“No. You take this one. I’ll get the incoming.” Tristan handed off the patient and caught the elevator doors just as they were closing. She jumped in.

When she reached the roof, the helicopter hadn’t yet landed, but several nurses and the trauma fellow were already there. Tristan stepped a little bit away from them as they chatted while waiting and watching the sky. As the helicopter settled onto the landing pad, the turbulence from the rotors and the glare of the bright landing lights brought tears to her eyes, but she stared through the sheen of moisture, hoping for a glimpse of Jett at the controls. As soon as the skids touched down, the trauma team rushed forward and she went with them.

Tristan was almost to the aircraft when the cockpit door swung open and Jett jumped out. She had a brief glimpse of Jett pulling off her helmet and rifling a hand through her hair. Their eyes met and Jett smiled. Tristan had only a second before the medevac crew delivered the patient. Even though her attention was elsewhere, she held on to the smile as if it were a gift. Just before she stepped into the elevator, she looked back. Jett still stood on the rooftop, a solitary figure backlit against the night sky, watching her.

Even though Tristan knew it was crazy, she felt as if Jett had reached out and touched her. Hell, she definitely needed a date, because she was starting to imagine things. Jett hadn’t shown any indication of interest, and even if she had, she definitely wasn’t Tristan’s type. Nothing about her suggested she did anything casually. Of course, that was exactly what made her so intriguing. Despite the almost overwhelming urge to stop and look back again, Tristan forced herself into the elevator. She had a patient to take care of, and she didn’t need any complications in her life. Everything was going along exactly the way she wanted it to go. Smooth, easy, and no strings attached. Just the way she wanted.

Chapter Nine

When Quinn let herself into the house shortly after eight the next morning, she was greeted by silence. She was used to coming home after twenty-four hours on call to find Arly’s grandmother, Phyllis, busy in the kitchen making breakfast or getting Arly ready for school. In the summer when there was no school, Phyllis supervised Arly after Honor left for her shift in the ER until Quinn returned home from night call. And since Quinn would usually have been up all night operating, Phyllis often took Arly out somewhere while Quinn slept.

They never left this early, however.

Quinn checked the kitchen. A full pot of coffee sat on the warming plate of the coffeemaker. There was no sign of breakfast dishes, and the smell of pancakes or muffins was absent. Nothing felt quite right, and a wave of completely irrational panic swept through her. She shook it off quickly, knowing that if anything had happened to Honor or Arly or Jack, someone would have called her. Still, she wanted to see her family. For all of the excitement of the last week and a half, and the amazing joy of bringing Jack home, she hadn’t been able to forget or shake off those few minutes in the delivery room when she’d feared she would lose Honor. Nothing in her life had ever been as terrifying as imagining a future without her.

Telling herself there was nothing to worry about, Quinn climbed the stairs as quickly as she could while trying to be quiet. The master bedroom was situated diagonally across the hall from Arly’s room, and she passed her partially open door to peek in Arly’s open door. Arly sat cross-legged on the bed in her pajamas, a book open in her lap.

When she saw Quinn, she touched her finger to her lips and shook her head with a warning look. Instantly, Quinn’s anxiety dissipated and she crossed to the bed.

“What’s going on?” she asked in a whisper.

“Mommy and Jack are sleeping.”

“Where’s Phyllis?”

“She went home. She said we could call her when everyone got up and she’d fix breakfast.”

“Didn’t you want to go with her?” Considering that home for Phyllis was the other half of the duplex and that Honor was just across the hall, there was no reason Arly couldn’t stay on her own in her room.

After all, she slept in her room alone every night too. Still, it was a change. Everyone’s routine was disrupted.

Arly shook her head. “I wanted to stay here.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” But she didn’t look at Quinn when she answered.

Quinn sat on the bed and leaned back against the pillows. Arly curled up against her side. “What are you reading?”

“The Golden Compass.”

“Do you like it?”

Arly nodded. “It’s like Harry Potter for grown-up kids.”

Quinn smiled. She’d read some of the book. The story of a young girl in an alternate universe was wildly imaginative and beautiful at times, but darker than Harry Potter. The series was supposed to be for young readers, but some of the events were pretty sophisticated, nonetheless. “Not scary or anything?”

“It’s just make-believe, Quinn.”

“That’s right.” Quinn kissed the top of Arly’s head. “I forgot that part.”

Arly giggled. Then she slid her arm around Quinn’s middle and became quiet. After a few seconds, Quinn said, “What are you thinking?”

“Is Mom really going to be okay?”

Quinn was careful to stay relaxed because she didn’t want any of her secret fears bleeding over to her child. “Yes, she’s going to be fine. Are you worried?”

“She looks kind of sick.”

“She’s not sick, honey.” Quinn pulled Arly close. “She’s pretty tired. Mom explained about the operation that she needed so Jack could come out, right?” Arly nodded. “Well, it takes a while to get back to normal after that.”

“And then everything will be like before?”

“Things will be a little different because now instead of you and me and Mom and Phyllis being a family, there will be you and me and Mom and Phyllis and Jack.”

Arly sat up and regarded Quinn intently. “Is Jack really my brother?”

“What?” Quinn was so surprised she forgot she was supposed to be the all-knowing, rational adult. “Sure he is. How come you’re asking?”

“Tommy said that Jack can’t be my brother unless we have a father too. And we don’t have one.”

“There’s lots of ways to make families, remember, we talked about that? Families are people who live together because they love each other and want to take care of each other. Like we do.”

Arly nodded.

Quinn hugged her hard. “So now we have Jack, and your mother and I love you both and we’re all going to live together until you’re grown up. So that makes us your parents and Jack your brother.”

“So the father part doesn’t count?”

“Well, he counts if you have one, but you don’t need one.” Quinn wondered if they were going to have the birds and the bees talk now.

She glanced through the open door to the bedroom across the hall.

The door was ajar an inch or two, but Honor was probably asleep. She wished Honor would come to her rescue, but at least now she didn’t break into a cold sweat every time she had one of these conversations with Arly. She only wished she had more time to prepare for topics like this one. Someday she was probably going to say something wrong and cause permanent psychological damage.

“Quinn?”

“Yes, honey?”

“Can I call Grandma now so we can have breakfast?”

“Yes. Go call her. I’m starving.” As Arly climbed over her, Quinn swatted her on the butt. “I’m going to go check on your mother. If she’s still sleeping, we need to still be quiet.”

“Okay.”

Arly disappeared on her way downstairs to use the phone, and Quinn stood and stretched. Her lower back ached from standing most of the night repairing a torn pulmonary artery in the boy with the gunshot wound. Her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep, and she felt just a little bit fuzzy. Still, all that mattered was that she was home. She walked to her bedroom, cautiously opened the door wide, and paused inside the door to take in the scene.

Honor lay sleeping, Jack cradled in the curve of her arm. She appeared very pale, but incredibly peaceful. Even in her sleep, she looked happy. Quinn drank her in, still amazed that this was her life. This woman, these children, this home. More than she had ever dreamed.

Honor shifted and opened her eyes. Used to waking completely in a heartbeat, she focused on Quinn instantly. “You’re home. I thought I heard you talking a few minutes ago. Did I dream that?”

“No.” Quinn stretched out on the bed and kissed Honor’s cheek. “I was talking to Arly.”

“Mmm.” Honor looped an arm around Quinn’s neck and pulled her closer until she could kiss her on the mouth. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

“Are you tired?”

“Not so much.” Quinn reached across Honor’s body and stroked the baby’s head. His hair was so soft, like nothing she’d ever felt before. He scrunched up his face and made a tiny mewling sound. “Uh-oh. Sorry.”

Honor laughed. “It’s okay if he wakes up. He’s going to soon anyhow. It’s about time for another feeding.”

“Should I do anything with him?”

“He’s good for a little while. Phyllis changed him earlier, right after he ate.” Honor caught Quinn’s hand and held their joined hands between her breasts. “Did you eat yet?”

“I was just about to go downstairs. Arly’s calling Phyllis for breakfast.”

“Phyllis isn’t here?” Honor frowned. “What was Arly doing here by herself?”

“She was reading in her room. I think she’s a little bit worried about you.”

Honor passed the baby to Quinn. “Here, take him. I need to get up so she can see that I’m all right.”

“I thought we agreed on bed rest until you get another transfusion tomorrow.” Quinn tucked the baby against her shoulder.