Page 26 of His to Keep

"Apologies for the inconvenience," Rowan said with a rueful smile — though he didn't seem too concerned about abusing his connections to secure this appointment. "But he's a little scared of doctors, and he's going through a phase right now... Eli's breathing is strange, but the only way we could make him agree to come was if he saw the very nice doctor that took good care of his uncle."

His uncle…?

Ah.

Eli looked up at him with big puppy-dog eyes. Liam supposed that if he imagined Eli about thirty years older, a hell of a lot meaner, and in a suit and tie…

"Alright," Liam sighed, unable to resist the pleading in the little Thorne kid's eyes. He forced a smile, pushing his internal conflict to the back of his mind as he focused on the boy in front of him. "Eli, was it? Let's see what's wrong, shall we?"

As they settled into the examination, Liam couldn't help but notice Rowan watching him carefully, analyzing every move he made. Was he one of Zane's men? No, that was ridiculous. Colt and the other enforcers were all brick houses, and Rowan looked like he was made of matchsticks. Zane's nanny, then?

Liam tried to be stealthy, but Rowan caught his gaze. He gave Liam a small, understanding smile. "I'm family."

Great. Okay. It wasn't bad enough that Liam had the life of a mafia kingpin's nephew in his hands, he had another family member watching him the whole time. However Rowan was related to Zane, his presence only heightened Liam's inner turmoil.No missteps, Liam.

He set aside his fears and focused on the patient in front of him – little Eli, who had placed his trust in Liam, even if that trust was just because of a simple childish logic.

Liam crouched down to Eli's level, pushing aside his annoyance at being used as a mere resource by the mafia. The innocent trust in the child's eyes was enough for him to forget about that.

True enough, as he examined Eli, he noticed the boy's breath whistling with each exhale, indicating some difficulty breathing. Though it didn't appear to be an urgent concern, the stress and fear in Eli's expression were evident. "How long has this been going on?"

Rowan crossed his arms, huddling into his bright jacket. "Since around yesterday afternoon. I noticed it after I picked Eli up from school."

School, huh? There were a lot of nasty bugs that kid could pick up that way.

But as Liam examined Eli, he started to get the impression that this wasn't a bug. A certain case in the past came to mind. Another small child with strange breathing, brought into the ER by tearful parents…

Liam tried to keep the smile from his face. "Alright, Eli," Liam said, keeping his tone light and cheerful to put the boy at ease. "Can you take a deep breath through your mouth for me?"

"Like this?" Eli asked, inhaling deeply before letting out a shaky breath.

"Exactly like that," Liam praised, smiling down at the boy. "Alright, buddy, I think I know the problem." He gently pressed a finger to one side of Eli's nose, and held up a tissue in front of the other side. "Now, I want you to pretend you're an elephant, and blow as hard as you can. Can you handle that?"

Eli's eyes lit up with glee. He took a deep breath before blowing forcefully into the tissue. To everyone's surprise, something shot out of his nostril at high speed, landing on the tissue.

Liam held it up for Rowan to see, a triumphant smile playing on his lips. "Here's your culprit."

"Is that... ajelly bean?" Rowan asked, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.

"It happens more than you'd expect," Liam replied, unable to suppress a chuckle.

Rowan turned to Eli, incredulous. "Eli, why on earth did you put a jelly bean up your nose?!"

Eli shifted uncomfortably, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I wanted to make a girl laugh," he mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

Liam bit back laughter, his professional demeanor momentarily slipping. Rowan, on the other hand, couldn't help but collapse into giggles. "Oh, for the love of— I was so worried!" He ruffled Eli's hair affectionately. "Well, I guess we all do stupid things for love, huh?"

Liam's mind flickered back to his last encounter with Colt before he could stop himself. Keeping a straight face, he dryly agreed. "We certainly do."

He pushed the thoughts away, focusing instead on the young patient before him. There would be time later to think about the mess his life had become, but for now, he had a job to finish. "Alright, I'm just going to get something to soothe Eli's nasal irritation," Liam said, rising from his crouched position. "Just a moment. You two wait here. And no more candy up your nose from now on, okay, big guy?"

Eli nodded, Rowan smiling in fond exasperation. Liam left them in the examination room, closing the door behind him.

As he walked down the hallway toward the medication supply room, Liam passed by a large window. The lush greenery of the multi-story atrium outside was a stark contrast to the clinical atmosphere inside the building. It was supposed to cheer the patients up, he knew.

Movement down below caught his eye. From his point of view, he could see through the windows to the ground floor a few stories below, where people waited for the elevators.

And one of those people made his heart freeze in his chest.

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