can't stand."

I left the sofa and brought a chair closer.

"We don't have every answer this morning. But you told someone what you were feeling. You chose another doctor. You left that house. Those decisions were yours."

He looked at me. The window light showed the exhaustion around his eyes.

"Do you always know what to say?"

"No. I spent half the drive trying to work out how to ask the man I was protecting you from for an advance on my salary."

A short laugh escaped him.

"Hiring you may have been a mistake."

"Your father's office hired me."

"Then it was his mistake. That improves my morning considerably."

He held out his hand. I took it, certain he wanted help repositioning himself. He didn't move.

His thumb passed once over my fingers.

It was a brief gesture. Long enough for me to notice the warmth of his skin and forget where to look.

"Will you get some rest?" I asked.

"If you will."

We organized what he needed for the next few hours. A nurse Mercer recommended would arrive later so I could pick up Wes and sleep. The possibility of leaving without asking permission felt strange after so long.

At the bedroom door, Nico called my name.

"Can you stay tonight?"

I checked the time.

"I'm still on duty until my coverage arrives."

He rested his forearm on the side of his chair. There was a hesitation in his expression I hadn't seen before.

"I wasn't asking about the schedule."

The hallway went very quiet.

I could have pretended not to understand. Instead, I held the doorknob and gave him the only answer I could without lying.

"We'll talk when I get back."