Page 35 of The Alien's Private Redemption

The lizardwoman caught her eyes and nodded. Angela found herself nodding along with her and took a deep breath. Zoric steadied her with an arm around her waist and a brush of his presence along the back of her mind.

"Alright, Angela, I want you to relax and we're going to see one of your memories. What do you think we should look at?" The question was directed at Angela but Dr. Torres answered it.

"Her first MRI," he suggested. "That should have been a strong memory for the age she had it."

Ae-cha tried not to show her irritation but Angela could feel it, along with Zoric's amusement. He considered Dr. Torres a brilliant professional with a one track mind. Of course he'd want to know about her first MRI.

"Does that work? Can you remember your first MRI?" Ae-cha asked.

Angela nodded and, suddenly, she was there, though the edges of the memory were hazy. It had been softened with time and distance, but also a certain benevolent hand had eased away much the pain and fear that she knew must have accompanied it.

Angela curled her bare toes against the cold linoleum and ignored the adults around her. She couldn't really hear what they were saying over the noise of the computers around her anyway.

Her gaze was fixed on the scene through the window in front of her.

The machine lurked on the other side of the door. Ominous shadows filled every corner and flickered with one of the dying overhead lights. The hospital smelled wrong - like the cleaning supplies Uncle Saul never let them use at home because they burned his nose. She wished he was here now. He always smelled like pine needles and mountain air, even in winter when everything else smelled like snow.

The thin hospital gown wrapped around her, doing little to cut the chill from the air conditioners. Her jaw ached but she couldn't relax her clenched teeth enough to make it stop.

"We're almost ready to start, Mrs. McBride," the woman staring at the big computer screen said.

"Can't you wait a little longer?" her mother asked, the worry in her voice pushed Angela's heart into her throat.

"Ma'am, there are other people who need this machine," the woman said. "I need you to have your daughter lay down so we can get her started."

"Saul is on his way," her mother explained. "We can't start until he's here."

Everybody knew you didn't do doctor's appointments without Uncle Saul, even if you drove three hours to the emergency room because you fell and cracked your skull. He usually insisted they go to the charity clinic halfway down the mountain from their home but they had to send her to the city for the machines. She knew he'd be there.

Uncle Saul had always been there for doctor's visits, just like he'd been there for Grandma Mae's visits, and Great-Aunt Jenny's before that. Angela had seen the pictures in the old album - Uncle Saul standing next to Great-Great Grandma Sarah on her wedding day, looking exactly the same as he did now. When she'd asked about it, her mother had just smiled and said some people aged better than others.

Angela wondered that the woman was willing to go ahead without him.

"Is he her doctor?"

"No."

"Her father?"

"He's my uncle."

Angela thought about that. Didn't everybody have an Uncle Saul?

"Ma'am, if he's not a doctor, we don't need to wait for him."

The door to the room with the machine opened and one of the nurses who had been moving around the room placed a hand on her shoulder.

Angela dropped to the floor in a screaming, angry heap. Her body thrashed and fought while her mind stayed oddly clear, like it always did when she needed Uncle Saul. She could feel him coming, like a cool shadow moving through the mountains toward her. His shadow never quite matched his shape when he moved that fast, stretching longer and lower to the ground, but nobody else ever seemed to notice.

She was aware, in a vague way, of the nurses lifting her from the floor and into her mother's lap. She kicked and hit at them, at her mother, at the chair and tables nearby.

Her entire body hurt and sharp spikes of pain radiated from the head injury that had necessitated the trip to town in the first place.

A calm voice cut through the screams that were making her throat raw and Angela hoped he would get to her soon. She wanted to stop and rest but she knew she couldn't until Saul told her.

A cool hand on the back of her neck brought blessed relief to her overheated body. Through her tears, Angela saw Uncle Saul's human shape settle into place, like ripples smoothing on a pond. His skin was always cool, no matter how far or fast he'd traveled to reach them. The other adults drew back without seeming to realize they were doing it - Uncle Saul had that effect on people.

"Calm yourself," Uncle Saul said, his soft voice echoing through her mind.

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