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Authors: Dianne Drake
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Fallon.
So did he. But would they work things out between them? Would he get her back? Because Fallon had changed in ways he didn’t understand, ways she wouldn’t share with him. It scared him, because he wasn’t sure what to do any more. Wasn’t sure he’d ever be let back in.
CHAPTER FIVE
B Y ALL estimations, James still had a few minutes before the first patients would arrive…enough time to dash down to the pediatrics ward to check on Tyler. So he let Fallon know where to find him and hurried down the hall to his room.
“Tyler,” James said, entering the ward. “Are you feeling better?”
The boy was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed with a game controller in his hand. His attention was totally fixed on a game…something with colorful little animals scurrying in and out of little holes in the ground. He didn’t so much as blink when James entered the room. But, then, James was used to that reaction. Understood it, didn’t like it but was braced for it.
“Looks like a fun game,” James continued, grappling for words as the level of discomfort started to germinate. Funny how he was always so good with other people’s children, yet with his own… “Are you winning?”
Tyler shot him a dark scowl, as if James should know that. Wasn’t a great response, but it was a response.
“I’ve never really played any video games before, but I wouldn’t mind trying. Can that one be played by two people?”
“I don’t want to play with anyone,” Tyler said, his tinyvoice defiant. As if he wanted to prove that point, he scooted to the far edge of the bed, as far away from James as he could possibly get.
James chose not to react. Instead, he sat down next to the bed, stretched out his long legs, and relaxed back into the chair. “Why don’t you show me how to play,” he said, “in case I ever want to try it? Tell me what to do, show me where all those animals are supposed to go.” He didn’t have time for this, but he couldn’t just walk away from Tyler and leave him here alone in such a defensive mood.
Tyler cast a suspicious glance at James out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t refuse. Good step, James decided. Small one, but one that seemed headed in the right direction.
“You have to get the red bunnies in the biggest holes with their mommies…that’s where they live. And the green squirrels up in the trees ’cause that’s where they live with their mommies. And the baby bears have to go in the caves with their mommies so they’re safe for the night, ’cause if you don’t get them in before the moon comes out, they have to stay outside. But if you do get them all in before the moon, the moon comes out faster next time. And their houses move around.”
“Is it bad if they have to stay out all night?” James asked, impressed by Tyler’s command of the game.
“They get cold, and scared.”
That wasn’t in the game, of course, but for James the simple explanation proved what he’d suspected…Tyler was bright. And much more aware of his surroundings than he let on. “Would the mommies miss them if they had to stay out all night?”
A flash of hurt crossed Tyler’s face, coming and going so fast that if James hadn’t been watching for a reactionhe would have missed it. “The mommies don’t care,” he said. “They have other little boys…bunnies and squirrels and baby bears to take care of.”
“But would they miss their mommies?”
Tyler didn’t answer that one. Rather, he turned his full attention to the game, clicking the controls like a child possessed. Soon he would have to have that serious talk with Tyler. The child deserved to know. “Look, I’ve got to get back to work. You do know what I do, don’t you?”
Tyler shrugged.
Not to be daunted, James persisted. “I take care of sick people.”
“Am I sick?” Tyler asked, keeping his gaze steady on the television screen even though, for the moment, he’d stopped playing. “Is that why my
So did he. But would they work things out between them? Would he get her back? Because Fallon had changed in ways he didn’t understand, ways she wouldn’t share with him. It scared him, because he wasn’t sure what to do any more. Wasn’t sure he’d ever be let back in.
CHAPTER FIVE
B Y ALL estimations, James still had a few minutes before the first patients would arrive…enough time to dash down to the pediatrics ward to check on Tyler. So he let Fallon know where to find him and hurried down the hall to his room.
“Tyler,” James said, entering the ward. “Are you feeling better?”
The boy was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed with a game controller in his hand. His attention was totally fixed on a game…something with colorful little animals scurrying in and out of little holes in the ground. He didn’t so much as blink when James entered the room. But, then, James was used to that reaction. Understood it, didn’t like it but was braced for it.
“Looks like a fun game,” James continued, grappling for words as the level of discomfort started to germinate. Funny how he was always so good with other people’s children, yet with his own… “Are you winning?”
Tyler shot him a dark scowl, as if James should know that. Wasn’t a great response, but it was a response.
“I’ve never really played any video games before, but I wouldn’t mind trying. Can that one be played by two people?”
“I don’t want to play with anyone,” Tyler said, his tinyvoice defiant. As if he wanted to prove that point, he scooted to the far edge of the bed, as far away from James as he could possibly get.
James chose not to react. Instead, he sat down next to the bed, stretched out his long legs, and relaxed back into the chair. “Why don’t you show me how to play,” he said, “in case I ever want to try it? Tell me what to do, show me where all those animals are supposed to go.” He didn’t have time for this, but he couldn’t just walk away from Tyler and leave him here alone in such a defensive mood.
Tyler cast a suspicious glance at James out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t refuse. Good step, James decided. Small one, but one that seemed headed in the right direction.
“You have to get the red bunnies in the biggest holes with their mommies…that’s where they live. And the green squirrels up in the trees ’cause that’s where they live with their mommies. And the baby bears have to go in the caves with their mommies so they’re safe for the night, ’cause if you don’t get them in before the moon comes out, they have to stay outside. But if you do get them all in before the moon, the moon comes out faster next time. And their houses move around.”
“Is it bad if they have to stay out all night?” James asked, impressed by Tyler’s command of the game.
“They get cold, and scared.”
That wasn’t in the game, of course, but for James the simple explanation proved what he’d suspected…Tyler was bright. And much more aware of his surroundings than he let on. “Would the mommies miss them if they had to stay out all night?”
A flash of hurt crossed Tyler’s face, coming and going so fast that if James hadn’t been watching for a reactionhe would have missed it. “The mommies don’t care,” he said. “They have other little boys…bunnies and squirrels and baby bears to take care of.”
“But would they miss their mommies?”
Tyler didn’t answer that one. Rather, he turned his full attention to the game, clicking the controls like a child possessed. Soon he would have to have that serious talk with Tyler. The child deserved to know. “Look, I’ve got to get back to work. You do know what I do, don’t you?”
Tyler shrugged.
Not to be daunted, James persisted. “I take care of sick people.”
“Am I sick?” Tyler asked, keeping his gaze steady on the television screen even though, for the moment, he’d stopped playing. “Is that why my
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