It seems I did not need to advise Rome to pretend to feel unwell.
When I got to his room, I scented his omega pheromones and realized that he was already in heat, but instead of acting on his sexual instincts, he simply lay there in the middle of his bed, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Rome, we have a visitor," his mother called out to him, but he didn't move.
"He is currently in heat."
"What?" she frowned at me, "But he just had his estrus two weeks ago!"
"Are there any alphas in your residence?"
"Only his Kuya who's currently in university right now."
"Good. Let us hope that it is not too late for him."
I opened my briefcase and took out a suppressant.
Mrs. Chu watched me like a vulture as I prepared the ampule and injected her unresponsive son.
He didn't even flinch when the needle pricked him, which made his mother worry even more that she started slapping his arm.
"Rome? Rome, 1anak, are you okay?"
Still, there was no response.
"Rome? Baby, can you hear mommy?!"
She started slapping his face.
"Mrs. Chu, please let the medicine take its course. You are not helping by slapping your son."
She quickly pulled back and stared at me, teary-eyed.
"Doc, is my son going to be okay?"
"Hopefully, if he is not too far gone yet."
I took out the compact of calming cream from my briefcase and hastened to smear it on his temples, massaging him gently. I released my pheromones as well, helping to cancel his heat. I did not stop until I finally got some response from him.
"Rome!" his mother cried on his side when he finally blinked and looked at me. "Baby! Are you okay?!"
Rome did not answer, he simply stared at his mother, then back at me.
"I'm going to get his vitals."
I took out a sphygmomanometer to check his blood pressure. His body felt so cold.
"He has hypotension. His sistolic is 68, diastolic at 40. It is too low."
"What do we do now, doc?"
"For now, you should serve him some liquids, particularly fruit juices. When was the last time he ate?"
"Y-yesterday..." Mrs. Chu looked away from me. She looked guiltily at her clenched fists.
"Have you been starving your son, Mrs. Chu?"
"W-well... he didn't have an appetite, so..."
"So you decided not to feed him anything?"
She kept silent.
"As you can clearly see, your son is not merely `faking' it. Ask your maids to prepare a light meal for him."
Mrs. Chu left the room. I watched her close the door behind her and heard her call to someone to prepare some food.
"Rome, can you hear me?" I took my patient's hand. "Do you know who I am?"
He nodded slowly.
"Can you squeeze my hand?"
His fingers merely twitched.
"I just gave you a suppressant and some calming cream. I had no idea your health would deteriorate at this rate. Do you still have the shirt belonging to your mate?"
He tried to shake his head.
"Where is it?"
"Mommy... threw it away." His voice was barely a whisper.
I quickly stood up and headed for the door. Mrs. Chu was about to open it and was surprised when I stepped outside.
"Your son told me that you took a shirt belonging to his mate. Where is it?"
"W-wha... of course, I threw it away!"
"Where?"
"Where else?! And what use is a filthy shirt to his condition? He might even get some kind of disease from that filthy rag!"
"That shirt has the pheromones of your son's alpha mate. It helps keep him alive. Now tell me where you threw it?"
She stared at me, her mouth agape, then looked at one of the maids.
"I-I'll look for it in the trash bin, Ma'am!"
"Make it quick, or better yet, I suggest you call his mate this instant to stabilize his condition."
"Never. That man is a good for nothing from a no-name family. He is not fit to be with my son!"
"So you would much rather watch your son die?" I asked.
"No, but..."
"Ma'am, here's the uniform!"
One of the maids came back running with a wrinkled shirt in her hand. It looked filthy.
I took it from her, shook out most of the dirt, and folded it to the cleanest area before going back inside the room.
"Don't tell me you're going to give that to him?!" Mrs. Chu asked hysterically. I ignored her and placed the shirt next to Rome's pillow.
Rome's closed eyes fluttered open after a while. He sniffed the air, lunged at the folded uniform and sank his face into it.
"Rome!" Mrs. Chu was about to take it away, but I stopped her.
"I ask you again, Mrs. Chu. Do you want to watch your son die?"
She glared at me, but didn't make another move.
"Are you saying then that a filthy shirt is more effective than all the medicine you have in your briefcase?" she snapped at me.
"No. It is his mate's pheromones that are helping him right now. I strongly suggest that you let them meet. As you can see, it is the only way to save your son."
"What about that suppressant you gave him earlier? That cream you used on him?"
"Those can only be used temporarily," I replied.
"So you're saying that there is no cure for this FPS?!"
"None yet," I corrected her. "Though we do have our theories. We can use surgery to severe the connection in his brain, if you are willing to give us your consent to experiment on your son..."
"Of course not!" she quickly answered.
Too bad.
"Then, no, there is still no proven cure for FPS as of the present. The only possible way to stop this decline is to let him be with his fated pair."
Mrs. Chu went silent. She glared at me, then at her son who clung to his mate's shirt as if his life depended on it.
It actually does.
"Okay... I'll think about it... for now, can you sell me that suppressant you just used?"
"I am sorry, but only a licensed omega health practitioner can use this medication."
"Then, that cream you used!"
"It is very expensive."
"I don't care! Just give me the whole container!"
"If you insist," I took out the small compact containing my concentrated calming pheromones. "This much is worth 250,000 pesos."
Mrs. Chu's jaw dropped.
"Ano `yan?! Ginto'ng 2Cebo de Macho?!" she snapped at me. (What is that? Golden mutton tallow?)
"Like I said, it is very expensive, and it is not available anywhere else."
"D-do you accept checks?" she mumbled.
"As long as it does not bounce."
"O-of course not! Just who do you think I am!"
She walked out of the room, fuming.
I went to Rome's side to check on him again.
"Rome, how are you feeling?" I asked.
"Doc... a bit hungry..."
"They are preparing food as we speak," I told him, "for now, I want you to keep that shirt with you. Tomorrow, if you are strong enough to go to school, meet up with your mate immediately and spend as many hours as possible together."
"But... my mom... my guardian..."
"I will persuade your mother to let you two meet. It is important that you get a new shirt from him each day. Do you understand?"
He nodded, the shirt pressed against his face.
"Thank you po, doc... thank you..."
Rome's mother came back shortly after that, as well as their household helpers who brought a trolley full of food and fruits. She gave me the check begrudgingly. I told her to massage it on her son's temples every 4 to six hours. After that, I took my leave.
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1Anak – offspring. This term is gender-neutral.
2Cebo de Macho – lit. mutton tallow
- a well known topical moisturizer made of sheep fat used to remove scars and other skin blemishes.