Their Christmas To Remember. Amalie Berlin

really need to get home. I used up my ability to stay awake past my bedtime during residency. Now I sleep just as often as I can and relish my eight hours.”

      “Thank you for the treats and the recording,” Jenna said from around her cookie. “I ate half of my soup—it was okay. This is better.”

      “Tomorrow you’re going to eat more, right?” Angel prompted but smiled just the same. “And don’t tell Dr. Wolfe, but I had fun with him there, even if I briefly wanted to strangle you for making him go with me. He was...”

      “Funny,” Jenna filled in for her, and Angel nodded.

      “He was funny.”

      “And cute,” Jenna added.

      “I’m glad you think so.” Angel deflected that one. She buttoned her coat back up and reached out to squeeze Jenna’s hand. “Glad you enjoyed the rare Christmas Porcupine Cone Tree.”

      They all laughed then.

      Just as Angel made it to the door, she heard Jenna call, “You should marry him. Then you won’t leave New York and you can stay here to help take care of me.”

      Angel didn’t sigh, but her heart did. There was no way to take those words and not ache. Guilt. Sadness. Worry. All vied for top billing in her chest.

      For the hundredth time this evening, words failed her. Jenna’s statement was equal parts teasing and the current of fear that permeated the thoughts of all people dealing with terrifying illness, but with the straight-shooting of a child.

      “You know...” Angel decided to focus on that part and turned back from the door to face her young former patient “...your doctors are great doctors. I don’t do anything to help take care of you anymore. I just show up because you’re darling and I love seeing you.”

      “And you’re my angel. I know when my mom brought me to see you last winter, no one else was paying attention to my sick feeling, but you did. You’re the reason I got better for a while. I need you to stay here in case I get sicker and people don’t believe me.”

      No beating around the bush this time, and Angel felt it into her core.

      She could see how it might’ve appeared that way to a child, but Angel making her diagnosis had been far from remarkable or miraculous. By the time Angel had seen her, the tumor had begun affecting her spine, and that was a lot easier to catch than the earlier symptoms. It had just been much more obvious when Jenna had got to her.

      “Honey, everyone will believe us now,” Mrs. Lindsey gently interjected, giving Angel some cover.

      “You’ve got the best team,” was all she could think to say. It was true, and Angel wasn’t even part of the team, she just kept turning up because she cared, and people in pediatrics knew at least that about her, and that sometimes she was a way to get Jenna to do something she’d refused to do.

      It took a few more minutes of comforting words and gentle goodbyes for her to extricate herself.

      Tomorrow would be an early day, and she’d find out exactly how many of the people who’d watched the stream had hung around for her failure to disconnect it.

      And she’d have to tell Wolfe...

      Man, if she had any sense at all, she’d call in sick.

      * * *

      Wolfe woke up in a good mood the next morning, and even his irritation at knowing why he’d awakened in such a good mood hadn’t been enough to shake him out of what he could only call the warm fuzzies.

      He’d not been simply being polite when he’d told her how much fun he’d had with her, and he had two big problems with that situation. First, Angel was off-limits, and that all felt like a date. Undoubtedly more so because he’d even stopped trying not to flirt with her, for reasons he couldn’t quite understand this morning, past the pleasure of it. Especially when his mouth had run off and he’d teased her at the end just to watch those delightfully freckled cheeks turn even pinker than the chilly night air made them.

      Not dating at work was important, not a decision he’d made on a whim. It had been the only decision to make after a lifetime of dating had taught him he was utterly incapable of sustaining a relationship. He liked the start of relationships. Hell, he loved the start. Nothing was serious at the start, it was just chemistry and fun, and sex, and what was not to like about all that? All that was great. The problem was his inability to evolve past it.