“I won’t make any promises. That’s not fair to anyone. But the initial signs look good,” she said, then looked back up at Gabriel, smiling. “And I’m personally excited about the results so far.”
He smiled back, his shoulders relaxing away from his ears. “Thank you, Bridget. I appreciate your honesty.”
Bridget turned to me with a guarded expression. “The nurse told me you’re experiencing reduced pain and an increase in range of motion?”
“Yeah. It’s incredible, actually.” I flexed my leg. The joint was still numb from the local anesthesia. “When will I get the next injection?”
“In two weeks,” Bridget said, looking down at my knee. “But it’s truly feeling better?”
“He is like a new man,” Gabriel said.
Bridget smiled again. “Sorry, this is really unprofessional, but that’s amazing.” Her eyes shone with excitement. “I’ve never gotten to speak with a subject before.”
“That’s cruel. They should not have you stuck in a lab all day,” Gabriel said with a frown.
Bridget laughed, surprised. “Actually, I prefer being in the lab. It’s much easier to deal with stem cells than with people sometimes. Not that you’re difficult to deal with,” she added quickly.
“He is,” Gabriel said. “He will do anything to get back to competing.”
“You said you had meniscus replacement surgery?” Bridget leaned against the wall behind her with her arms crossed. “Was it autologous or allogeneic?”
I smiled. “Ask that again like I’m five years old.”
“Was the tissue your own, or from a donor?” she clarified.
“A donor,” I said. “Apparently the graft failed? To be honest, I’m just trying to keep the doctor from giving me a full knee replacement. I can’t come back from that.”
“They offered him an announcing job. I told him to take it, but he does not listen tome. He wants to kill himself to win,” Gabriel sighed and gave Bridget a long-suffering look.
Bridget’s smile became a little more mischievous. Gabriel had a tendency to do this — to draw people out. “It’s very nice of you to stick by him when he’s so impossible. Does he always ignore your sound advice?” she asked.
I felt a little buzz of happiness through our bond as Gabriel winked at me. He was enjoying himself at my expense.
I groaned. “Please don’t encourage him. All the way home, I’ll be hearing about the pretty scientist who agrees I should do exactly as he says.”
Bridget’s face flushed bright red.
Gabriel scoffed, mock-outraged. “‘Pretty?’ Come osi? How dare you? She is beautifully radiant, and a scientific genius. Have some respect.”
My heart rate picked up as Bridget laughed again, her face still flushed with embarrassment. A faint trace of the scent I’d picked up the last time I’d seen her danced into the room. It was floral and sweet, and I wanted more.
Just as I opened my mouth to retort, there was a commotion in the hallway.
“Ma’am, you need to wait in the lobby,” A woman’s voice said, from right outside the exam room door.
There was a mumbled response. Bridget raised her eyebrows at us, looking intrigued, then cracked open the door so she could peek into the hallway.
Her face went stark white, and she slammed the door shut. She turned, her arms tucked around her stomach as her breathing picked up.
I stood, my body going loose with adrenaline. Gabriel had leapt to his feet and stood between me and the door. “Are you alright?” I asked Bridget. She didn’t respond.
“Ma’am, you can’t go in there—” the voice in the hallway said.
Bridget skirted out of the way, into the corner, as the door opened. I was expecting a threat, but it was a petite woman, blonde and in her late forties. My first impression was that she looked well put together, but also fragile. My second was that shelooked a hell of a lot like Bridget, who was curled in on herself and whining softly.
“Bridget? Honey? I need to talk to you,” the woman said, advancing into the room.
The nurse who’d drawn my blood followed her into the room, looking annoyed. “I’m so sorry. She was supposed to wait in the lobby. They’re calling security right now.”
