Gregor

We were called to the hospital on a possible hit-and-run. When we got there, I noticed Keith standing at the nurse’s desk in the ER.

“Hey, you. You’re working late,” I said as I touched Keith’s back gently. I didn’t want to do more than that since we were both on duty. Xavior gave Keith a silent nod.

“Yeah, we caught one more call before we were pulled off the rotation for the day,” Keith said. He looked tired. I hoped he’d catch a nap before he drove home. “Are you the detectives they called in?”

“Yeah. We were already at headquarters this morning,” I said. Keith looked down and then back up at me and gave me a wavering smile. I chalked it up to him being tired that he might not remember my general work routine.

“While all the stats say they are plant-based being, they are pretty fucking pale and don’t have the chlorophyll counts we’d expect. They’re on CO2, but that doesn’t seem to be helping much. Someone called into emergency services after finding them near a roadway,” Keith shrugged, looking disappointed that everyone was at a loss for what to do since the patient wasn’t responsive. None of the sentient plant-based treatments seemed to be working.

When I looked over at Xavior, his face was neutral, which was completely uncharacteristic for him. I’d never seen him shut down to the point I couldn’t read his face.

“Keith, do you think anyone would mind if we checked on them ourselves? We’d like to at least get a written report about their injuries and follow through with witnesses if we can,” Xavior’s tone gave me the impression that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I worried for a minute but dismissed it. Xavior wouldn’t be anything other than professional even if he had a problem with Keith.

Xavior had his arms across his chest as if he was restraining himself. It framed him in a way that caught me taking in all of the strength and confidence, along with his build. It was the first time I noticed that he was slightly taller than Keith. That made me drop my gaze to my shoes, if only to check myself and shift my stance somewhat so I can get myself under control.

“I don’t think it will be a problem. I can take you back,” Keith nodded in the direction of the room where his patient was located. I looked up to follow, and when Keith turned his back to us, Xavior winked at me. I half stumbled, realizing he’d probably caught me admiring him either by my movement or scent, and gave me a small hint. When I caught up with him, his face was neutral again, and I wondered if I’d imagined it.

Keith led the way into the room. When we got there, he checked various monitors as Xavior and I entered. I closed the door behind me and observed Keith work with the patient.

The being on the hospital bed was extremely pale. They were a translucent white with the very faintest hint of green underneath. Even with the CO2 mask, the air in the room seemed overly oxygenated, as if you were standing in a forest.

I watched as the being’s whole body seemed to inflate slightly and then exhale. The slow beep of the monitor noted the rhythm of some kind of circulation organ. It was painfully slow compared to a human. Almost a minute would pass before a beep came that alternated with a slow breath.

Xavior took a few steps closer to the patient and pulled out his phone and a stylus. We had decided some time ago that if we were working a case together, he’d take notes. My writing was illegible, according to him. I didn’t argue. I liked reading the soft, legible scrawl that showed dedicated practice. I envied it. He probably had that handwriting in more than one language too, though I had yet to see it.

A familiar smell from my parent’s place hit me as I stood in the room. “That's odd. Am I smelling redwoods?” I asked the guys. It was so quiet that my voice sounded like a booming echo in the room.

Keith turned to me and then looked at Xavior, “I’m not smelling anything but hospital cleaning supplies and myself at the moment.” He shrugged.

Xavior leaned closer to the bed. I watched him take a deep breath. He closed his eyes, hands poised with the stylus in one and his phone in the other. He set both down at the end of the bed and went closer to the patient’s head.

“They’re a tree ent, I think. But their smell is off. It’s metallic, though it’s very faint, just below the redwood smell you picked up, Lyndon.”

“What does that mean exactly?” I asked.

“Well, for one, if it is a tree ent, it should be dead. The moment they are inside anything separating them from the earth, like buildings or vehicles, they deteriorate pretty quickly. This one seems to be doing alright, but not improving.”

“The dextrose drip and the CO2 helped, but you’re right. They’ve been like this since we picked them up,” Keith said.

“Can I try something?” Xavior asked.

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” Keith looked at Xavior. I stayed where I was. The space was small, and if they were going to try something, I didn’t want to get in their way.

“It might be that the CO2 you have them on is too clean.” Xavior pulled in a large breath and held it. We watched as his face heated up. A little smoke escaped from his nostrils.

I watched as Xavior leaned over the bed and exhaled a gray smoke into the tree ent’s face. The tree ent responded by taking a deep breath. Xavior did it again, and the ent took another breath. The monitor beeped a little faster. The room was slowly filling with enough smoke that Keith and I were waving away from our faces.

From what I could tell, Xavior was extinguishing his fire breath internally before he exhaled. I worried about the extra oxygen in the room sparking and looked around for a fire suppression system. I trusted Xavior knew what he was doing, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

When Xavior bent over the motionless figure for a third time, the tree ent moved. Their eyes flew open, and they reached for Xavior, planting their lips on his. Xavior opened his mouth, and the tree ent opened theirs, pulling the smoke directly into themselves. Xavior braced himself on the railings of the hospital bed as the tree ent continued to kiss him. Xavior continued to billow smoke into them. It was oddly erotic to watch as the smoke floated around them and the tree ent improved.

There was a knowing grin on Keith’s face when he looked at me. I returned it as I hadn’t expected what we were witnessing either. When Keith cleared his throat, whatever magic was between the two broke as the tree ent let go of Xavior.

“I apologize. I was not myself,” they said. A flush of the lightest green filled their cheeks in what was probably a tree ent version of a blush.

“It’s alright. I’m glad I could help. Could you tell us your name?” Xavior asked

“I am Enish. Am I in the city?” Enish asked.

Keith spoke up. “We found you unconscious on the freeway on the edge of town. Do you know what you were doing there?”

“I…” they started, then stopped and looked at me, then Keith, then Xavior. “I was curious.”

“Do you know what happened?” I asked.

“I remember seeing the lights. I was drawn to them. One of them hit me.” Enish said. They reached up to touch their left arm. A large, specialized bandage was wrapped around it. Likely something suited for plant-based beings.

“It was almost torn off. If you’re able to move it like that, then you’ve healed fairly quickly,” Keith pointed out. As we watched, the various scrapes and cuts they had faded from the vibrant deep marks they were to shallow wounds. Xavior’s smoke appeared to have sped up Enish’s recovery process.

“You knew?” Enish asked Xavior.

Xavior shrugged. “I knew you were a tree ent, but I was guessing that you were a sacred one. I’m glad the smoke trick worked.”

Enish nodded. “I’d like to return home now.” They looked at Xavior. And Xavior looked up at Keith.

“Let me see what I can do to figure out the discharge paperwork.” Keith walked past me out of the room, and I followed him and caught his elbow.

“Hey,” I smiled at him. “You make sure you rest before you drive home, okay? I’ll make it an early night and bring home some dinner.”

“I’d like that.” He reached for my hand and gave it a hard squeeze. Both of us smiled, and the knowledge of wanting more was there. I cleared my throat first as I rocked on my heels, feeling my face heat up with want. Keith smiled and gave my hand another squeeze before letting go of it. Staying professional at times was a challenge, especially when he looked that good in his uniform. “I’ll see you at home.”

I nodded and went back into the room where Enish and Xavior were working out the details of where he was picked up and where he came from. It sounded like we were taking a road trip to the national forest.

We found Enish’s home. Or rather, the cluster of trees that he called family. It was off of a side road on the other side of the freeway, about two kilometers from where he’d been found.

We all got out of the vehicle and walked toward the forest. “Thank you, my friends,” Enish said, as they turned and gave me a hug, then moved to give Xavior a hug that was significantly longer than the one I’d gotten. I tried to stifle a small laugh. I couldn’t blame the tree ent. I knew how they felt.

“Take care, alright?” Xavior said as they pulled away from him.

“I will. Please visit. I would like to hear more of your stories,” Enish said.

“I’ll do that.” The smile on Xavior’s face told me he’d take the time, if only to find out more and maybe because he’d inadvertently created a friend with his kiss of smoke.

“So what exactly is a sacred one?” I couldn't keep the curiosity out of my voice. I wasn’t surprised Xavior knew something none of the rest of us did. It’s this kind of thing that made me appreciate him as my work partner.

“Locals call them ghost trees. They’re albino redwoods. They don’t have a lot of their own chlorophyll, and they filter toxins for the rest of their family. They are considered sacred souls among the tree ents in general because they keep forests healthy.”

I nodded. “That was an impressive job today, Brantley.”

“Thanks.” I watched as a small smile appeared on his face, and he looked at me. “Keith is pretty good at his job.” His tone was even. I was surprised he’d said anything. I acknowledge his smile with one of my own.

“Yeah, and he doesn’t look bad in his uniform either.”

Xavior chuckled. “I can see the appeal.” He grinned and then sighed. “I’m sorry for what I said about him a few days ago. You were right, it’s none of my business.”

“But you weren’t wrong, either. We’ve had our challenges. He’s a good man. Things have been difficult sometimes, but worth it.”

Xavior nodded, and we left the conversation at that.

I started the vehicle and worked us back into the mid-day traffic. I could tell Xavior was holding something back, but I didn’t try to fish it out of him. After we returned to headquarters, we spent the remainder of the day filing forms. I managed to beg off the last of it to pick up Thai from Keith’s favorite place before heading home. When I got there, Keith and I's invitation to Xavior’s birthday party was on the coffee table. It was in two weeks time.

On the one hand, seeing the opened invitation on the table made me happy because I knew Keith would be pleased about it. On the other hand, I had a nagging feeling in my gut that it was a bad idea. I wanted to go and not worry that my gut was right.