The Taste of Home

Chapter 30

The first thing Miguel noticed when he woke up was that Alejandro was holding his hand.

The second was that while the pain in his venom glands had been replaced by a strange itchiness, his leg throbbed with such intensity it brought tears to his eyes.

Miguel's heart hammered as he took in his surroundings. Tubes and wires everywhere. In his wrist, in his nose, on his chest. He took a deep, shuddering breath, digging his claws into the stiff white sheets. Even breathing hurt, filling his throat with a dry scratchiness.

"Alejandro?" Miguel's voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

His partner squeezed his hand, lessening the pressure when Miguel winced. "I'm here."

Stars, he'd never heard him so tired. Darkness rimmed Alejandro's eyes, and his hair stuck out in a tangled tumbleweed of knots. But that beautiful moonbeam smile was still there, if only while Miguel spoke.

"What happened?" All he could remember were glimpses as small and fragile as eggshell fragments. Crashing to the ground. Hands pressing against his leg. Cigarette smoke burning his nostrils.

Nightmares. Phantom teeth tearing into his leg while Alejandro screamed his name.

"You've been here for three days," Alejandro said quietly. "You had a nasty infection in your venom glands, and it had gotten so bad you could have..." He squeezed his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I thought I was going to lose you."

Miguel's throat tightened. His tongue probed his fangs, feeling along the sharpness that would forever come between him and Alejandro. For the first time in days, venom moistened his mouth.

He wanted to kiss Alejandro. Badly. But all he could do was bring his hand to Alejandro's cheek and hold him close, nuzzling the fingers that had tried so hard to stop his bleeding. "Please don't cry, Moonbeam. I'll be alright."

"Moonbeam?"

"Since you have such a lovely smile." Miguel's tongue fumbled with the words, still heavy with the same exhaustion that clouded his thoughts.

That smile graced them for a moment, accompanied by a tired laugh. "You're too sweet for your own good, you know that?" Alejandro's gaze dropped to his hands, still holding Miguel's as his fingers caressed his scales. "We need to talk. Not now," he added quickly as Miguel's eyes widened, "but later, after you feel better. Okay?"

"Okay." Whenever that conversation happened, Miguel had a feeling it would be a long, painful one.

Heels clacking against linoleum announced the arrival of Dr. Wilkins. The tightness of her dark brown curls was rivaled only by that of her smile. "Glad to see you're awake," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"My leg hurts like hell, but my head's a lot better than it has been." Miguel attempted to pull his lips into a smile, only to wince. "Feels like I lost a challenge fight."

"Painkillers'll help with that, although things might be a bit rough until we take the stitches out in a few weeks. Now, would you mind telling me how you ended up with so much venom suppressant in your system?" She steepled her fingers. "Be honest. If somebody drugged you, I'll make sure they regret it."

"I haven't had any since last week," Miguel said. He gave Alejandro a sheepish smile. "I drank a whole bottle right before your folks came. Might have overdone it."

Alejandro mumbled a long string of Spanish under his breath, punctuated with more than a few swear words.

Dr. Wilkins pinched the bridge of her nose. "Whole bottle at once. That explains it. I swear nobody follows the instructions!"