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Cam s thigh. He didn t make any attempt to tease Cam, just let his
hand sit there.
With anyone else, Cam would have tried to get him to move his
hand up and play a little, or he might have responded with a joke
or a flirty remark. Somehow, the warm weight of Tristan s hand
felt perfect right where it was. Despite the tiny knot of anxiety that
formed in his stomach, Cam smiled.
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CHAPTER 13
Back at his apartment, Tristan unpacked his purchases.
Fortunately, Cam had gone into the kitchen to try to scrounge up
something for them to eat. He doubted Cam would find much, and
he wasn t all that hungry anyway, but at least the man had
something to do besides hover over him. He didn t mind having
someone care how he was feeling. After so long without anybody,
he liked knowing Cam was there. At the same time, though, it took
a lot of getting used to. Before coming here, he d never had to
consider what other people wanted or felt, other than his patients.
Patients. There was a road he didn t want to go down right
now. Thinking about his patients would only make him dwell more
on last night, and what he d had to do.
The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Putting the pair of
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shoes he d been holding into the closet, he hurried into the living
room to answer.
Cam had beaten him to the phone and was frowning at the
handset as he spoke.  Yeah, sure. Here he is.
He took the phone from Cam, wondering who could be calling
him.  Hello?
 Hello, Tristan. How are you feeling? Larry s voice sounded
concerned, even over the phone.
 I m all right. Tired, but okay.
 I m glad. I was worried last night, more so because I didn t
know what to expect.
He laughed a little at that.  You and Cam both. Humor
draining away, he sighed.  I hope I won t be up against something
that serious again anytime soon. In case I do, though, you need to
know it ll be the same.
 I understand. He could almost hear Larry nodding. Then the
older man continued.  I want to talk to you when you come back,
about what you did when we tried to heal him.
What he d done? He thought back, remembering the strange
feeling he d gotten when his hands touched Larry s, as if he were
drawing strength from the other doctor. Nothing like that had ever
happened to him before, leaving him as confused as Larry
obviously was.  I don t know what I did. I ve never tried to heal
someone with another person s help before.
 Hm. There was a moment of silence. Larry finally cleared his
throat.  Well, we can talk later, and if you don t mind, maybe
perform a few small experiments to see if we can discover what
happened. Why don t you take tomorrow off, too, just to make sure
you re one hundred percent before you come back?
 I ll do that. See you in a couple of days, Larry. Lost in
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thought, he hung up the phone and sat on the sofa.
He d almost forgotten he wasn t alone when Cam spoke.  Are
you hungry?
He wasn t, not really, but he nodded anyway. When Cam
motioned toward the tiny kitchen, he stood and followed.
* * *
Near the end of their meal, Cam s cell phone rang. Although he
seemed annoyed, he answered, listening for a few minutes,
expression growing increasingly irritated.
 I was supposed to be off. Yes, I know. Fine. I ll see you in a
few minutes. With a long-suffering sigh, he flipped the phone
closed and shoved it back into his pocket.
Tristan was pretty sure he knew what the phone call had been
about, but he asked anyway.  Do you have to go?
Cam nodded.  For some reason, they want the whole team
there for a debriefing or something. I have a feeling it s going to
take forever.
 Duty calls. Duty was something Tristan understood. He
wasn t sure whether he was disappointed or relieved, but he
understood.
 Yeah. Cam stood and took his empty plate over to the sink.
Without turning, he asked,  You re feeling okay?
 I m fine, I promise. Thanks for staying with me last night.
 I wanted to. Cam faced him again, came over to his chair.
Tristan tilted his face up almost instinctively, knowing before
Cam even moved to expect a kiss. His eyes drifted shut at the soft
touch of Cam s lips to his own. A sigh slipped out when Cam
moved away. A big part of him wanted to pull Cam back in for
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another kiss, but he didn t.
 I ll see you later, Doc. It ll probably be really late when we
get finished, so I ll call you tomorrow.
 Okay. Bye.
When he heard the front door shut, he made himself get up and
wash the few dishes they d used. With that chore finished, he
wasn t sure what to do next. He didn t want to sit around his tiny
apartment all night. If he did, he s start thinking, and that was the
last thing he wanted to do right now.
The phone rang as he was trying to think of what to do for the
rest of the evening.  Hello?
 Doc, how re you feeling? Telly s voice was a mix of concern
and interest.
 Fine. I m bored, to be honest with you.
The other man laughed.  How would you like to hang out with
Ned, Dean, and me? We were planning to go over to the rec room
on Cellblock B, over by Ned s. There are pool tables at that one.
You in?
Going to the rec room sounded a lot better than being bored for
the rest of the night. He d been wanting to check out the other rec
room anyway.  I m in. I don t know how to get there, though.
 Dean ll come and get you. Your place is on his way. He ll
probably be there in ten or fifteen, if that s all right.
 Sounds good.
He hung up the phone, feeling better already. Finding things to
keep himself occupied until Dean showed up turned out to be easy.
He still had clothes to put away, and he liked things organized.
About fifteen minutes later, a loud rap on the door told him it
was time to go. He shoved his key into his back pocket and opened
the door.
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Dean stood there, grinning as always.  Hey, Doc.
 Hey, Dean. How s it going?
Dean leaned in conspiratorially, waggling his eyebrows.
 Great. I ve heard Tara will be at the rec room tonight, so we
might be in for quite a show.
An involuntary laugh slipped out.  You re not nice. You re not
nice at all.
 I get that a lot.
* * *
Telly and Ned were already racking the balls for a game of
pool when Tristan and Dean entered the rec room. Dean made a
beeline for them.  Good evening, gentlemen.
After lifting the rack with exaggerated care, Ned turned to
Dean.  Ready to lose?
Dean narrowed his eyes.  I think not, my friend. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]