He looked at her, felt an odd quiver in his gut. Several strands of hair had broken free of the ponytail and curled around her face. A face that was pale and smooth and so beautiful he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
For a crazy moment he wanted to stop her, draw her to him and kiss her until she forgot all about the rebellion. Until she forgot about everything except him and Jack and a future that was growing dimmer with every step they took. But he knew even if he kissed her now, she would still do what she deemed necessary. No matter how many times he asked her not to. No matter how dangerous.
He looked down at Jack, and a different kind of emotion gripped him. The baby stared at him with guileless blue eyes and reached out to grasp his chin with pudgy fingers. Turning his head slightly, Robert kissed his son’s tiny hand and tried not to think about how badly it was going to hurt to lose him.
They reached the nurse’s station, and a pretty young woman with dark eyes and a friendly smile greeted them in Rebelian.
“We’re looking for Dr. Orloff,” Robert answered in perfect Rebelian.
“I just saw him a few minutes ago,” she said. “Let me page him for you.”
Several minutes later Dr. Roman Orloff came through a set of double swinging doors. He was about six feet tall and wore the traditional white lab coat over dark slacks and a colorful sweater. He spotted Robert immediately and headed in their direction at a determined clip.
“Dr. Mercier! Good to see you. I trust you didn’t have any problems getting here?” He was grinning a bit too brightly. His eyes swept to Lily and Jack then back to Robert.
“Thanks for seeing us, Roman,” Robert said quietly.
Dr. Orloff extended his hand. “Don’t say anything,” he said in a low voice, never losing his overzealous smile. “Follow me. Smile a lot. Don’t look directly at anyone.”
A surge of adrenaline skittered through Robert. “What is it?”
“You two are wanted. There are signs everywhere.”
“Have soldiers been here?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure they’ll come eventually.”
Robert felt Lily’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look at her. The weight of the decision he was about to make weighed down on him, staggering him. “Do you have a safe room?” he asked.
Orloff nodded. “It’s in the basement.”
“Can we do the transfusion down there?”
“Yes.”
“Good. The baby took a turn for the worse earlier,” Robert said and followed him into the elevator.
The basement made Lily feel claustrophobic. The ceilings were low. There were no windows. Dim overhead lighting revealed water stains on drooping acoustic tiles. As she and Robert and Dr. Orloff walked down the narrow hall, she cuddled Jack and reminded herself that they were safe here. Still, those internal reassurances did little to alleviate the knot of fear in her stomach.
It had taken them nearly ten minutes to reach the safe room. The main elevator had taken them to the third floor, where part of the wall had been damaged by some kind of explosion. From there they’d taken a narrow stairway down to a freight elevator. The car had rattled and shook as it lowered them to the basement.
“The procedure room is very well maintained.” Dr. Orloff removed a set of keys from his trousers and inserted a key into a locked door. He shoved it open and hit a light switch set into the wall.
Lily blinked against the sudden bright light. The room closely resembled an operating room. Two beds dominated the center of the room. Gleaming stainless steel counters surrounded them on three sides. A double stainless steel sink was set into the opposite wall. Floor-to-ceiling glass-front cabinets comprised the wall to her right.
“I’m impressed,” Robert said.
Orloff grinned. “It’s not George Washington University, but it’ll do in a pinch.”
“And then some.”
“We’ve treated our share of rebels in this hospital.” Dr. Orloff looked at Lily. “Doesn’t do much for our funding to advertise that sort of thing.”
“What are your capabilities?” Robert asked.
“We’ve got it all. Oxygen. X-ray machine. MRI room two doors down. Refrigeration for blood storage, though our supplies are critically low.” He motioned toward the cabinets. “Our medications are low, but we’ve got the essentials.”
“I can donate blood,” Lily blurted.
Both men looked over at her.
“I mean, for your blood bank,” she said.
Robert looked at her. “Both of us can donate.”
“I’m not going to turn you down. We need blood desperately.” Dr. Orloff shrugged. “Of course, we’re fresh out of juice and cookies.”
Lily choked out a pent-up laugh. She looked at Jack, realized she’d been so preoccupied with getting him to the hospital safely, she hadn’t yet asked about the transfusion. “How is the transfusion done?”