read that heroin withdrawal lasts about three days."
Dr. Dewey pinched the golden green hide between his fingers and it stayed together once he released it. "I see. He's severely dehydrated. Dr. Hermann must have kept him sedated the entire time without food or water. Cale is fortunate to still be asleep, because he will be in a lot of pain when he wakes up. But you can't keep him unconscious for three days until withdrawal is over. He needs to wake up and drink. I haven't a clue as to what kind of electrolyte fluid to give an Agama and the wrong solution would be deadly."
"We hoped you had another option, Doctor," Gabe said.
"Well?" Rile crossed his arms and looked skeptical.
"Alex, I've been thinking. I'm a neurobiologist. There are all sorts of neural discharges: excitatory, sedative, analgesic, to name a few. Why don't you select the power? An analgesic is most helpful for Cale."
"How do I do that?" White showed around Alex's eyes and she twisted the velvet edge of her dress into a tiny point.
"Visualize the discharge acting as a pain reliever on Cale and concentrate on selecting it." Dr. Dewey led her to a chair and gently pushed her into a sit. "Close your eyes and try."
Alex obeyed but in less than a minute her face screwed in frustration and she hung her head. "I can't. Everything mixes up in my head."
"It's okay, relax." Gabe squeezed her shoulder.
"Maybe her dress is too tight," Rile said.
"Excuse me while I slip into something more comfortable." Alex rushed into her bedroom.
"Rile, lay off for the night. Alex is already tense. She doesn't need your rude comments, too," Gabe said.
"You love an excuse to dress me down. You were yelling at Alex a second ago."
"Shut up, Rile. Cale needs help and Alex can supply it. Alex, we engage in what humans call meditation, although we call it deep prayer. I will help you visualize these powers."
Gabe sat across from Alex and spoke in a soothing tone. Alex's eyes closed and Gabe first prayed for help from the Creator of all, then spoke of her powers, of their control, of their multiple natures that Dr. Dewey had explained, of the bridge between them. By the time he finished, they all looked a bit hypnotized.
"Are you ready?" Dr. Dewey's voice was gentle. "I'll be right here with you. If anything goes wrong, remember that you can knock him out. Start with a low dose stimulatory discharge. That seems your default power."
Alex complied, biting her lip.
Must they crowd so close to me?
Alex laid her hand on Cale's arm and started her power.
"You have control," Gabe assured her.
"Now bump your power up," Dr. Dewey said quietly.
Cale twitched, and she drew back with a start.
"It's okay. Don't stop now. We must see a response. Start again at the same level." Gabe nodded toward her.
Alex put her hand back on Cale, looking around at their faces. Rile wore the expression of disbelief and disapproval that she feared, but Dr. Dewey and Gabe looked as if they trusted her.
When Cale moaned, she didn't move away. As his cries of pain increased, beads of perspiration built on her forehead. Alex glanced back and forth to Dr. Dewey, but he remained impassive.
"No . . . stop . . . Nooooo!" Cale's eyes flew open and he grabbed Alex's wrist in a bone-crushing grip.
"Switch, Alex," Dr Dewey ordered.
"Oh right-aaaa!" Her face twisted with pain. "I can't. I can't concentrate."
Alex felt Gabe's hand on her bare shoulder, heard his soft voice, and something inside her clicked. Cale's grip on her wrist loosed, he relaxed, and the frantic look in his eyes receded.
"Easy now." The doctor removed Cale's hand from her wrist and asked him, "How do you feel?"
"What happened?" Cale looked at each of his brothers.
"First, some water," Dr. Dewey said.
Gabe jumped up and rushed into the kitchenette.
"Say, bro." Rile pushed the doctor aside. "You look awful, but at least you're back."
"Out of the way, tactful." Gabe, two glasses in hand, shoved Rile.
"Where was I? What happened?" Cale asked as he took one water glass.
Cale downed the offered water and handed back the empty glass, obviously looking for more.
"He'll need about ten more of those," Dr. Dewey said.
"Cale, how do you feel?" Gabe handed him the a second glass, dashed into the kitchenette, refilled two more, and dashed back.
"Not good, but better." He drank the second glass quickly.
Gabe put a third in his hand. "Drink slowly."
"What do you remember?" Rile asked.
"Not much. It's like a nightmare where I only remembered snatches of it. What happened?"
"You were captured and held prisoner in a laboratory. They gave you drugs, which is why you feel lousy. That is all you need to know at the moment. Now rest," Gabe handed him yet another glass of water. "Drink more slowly. Don't overload your stomach."
Dr. Dewey pulled Alex aside and asked in a low voice, "Do you think you're capable of reproducing that power?"
"I hope I can pull it off again."
"I'm sure if you accessed that power once, you can do it again. You have an impressive amount of help. Keep the amount of charge to a minimum. You can't hurt Cale, but if you keep him unconscious, he'll become dehydrated for a second time. That could kill him."
"Yes, doctor. I have Gabe to help me."
"And myself as well. I need to leave now, but you can contact me whenever, even if it is the middle of the night." He smiled and patted her on the back. He turned back to the brothers. "Goodbye, everyone. I'm sorry, but I'm married and . . . anyway, you don't need me." He indicated Alex behind her back.
"We thank you, doctor," Gabe said.
"The pleasure was mine." Dr. Dewey let himself out.
"May I have some more water?" Cale asked.
*****
Five glasses of water later, Cale fell asleep.
Alex yawned and said, "That's a good idea." She lay down on the floor along the couch. "I'll stay here. You two can have the bed. Goodnight."
"I am not leaving this room," Gabe said.
"I'm not if he isn't." Rile squared his shoulders.
"Suit yourselves." Alex closed her eyes and was asleep in three breaths.
*****
It was two hours later when Cale shifted on the couch more and more irritably. That awakened Gabe and Rile who were lying on the chairs nearby.
"Who's waking up Alex?" Rile asked.
"I will. I'm not afraid," Gabe said.
Rile hissed, "It's not about fear, Perfect Eldest Son."
Gabe laid his hand on Alex's shoulder. He gradually tightened his grip until she stirred. Then he stroked her upper arm. "Alex," he whispered. "Alex, Cale needs your help."
"What!? Don't touch me! Who needs my help?" Alex's eyes flew open and she sat up. She snapped her head left and right, assessing the room.
"My brother Cale," Gabe said.
"You rescued him," Rile added.
Alex chewed her lip as she gazed at them, eyes white rimmed, until she nodded her head. "Now I recall." Calmer, she took Cale's hand. "Hang in there," she told him as he tossed and turned. Alex concentrated as Gabe had instructed, and released the correct power.
Cale fell back asleep, overdosed. Alex cursed her lack of control, lay back down, and fell asleep, exhausted. The others followed suit.
*****
So the rest of the night went, with Cale, and subsequently everyone else, waking every two hours. Dawn was not welcomed at Alex's apartment.
Dr. Dewey entered and viewed the haggard crew draped around the living room. "I see that the night did not go smoothly."
"No." Gabe rose to his feet, as did Alex, but Rile lay on his chair.
"I overdosed him a couple of times last night," Alex said. "I haven't perfected my control. I suppose y'all will want breakfast." She yawned and stretched.
"We would not ask you," Gabe said.
"Yes, we would." Rile grinned.
"No, we won't," Gabe replied.
"I'll buy fast food," the doctor offered.
******
One big, unhealthy breakfast later, they all sat around watching Cale. He hadn't moved since before Dr. Dewey had arrived and they were worried.
"Alex, how much did you give him?" Rile checked his brother's pulse.
"I don't have a meter. I thought the same amount as before." Alex tried to touch Cale's forehead but Rile knocked her hand away.
"You thought wrong."
"Rile, that will be enough. All of you are overtired. I suggest that you rest," Dr Dewey said.
"I'm not some hatchling you can send to sleep." Rile stormed out of the apartment.
"Let him go. I know his favorite spots to sulk and I'll track him down." Gabe looked infinitely sad. "With Hermann on the lookout for Cale, Rile could be in much danger."
"Alex and I are capable of watching Cale," Dr. Dewey assured him.
Gabe walked out, his expression full of worry and concern.
*****
A/N
Dedicated to the Cale fans of