6
“Mr. Pierce?”
Caleb turned as the doctor called out to him. The nurse had just come in to give Vivi a sponge bath and had shooed them
all out. He had left reluctantly. He didn’t want to leave any aspect of her care up to others.
But he knew he had to give her some privacy. At least for the moment.
“Yes?”
Aleki and Wolfe paused too, waiting to hear what the doctor wanted to say. He noticed he hadn’t told any of them to call him Ethan.
Asshole.
“Could we talk about Vivi’s care in private?”
“Whatever you have to say you can say it to all of us.”
Ethan sighed. “Fine. But I’m only saying this to all of you because she made it clear in there that I could. I wanted to reiterate that she really is run-down and weak. She will need a lot of care if I release her. I do think she’d be better off at the hospital.”
“If she doesn’t want to go, I can’t make her. There are other factors at play here.”
“I don’t need to remind you that we’re paying for your discretion do I, doc?” Wolfe drawled.
“You do not. I’m not in the habit of talking about my patients. She’s obviously been under a lot of stress and for longer than just the last week. She needs time to recover. She’s weak and undernourished. I’d like for her to have as little stress as possible and to slowly build up her health and strength. And I’m not letting her out of my care until I’m sure that’s going to happen.”
Caleb gritted his teeth at the clear challenge. Did he really think that he got to keep her?
“I assure you, doctor, she’ll get every possible care,” he said stiffly.
“Really?” the doctor gave him a skeptical look. “She’s not going to recover if she’s subject to a great deal of stress and uncertainty. It’s interesting that you didn’t notice she was getting so rundown.”
Caleb glared at Ethan. He wasn’t sure if the doctor knew that Vivi wasn’t really his wife or not. But he didn’t like the implication that he thought Caleb had been neglecting her.
“We’ll handle it,” Caleb said. He didn’t want to say more without talking to Wolfe and Aleki first. He needed to get them on board.
“I’ll need a list of everything she should be eating,” Wolfe demanded.
The doctor just stared at him then nodded. “I can do that. But that’s just part of it. It’s not just her physical well-being. It’s her emotional care too.”
“I’m out,” Wolfe stated, walking towards the suite of rooms they were sharing.
Caleb sighed as Ethan stared after him in surprise. “Wolfe doesn’t do emotional stuff.”
“But I do expect that list,” Wolfe called back before disappearing.
“Tell us the rest,” Caleb demanded.
“Whatever has happened over the last few years has obviously affected her deeply if she’s stopped eating properly. To get her to eat, you need to keep her emotional well-being in mind. Maybe she needs a change of scene. Something that will be a change but won’t add to her stress. Perhaps a vacation.”
A vacation, huh?
* * *
Half-awake, Vivi tried to roll onto her side, hissing in pain as she moved her injured arm.
“You can’t lie on that side, it’s injured.”