Beyond Just Us (Remington Medical Book 4): A Single Parent Marriage of Convenience Romance

by Kimberly Kincaid

  Tess raised a single brow. “I hope you can catch. Jeez, Drake, didn’t you deliver any babies when you were a paramedic?”

  “A few,” he admitted. “But how about if someone comes in with a pneumothorax? Can I place the chest tube?”

  Oh, he was pushing his freaking luck. But he was great with his hands, and she was feeling generous, so she said, “If you can get a resident to supervise.”

  “Yes! I mean”—Parker at least had the good graces to look contrite. Ish—“I would never hope anyone gets injured or ill, but if they do…”

  “You’re good for it, I know. Go take care of Ms. Baines. And page me if anything gets crazy.”

  Parker had made it less than halfway down the hall before Don, the shifty SOB, peered at her over the top of his computer screen to deliver a level-ten frown. “What is wrong with you?”

  “I’m sorry?” Tess laughed.

  “Did you hit your head or something? You don’t have amnesia, do you?”

  “Medically speaking, amnesia is extremely uncommon. Nevertheless,” she added, because Don looked ready to dive in to Argument 2.0, “I do not have amnesia. I’m one hundred percent mentally cognizant.”

  Don wasn’t having it. “You brought in donuts for the nurses—and they ate them all without sharing, for the record—you’re being nice to the interns, and you’re…smiling all the time. Something’s wrong.”

  God, had it really been that long since she’d been happy? “Nothing’s wrong, Don. I’m just in a good mood. You should try it out some time.”

  “Why would I do that?” he asked, crossing his arms over his beer keg of a chest, and Tess knew a losing battle when she saw one.

  “You know what, on second thought, don’t go changing. You’re perfect just as you are.”

  Don scowled as if to say see? “I still think it’s amnesia,” he half-hollered as she turned on her cross trainers and headed to the elevators. She made it up to Dr. Gupta’s office with only a couple minutes to spare, her heart banging like a bass drum at the sight of Declan sitting there in the waiting room.

  “Hey.” She sat next to him, reaching over to squeeze his forearm.

  “Hey,” he returned quietly. They’d been to enough of these appointments now that Tess knew he got all gruff and monosyllabic beforehand—it was a byproduct, she guessed, of his nerves, and one she could honor by not yakking his ear off. The flash of a smile on his mouth was new, although, it was gone before Tess could fully register it. They sat side by side, her hand on his forearm and his opposite hand on her hand, until a nurse appeared in the doorway leading back to the exam rooms.

  “Mr. Riley? Come on back. Dr. Michaelson, you can come, too, if you’d like.”

  Tess slid a glance at Declan, who nodded once. “Makes it easier,” he murmured.

  She supposed he was right. Getting all the medical information directly from Gupta would spare Declan from having to repeat everything the woman had said, and would ensure that Tess was getting all the details she needed to keep accurately monitoring his trial meds. They made their way to an exam room, the nurse asking Declan a few pointed questions about how he was feeling as she took his vitals. His answers aligned with Tess’s expectations—after all, she’d been administering his meds and reviewing his glucose test results for the past two weeks. Not to mention, living with him.

  “Alright, then. Dr. Gupta will be right in.”

  Freakishly true to the nurse’s words, Dr. Gupta appeared only a minute later. “Mr. Riley. Dr. Michaelson.” She smiled at both of them kindly before moving toward the desktop computer on the nearby counter to click through the e-chart the nurse had left on the screen. “So, you’re feeling well, Mr. Riley?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She clicked through the chart, and Tess followed along, taking in everything she could. “I see here from your daily log that you’re taking your medication according to schedule. Any side effects? Blurry vision, fluid retention, trouble sleeping or concentrating, tingling in your extremities?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Good,” she said. Her expression didn’t quite match up, though, and Tess’s doctor radar tripped into red alert.

  “How do the labs look?” Declan had come in yesterday to get pin-cushioned and piss-tested (his words), and Tess knew before the doctor spoke that what she was going to say wasn’t good.

  “Mr. Riley, I’m not going to mince words. Your kidney functions are lower than we’d like them to be. At this point, it’s not alarming,” she added, although, Declan had already stiffened in his seat beside Tess. Damn it. “It’s possible that you simply haven’t been on the trial drugs long enough for them to have a measureable impact yet. It’s only been a few weeks.”

  “But,” he said. To her credit, Dr. Gupta didn’t get wishy-washy.

  “But, it’s also possible they’re not working as well as we’d hoped.”

  “Which means I still need a kidney faster than I can get one.”

  “You’re going to need a kidney no matter what,” Tess reminded him, because above all, they had promised to be friends. The last thing Declan would buy was a bunch of sunshine and bullshit, especially from her. “We’re going to take this one day at a time until you get one.”

  His tension released by a fraction as he nodded, and for now, Tess would call that a win. “How do you want to proceed?” she asked the doctor.

  Dr. Gupta looked at the screen for another moment before turning her gaze back to Declan. “Carefully. Just because you’re not responding yet doesn’t mean you won’t, and you’re not experiencing any side effects or worsening symptoms.”

  “I’m not,” Declan agreed. “In fact, I feel better than I have in a while.”

  “And that’s a good thing. Your wellness logs look excellent. Diet, exercise…you’re doing everything you can.”

  He made a non-committal noise. Honestly, Tess couldn’t blame him. It had to be maddening as hell to have such a healthy lifestyle and not be healthy.

  Gupta must have sensed his frustration, too, because she scanned the numbers one more time before saying, “Let’s do this. Why don’t you come in for another round of labs next week? We’ll do a follow-up review of all your levels, and if we need to do another MRI and renal scan to get a better look at things, we can. There’s always the option to supplement the trial medication with insulin in a worst-case scenario.”

  “Insulin?” Declan’s frown deepened. “Would that be daily?”

  “It would depend on your labs, but I won’t lie to you. If it’s needed, that’s likely,” Dr. Gupta said.

  Tess recalled her conversation with Declan about their mutual dislike for needles, and she grabbed his hand without a second thought. “One day at a time, remember? We may not need to go there, and if we do, I’ll be right there with you, okay?”

  He exhaled slowly. “Right. Okay,” he said, although, the hard line of his mouth marked the words as untrue. Dr. Gupta went over a few other things before telling Declan to keep proceeding with business as usual and to call her if anything changed for the worse, and then Tess and Declan were alone in the exam room. Tess wanted to say something, some combination of “I’m sure this is frustrating as fuck” and “I really hate that this is happening to you” and “I’m royally pissed there isn’t anything I can do to help”.

  But none of those things would ease the tightness in Declan’s jaw or the rigid set of his shoulders beneath his T-shirt, so she sat there, even though she felt useless, because he hadn’t let go of her hand and he hadn’t spoken, and the very least she could do was give him the space to be ready to do either.

  God damn it, there had to be something she could do to help him.

  Tess’s cell phone buzzed from the pocket of her doctor’s coat. She’d told Parker to page her if he needed her, and he was capable as hell for an intern, not to mention a good friend who knew where she was and what was on the line. If her phone was lighting up, it wasn’t without reason.

  “I’m
really sorry,” she said, reaching across her body with her left hand to retrieve the clamoring phone even though the move was awkward. But Declan was still holding her right hand, and she didn’t want to let go. “I have to check…shit.”

  “What’s the matter?” Declan asked, and Tess’s gut bottomed out as she read the text that accompanied the page.

  “It’s Jackson.”

  Declan was on his feet both silently and instantly. “Let’s go.”

  They made it to the hospital’s on-site childcare with speed that would’ve impressed Tess, had she not been so preoccupied with worry. The breath that had been spackled to her lungs whooshed out at the sight of the childcare manager, Kelsey, holding her apparently unharmed but definitely miserable-looking son in the small front office.

  “Hey, babycakes,” Tess said, reaching for Jackson. Whoa, he was hot. “What’s the matter?”

  “Thanks for coming so quickly,” Kelsey said. “About an hour ago, he started getting really fussy. He refused to nap, though, and his temp is 101.5, so…”

  Tess rubbed Jackson’s back, her brain in go-mode. “Has he been pulling at his ears at all?”

  “I don’t think so, but he was with Meredith for most of the morning. Do you want me to ask her?”

  “No, that’s okay,” Tess said. She was going to take him straight to Natalie anyway. No passing GO, no collecting two hundred dollars. “Thanks for taking such good care of him. I’ll need to grab—”

  “Henry, right?” Declan pulled the rainbow-colored octopus out of the diaper bag that Kelsey must’ve packed up. He no sooner had the thing in his hand than Jackson reached for it with a sad whimper, and Declan passed it over, placing a careful pat on Jackson’s head before stepping back.

  Tess’s heart duked it out with her ovaries for the title of I Can Combust Harder Than You. “Thanks,” she murmured. Knowing there was a zero chance that Jackson would let go of her for the trip to the peds wing, she carried him on one hip. Declan wordlessly grabbed the diaper bag and slung it over one shoulder, falling into step beside her.

  “I appreciate the help,” Tess said, because she really did. “But you don’t have to come with me. You can go to the gym or head home if you want.”

  Declan nodded, but didn’t slow his pace. “I know. But just because you can handle this on your own doesn’t mean you should have to. Plus”—he looked at Jackson, who was starting to fuss despite Tess’s soothing—“we lads have to stick together. I don’t mind stayin’ until you’re sure he’s alright. As long as I’m not intruding.”

  “What? No.” Tess had grown so accustomed to them being a trio over the past few weeks that the concept of him as an intruder was laughable. “My guess is that he’s just got an ear infection. He wouldn’t spike a fever this high over teeth coming in. But I’ll have Natalie take a look and we’ll go from there.”

  “You’re not going to check him yourself?” Declan asked, and Tess shook her head.

  “It’s Rule Number One in medicine. No treating family members. Why do you think I had to wait until you weren’t my patient to marry you?”

  Declan’s dark brows rose. “So, you wouldn’t be able ta treat me now, no matter what?”

  “It would be an ethical violation for me to act as your physician,” she said. “Just like there would be a huge conflict of interest if I had to, say, perform a complicated or life-saving procedure on Jackson. That said, if I were the only doctor around and something happened to one of you where you needed urgent care? You’d be stuck with me breaking the rules.”

  “Duly noted,” Declan said. “But since we’re here at the hospital, I guess that means we should go find Natalie, yeah?”

  Jackson fussed again, and yeah, it was time to get her butt in gear before the poor kid had a meltdown. “Sooner rather than later,” Tess agreed.

  Two minutes and one very clingy ten-month-old later, they were in the lobby of the peds ward, and—ah, score one for luck—Natalie and Charlie were standing at the nurses’ station, heads bowed over an electronic chart.

  “Hey,” Tess breathed, blinking once as both Natalie and Charlie jumped to attention.

  “Oh, jeez, sorry,” Natalie said, laughing. “We were totally lost in a case.” Her eyes landed on Jackson, immediately narrowing in concern. “Oh, no. What’s wrong, little dude?”

  Tess rattled off Jackson’s symptoms. “I was wondering if you could take a look at his ears? As long as I’m not poaching you.”

  She looked at Charlie, who chirped out a laugh. “Oh, no. Nope. I, ah, got the answer I needed. Thanks, Nat.” Charlie turned her attention to Jackson, taking Tess’s along with it. “This guy is way more important, anyway. Do you want me to stick around in case you need anything?”

  The only thing Tess would need was coverage in the ED. Ugh, finding someone to take her shift with no notice was going to be a massive pain in her ass. “No, I think we’re okay, but thanks.”

  Charlie’s gaze flitted from Tess to Declan, who had been standing steady and silent beside her, and what was that weird smile all about? “Okay. I’ll be up here for a while if that changes. Just call.”

  Natalie didn’t waste any time locating an empty exam room, and by the time they got there, Tess’s arm was killing her. Having twenty-two pounds of cranky infant cling-wrapped to her side was no freaking joke. Of course, Jackson wouldn’t do anything so bold as to let her put him down on the exam table. God, she was going to feel this later.

  “I can give it a go, if you’d like,” Declan said quietly, nodding down at the baby. “Unless that’s overstepping.”

  Tess’s body early wept in relief just at the idea. “Are you kidding? Not at all. I just don’t know if…”

  Before she could even finish her sentence, Declan’s arms had opened, one sliding around her and the other inviting Jackson in. Jackson let go of her, wrapping his arms around Declan’s neck, then his legs around the solid wall of his torso, and something very, very strange happened in Tess’s chest.

  “There’s a good lad,” Declan murmured, his low, rumbling voice seeming to soothe Jackson, or at the very least, keep him from fussing. “We know Mam’s tough, but let’s give her a little break, yeah?”

  “Okay, that’s adorable,” Natalie said brightly.

  Declan paused. “Guess he’s just used to me by now.”

  “Sure, let’s go with that.” Natalie laughed. But Jackson had gone to him just as easily as he’d have gone to Charlie or Parker or any of Tess’s other close friends who loved him. And Tess.

  Unlike Tess’s treasonous heart, Natalie didn’t skip a beat, though. “Okay, let’s figure you out, J-Man. Can you turn him this way for me so I can grab some vitals, Declan?”

  They maneuvered well enough for Natalie to take Jackson’s temperature—101.8 now, damn it—and get her stethoscope beneath his shirt.

  “Well, he sounds great. Let’s just take a look at these—whoa! Found your problem,” she said, passing the otoscope over to Tess, who winced as she caught sight of Jackson’s wildly inflamed eardrum.

  “Oh, buddy,” she said, her heart pitching. “I bet that hurts.”

  Natalie slid around to the other side, with a smooth assist from Declan. “This one’s infected, too, although, it doesn’t look as bad. Let me take a quick look at your throat, too, mister.” She made silly faces at Jackson until he popped a grin big enough for her to get a tongue depressor past (Tess mentally catalogued the trick for later use), and Declan’s hold managed to be both firm and gentle at the same time throughout the exam.

  “Looks like it’s just those ears. Crazy ears,” Natalie crooned at Jackson, who snuggled in at Declan’s side again. “I’ll call downstairs to the pharmacy. A quick dose of antibiotics should clear it right up. I can ask Jerry to rush it for you.”

  “Thanks. Now all I have to do is cover my shift so I can take him home.” Jackson couldn’t go back to childcare until his fever was gone. Not that Tess would leave the poor kid there feeling like this, but she only ha
d so much leave. God, how did other mothers balance this all so gracefully? And how did she always manage to be one step behind figuring it out?

  “I can take him,” Declan said, stunning Tess into place and sending Natalie’s brows to her fringy blond bangs.

  “But you’d have to look after him all day. I can’t ask you to do that,” Tess finally managed.

  “If it’s a matter of you not bein’ comfortable with it, I understand.”

  Tess shook her head. Was he nuts? He’d more than earned her trust. “No, it’s not that at all.”

  “Alright,” Declan said. “Then if it’s a matter of you feeling like you’re oversteppin’, I can assure you, you’re not. I don’t mind. And it’s not as if I’ve got other plans.”

  Tess looked at him, wavering. “Are you sure? What about the gym?”

  “It’s my rest day since I had my appointment with Gupta. But if Jackson’s up for it, I can always take him for a spin in the stroller later for some cardio. He likes that path in the park by the condo, yeah?”

  Okay, wow. Declan clearly remembered that Tess had taken Jackson there for a long walk on her day off last week. Just as he remembered which foods Jackson liked. And that he wouldn’t even think of going to bed without Henry.

  He stepped in to look at her, his green eyes steady on hers. “I just want to help you out. Like friends do.”

  Just like that, Tess wanted nothing more than to let him.

  “Okay. If you’d be willing to take Jackson home and look after him until my shift is over, that would really help me out.”

  They worked out a few logistics, grabbing the medicine that Natalie had called in—with Tess giving Jackson the first dose right then and there in the pharmacy, along with some ibuprofen—then the three of them heading up to the attendings’ lounge for Tess’s car keys. Charlie was sprawled on the couch reviewing a medical journal, and Tess didn’t waste any time on the last part of her plan.

  “Hey. It’s his ears,” she confirmed, and Charlie frowned.

  “Ugh. Poor guy. You taking him home?”

  “Dec is. Can I grab a ride with you and Parker later so he can take my car?”