"Not everyone," I correct her. "Just everyone who matters."
My fingers find the edge of my lab coat again, worrying the fabric until Arjun reaches over and gently pulls my hand away.
"You're going to unravel the whole thing," he says.
I manage a weak laugh, but my eyes keep darting to the door. What's taking so long? Is Sebastian in there fighting for all of us, or has Henderson already shot him down? The uncertainty is a physical weight pressing against my sternum, making each breath a conscious effort.
"Wherever we go for dinner," I say, desperate to think about anything else, "I just want wine. Lots of it."
"Seconded," Arjun raises an imaginary glass. "To the board members' colons suddenly developing an intimate relationship with their rectums."
"That's anatomically impossible," I point out, but I'm laughing despite myself.
"So is Walker smiling in public, but you managed that miracle," Laney quips.
She's not wrong. The Sebastian who returned from Montana is different from the one who left— quicker to smile and more willing to let others see the man behind the brilliant doctor facade. The change hasn't gone unnoticed. I've caught nurses doing double-takes when he thanks them, residents whispering about how the ice king has apparently thawed.
The door suddenly swings open, and we all jerk to attention like guilty teenagers caught plotting mischief. Sebastian stands in the doorway, jacket discarded, tie loose around his neck, looking absolutely exhausted. His expression is carefully blank, that familiar mask of professional detachment firmly in place.
My heart stutters to a stop. This is it. Whatever happened upstairs, whatever decision was made, this moment is the pivot point our futures will swing around. I search his face desperately for a clue, but those dark eyes give nothing away.
Then, like the sun breaking through storm clouds, his mouth curves into a smile so genuine it transforms his entire face.
"It's all good," he says simply. "My entire team is staying in the diagnostics department permanently."
The relief hits me like a physical force, pushing the air from my lungs in a rush that sounds embarrassingly close to a sob.
I launch myself at Sebastian, my body colliding with his before my brain has fully processed what he's just said. His arms wrap around me instantly, lifting me slightly off the ground as I bury my face against his neck. I'm not crying, not quite, but my breath hitches in a way that suggests tears are imminent. We're staying. All of us. The relief is so overwhelming it's almost painful, a physical ache spreading through my chest as the weeks of uncertainty finally dissolve.
"I told you," Sebastian murmurs against my hair, his arms tightening around me. "Did you really think I'd let them separate us?"
I pull back just enough to see his face, those dark eyes warm with satisfaction and something deeper that still makes my heart stutter when I recognize it. "How?" I manage, fingers clutching at his shirt. "What did you have to promise them? Your firstborn? Your kidney? Your secret waffle recipe?"
His laugh rumbles through his chest and into mine where we're pressed together. "Just had to remind them what wouldhappen to the department's success rate if we left. And that Harper's father might be on the board, but my research brings in twice the funding."
"So you threatened them with math. How romantic." But I'm grinning so hard my face hurts, and when Sebastian sets me back on my feet, I immediately miss the warmth of him.
"Actually," Arjun cuts in, "I believe the technical term is 'career blackmail.' Very effective when executed properly."
Laney throws an arm around my shoulders, squeezing tight. "See? Told you it’d all work out." She turns to Sebastian. "I assume this means dinner's on you tonight."
"Naturally," Sebastian agrees, his hand finding the small of my back in that way that still sends tingles up my spine. "Wherever you want."
"On second thought," Laney says, exchanging a look with Arjun that's so obvious it might as well come with flashing neon signs, "I just remembered I have that... thing."
"Oh right, the thing," Arjun nods solemnly. "Very important thing. Can't miss it."
"You two are about as subtle as a cardiac arrest," I tell them, but I can't keep the fondness from my voice. Or the blush from my cheeks when Sebastian's thumb traces small circles against my lower back.
"Subtlety is overrated," Laney says cheerfully, already backing toward the door. "We'll celebrate properly this weekend. Right now, I think you two have some... private celebrating to do."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Arjun adds, winking as he follows Laney out. "Which leaves your options wide open, really."
The door clicks shut behind them, and suddenly the air in Sebastian's office feels charged, electric with possibility. For a heartbeat, we just look at each other then his mouth crashes against mine, and everything else disappears.
The kiss is hungry and desperate, and filled with all the tension and worry of the past three weeks finally breaking free. His hands tangle in my hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss as my back hits the edge of his desk. I clutch at his shoulders, his neck, anywhere I can reach, needing to feel him against me.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard. Sebastian's forehead rests against mine, his hands moving to cradle my face between his palms. His thumbs brush across my cheekbones, a touch so gentle it makes my chest ache.
