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“It’s good to meet you, Mr. Bauer.”
“Please, call me TJ.”
Dr. Westray gave a nod. “Let me know if there’s anything else.”
TJ wished there was something someone could do. But right now it was all up to Eli. TJ stood by Sage’s shoulder for a long while, watching their son sleep.
Eventually, he moved to one of the two armchairs in the corner. It was comfortable, and he was exhausted, and he laid his head back on the cool cushion.
Traffic whizzed by on the coastal highway, and rain tapped lightly on the window beside him. Pings and whirs sounded in the hallway, muted by the closed door.
He shut his eyes, and his mind went back to Sage’s suite and the drunken men who’d shown up at her door. She couldn’t go back there, not ever. It wasn’t safe for her, and it wasn’t safe for Eli.
He heard whispery footsteps and opened his eyes. A nurse had entered the room. She spoke softly to Sage as she checked Eli’s IV and his blood pressure. When she put the electronic thermometer to his ear, TJ held his breath.
But she smiled at the readout.
“Down a little more,” she whispered to Sage.
Sage’s shoulders relaxed, and she slumped a bit in the chair.
TJ came to his feet. “It looks good?” he asked the nurse in a low tone.
“Better,” she said before leaving the room.
“You’ll be more comfortable in an armchair,” he said to Sage.
“I’m fine here.”
“He’s doing better. They recline almost horizontal. You might be able to sleep a little.”
She glanced over her shoulder to the two chairs in the corner.
“I’ll get you a blanket,” he offered.
He recalled from their tour that there were blankets and pillows in the closet.
Sage nodded. “I guess I can stand to be ten feet away.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“He does have a bit more color, doesn’t he?” She slowly came to her feet.
TJ wasn’t convinced there’d been a change. “He does.”
“That’s a good sign.”
“It is. And his temperature coming down is an even better sign. Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
She thought about it for a minute. “Thirsty.”
There was a mini fridge in the room, and TJ checked it while Sage sat down in one of the armchairs. He found water, juices and milk.
“Water or fruit juice?” he asked. “We have orange, cranberry or mixed berry punch.”
“Orange would be good.”
He cracked a bottle of orange juice and took a bottle of water for himself.
He set the juice on the table beside her, then retrieved a blanket from the closet, shaking it out and draping it over her.
She gave a small smile. “Nobody’s tucked me in in a while.”
He smiled back. “You need tucking?”
“This is good, just like this.” She reached for the orange juice. “I was so encouraged when he drank that milkshake you got for him.”
TJ eased down into the other chair. “You should be encouraged now. He’s clearly a fighter, and he’s almost got this latest thing beat.”
“He must get that from you,” she said.
TJ’s chest tightened with emotion, and he had to blink against a surge of moisture. She saw some of him in Eli. The knowledge was overwhelming. TJ couldn’t find the words to answer.
She took a drink. “He has your laugh. And I didn’t realize it until I saw you that night in the hospital, but he has your walk. Funny, the little things that genetics do.”
“He’s amazing. I can’t wait to get to know him.”
She fell silent at that, and TJ wasn’t sure what to say. There were so many things about the future they had to discuss. But she needed to rest. Hopefully, she’d sleep. Everything else would have to wait.
“Looks like you won this round,” she said.
“This isn’t what I wanted to happen.”
“I know. And I agreed because it was the right thing to do for Eli. But we’re here now, and he’s going to be in this hospital for a while, and I’m going to have to quit my job.”
“You don’t need a job.”
Money problems for her and Eli were off the table completely and forever.
“I do need a job,” she said. “I need financial independence and life satisfaction.”
He was about to jump in, but she kept talking.
“But my son needs me more. I’m a mom first. I have been since I got pregnant.”
“I’m so sorry,” TJ said. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve regretted letting myself get talked into that stupid prank. Even before I knew all this, I’ve wished I could go back and change it.”
