Page 51 of Dr. Grump's Surprise Baby

He found himself wishing he had never left that bed.

She started to push past him to leave — but then she faltered, stumbling slightly.

At first, he thought she had simply tripped. But her legs collapsed beneath her. Just in time, Dominic realized what was happening and threw out his arms, catching her before she hit the ground.

He scooped her up in his arms. Thankfully, there happened to be an unused gurney nearby, and he laid her down there. Frowning, he checked her pulse — it was quick and light. She was pale. Why hadn’t he noticed that when he had first seen her?

Probably because he had been too busy thinking about having her in his bed. He cursed himself. This was why it was for the best that the two of them had gone their separate ways.

Her eyelids fluttered. “Oh,” she murmured.

“Are you all right?” he asked her, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

“What happened?”

“You fainted. Did you eat lunch today?”

“I— yeah, I did.” She started to sit up.

“Stay there.” Dominic put a hand on her shoulder and gently held her in place. It felt good to be touching her again. It felt good to feel like that was justified. “Don’t sit up. Just stay where you are.”

“I’m all right now,” she protested.

“Maybe so. We should get some blood tests done to make sure.”

“What?” Emily stared. “You can’t make me get blood tests done. You’re not my doctor.”

Dominic huffed in frustration. “Be smart, Emily,” he said. “Let’s just make sure that nothing is seriously wrong. We’ve got the blood lab right here. We can advance your tests, get you in and out quickly, and then you won’t have to worry. And if it’s something simple, I can write you a prescription and have you feeling better fast.”

Emily hesitated.

“Fine,” she said at last. “Go ahead and run your tests. But I don’t want you looking at my results.”

“What? Why on earth not?”

“Because it’s private medical information, and you’re not my doctor,” she said. “Bring me the chart and I’ll look over the information myself.”

“I feel like there must be some kind of ethical dilemma about that.”

“You and I are off the map when it comes to ethics,” Emily said. “The least you could let me do is read my own chart.”

She had a point there. Besides, what harm could it really do at this point? She was obviously going to get a chance to look at the chart eventually. She could ask him any questions if she had them — he would be right there — and she could transfer the results of the test to her primary care doctor. He really didn’t have any business looking at it.

If he were being honest with himself, he would have had to admit that the reason he wanted to look was that he was worried about her. He wanted to make sure she was going to be all right. He knew he wouldn’t rest easy until he saw what was written in that chart.

But that didn’t mean he had the right to.

So when the test results arrived an hour or so later, he brought them over to her and handed her the file. “Here you go,” he said.

Emily flipped it open and scanned the paper inside.

And paled.

For a moment, Dominic thought she was going to pass out again. “Lie down,” he urged.

“No — I’m all right,” Emily managed. Her voice was shaking.

“I don’t believe you. What does it say?” Her reaction had him deeply worried — what if something was really wrong? It occurred to him now, in a way it hadn’t previously, just how painful that would be. Losing her to the pediatrics department had been bad enough. What if something were to happen that took her away from him altogether — that removed any possibility of the two of them ever seeing one another again?

---