9: UNWANTED MEMORIES.

“I don’t believe it,” Sarah exclaimed as she watched the charts connected to Steve’s body. The werewolf was stable and his blood pressure was back to normal. Well, not human being normal but a win was a win.

Emma could believe it because being a healer was a large part of her identity. A knock brought their attention away from Steve. It was a female nurse who had a puzzled expression on her face.

“Um, Doctor Emma, the patients that came in all seem to be doing just fine,” she said.

Emma nodded, relieved. “Thank you and keep a close watch on them for any changes.” Emma replied. The Nurse nodded and left.

“Mercury Chloride,” Sarah murmured and shook her head, still amazed.

Steve stirred awake and moaned a little. His eyes flew open and he looked around until his gaze fell on the woman that he had rejected a long time ago.

“Emma,” he groaned and tried to get up.

Emma ran to his bed side and gently pushed him on his back. A small jolt of electrical current passed through her as she did.

“Lay back down,” she said. “You need to save your strength.”

Steve obeyed and held her hand, his gaze pleading.

Sarah cleared her throat with a small smile. “I will be in my lab, Doctor Emma, it seems like you and the patient have a lot to catch up on,” she said with a sly twinkle in her eye as she left the both of them alone.

Emma pulled her hand out of Steve’s grasp and took a cautious step back. She still felt deeply the warmth of his hand on hers.

“How are you feeling now?” Emma asked, watching him closely.

“There is a lot of pain, but it has greatly reduced…its manageable,” Steve replied. “What did you do?”

“I injected you with mercury chloride,” Emma replied. “The virus was made with silver nitrate and wolfsbane, so the mercury coated it to keep it from multiplying. It is only temporary though as you are still infected.”

“So, there is no cure?” Steve asked in a low resigned tone.

“I am still working on it,” Emma replied. “I am still trying to find out what the third component is.”

“So that is the only thing stopping you,” Steve said. “How long will it take you to find this hidden component?” he asked.

“Honestly, Steve, I have no idea and it is going to take a while to find out. But for now, you will have to endure being infected, but other wise you should be fine.” Emma replied as honestly as she could. She was in no position to make any promises.

“Thank you so much, Emma, my pack is grateful for your kindness,” Steve replied. Emma could not believe that he could show gratitude. The last thing she remembered about Steve was how cold and arrogant he was.

Seeing him like this really surprised her.

“Do not thank me yet, Steve, this fix is only temporary. The virus is very powerful, so you will need to regularly get injected with mercury,” Emma told him the bad news.

“How regularly?” Steve asked.

“Every month,” Emma answered. “Depending on how your system handles the mercury,” She added.

Nothing was said for a while as an uneasy silence passed between the two of them.

“Emma,” Steve said in a more vibrant voice. “I think you need an explanation on why things happened the way they did.”

Emma shook her head. “That will not be necessary Steve,” she curtly replied. Emma was not interested in any form of closure. She had moved on five years ago and was not interested in revisiting the painful past.

“My life did not correlate with yours because I was the daughter of a nobody,” she told him. “I understand that better now, the economic and political situation of your pack was important and something as silly as a bond was not going to get you those things.”

“Is that how you saw it?” Steve asked her.

“What other way could I have seen it?” Emma asked with cold shrug.

Steve said nothing and nodded. He pulled the needle out of his inner right arm and got up to his feet. He swayed a bit before he regained his composure.

Emma walked close to him, shocked with his actions. “You can’t do that, Steve, you are not fully healed, I am sure you will never transform in this state.”

“I am aware of my limitations, Emma, but I cannot stay here any longer,” Steve replied as he shoved his feet into his boots.

“Where are you going?” Emma asked and was shocked a bit by the concern in her voice.

“There are other werewolves of my pack out there, dying, I need to help them, bring then here,” Steve replied. “They need a healer.”

“You did not think you needed a healer five years ago,” Emma said tersely. Even her own anger was surprising her.

“And fate showed me what a damned big fool I was to the extent that my whole pack paid for my stupid mistake,” Steve replied with a sad smile.

Now, Emma felt so sorry for bringing her past up.

“I am sorry,” She muttered, embarrassed by her outburst.

“I should be the one apologizing, Emma, not you,” Steve replied as he put on his black V-neck long-sleeved shirt, before putting on his black leather jacket.

Emma had forgotten just how deeply handsome and attractive he was, especially just how green those eyes were. He looks so tired now. Emma noticed with a tinge of sadness.

“You are staring,” Steve said with a small smile on his lips.

Emma shook her head and blinked several times. “I am just wondering how you are even able to stand, and how healthy you look.”

Steve smiled. “That is all thanks to you,” he replied. “Take care of yourself Emily, I will be back with more pack members.”

Steve hastily left his ward, leaving Emma in the loud silence he had left behind.

“Be careful, Steve,” Emma whispered into the air a she watched him go.