The doctor had already started his explanation by the time he’d made it inside, animatedly talking to Lennon who was now sitting on the end of Dallas’s bed with her hand on his ankle.
“His vitals are already rising, just like most research said it would,” the doctor was saying as I flopped down into the chair next to Maverick, my gaze meeting Lennon’s and she offered me a weak, tired looking smile.
She looked thinner than the last time I’d caught a glimpse of her on the television and the desire to go buy everything I could from the vending machine up the hallway and make her eat until her belly bulged filled me.
When all of this was over I vowed to myself that we were going to hide her away somewhere and hand feed her until she regained all of the weight that we’d worked so hard to put on her over the past few months.
“So what we’re going to do now is have you do skin-to-skin for a few hours and see if we can get Mr. Wilson conscious enough to get him to eat a meal. If we can consistently do this I believe he should make a full recovery.”
The room filled with sighs of relief.
“I only have a couple of hours here until I have to head home,” Lennon said, biting her bottom lip. “And I can’t return until after the election. That was the deal I made.”
“She’s seriously holding you to it even after you showed her the bonds?” I asked incredulously.
“Athena Holloway is the most stubborn woman in the world,” my father chimed in unhelpfully. “It’s what makes her such a good president.”
“And a terrible mother,” Brooks muttered to himself.
“Hey…” Maverick warned when he noticed how Brooks’ comment made Lennon flinch.
“No,” Lennon hurried to say, her face twisting. “She hasn’t been a good Mom to me lately. I just… she wasn’t always likethis. Not when my Dad was here. He softened all of her hard edges.”
I glanced at my pack, knowing what that felt like all too well because Lennon had softened ours.
“So, when do you want to begin this treatment?” I asked the doctor who was watching our conversation with the fascination of someone who was definitely going to gossip about this with his coworkers later and I couldn’t really blame him.
“As soon as possible, the nurse will get you a gown for some level of modesty if you’d like, though skin-to-skin is really the best—”
“No it’s fine,” Lennon cut him off, already moving to take off her sweater.
“And that is my cue to head out,” my father said, pushing away from the wall. “Zeke, please call your mother. She’s worried about you.”
He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of my head.
“And Lennon, my sweet girl, please don’t work too hard and eat a full dinner tonight, you hear? I’ll see you on election night.”
“Thank you, Willis,” Lennon said, waiting until he and the rest of the people had left before she began to strip.
I could count on one hand the amount of times I’d seen her naked before, and yet I had missed the sight of it so much that I soaked in the view as she neatly folded her clothes.
“Won’t you open your end of the bond so you can feel us appreciate you, Lennon?” Maverick asked, his voice a low rumble as we watched her.
“No,” she said softly, her back still turned to us. “Not yet. Not until all of this is over and we can be together permanently.”
“Why?” I asked as she lifted the sheets and gently started to tug Dallas’s gown down around his shoulders, being careful of the wires on his arms and chest.
She glanced at us, her gray eyes filled with an emotion that made my throat tight and chased away any lust I had been feeling seconds before. “Because I don’t want you to feel how sad I’ve been.”
Then she tugged the blankets up and around her and Dallas and snuggled against his chest.
“You three should go and grab something to eat. There’s only so much of me to go around so if you all end up in hospital beds too you might be screwed,” she said, meaning it to be a joke, but her voice just sounded exhausted as she closed her eyes and tucked her nose into the hollow of Dallas’s neck.
With a sigh, Maverick and I stood, but Brooks stayed seated.
“You coming?” I asked.
But the alpha just shook his head, his eyes intent on the pair in the hospital bed. “I’m going to stay and keep an eye on them. Bring me back a cheeseburger or something?”
