Of Poseidon

to the other side of the tank. Turning back to Galen and Dr. Milligan, Emma says, “He doesn’t trust us. Humans, I mean.”
    “Hmm,” Dr. Milligan says. “What makes you say that?”
    “His behavior.” Emma tilts her head. “See how he keeps his nose below the water? The other two poke their entire heads out. But he doesn’t, as if he’s thinking about jetting or something. And his eyes. They’re not as perky as the others. They look dull, out of focus. Not disinterest, not exactly.” She thumps water toward him, flicking droplets onto his nose. He doesn’t flinch. “No, he’s definitely curious about me. He’s just … well, he’s sad, I think.”
    “Do you know, I think you’re right,” Dr. Milligan says, his expression somewhere between admiration and disbelief. “I’m not sure if you remember, but he wasn’t here this summer when you visited. He was beached on shore over in Panama City a few weeks ago. He’s the only one not born in captivity. We named him Lucky. I guess he would disagree.”
    Emma nods. “He doesn’t like it here. Why was he beached?” By now Lucky has eased himself to within reach of Emma. She extends a hand to him, not to pet him, but in invitation for him to touch her first. After a few indecisive seconds, he nestles his nose into her palm.
    “We don’t know. He wasn’t sick or injured, and he’s relatively young. How he got separated from his pod, we don’t know.”
    “I think humans had something to do with him getting beached,” she says. Galen is surprised by the bitterness in her tone. “Will he ever get to go home?” Emma asks, not looking up. The way she caresses Lucky’s head reminds Galen of how his mother used to comb her fingers through Rayna’s hair trying to get her to sleep. The simple touch was a lullaby in itself. It looks like Lucky thinks so, too.
    “Usually not, my dear. But I’ll see what I can do,” Dr. Milligan says.
    Emma gives him a rueful smile. “That would be good.”
    Galen stops short of shaking his head. If Dr. Milligan feels as rewarded by her smile as Galen does, then Lucky will be free in no time.
    After a few more minutes, Dr. Milligan says, “My dear, I hate to draw you away, but perhaps we could make our way to the examination room.”
    * * *
    “Well, she’s definitely got the thick skin, doesn’t she?” Dr. Milligan says, inspecting the second needle he’s bent trying to penetrate her vein. “I guess I should break out the big guns.” He tosses the needle in the trash to dig around the top drawer of a stainless steel cabinet. “Ah-ha. This should be sufficient.”
    Emma’s eyes go as round as sand dollars. Her legs press into the metal tabletop she’s sitting on. “That’s not a needle, that’s a straw!”
    Galen stifles the reflex to take her hand in his. “He uses it on me, too. It doesn’t hurt, just pinches a little.”
    She turns huge violet eyes to him. “You let him take your blood? Why?”
    He shrugs. “It’s kind of an exchange. I give him samples to study, and he keeps me informed of what his colleagues are up to.”
    “What do you mean, ‘his colleagues’?”
    Galen hoists himself on the counter across from her. “Dr. Milligan happens to be a well-known marine biologist. He keeps track of news that could affect our kind. You know, new exploration devices, treasure hunters, stuff like that.”
    “To protect you? Or to make sure you get to the treasure first?”
    Galen grins. “Both.”
    “Has anyone else ever seen—OUCH!” She whips her scrutiny from Galen to her arm, where Dr. Milligan is drawing blood and smiling apologetically while doing it. Emma returns her glare to Galen. “Pinch, huh?”
    “It was for the greater good, angelfish. The worst part is over. You still want his help, right?” Galen’s reasonable tone wins him no love.
    “Don’t you ‘angelfish’ me. I agreed to have these tests done, so I’m not going to punk out! OUCH!”
    “Sorry, just one more tube,” Dr. Milligan whispers.
    Emma nods.
    When Dr. Milligan finishes, he hands her a cotton ball to press against the hole already scabbing over. “Galen’s blood clots fast, too. You probably don’t even need to hold it.” He puts the half dozen tubes of blood into the shaking machine and flips the switch. Retrieving a small white box from a shelf, he says, “Emma, do you mind if I take your blood pressure?”
    She shakes her head, but says, “Why do you have a human blood pressure machine in an