The Night Beat

someone come and tell me when it’s okay for me to go back and stay with Ralph?”
    “Yes, dear, I’ll make a note on his chart.” She patted my arm then bustled off and I was alone.
    I had no idea what time it was, but I could say for sure that my pseudo-nap hadn’t done me too many favors. I figured I could pace and worry or sleep. I grabbed a pillow and a couple of blankets, made a nest on one of the couches, contemplated what would be the most comfortable in this situation and switched to wolf form, curled up, and went to sleep.
    Well, I tried. Intermittent sleep is better than nothing, and that’s what I was getting. I was alone in the waiting room, but I could hear medical personnel running here and there, doing their jobs. Sadly, Ralph wasn’t the only one in this wing and there was a lot of ruckus for a variety of beings.
    There was another little undeads tour group who came by and though they tried to be quiet, twenty youngsters “whispering” was enough to rouse someone deaf, let alone someone with my hearing. I played dead dog, but it still required waking up and going back to sleep.
    And so it went. If I fell asleep and no one in the hospital managed to wake me, then my wrist-com was going off with updates. Updates I was too fuzzy to do anything with. The exhaustion and heartache had caught fully up to me and I was a basket case. The best I got was that Ken was in charge but wanted me back on the case, however the Count wanted me recuperated, and nothing was happening, but Monty felt it was the calm before the next storm.
    I listened to these updates, grunted or growled, depending, and then flopped back down to sleep.
    Somewhere around dawn Nurse Nancy brought me some food, shared she was going off duty, and reassured me that Ralph was still alive. I was still relegated to the waiting room, however. I scarfed the food and did the flop back onto the paws thing.
    I was on my back, in the first deep sleep I’d managed, paws in the air, when I felt someone watching me. I was pretty sure I’d been snoring -- per Jude and Ken both, I snored up a storm in what everyone who wasn’t canine called the “dead cockroach” sleeping position.
    Police training combined with werewolf senses meant I evaluated the situation in the room quickly, eyes still closed. There was definitely no feeling of danger, but I was also not alone. I cracked an eyelid.
    Upside down, the man standing there looked okay. Tall, long dirty-blond hair, medical scrubs. Wasn’t a doctor I knew, but then again, I did my best not to be here much.
    It was clear he knew I was awake, because he looked amused. I did the flip and roll thing, which flipped me onto the floor. He helped me up and I figured it was time to go to human form, since I’d embarrassed myself enough in wolf form.
    “You okay?” He sounded concerned but still amused.
    “I think so. Are you one of Ralph’s doctors?” Right-side up, he was pretty cute. Not too bulky but extremely sinewy, big brown eyes, nice smile. He wasn’t Jack, but then again, hopefully that meant he wasn’t also carrying around evil incarnate in his soul. I considered that maybe I should spend more time cruising the medical personnel, then reminded myself that I was here for Ralph, not to pick up one of the people trying to save his unlife.
    His eyes widened and he shook his head. “I’m a patient. Just wanted to get out of the room for a minute.” He let go of me and sat on one of the couches. “Sorry, I’m not supposed to be standing for too long right now.”
    I considered sitting next to him -- he was in the middle of his couch, arms stretched out on the back of it, one leg crossed over the other. He looked good in this position, but picking up on one of Ralph’s fellow patients didn’t say “I care about you and I’m sorry” any more than making goo-goo eyes at the medical staff did. I checked the clock. It shared that it was six o’clock, but since it was an old-fashioned dial clock, there was no a.m. or p.m. and I was far too out of it still to be able to offer a good guess. “Is it day or night?”
    “Night, I think.” He had a nice voice, deeper than you’d expect from just looking at him. I reminded myself that I was not looking. Sort of.
    “Good, then I didn’t sleep for twenty-four hours straight.” Not that I couldn’t have used it. I sat back down on my nest and tried not to notice the drool marks on the pillow. I had to figure I’d been quite the sight,