Page 115 of Where There's Smoke

The doctor glanced at Simone’s chart. “She’s stable, but I’d like to keep her overnight for observation.”

The color drained from Jesse’s face. “How bad…I mean, what’s…” He closed his eyes and took a breath. “How bad is it?”

“She’s not in any apparent immediate danger,” the doctor said. “But she’s severely dehydrated and her blood pressure is quite low. Keeping her overnight is just a precaution.”

Jesse exhaled. “Can I see her?”

“Of course.”

“She’s asleep.” Dean’s voice broke in, turning all our heads. “She tried to stay awake until you got here, but…”

Jesse swallowed. “I won’t wake her then. She needs to rest. How was she feeling when she was awake?”

“Better.” Dean paused. “She…the fact that you were on your way helped.”

“Did it?” Jesse whispered.

Simone’s bodyguard nodded. “Seemed to make her feel better.”

Jesse exhaled. “Thanks. Listen, it’s late. You don’t have to stay. If you want to take the rest of the night—”

“I’d, um, I’d prefer to stay.”

“Are you sure?” Jesse gestured at the door. “The hospital has their own security to—”

The two men locked eyes. Neither spoke; neither moved.

Then Jesse nodded. “All right. I’ll make sure the night staff knows you’ll be staying.”

“Thank you,” Dean said quietly.

The doctor left to make his rounds, and Jesse asked the charge nurse to let us know when Simone was awake. In the meantime, we moved to the deserted waiting area at the end of the hall.

Jesse sank into a chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and let his face fall into his hands, and I thought he whispered a string of profanity into the mostly quiet room.

I held on to the armrest just to keep myself from putting a gentle hand between his shoulder blades. “You all right?” I asked. Christ, that sounded so useless and stupid.

“I don’t know. Fuck, I just don’t know. God, she’s run herself into the ground for a campaign for a man who’s going to leave her, and I didn’t even have the decency to be in the same city with her when she finally buckled.”

Dean shifted in his chair. His lips tightened into a thin, straight line, and he focused on the tank of tropical fish rather than looking at me or Jesse.

Footsteps and a familiar jingle came down the hall, and I looked up as Ranya stepped into the waiting area. She jumped when she saw Jesse, and looked at me.

“Is she—”

“She’s sleeping,” I said. “We’re just staying out here until she’s awake.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders dropped. “Good, good. And she’s doing all right?”

I nodded. “They’re keeping her overnight for observation.”

“That’s good.” Ranya took the chair on Jesse’s other side and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”

Jesse nodded but didn’t speak.

“Come here.” She hugged him, and he sank against her. At least someone could offer him some physical comfort. Fuck, I had never felt so damned useless in all my life.

But what could I do?

---