Page 52 of The Doctor

Landon nodded and turned back to me. “You want a cookie?”

“I’d love one, sweetie.” He slid off my lap and I looked up at my brother and mouthed, “Thank you.”

He winked at me. “Anytime.”

A nurse walked up to us. His mint green scrubs told me he was not a doctor. I’d been at the hospital often enough to know what each of the different colors meant.

“Family for Logan Evans?”

I stood and lifted my chin over at Dom. “Come on, kid. Let’s go.”

We followed the nurse down a long hallway. The dull gray walls reminded me it wasn’t just waiting rooms I hated, it was hospitals in general. That mixture of antiseptic and medicine made my stomach roll. And the fucking beeping was just downright annoying.

Walking into Logan’s room was nerve wracking. He was hooked up to machines and despite the small bed, he still looked a bit too fragile. Nothing like the man I loved. His eyes fluttered like he sensed us in the room with him.

I held Dom’s hand and we walked closer to the bed. “I think he’s starting to wake up.”

“Do you think… uhm.” Dom turned to me. He didn’t look uncertain, just a little curious.

“What sweetie?”

He smiled at me. “My Mom used to call us that.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. “Would you rather I didn’t?”

“No.” His smile never left. “Not at all. It feels right that you call us that. I heard you say it to Landy too.”

“Good.” I tilted my head to him. “What were you going to ask?”

“As long as I could remember, I wanted to be a doctor.” He fidgeted as he moved closer to the bed. “Do you think I get that from him? I mean my dad worked at a bank, I think. And my mom was a teacher. Neither of those things ever held any appeal.”

“I don’t know when Logan decided he wanted to be a doctor. But the need to help people is something you can be born with or taught.”

There was a croak and a gravelly voice answered. “When I realized my grades were good enough to get a scholarship.”

We both turned to the bed and I nearly cried again. “What?”

Relief flowed through me and tears rolled down my face.

“That’s when I started dreaming of being a doctor.” He swallowed and his voice was slightly stronger. “When I knew the dream was within my reach. I even considered being an army doctor.”

“You did?”

He nodded, then looked over at Dom. “How’s that arm?”

“The pain meds help.” He stepped closer to the bed. “Your work colleagues are scared of you, by the way. One nurse told me to stop swearing and then someone said I was Dr. Evans' son and she apologized to me. What did you do to them?”

He smiled and I could tell he was more pleased Dom hadn’t flinched at the idea of being his son than the actual swearing part. Then he sobered and looked at me. “What is happening with the case? Is the guy that shot me hurt or dead?”

I nodded at him. “He ignored the warning shot. I couldn’t take the chance. The other one is in surgery. He took one to the ass and one to the shoulder.”

Dom stepped forward. “The one who was in the house was the one I saw getting out of the car that night. Agent Lamb, who is way too intense, by the way, should know that.”

The kid was clearly relieved.

“Slow down, sweetie.”

“Anyway. He showed me more pictures and I recognized one. He was the guy Bill was arguing with. I thought they were arguing over cleaning supplies but maybe I was wrong.”

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