Lily jolted at the sound of his voice. She looked up to see Robert standing in the doorway of her bedroom wearing nothing more than a pair of faded jeans and a sour look. His hair was sticking up. Black stubble darkened his jaw. He didn’t look very doctorly, but she was glad to see him nonetheless.
“Something’s wrong,” she said. “I can’t seem to get him calmed down.” She laid Jack on the bed, concern rippling through her when his little body went taut with another high-pitched wail. “He’s never cried like this. Even as a newborn he was a very calm and happy baby. But the last couple of months he’s been…fussy.”
Robert walked to the bed and looked at the baby.
“I thought he needed changing, but he wasn’t wet. I warmed some milk for him, but he refused to take it.”
“Does he usually take a bottle at night?” he asked.
She nodded. “Goat’s milk, because he had a bout with colic.”
“Did he take any milk tonight?”
“No.” She looked at her child, felt the worry tighten like a chain around her chest. “His coloring is…off. His lips seem darker.”
Bending, Robert lifted one of Jack’s fingers and gently squeezed the tip.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Just checking circulation. His refill rate is slow.”
“What does that mean?” Lily pressed a hand to her chest. “My God. Is it serious?”
“Probably not. But I think it’s smarter to err on the side of caution.” Robert looked at her. “I don’t think we should wait much longer before taking him to the hospital.”
“Then it is serious.” Her heart stuttered and threatened to stop. “My God—”
“Just take it easy, Lily. I don’t think anything at this point. With a child this age, it could be any number of things.”
“But why is he crying like that? Is he in pain?”
“Look, I’ve got some acetaminophen in my bag. Let me dose him. That should help him get to sleep.”
Lily looked at her precious child and set her hand against his forehead. “I love him so much, Robert. I couldn’t bear it if—”
“Nothing’s going to happen to him,” he said firmly. “Just stay calm for me, all right?”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I’m just…scared.”
“I know you are.” He looked into her eyes. “Everything is going to be all right.”
The way he said it left no room for doubt. And for that she was incredibly grateful. “Okay,” she said, feeling calmer.
“Good girl.”
For an instant she thought he would offer comfort. Comfort she badly needed at that moment. Instead, he turned and started down the hall. She knew he was going to get his medical bag, but she felt his departure far too acutely. She turned to her son, felt her heart swell within her chest. Jack represented all the goodness in a world that wasn’t always good. He represented hope for a future that was many times uncertain. He gave her joy when there was none to be had. If anything happened to him, she didn’t think she could go on. “Everything’s going to be all right, sweetheart,” she said.
Lily had never been the kind of mother to overreact. Even when she’d been a new mother and hadn’t known a thing about babies, she’d taken all Jack’s ailments pretty much in stride. This time was different, however. She didn’t know how, but she knew there was something wrong with her baby. Something serious that was beyond her experience. Maybe beyond Robert’s. As she stared at her son, the thought brought a hot rush of tears to her eyes, and her heart simply broke.
“Lily.”
Quickly wiping away the tears, she turned to face him.
“I know one of the doctors at the hospital in Rajalla. Dr. Roman Orloff. We can trust him. He’ll run the tests without alerting DeBruzkya or his soldiers.”
“All I care about is getting Jack well.”
She watched as he administered a small dose of acetaminophen. Jack had never been a good medicine taker and resisted, but Robert handled him with the gentle firmness of a man who’d administered medicine many times. She knew it was silly, but seeing Robert with Jack eased the fear clenching her chest.
“That should take down his temperature and help him rest,” he said.
Lily walked over to stand beside him, and they both stared at Jack for a moment.
“I’d like to run a couple of preliminary clotting tests tonight if it’s all right with you,” Robert said after a moment.
“You can run tests here?”
“I’ve got the equipment to measure red and white blood cell counts and platelets. I can put some cells on a slide, scan it and send the scan via my satellite phone to the lab. The rest will have to be done at the hospital.”
“Sounds pretty high-tech.”
“It is.”
She nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“I’ll need your permission to take a blood sample.”
“You’ve got it.” She glanced at Jack. He had stopped crying, but he looked pale and listless, and that broke her heart. “How will you get the sample?”
“A quick prick on his heel.”
“Poor little guy.”
Robert smiled, but she knew it was only to reassure her. “He’s going to be fine,” he said.
And for the first time since he’d shown up at her door, she was grateful he was there.