Skibiddle skiboodle
We're back here to canoodle!

Don't you love the rhyme? Canoodle means to kiss and cuddle affectionately but it's the only word that came to mind that rhymes with skiboodle. 

I'm sorry for the hiatus! Life got hella chaotic, and I got sick and school is piling up, whatever. It's no excuse. You can expect two or three  c h o n k y  updates this weekend! Happy almost President's day, and happy belated Valentine's day!

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Nova's POV

When Ana decided that I was well enough to follow her around town, she decided that I should follow her around when she ran errands or went to visit patients in order to get a lay of the land. 

Today, she needed to make a house call to a paranoid mother and her newborn baby, or so she described it. 

"I've been to this lady's house twice in the past four days. She insists that her baby is dying, even though I keep insisting it's just a cold." She mutters as she puts a light jacket on. 

"Newborn mothers tend to be like that, in my limited experience," I chuckle and pull my shoes on.

She blows her bangs out of her face, "are you ready to go?"

I nod and get in the car. 

"No, no. She lives really close. It's better to walk anyway."

"Even with holes in my chest?" I laugh.

"Yes, Nova, even with holes in your chest," she chuckles and descends the porch stairs.

We walk for a while, maybe a block or two and come to another beautiful house that the neighborhood never seems to lack. She knocks, and the door opens almost immediately.

"Oh, thank God you're here! She won't stop crying!" She looks distraught, dark purple under her eyes, desperation in her voice. 

The loud wails that now gleam upon my hearing prove her point. They, too are desperate, but more impatient and ever so hoarse by now.

"How old is the baby?" I mutter to Ana.

"Seven months, almost eight," she says as she goes to the crib and pulls the child up into her arms and onto the table. 

The mother is still frantic, buzzing around Analissa like a bee. When Ana looks like she's about to explode, I divert her.

"How old is your baby, miss?" I smile when she turns around.

"Seven months," she looks from the screaming baby to me.

"Can she crawl yet?" I ask and move a bit closer to get her focus more on me.

"Yes," she chuckles and sniffs. "She can pull herself up on the couch and even bounce when she laughs. She says with glimmers of tears in her eyes. 

"Smart baby. What's her name?" She sits down, and I sit down with her, keeping my eyes on her even when she struggles to reciprocate. 

"Evie. She's named after her grandma."

"That's a beautiful name. Did you know that it means 'lively'?" I smile.

She finally smiles, "that's fitting for her."

"Who are you?" She asks, her glare remains on me.

"I'm Nova, and you are?"

"Addison. You're the daughter of-"

"Yes. I'll save you the breath." I laugh and she pauses.

"You have your father's eyes," she says softly.

"Thank you, I wouldn't remember," I chuckle softly.

I trance off for a split second and remember what I'm supposed to be doing. I could pick her brain when her baby was healthy.

"Evie is gonna be just fine in no time. Analissa saved my life, Evie is gonna be giggling and smiling again before you know it," I smile at her, which she returns and puts her hand on mine.

Ana comes back to us and confirms what she said before. "She has all the classic symptoms of a nasty cold, Mrs. Johnston. The screaming comes from an ear infection. I can give her some antibiotics, if you would like." 

Addison nods and Ana goes to do that.

"It's more than a cold," she mumbles.

"How do you mean?" I say so Ana can't hear.

"She's had a cold before.. she doesn't scream all night, and she does not cough so violently. She's a fighter, and as her mother, I know that this is more. I keep hoping that she'll find something, but I don't think she's really looking," she says passionately.

"Would you mind if I take a look at her?" I ask, looking over at the fussy baby.

"Please. Anything helps," she pleads.

I get up and go to the table where the wriggling mass lies. She looks just as tired as her mother.

"May I?" I ask Ana's permission. 

She just sighs and starts putting her medical things away, "sure, why not?"

I smile down at Evie, putting a hand on her head to check for a fever. She does not feel hot.

"Hi pretty girl!" I coo at her, "we are gonna fix you right up," I giggle and pick her up.

Her breathing is almost labored, she coughs hard and begins to cry again. 

"I know baby girl, I know it hurts," I rock her a bit and stop when she cries harder. I probably aggravated her ear infection. Oops. She now cries harder than ever, ear shattering almost. 

I put her in the crib and hurry to Ana, "loan me ten bucks." 

"What? Why? What did you do to Evie?" She asks and gets her wallet out.

"Antibiotics won't help her. I know what she needs," I take the money from her and shove it in my bag. 

"What? What does she need?" Addison insists.

"Her little system can't handle all those meds. She needs something more natural. I'll be back lickety split," I put the long, cross body strap around my neck and shift to fur, bounding out the door.

I remember seeing some kind of health store nearby and find it, climbing up on the door to push it open. 

"I need garlic oil," I mind meld to the clerk.

He looks slightly terrified and scurries over to another aisle to get it. While I'm waiting, I feel my heart rate speed up even more, and my senses maximize. Colt comes around from another aisle in human form. I roll my eyes in my head since wolves can't really roll their eyes. 

"Hey, beautiful. What're you doing here?" He chuckles and puts his stuff on the counter. I can see desire in his eyes, and my whole body wants to jump on him.

"I'm on a mission. Can't talk."

 The clerk comes back and shows me the oil. I shake the purse off and nudge it to him. He opens it and takes the money out, putting the garlic oil in without me even having to tell him.

"Keep the change, thanks!" I pull my purse around my neck again and am gone just as fast as I came.

I hear someone else behind me but don't bother to see who it is, because I think I know.

I can hear the loud wails from several houses down. I rush back in and change back to flesh, pulling my shirt and pants on just as Colt comes in to stand at the door, still in his humongous wolf form. 

The seemingly magnetic pull that he gives off threatens to distract me.

I pull the purse off my neck and pull the drops out, opening them and putting them into the affected ear of poor Evie. 

Her crying stops shortly after. 

I'm still breathing hard from the run, but I can't help smiling at Evie who is also smiling up at us. 

"What was that?" Her mother asks in utter amazement. 

Colt comes into the house and sits near the crib, looking at me.

"Garlic oil is known for soothing ear aches. It helps the swelling go down, therefore stopping the pain." I give the bottle to Addison. "And that is why she's so happy again, yes she is!" I coo and pick her up again, breathing a sigh of relief when I hear her giggle.

Colt looks amazed. I ignore him. 

Ana looks at me with pride and takes the baby from me to look into her ear again to verify what I said. Colt is gone when I turn around again.

Addison hugs me, "you just saved me a baby induced migraine."

I laugh, "it was nothing. Just me and my random knowledge."

"Thank you," she says, clearly grateful.

"She'll definitely live. The drops seem to help with the screaming too," Ana adds, and hands Evie back to Addison.

"Thank you both."

"It's a pleasure, Mrs. Johnston. Please come find me, or bring her into the clinic if there are any changes," Ana smiles earnestly and we both go to the door to leave. 

And who else comes prancing back up, but Colt, now fully clothed. I could almost sense him before he was even in my sight.

He catches us on the way out and Ana gives me a devilish smirk before he gets close enough to see. When he gets close enough to greet us, she fakes some kind of medical emergency and does the dreaded, 'I'll catch up with you guys later' bullshit. 

I give her a look of 'you bitch' and she just smiles at me sweetly and walks in the other direction.

"Can I walk you back?" He offers, like such a perfect gentleman. 

I groan in my head but show no signs of frustration. "If I say no, will you still tail behind me like a stalker?" 

He scoffs, "no!"

"You're a terrible liar," I raise an eyebrow.

"Only around you," he mumbles and walks by my side, matching my pace even though it is difficult for him due to how long his legs are compared to mine. 

"Why did you follow me?" I ask what's on my mind.

"You caught my attention," he says simply as he shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets.

"You're remarkable, do you know that?" He continues and looks at me.

Butt kisser. 

Why the hell do I want to pounce on him? And why am I feeling this way now?

Ok, Nova, hormones down. 

I clench my fists, and allow my nails in my palms to distract me from looking at him.

"Pfft.. for knowing random useless information?" I laugh.

"That, and granting Addison a peaceful night of sleep," he flashes me a smile.

"I guess.." I mutter and cross my arms. "What were you even there for?"

"My heightened senses told me that you would be there when you were, so I was there to see you." His tone reeks of sarcasm.

That is the answer I was expecting, but I'm still surprised.

He starts laughing, "I'm kidding. But I get why you'd believe it." 

I just roll my eyes, still not totally convinced.

"Blue-green algae."

Now I'm even more confused.

"So you're some kind of sea animal now too?" I laugh.

"If it amuses you," he shrugs again. "It boasts of endless health benefits, and all it takes is a teaspoon a day."

"Really? Like what?" I ask, slightly interested.

"It's supposed to help your immune system, exercise performance, prevent heart disease, heal wounds, improve digestion-"

"Okay, okay, I think I got it." Stupid garlic oil. Stupid boy and his stupid smirk with his stupid.. stupidity. "Did you end up getting it?"

He shakes his head.

"Well, maybe you can go get it now," I say as we approach Analissa's house. "I'd hate to keep you from your fish food," I giggle and bump him with my shoulder, feeling a jolt of something more powerful than static electricity jolt through me.

Curse my flirty ways!

He shakes his head with a smile and looks down and then looks back at me with no shame whatsoever.

Ana pokes her head out the door and shouts something indecipherable. 

"Thank you for escorting me, Mr. Myers," I smile at him and turn to walk towards the door, seeing him only nod.

A bitchy thing to do after he specifically told me to call him by his first name, but I need to keep him at a distance for the time being.

Ana is smirking at me as if she thinks we did something besides walk together.

"What?" I mutter and kick my shoes off.

"Come on, you didn't see the way he looked at you? He's totally into you!" She squeals.

"I know. Didn't I mention when he almost forced me to move in with him?" 

"He what?!" She almost screams. "And you didn't say yes?" 

"Geez.. is that a crime around here or something?" I ask and fill a cup with water.

"More like a crime against humanity.. who wouldn't want to live with him?" She swoons.

"Ana, you have a mate, and was it not you who told me I should take time to grieve?" I take a drink.

"Uggghhh, Nova, when a guy like Myers takes interest in you, you need to at least acknowledge it. He's prime meat around here, he turns down almost everyone. I've never seen him be genuinely interested in anyone but you." 

I just sigh and put my cup down. 

"Okay, you and I need to talk. We are gonna have a girl's night," she says excitedly as she formulates the plan in her own head as it comes out of her mouth. 

"What? Why-"

"Come on, live a little! We'll eat all the processed crap we want and answer all the questions you have about everything," she goes to the pantry and pulls out an armful of food.

Questions? Now that sounded better than a girl's night.

In my limited experience, a girl's night was getting drunk, talking shit about other people and braiding each other's hair, giving each other makeovers: i.e. not my thing.

But then again, I only had Sandra and Evelyn to base my presuppositions off of.

Ten minutes later, we were situated with a snacks in our blanket fort. As she put the final touches on it, she says, "that was amazing what you did for Evie today. You worried me at first to be honest."

"Colt said that too." I put a chip in my mouth.

"Yeah, what was he doing there?" She asks and sits down, stealing the chip in my hand.

"I ran into him at the store and he followed me," I shrug and throw one at her.

She wiggles her eyebrows and snatches the whole canister from me. "So, what's on your mind, girl?" 

I pause for a moment. Nobody has really opened the door for my questions. Where do I start?

"I uh.. I don't know. Just give me the rundown of life in a pack I guess." You know that feeling when your math teacher asks what questions you have about what you just learned, and you're so lost that you don't even know what to ask? Yeah. That's how I felt.

She takes a deep breath, holds it for a second and starts talking.

In a very confusing hour or so of listening, I learn a couple things. 

When she pauses, I have time to process.

"So let me get this straight: the Rivals are the pack that I was attacked by, and they are a bunch of pissed off lunatics who were ripped off for land by a corrupt Alpha who is now dead, but they still want to wage war, so they kill people randomly and brutally to instill fear in surrounding packs?" 

"Yup," she nods.

"You're also saying that the gender roles in packs have changed drastically, but it is still normal for females to find a mate and reproduce.. which happens when the male marks the female by biting her neck, which turns into a scar, thereby claiming her for the duration of their lives?" 

"Well, yes. But it is no longer frowned upon if a female does not find a mate. With the heightened attraction, though, most females end up finding a mate. Do go on!" She gestures with a chip in her hand.

"Oh! And since you have some Lycan in you, the mating process is easier. Normally, males have to 'court' the females," she uses air quotes, "to determine if they're compatible. It is said that Lycans can basically smell it on each other the moment they see each other for the first time. They can also speak telepathically with anyone, even if they aren't part of their pack."

My mind flashes back to the 'connection' Colt said he felt. I quickly shrug it off and divert myself with another question.

"Is it possible to be compatible with multiple males?" I inquire.

"Yes, but there is a connection in the right one that is more intense than the others..." she smirks and nudges me with her foot, "in more ways than one."

"Ew! TMI," I laugh.

"Hey! I'm answering your questions! I'll also warn you that there is a girl who swears that she is Colt's mate. There's been drama between them for years." 

My eyebrow raise encourages her to keep talking. "Thalia is the queen bee bitch every guy wants to be with. She slept around for a while to try to get Colt's attention. They were even together for a minute, but he broke it off and she went insane. She's been obsessed with him ever since. He's in this pack because he ran away and rumor has it, she's still trying to hunt him down. Last I heard, she was with the Rival packs."

"Yikes. Desperate much?" 

She snickers and agrees with me.

"You're also saying I should steer clear of Samael the creep because he's a dirty old man on wolf hormones?"

"Yes, and I overheard him talking to the Alpha about you while you were out in the hospital. It was nasty." She shudders.

After my interaction with him, I was not surprised.

"He's been known to use his authority to re-mark females," she says, looking disgusted.

"To.. what? Isn't the mark permanent?" 

"Yes, until a male bites deeper and essentially rapes the female," she mutters and scoffs.

"Hendrix doesn't do anything about it?" I say, getting a bit agitated.

"Oh, Hendrix hates it. He's taken it to the Council but Samael always kisses up like the two faced beta bitch he is."

"He can't like... demote him?" I laugh in disbelief.

She shakes her head, "he's tried, but the other males in the pack are either too afraid to take Samael's place, or they want Hendrix's position instead."

I scoff.

"Oh! If you're getting antsy here, Alpha Hendrix has told me that there are some houses you can look at if you were interested. You'd just have to go see him and arrange something."

"Trying to get rid of me already?" I chuckle.

"No! Never! I told him that I want to keep you here, but he insists that you need to spread your wings or whatever," she disgruntles.

That is an interesting tidbit of information.

Before I can say anything else, Ryan comes bursting in in fur form. 

"What? Ryan, what's happened?" Ana gets up.

"Evie can't breathe, she's turning blue." She translates his message out loud with a look of horror.

Without another word, I shift, and grab my bag, speeding past him, running as fast as I can. The houses and streets go by like nothing. 

When I finally reach the house, I shift at the door again and put the spare clothing on after knocking. I'm changed by the time she opens the door. 

She lets me in and is now more than frantic. Her mate is equally worried, pleading with Evie to breathe.

Evie has a blue tinge to her lips and face and is unable to cough because her airway is clogged.

"Did she swallow anything?" I ask and toss my bag to the side, checking down her throat.

"No! She just started breathing really hard and stopped!" Addison sobs, her mate goes to hold her.

Upon further examination, I find that she is still breathing, just barely. 

"Addison, I need you to go run the shower as hot as it goes and keep the door closed." I already know what Evie's issue is. 

"It's already running. I was going to shower," her blubbers are almost not understandable. 

"Why?" Her mate asks with skepticism. 

"She needs warm, moist air to help her breathe." I pick her up and rush to the bathroom, Ana and Ryan come in.

From the other side of the door, they ask what I'm doing.

"She has the croup," I yell over the running water. "The mucus blocked her airway, but the fog in here will loosen it and help her breathe."

Ana comes in just as Evie starts crying, signifying that she can breathe again. A moment sooner would have made her lose consciousness.

"The croup! How did you know?" She asks.

"Long story.. not important right now," I return my attention to Evie, who has realized that she can breathe clearly now as the pink color in her cheeks comes back. 

Her mother comes in and I make sure to close the door to keep the warm air in.

"You saved her life!" She cries and hugs me tighter than before, kissing Evie's head.

"It isn't me you should thank, it's Ana and her mate. Without Ana, we wouldn't have known how severe her sickness was, and if it wasn't for Ryan, it may have been too late for her," I just wanted the attention off me; it really was not my doing. My random knowledge strikes when it wants to.

Ana steps in, and I hand Evie back to her mother, "make sure that she is breathing warm, moist air, and the sickness will go away on its own." She utters an apology for not seeing it before, and mentioning that the croup takes a few days to be seen as the croup instead of a common cold, which was true.

I leave them alone, not wanting to use up any of the air that saved Evie's life. That, and I couldn't accept the recognition for the life of me. Evie's father also takes me into a bear hug which I hesitate to accept, but do anyway. 

"Thank you," he says with evident thankfulness. 

"No problem, sir."

After that, I just stay on the sidelines while Ana gives her some other instructions to get over the croup.

She nudges me when we leave, squealing with excitement again. "Nova saves the day! That was so badass!" She's practically jumping for joy. 

And then she gasps, her eyes light up. "You need to come work at the clinic."

"What? No! I'm not an expert. I was just lucky to know what was wrong with Evie. Anyone could have done it.." I shrug it off.

"Hey," she stops in front of me, "I couldn't see it. You did. Do you know how cool that is?" She hisses.

"You'd have seen it.." I mutter and keep walking.

"Uh, yeah! When it was too late!" She persists.

And then Ryan chimes in, "it was pretty cool, Nova. Ana might have some competition now," he laughs and pulls her closer to him, kissing her cheek.

"That's exactly what I don't want. I don't want to compete with Ana over helping people because I-" 

"That's ridiculous! As long as we're helping people, you'll be my right hand man! We'll kick ass together! It's the formula for a dream team!" She is talking with her hands again, clearly excited.

"Like a dynamic duo?" I nudge her and smile.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" She shakes me by my shoulders and is squealing like a fangirl who is seeing their idol for the first time.

Ryan is laughing his ass off at her ridiculousness.

"Ahhh fine, just stop screaming," I laugh, and she is ecstatic.

"Ryannn!! I'm finally gonna have a partner in crime! Well, not literally, because that would be bad and stuff.." she trails off.

"What? I thought I was your partner in crime!" He whines jokingly.

"Oh babe, you are! But now Nova is giving you a break," she pokes his nose and he pouts.

I'm laughing now too. 

We all make jokes and laugh until we get back to the house and then eat macaroni and cheese in the pillow fort to celebrate. 

Is this how it feels to heal?

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