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“Can I see him?” Dex asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the doctor, but Jesus, they’d almost lost him. Not that Sloane still wasn’t in danger. “Stable” was a word doctors and law-enforcement officers used for the media. It meant a patient’s vitals were unchanged. All Dex could do was pray Sloane pulled through this without further complications.
“While he’s in ICU, outside visits are restricted to spouses or partners only. We need to minimize the amount of outside contact to prevent any infection.”
“But, he’s my partner. I swear I’ll stay in the room.” The last few hours had been excruciating. How the hell was he supposed to get himself through another thirty-six hours without at least having seen Sloane?
The doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid even the THIRDS need to respect the rules. I’m sorry, Agent Daley.”
Tony’s hand came to rest against Dex’s lower back, the Tony Maddock signal for don’t kick up a fuss. But if there was ever a time for Dex to stick to his guns, this was it. He had to see Sloane. “Can I speak to you privately, Doctor?”
“Of course.”
The doctor walked to one side, and Dex accompanied him, his voice low when he spoke. “When I said I was his partner, I didn’t just mean work partner.”
“Oh.” With a puzzled frown, the doctor removed a tablet from his pocket and scrolled through his information. “I have him listed as ‘single’ with his emergency contact a Mr. Ash Keeler.”
It was risky, but Dex had to chance it. “Yeah, um, it’s kind of against the rules. Now I don’t want to get transferred from my team. I love my team. But I love him even more. Please. You have to let me stay with him.” Dex met the Therian doctor’s gaze. The tattoo on his neck marked him as a wolf Therian, and despite his flustered state, Dex got a good vibe off the doc. He couldn’t be much older than Sloane, and he had a kind face with sharp golden eyes.
“Agent Daley—”
“If he wakes up or something happens and I’m not there with him….” Dex couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. He cleared his throat and tried again. “You know what brought him here. You said it yourself, you almost lost him. In our line of work, every moment we have is precious. Please, don’t deny me this time with him.”
The doctor looked like he was going to politely refuse once again, but instead he let out a resigned sigh. “All right. I’ll make the necessary arrangements, but it’s important you try and remain in the room. You’ll have to wash up first. I’ll inform the medical team.”
Relief flooded through Dex, and he wanted to throw his arms around the doctor and squeeze, but he restrained himself. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me. Thank you.”
The doctor smiled at him and motioned over to the rest of the team. “Why don’t you let them know, and I’ll escort you inside.”
“I’ll be right back.” Dex sprinted over to his dad. “Hey, um—”
Tony arched an eyebrow at him. “Let me guess. You convinced him to let you stay.”
“Any chance I can have some time off?”
“Sure. I’ll take care of it. I’ll have Cael bring you your overnight bag and leave it with one of the appointed nurses.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll call the second anything changes. Let the team know, will you?” He hugged his dad.
Ash was watching him, and Dex held a thumb up. He’d send Ash a text message later. Ash gave him a nod in understanding, and Dex was off. He joined the doctor and accompanied him down a long corridor through a door that led to a medium-sized shower room. There were four closed-off stalls in a blue-tiled area with a wall of lockers to the left and around the corner to the right he could make out bathroom stalls and sinks. The doctor walked to one of the lockers and pressed his thumb to the small keypad. Inside, toiletry items and stacks of sealed plastic packaging containing gray scrubs filled it. He looked Dex over, shuffled through the packs, and handed Dex a Human size medium, followed by a small toiletry bag.
“We keep supplies for special visitors. There are clean towels on the racks next to the showers.” He removed an empty plastic bag from the locker and handed it to Dex. “Place your clothes in here. I’ll get one of the housekeeping staff to get them cleaned. You can leave your shoes outside the room. The less we expose your partner to outside elements the better. At least until he’s out of danger. I’ll return for you in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you.” Dex took his supplies and headed for a stall. With everything going on, his clothes and appearance had been the least of his worries. Obviously he couldn’t see Sloane covered in dirt and grime. The doctor would return soon, and Dex didn’t want to keep him waiting, so he showered quickly, concentrating on washing off evidence of the explosion. He did his best not to let his thoughts drift off to Sloane and the state he might be in.
As soon as Dex was clean, he dried himself off, changed into the new scrubs and socks, pulled on his sneakers, and shoved his dirty clothes into the plastic bag marked for the housekeeping department. As the doctor had promised, he was there exactly fifteen minutes later. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing,” Dex said, handing the doctor his clothes.
“To be honest, your organization isn’t the easiest to deal with.” The doctor headed out and Dex followed. Sounded like this wasn’t the first time the guy had issues with the THIRDS.
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that,” Dex muttered. He still couldn’t believe they’d deny vital information that would impact one of their agent’s lives. For all the good the THIRDS did, it was still part of the government, and Dex wasn’t so naïve as to have blind faith in any one institution. He’d seen too much in his career, both at the HPF and now at the THIRDS. The THIRDS was a step in the right direction toward uniting Therians and Humans, but it wasn’t without its flaws.
“I take it you haven’t been with the THIRDS long?” The doctor stopped by one of the nurses’ stations and handed Dex’s clothes over as he spoke quietly to a young curly haired Therian. She gave the doctor a nod and was off. They were immediately moving again.
Dex shook his head. “A year this month. I was homicide for the HPF.”
“Wait.” The doctor frowned thoughtfully. “Daley. I’ve seen you on the news. You testified against your Human partner.”
“My claim to fame,” Dex replied dryly.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean anything by it. I thought I recognized you. Considering the options, I’d rather deal with the THIRDS than the HPF. No offense.”
