CHAPTER 39
I had texted her in advance, of course, so she was waiting in the little café down the street, still acting in that filtering, shielding role I had recognised. That said, there was real warmth in her greeting to me.

“You got news for us, girl?”

“Oh yes! Best sort. He got nicked on Friday, after we had finished the trials and stuff with the other lot”

“Oh, we saw that on the news. Not what I’m asking, is it?”

“What are you asking, Deb?”

When among Dragons... Chapter 11 Discoveries

by Machara and Chryos Stormwing

Special thanks to
my love Chryos who creates this with me,
Gabe as my editor and friend

Garrus hummed, still focused on each other’s ministrations.

“As much as I’d love to, I’m not sure either of us can lift the other, at the moment.“

A hint of sarcasm shone through Garrus’ humor.

“I'm afraid I’ve got to ask you to…“ he harrumphed “… step down.“

Shakedown
by Ellie Dauber (c) 2003

The Ace-High Lounge was in its early evening lull, between the “I’ll just stop off for a quick drink on the way home” crowd and the “Let’s go out tonight and have a few drinks” crowd. A few people were scattered here and there through the room, trying to decide which group they wanted to be in.

A beefy man, about forty, in a police uniform, walked in and headed quietly over to the bar. “Your boss around?” he asked the bartender.

“In the office,” the bartender said. “You want I should get him?”

CHAPTER 37
I must admit I have had many evenings a lot worse than that one, and very few better. By the time I got home (by way of the all-night shop for a tin of cocoa, of course) my laughter had toned itself down to smiles, but only just. Whatever Deb was doing was working. Only a few of the girls had given me any idea as to what had happened in their past, but they were all transgender and each one had been hurt,

Raben returned to the tabernae then headed to a bed in the men’s dormitory. The men in the drinking hall exchanged looks of mystification.

The next morning Raben ate a bit of bread and cheese in the tabernae then headed over to the centurion’s home. The new mother was awake cuddling her newborn. After checking mother and child he pronounced both were doing well. He also went over the mother’s restrictions concerning bed rest and lifting restrictions as well as again cautioning her to wait a full day after taking the mandrake potion before nursing.

At the infirmary the medicus warmly greeted Raben. While older than the young healer the military doctor recognized the youth’s obvious skill. Together they checked on the three soldiers who had been severely injured and then skillfully treated. The trio were allowed to get out of bed and move about the fort but were cautioned to take things easy and to spend a week sleeping in the infirmary.

Centurion Didius entered the infirmary as the bandaged trio exited giving them a withering gaze as he did so. “Well Raben, has their prognosis changed?”