Page 19 of Fractured Reunion

He hesitated, then shrugged. “I’ll stop by later and take care of it myself.”

She hadn’t meant to pressure him into coming back in but nodded gratefully. Maybe she was being overprotective, but she wanted the best for Joey.

The little boy didn’t need to suffer any complications from his procedure.

“Thanks again, Kyle.” She rested back against the pillow after the trauma surgeon left. She was getting hungry but didn’t want to eat in front of the little boy. Not that Joey had complained about feeling hungry.

Joey fell asleep against her, his breathing deep and regular. She’d made a game out of using his deep breathing machine, and even though it hurt for him to take deep breaths, he seemed to like the challenge of raising the ball in the plastic container.

Glancing at her watch, she debated slipping away to grab a bite to eat. Joey wouldn’t miss her while he was sleeping, and based on previous medication doses, he’d be down for the count for at least two hours.

Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, she gently eased away. Joey shifted on the bed but relaxed against the pillow. She tucked the stuffed dalmatian dog she’d picked up at the gift shop next to him.

For a long moment, she watched him sleep, then shoved her feet into her shoes and ran her fingers through her long curly hair.

Breakfast and coffee, not necessarily in that order, she thought wryly as she slipped from the room.

She was waiting for the elevator to arrive when Aaron emerged from the stairwell. He stopped abruptly, clearly not expecting to see her. He looked good, despite his wrinkled scrubs, dangling face mask, and his dark hair tousled from this surgical cap.

“Are you coming from the OR?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Spent the past three hours repairing a patent foraman ovale.”

“I didn’t realize you were on call last night.”

“I wasn’t. But you know how that goes.” He glanced down the hall toward Joey’s room. “How’s Joey this morning?”

“Doing well. You just missed Kyle. He’s already been in making rounds.” The ding of the elevator startled her. “I was heading down to grab breakfast.”

“Great, I’m starved.”

She hadn’t intended to issue an invitation, but there was no way to gracefully refuse Aaron’s intent to accompany her to the cafeteria. She stepped into the elevator, then held the door for him.

They rode in silence down to the cafeteria. She blamed her lack of sleep for being unable to think of anything to say. Then she remembered his patient. “How did the surgery go?”

“Fine. Grace is doing well.” He waited for her to exit the elevator first. “She’s in good hands with the anesthesiologist and nursing staff in the PACU.”

She nodded, trying to come up with another topic of conversation. Anything other than their personal relationship.

Thankfully, the cafeteria was busy that morning, and the chattering staff members grabbing food made it difficult to talk. Since they’d eaten breakfast together hundreds of times, they crossed over to the grill for eggs, bacon, and toast.

Ten minutes later, they were seated at a quiet table in the corner of the room. “So, tell me why you had to come in to operate last night?” Maggie had decided that the best thing was to talk about work. It was the one area where they’d been the most compatible.

Until the demands of their careers had driven another wedge between them.

“Most of the surgeons here are great,” Aaron said, taking a bite of bacon. “But there’s one guy in particular who often claims he didn’t hear his phone or his pager when he’s on call.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s not good.”

“No, it’s not. I’ll have to bring him in for a chat.” Aaron grimaced. “I don’t mind being in a leadership position for the most part, handling more paperwork and attending meetings are fine. But this kind of thing?” He frowned. “Makes me feel like I’m dealing with a bunch of idiotic teenagers sometimes.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. There was no shortage of drama within the medical profession, much like any other environment. “That’s why you get paid the big bucks,” she teased.

“Yeah, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time,” he groused. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then he reached for his coffee. “I’ve been up since three in the morning. How did Joey sleep?”

“He woke up every few hours in pain.” She took a bite of toast. “He’s been really good about not touching the drain site, though. And he’s not running a fever anymore either. He has minimal drainage from the tube, and if that continues, Kyle plans to remove it. I think he’s well on the road to recovery.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Aaron held her gaze for a long moment, and she could practically see the questions spinning in his mind. She looked away, not wanting to get into a heavy discussion about why she’d stayed overnight in Joey’s room.

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