Shitty was, in fact, bright-siding it. Although Rosenthal had agreed to quietly reach out to Dr. Gupta about the possibility of getting Declan into the trial, Tess had run into the exact obstacle she’d been afraid of; namely, that the VA wouldn’t touch the coverage with a fifty-foot pole.
There had to be a way around this, some way she could do her job and help her patient. She just needed to find it.
“Okay,” Charlie said. “So, the VA won’t cover this trial. What about a different one?”
Strike one. “There aren’t any Declan’s eligible for. Even then, the chances they’d be covered are iffy, at best.”
Parker looked up from the medical journal he’d been scanning in an effort to help. “Can Rosenthal adjust his meds, somehow? Maybe try a different therapy to slow the damage to his kidney?”
Strike two. “Rosenthal and Declan’s doctor from the VA already agree he’s getting the best care they can give him. For what it’s worth in the moment.”
“Which isn’t going to mean much in a year. Maybe sooner.” Charlie bit her lip. “There’s no way the VA would consider an appeal?”
Annnnnd strike three, you’re out. “I believe the exact phrase his doctor at the VA used had something to do with a snowball’s chance in hell.”
Dr. Trufant had been sympathetic when Tess had spoken with her. But all the sympathy in the galaxy wasn’t going to get Declan’s insurance to cover this trial.
Tess jammed a hand through her already messy ponytail and sighed. “She said exactly what Rosenthal thought she would. Declan’s current course of treatment would keep him stable, maybe they’d consider an appeal in a year if he worsens, blah blah. Like he’s not going to get worse in a year.”
“Okay, so that is likely,” Parker allowed. “But his glucose levels look good now, and he’s stable in this moment. Wasn’t it you who taught me to take your wins, minute by minute?”
“Seriously? You’re going to choose now to actually listen to my wisdom?”
Parker gave up the sort of grin that made it a whole shitload harder to be mad at him. “Now is when you need it, right? All I’m saying is, Declan’s not critical today. You have a little time to figure this out.”
“Damn little,” Tess muttered. Once Declan’s six-hour glucose check came back and his vitals continued to balance out, she’d have no choice but to release him. Which was great for his health right now. But in the end, she still wouldn’t be able to give him the care he needed. The care that might save his life in the long run, or at the very least, make it a whole lot healthier.
Hello, failure, my old friend…
Tess’s cell phone buzzed from the pocket of her doctor’s coat, and she palmed it, praying for a miracle.
Dr. Rosenthal: It took some doing, but Gupta said she’d take him. Need to know in 24 hours. Assuming you want to handle the ask?
“Oh,” Tess breathed, her pulse knocking at her throat.
“Is everything okay?” Charlie asked, and Tess bit back her frustration, albeit barely.
“Rosenthal got him into the trial. Damn it!” How could she have worked so hard, gotten so close, only to lose?
“Oh, Tess,” Charlie said. “I’m so sorry. You really did try everything.”
No. No, no, no. She might be sitting on a mountain of failures—wrong manners, wrong likes, wrong career specialty, wrong husband, wrong time to get pregnant—but she would not put Connor’s friend’s care on top of that pile.
She was only good at one thing. There had to be a way. There had to be—
Oh. Oh. Holy shit.
There was a way. Crazy, yes. Unconventional, definitely.
But it was a way, and if it worked, Declan would get the care he needed.
“Not everything,” Tess said, bolting up from her chair, her heart in her throat and her mind made up.
“Where are you going?” Parker asked, and Tess typed out a lightning-fast reply to Rosenthal before squaring her shoulders and starting for the door.
“I’m going to make the impossible happen.”
6
Declan was floating. No, wait. He was being carried. It didn’t feel like before, though—no urgency. No clipped voices, no foggy detachment from his body. In fact, he was keenly aware of all of his body, his heart beating a steady rhythm, his skin tingling, muscles loose. Warmth surrounding him like a memory, arms cradling him close. I’ve got you, this touch said. Declan gave in to the sensation, wanting more of the calm he found there, of how purely good it made him feel.
All too quickly, his need for more grew primal, his body hot. He reached out to return the embrace he’d felt only seconds earlier, to lose himself inside it entirely, but the arms that had felt so secure had loosened, letting him fall faster and faster. Panic threatened, but no, the arms hadn’t let go. They were there, around him again, holding him tight with promise.
Declan, came a voice, feminine and strong. It’s okay. You’re okay. Wake up. Wake up…
He blinked his eyes open and instantly became aware of two things. One, he’d been dreaming, not floating.
And two? His body was definitely coming back online, because he was sporting a significant hard-on beneath his gown and hospital blankets.
Oh, and news flash: his smart, sexy doctor was standing at his bedside, eyeing him with concern that bordered on critical.
Fucking hell.
“Hey. There you are,” she said, her expression relaxing as he gained focus. No easy task, mind. He rarely slept all that much, let alone dreamt. But letting his guard down—especially around this woman, who was trained to see everything—wasn’t on his agenda.
“Doc,” he managed, shifting the blankets for maximum coverage and wishing like mad he had access to a toothbrush. “Just couldn’t stay away from me, I see.”
Her fingers flew back from where she’d placed them over his shoulder, making Declan curse his stupidity.
“You’re my patient. Or, I guess, you were.” Tess glanced down at the street clothes Declan belatedly realized she’d changed into, and damn, she made jeans and a T-shirt look just as good as scrubs. “Anyway, my shift is over, and Connor and Harlow needed to get something to eat. So I said I’d stay with you, just in case you woke up. How are you feeling?”
Declan tested his body out, shifting and scanning as the residual memory of his dream faded back where it belonged. “A bit tired. Otherwise, okay.” Hungry, now that he thought of it. They’d managed his glucose levels through the IV, but he hadn’t actually eaten anything since zero dark thirty this morning.
Damn. He didn’t even know what time it was now. The events of the day, and all the revelations and realizations that had accompanied them, washed back over him one by one, making his gut clench with unease.
He should have known better than to hope he’d find answers here.
Tess placed a container of orange juice on the tray at his bedside, along with a bag of pretzels, moving both within his reach. “You slept for a while. You must be hungry.”
“Is this a peace offering, then?” Declan asked. He knew better than to flirt with her, especially since she was smart enough to flay him alive with her words alone. But she was pretty when her cheeks flushed, and as she’d said, she was no longer on the clock. That meant she was no longer his doctor.