Acceptance

Chapter 4

Two days later Maddock arrived at the Compound. Eli met him on the road and guided him in to where he'd be staying. He parked his bike in the parking area making sure it the gear it carried was still intact. Giving a nod to Eli he grabbing his bag so he could carried his up to the clinic where Jaz was waiting for him.

Eli looked the bike over, "Nice bike. It's what; a Suzuki Burgman 600cc?"

Maddock grinned, "Close, it's a 650. You know your bikes." He watched silently as Eli took a closer look.

"You've got the bike set up as a trauma bike. Why is that?"

"There are two Healers in my Pack. I'm for want of a better term, 'the junior' Healer." He laughed. "I tend to take care of the youth in our Pack, tag along on the long range training exercises. It pays to be prepared. I'm also a qualified paramedic so if I'm on the road and there's a problem I can step in and help."

Eli looked suitably impressed. "I can see how that'd come in handy. We should get moving, Jaz is waiting at the clinic for you."

Maddock caught the worry in Eli's eyes, assumed it was for Jaz, but remained silent. He'd wait until he met her, get a true sense of how she was. He was here to help and he'd do what he could without pushing too hard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They'd never met in person before, Jaz never being granted permission to go off Compound for any length of time. As a Healer her time was rarely her own, it was the Packs. This and the fact that her brothers kept her close not wanting her to get any ideas of leaving. She was a Romanoff, she was also a Healer therefore she had an obligation to care for the Pack above all else. Unfortunately this meant she was rarely given leave to upgrade her qualifications and depended greatly on their Healer Pack forums.

Jaz was sitting on the front porch of the clinic, when she saw Eli and another man approach she came to her feet. Maddock wasn't as tall as Eli, but was stockier built. There was a great deal of strength in his arms, a good thing for a Healer who often had to carry or hold down fully grown Were's.

The man approaching her had soft brown hair, dark brown eyes and an easy smile. He wasn't overly handsome, but had a rough edge to him giving you a sense that he had seen more than most would have and still survived.

Jaz realised that though he was smiling at her, he was also assessing her with a Healers eye. Friend or not, she wasn't sure she liked what he was doing, or the possibility of what he might find.

Pulling those thought away Jaz moved down the steps to greet him, "It's nice to finally meet you Maddock. Welcome to the Compound." She smiled. "Once we get you settled Eli will take you to meet Braedon." She lowered her eyes for a moment before looking him in the eye. "He's likely to ask you what you think is wrong with me." She waited for a reply.

Maddock didn't stand of ceremony, considered Jaz a friend even if he hadn't met her in person before. He put him gear down, moved forward and pulled her into a hug. "It's nice to meet you too Jaz and as for your brother asking me about your health. Unless you come to me for an examination I can only speculate and speculation is no something Healers do." He looked at her all seriousness, but she could see a sparkly of mischief in his eyes.

"Thank you." She turned and showed him through the clinic, explaining where everything was. He seemed happy with his room and the fact that he had his own little kitchen. "As I told you on the phone, you're more than welcome to..."

"I'll need a few days to settle in, get used to the place. No sense in getting used to other peoples cooking. Although if I remember you once mentioned you like to bake?"