Falcorans' Faith by Laura Jo Phillips Page B

previous clinic, and that had only been a couple of years old before it was destroyed. 
    “That you Darlene?” Doc called from somewhere in the back of the building. 
    “Yes,” she replied, following the sound of his voice to a large room that, when finished, would be the best equipped pre-natal care and delivery room on Jasan.  She stepped through the doorway and gave Doc one of her rare smiles. 
    Doc was about the same height as Darlene, and very thin and wiry.  He had bushy white hair, a white mustache, and dark blue eyes with a fine network of laugh lines radiating out from the corners.  Doc appeared to be about fifty years old.  Darlene didn’t know how old he really was, and didn’t care, but she did know that he was far older than he looked. 
    “There you are,” he said, returning her smile.  “Good morning.”
    “Good morning,” Darlene replied, surprised, as always, by the sudden tightening in her stomach that she got when she saw him for the first time each day.  “Is Dr. Honey going to join us?”
    “No, she’s in Berria,” Doc said, his smile fading.  “Sheila Gryphon went into pre-mature labor last night, so the Falcorans speed-traveled her over there.”
    Darlene had met Sheila a couple of times while assisting Doc in the clinic.  She was a sweet, soft-spoken human woman who’d mated her Gryphon male-set forty or fifty years earlier.  She’d had several failed pregnancies, and seemed to retreat further into herself with each one.  The Gryphons and the Dracons were the two smallest clans of the Jasani, so every single child was enormously important to the entire clan.  But, more than that, Sheila wanted desperately to be a mother, and each failure took something from her heart.
    “How premature?” Darlene asked.
    “Two months,” Doc replied.  “It’s not a lost cause by any means.  Honey was unable to stop the labor, but she thinks that the infants have a good chance.  They’re small, but strong and healthy.  Her biggest concern right now is for Sheila.”
    “Why?” Darlene asked. 
    “She’s terrified that she’ll lose the babies,” Doc said.  “Her blood pressure is too high, her heart rate too fast, and she’s nearly hysterical with worry.  If they don’t get her to relax, it could be a problem.  Merrick Falcoran just took Jared over to help out.  I’m confident that, between him and Honey, all will be well.”
    Darlene nodded, far more relieved than she appeared, but Doc understood her better than anyone, and hadn’t missed the subtle signs of her true feelings.  “Don’t worry,” he said.  “Sheila will be fine, and so will her sons.”
    Darlene’s eyes crinkled a bit at the corners.  That was practically a grin coming from her.  “Thanks.”
    “No problem,” Doc said. 
    Darlene’s head tilted to the side.  “Why are you here instead of in Berria with Honey?”
    “Because I’m stuck with choosing colors and the like for this clinic while Honey’s delivering babies,” he said with a grimace that reminded Darlene of her own feelings on the subject.  “We’ve been putting it off, and now it’s crunch time.  The builders need this information before they can go any further, and since you and I are leaving for Onddo in a few days, Honey insisted I do this today.  She says she did her share picking out all the machines and equipment, and that she don’t know diddly about decoratin’ , her words, not mine, and that I wasn’t gettin’ off the hook just cause I was leavin’.  She actually threatened to stop construction till I got back if I put it off again.  Behind that sweet smile and gentle manner lies the heart of a true tyrant.”
    “I like her,” Darlene said, her eyes crinkling again.
    “Yeah, you would,” Doc said with another grimace, though this time he winked at her.  “Hell, if it were me, I’d paint it white and call it done.  As a matter of fact, why not?  I think that’s a grand idea.”
    Darlene