Wes said, "It's possible they still would." She opened her mouth to protest, but he put up a hand and she remained silent. "However, I can at least allow Ryan to stay for a week, to help you get settled before you go back to work. This means you'll accept constant surveillance from a group of Cris's most-trusted Protectors for that week, though. Understood?"
She sensed tension in Ryan, his muscles going stiff. Oops. They really hadn't talked about her going back to work, had they? Not like she'd dive headfirst into a fire or anything, but she could shift until the last trimester of her pregnancy and Gaby planned on helping any way her superiors would allow her.
She'd have to find a way to bring it up again later.
Gaby cleared her throat. "We'll grudgingly accept the Protectors."
"Good," Wes stated. "You'll also have regular check-ins. Not the most convenient thing for a new couple, but I won't budge on that either."
Ryan bobbed his head. "If it means staying, I'll suffer it gladly."
Cris stood. "Then before I coordinate all of that, Ryan and I need to have a little talk."
Gaby was about to say she'd go with him, but Dr. Carter motioned toward Gaby first and said, "Before you go anywhere else, you need to come to the clinic with me, Gaby. If I don't check you out and veri
fy everything's okay, then your parents and brother will probably kill me."
She rolled her eyes. "They would never hurt you. Your sister is mated to one of my cousins, after all."
"All the more reason for me to make doubly sure you're fine." The doctor stood. "Is there anything else you need her for right now, Wes? I have a minor surgery in three hours, and I'd like to squeeze in Gaby's exam first."
Wes also stood. "As long as Ryan stays to go over a few things with Cris, I don't see why we can't all get back to business. However, you two"—he pointed at Gaby and Ryan—"will visit with me privately tomorrow, around lunchtime. We still have other things to discuss."
Anxious to go with Dr. Carter and get that over with so she could introduce Ryan to her family, she nodded. "Fine, fine, we'll be there. Can we go now?"
Wes glanced at Ryan. "Good luck with her, human."
She growled, but Ryan spoke over the sound. "No luck is needed, Mr. Dalton. I'm fortunate to have her, and I'll never take Gaby for granted."
And just like that, her irritation at all the demands and coddling from the last little while faded.
She was a little bit smitten with her male. Just a tad.
Cris nodded in approval. "Good answer. You may yet do okay here."
Dr. Carter headed toward the door. "Then let's go. Oh, and Ford, if you think of any questions related to Gaby's pregnancy, then come and find me. The more information you have, the easier this whole process will be."
Ryan merely squeezed Gaby's shoulder. "Thank you, Dr. Carter. I will."
Wes dismissed them. Gaby lingered back a second with Ryan, ignoring both Dr. Carter and Cris frowning a few feet away. She murmured, "I'll return as quickly as I can."
He caressed her cheek. "I'll be fine, Gaby. Don't worry about me."
It was hard not to.
However, Ryan gently kissed her, and she fought the urge to take it deeper.
Dragon-shifters weren't usually shy about showing affection, but she wasn't quite ready for Cris and Dr. Carter to watch Ryan fuck her mouth with his tongue.
So she broke the kiss, touched his jaw, and turned to follow the doctor out of the main security building and toward the center of the clan's lands, where the clinic was located.
Well, it was more of a mini-hospital than a clinic, but all American dragon clans just called them clinics.
Regardless, there were more important things to think about. Gaby had one week to convince Wes and the others that Ryan should stay. And not just because her dragon would want their human nearby, either, since that wouldn't be enough of a reason.
But to do that would require a plan and probably the help of her extended family.
She'd often thought of them as a burden when young, but now Gaby appreciated her nosey but loving family. They may just be the shield she needed to keep her human at her side.