Page 26 of Fractured Reunion

“I will. Later.” Alec ended the call without saying anything more.

But as Aaron stared at his phone, he realized probably would not have been as emotionally invested in Joey’s care if not for Maggie’s involvement.

Maybe he wasn’t as good of a person as Adam. And that knowledge sat like a rock in his gut, making him wonder if he was the real reason Maggie had left.

Not her inability to bear a child.

* * *

The hours Maggie spent at Joey’s bedside passed with an odd routine. The pain meds made him fall asleep, but in between doses, she’d encouraged him to get out of bed and move around. It was heartbreaking how Joey tried to please her, and tears rolled down her cheeks when she thought about handing him over to his father.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, Kyle Flores came into the room to check on Joey’s abdominal drain. “How are you feeling?” he asked the little boy.

“Sometimes my tummy hurts,” Joey said. “’Specially when I move. But I got to watch Aladdin! It was so good.”

Kyle smiled as he took his stethoscope from his pocket and used it to listen to Joey’s heart and lungs. “I’m glad you’re moving around; it’s important you walk in the halls with your—er, Maggie.”

Joey nodded, but his gaze had been drawn back to the television screen. Another animated movie was playing now, one she didn’t recognize.

“His lungs sound good,” Kyle said. “You’ve been doing a great job of keeping him quiet and active at the same time.”

“I honestly had no idea how difficult a task that would be,” she said with a wry smile. “If not for the pain holding him back, I think he’d be bouncing off the walls.”

“Spoken like a true parent,” he said. “I need to double-check how much drainage he’s had since surgery.”

“The same as I told you earlier, roughly ten milliliters.” She couldn’t blame him for logging into the computer to see the information for himself. “Nothing from the drain since zero six hundred.”

“I keep forgetting you’re a physician,” he said, turning to smile at her. “Okay, I think we can safely remove the drain.” He logged out of the computer, then reached for a pair of gloves from the box mounted on the wall. “I’ll need you to hold Joey still for a minute while I do that.”

“Of course.” She wasn’t going anywhere.

Kyle didn’t ask for help from the nurse or delegate the task to a resident. He opened a clean dressing and set it off to the side, then glanced down at Joey. She lifted Joey’s hospital gown and began working the tape from his skin.

Thankfully, Joey was so enamored of the show he didn’t pay much attention. When she had the tape off, she tightened her grip on the little boy.

With a smooth, swift movement, Kyle pulled the drain and covered the opening with a fresh dressing. She held the white gauze in place as he disposed of the drain, then stripped off his gloves.

“He didn’t even notice,” she murmured.

“It’s a good thing,” Kyle agreed. He taped the dressing down, then stepped back. “He has one more dose of antibiotic to get, then we can get rid of the IV too.”

“I guess that means he’ll be ready for discharge soon.” She frowned. “How does that work on a weekend when there’s no legal guardian?”

“I was planning to keep him inpatient until Monday,” Kyle said. “It won’t hurt to give him an extra day here, especially being a weekend. I need to see how he tolerates food too. I’ve written orders for him to start with clear liquids tonight, and if he does well with Jell-O and popsicles, we can move into full liquids by morning. I’ve also written orders to have the social worker talk to Child Protective Services first thing Monday morning to discuss our next steps with Joey’s discharge.”

A wave of panic hit hard. There was no way she’d be approved to be Joey’s foster parent by Monday afternoon. Logically, she’d known it wasn’t likely she’d be able to stay with Joey after his discharge, but hearing it now felt like she’d been hit by a brick.

Since Kyle was looking at her expectantly, she nodded. “I understand.”

“Maggie.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve developed a bond with Joey. He’s doing really well, and I’m happy to let the representative from Child Protective Services know that if needed.”

“Thanks. It’s just…I feel bad for him.” She managed a smile. “He’s been through a lot, and the thought of handing him over to a stranger…”

“I know.” Kyle looked as if he wanted to say something more, but then he turned back to the computer. He logged on, probably to write a note about removing the drain and updating his orders. When he finished, he turned back to face her. “You should know that most of the foster parents I’ve run across are kind and caring people. No matter how this turns out, I’m sure Joey will do fine.”

Easy for him to say, he hadn’t met Joey’s father. But he had a point about the foster care system. Every profession in the world had a few bad apples in the bunch, but focusing on the negative was silly. She could stick around in Milwaukee to make sure Joey was assigned someone decent.

The bigger concern was Oliver Chism. She couldn’t bear the thought of Oliver getting custody of Joey long term. There had to be a way to prevent that, but how, she wasn’t sure. Especially if the guy had managed to clean up his act.

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