He watched her help Tabitha inside, then he went to the parking lot. Fortunately with this being a small hospital, it wasn’t too crowded, so he grabbed a parking space and headed inside. Jane was still at the front desk filling out paperwork.
“Hey, Felicia,” he said to the intake coordinator as he moved up beside Jane.
Felicia looked up and smiled at him. “Hey, Will. I didn’t know you were working tonight.”
“I’m not. I was out with Jane and her daughter, Tabitha, had a slip and fall. She has a cut on her head.” He looked over in the seating area. There were about ten people in there. “How’s the wait?”
Felicia looked over the counter at Tabitha, who was leaning against Jane’s leg.
“Poor baby.” Then she looked up at Jane. “I’ve got a couple kids myself. It’s never easy when they get hurt, is it?”
Jane shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“We’ll get you into a room and have a doctor look at your daughter’s head as soon as possible.”
She gave Will a nod and he smiled in thanks.
Jane handed Felicia the clipboard along with her insurance information. Felicia had it all handled with her usual efficiency, then they took a seat. It wasn’t five minutes before Tabitha’s name was called and they were ushered into a room in the back.
A nurse named Elaine came in, took Tabitha’s vitals, and removed the bandage to take a look at the cut. Jane started looking at the monitors.
“Yeah, looks like the doc will probably want to put some stitches in. You got a nasty gash there, sweetie.”
Tabitha’s eyes welled with tears, the fear evident on her face. She looked over at Jane. “Mommy.”
Jane got up and took a seat on the examination table with her. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll be here to hold your hand.”
Will wondered who was going to hold Jane’s hand.
“I’m going to clean up this cut and get everything ready,” Elaine said to Jane, then leaned down to look at Tabitha. “This is going to sting a little when I clean up all the blood.”
And Jane went pale again. But she held Tabitha’s hand. She even turned to look at her, started telling her where she and Will had had dinner, and how they’d gone to listen to a band tonight and had gone to the park and seen some ducks. Will knew what looking at the wound did to her. She was tough, taking it so her daughter could be distracted while Elaine cleaned up Tabitha’s forehead.
“Okay, now we’re going to lay you down to get ready for the doc, okay, Tabitha?” Elaine asked.
Tabitha looked at Jane, who nodded. “Okay,” Tabitha said.
The nurse got her positioned and draped. Then the doc came in.
Will breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jeff.
“Hey, Will.”
“Jeff.”
“You working tonight, or just here for fun and stitches?”
Will smiled and introduced Jane. “Jane, this is Jeff Armstrong, a good friend and a great ER doctor. Tabitha is in very good hands.”
“Good to know. Nice to meet you, Dr. Armstrong.”
“Now that makes me sound old. Call me Jeff. And who’s hiding here on my table?”
“Tabitha,” came a tiny muffled voice from under the drape.
Jeff gloved up and took a peek. “Well, hello, Tabitha. My name is Dr. Jeff. I’m going to give you some awesome-looking stitches you’ll be able to show off to all your friends. They’re gonna be really jealous. You ready for that?”
“Sure.”
Jeff walked her through the entire procedure, including the pinch from the needle. Tabitha cried a little, and even Will’s gut twisted at her mournful sobs. But Jane soothed her through it with soft words and murmurs. After Tabitha’s skin was numb, she was fine, though, and Jeff stitched her up, talking to her the whole time about kid’s TV shows Will knew nothing about. But Jeff and Jane were laughing the whole time and talking, so Will took a step back and let them engage Tabitha, who, now that she couldn’t feel any pain, seemed relaxed and even laughed.
“All done,” Jeff said, removing the drape from Tabitha’s head. He finished cleaning her up, then went through an examination.
“I don’t think there’s any evidence of a concussion.”
“That’s great news,” Jane said.
Jeff presented a red sucker to Tabitha. “You were a good patient, Tabitha. Here’s your reward.”
Tabitha’s eyes went wide and she looked to Jane. “Can I, Mommy?”
“Absolutely,” Jane said with a sigh of relief.
“Thanks,” Will said, shaking Jeff’s hand.
“Hey, it’s my job. And when I have cool patients like Tabitha, it’s a great one,” he said, winking at Tabitha, who smiled back at Jeff.
“No, seriously,” Jane said, also shaking his hand and covering it with both of hers. “You made this much easier than I expected. Thank you for that.”
Jeff grinned, then pushed his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You’re welcome.” He turned to Tabitha. “No mad dashes in the dark for you anymore, princess. Okay?”
Tabitha pulled the sucker out of her mouth and grinned. “Okay.”
“Take her to her pediatrician in about a week to have those stitches taken out,” Jeff said to Jane. After he left, Elaine came back in with a sheet of instructions and discharge paperwork.
“We’re outta here,” Will said. “Are you ready to go home, Tabitha?”
“Totally,” she said with the sucker in her mouth.
Will grinned at Jane, who sighed in relief. “Totally times two,” she said.
He drove them back to Jane’s house. “Give me a few minutes,” she said, then took Tabitha back toward the bedrooms.
She came out a few minutes later. “She’s restless. Wants a couple stories.”
He nodded. “Understandable. I’m going to take off. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
She let out a soft laugh. “It’s been an eventful night.”
He swept the pad of his thumb across her cheek. “Yeah, it has.”
He started for the door.
“Will.”
He stopped and turned. “Yeah?”
She stepped into his arms and he pulled her against him, his mouth meeting hers in a quick but deep kiss that reignited the passion they’d shared earlier.