Myths & Rejections

Chapter 20 - Will They Help?

Word Count: 4063

"Harper?"

Hearing her name Harper glanced up from the chart she was reading and was startled to see Luna Sophia standing in the hallway near her. She should have smelled another wolf the second it entered the hospital; she absolutely should have smelled it before it made it to the 4th floor and walked right up to her. She berated herself silently for not paying attention but chalked it up to her exhaustion and let it go. They had been with the police and the confused women until 4 am and she'd had to get up and go to work today. She had already missed two days of hospital duty this week and she was going to be off work for a month so she couldn't justify missing another day. She was so tired she was almost reminded of her last year of medical school and first year residency, she'd had days like this every day that year.

"Hello Sophia," Harper said glancing at the nurses station a few feet away. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, what's up?"

"I thought you might want to get some lunch?" Luna Sophia said. She was smiling but her eyes were worried.

"Yeah, sure, of course," Harper replied nodding, the clock on the wall told her it was after 1pm, so she could justify an hour break. "I have two more patient charts to look at really quick, if you don't mind? You can wait here in the lounge; it should only take me a couple of minutes. Then we can run to the café across the street. They have amazing chicken sandwiches and lemon cookies."

"Perfect," Luna Sophia said, following Harper into what looked like a small break room with some tables, a couple of vending machines, and a couch with a nurse sleeping on it.

Luna Sophia only had enough time to take a few sips of her coffee when Harper came back in. She had a large tote bag with her and sat down for a moment to switch her bright green crocs out to a pair of nude pumps that matched her plain blue sheath dress.

"Honey, you look wonderful, so professional." Luna Sophia said, admiring Harper's simple style and her French twist updo which made her look professional but still beautiful.

Harper led Luna Sophia out of the hospital and across a busy intersection to a small café that was tucked between two clothing shops. The inside was very homey with small bistro tables and a few booths in the back, most of the patrons were wearing scrubs and lab coats.

"How late were you up last night?" Luna Sophia asked. "You look tired."

"I feel tired," Harper laughed. "Today has been rough, I've been having flashbacks of my first year of surgical residency all day. We didn't get to bed until after 4am this morning, so it hasn't been an easy one. But I was out on Monday and Tuesday, and I'm about to go on vacation for a month, so I need to be here to get caught up before I go."

"I hate to put more on you Sweetie, but I've talked to Luna Penny and we are scheduled to head over to the packhouse as soon as you've finished for the day. They'll have dinner prepared and waiting for us, we didn't give them much information about what we wanted to discuss, but we let them know it's of vital importance and the ranking leadership should be there." Luna Sophia told Harper. She was slipping back into her Luna role easily, getting everyone organized and on the same page. "I also asked them to bring the leaders of the Keys pack as well, even though they are a small pack and don't have many members. I feel they may be at risk even more than the Everglades pack since they live on the islands."

"You're absolutely right," Harper sighed, scrubbing a hand across her face. "I didn't even think about them, but my brain is not fully functioning right now. I'm glad you're here, Luna, I'm not sure I could handle all the wolves on my own. It's been a long time since I had to work with a pack."