After talking to Gael Brennan, Braxton went back up to the surgery floor and sat in the waiting room. He was the the sole occupant as it was close to 5pm and surgeries were usually finished by this time. He'd brought a book to read but he couldn't concentrate, so he got up and paced the room since there was nobody there that would be bothered by it. At the very least, it was exercise. His doctor was always nagging at him to get some on a regular basis.

Finally, he sat down again and closed his eyes. He did not know why he was worrying so much about Marissa. He just knew that he felt a need to help her as much as she would let him. Secretly, he was glad she'd declined to be his patient. It allowed him to be her friend and do this without crossing professional boundaries. While he hadn't really gotten to know her yet, he liked what he saw. She was obviously a very strong and determined woman to have walked again after the assault that she'd experienced back home. And she lived independently, with help solely for cleaning what she couldn't. Though she was failing at eating properly, he thought. She really needed to work on that. Surely, there must be a way for her to cook a proper meal without it being a big hassle. He made a mental note to suggest that she look for an apartment that was more accessible for her with low counters, stove, sink etc.

Braxton had a pretty good ability to read people. It came in handy in his profession. He felt that Marissa was a good person, even though he also felt she was involved in something shady, perhaps even illegal. It was the only reason he could think of for her secrecy. She seemed to care deeply for her family and was concerned for them, even though she said she could not talk to them. Most large families were close knit.

“We're finished, Braxton”, a voice said. He opened his eyes and saw Gideon Maynard standing in front of him. “Marissa is in recovery now, she'll be there for a couple hours and then we'll take her to her room.”

“She is staying overnight?”

“Yes. There was some bleeding during the biopsy and I had a bit of a time getting it to stop. It does happen from time to time. Usually the patient is fine, but I want to keep her for a night or two to make sure. Her blood pressure dropped – also not a rare occurrence, it's the anesthesia that tends to do that. These complications are why she needs to be in the recovery room longer than the usual hour. I'm glad she is going home with you. She needs to have someone with her for a while. I will give you a sheet of instructions on her care and what to look for if the bleeding returns.”

“How did the wrist go?”

“It went well, but took longer than Ryan had expected. He'll talk to you about that.”

“Can I see her?”

“We usually don't allow visitors in Recovery, but she's the only patient there, so I will make an exception. I think it would be good for her. She should be awake now, but don't be surprised if she says things that don't make sense. Anesthesia affects some people that way. By the way, that is some bruising on her. I hope her assailant is caught. Come on, I'll take you to see her.”

Braxton picked up Marissa's bag and followed Gideon down the hall. “I don't think the police were called”, he said.

“What? Why the hell not?”

“I think she knows who it was and she's protecting him.”

“Her boyfriend? No, you said she doesn't have anyone. Who could be so important to her that she would not report this?”

“I don't know, Gideon, but I intend to find out.”

Near the end of the hall, Gideon turned right and entered the Recovery room with Braxton right behind him. Marissa's stretcher was the only one in the room. The two men approached it. The patient was on her back with her left hand resting on her abdomen. There was a cast on it from her hand to halfway to her elbow. Her eyes were closed. Gideon looked at the heart monitor. “She's stable and her blood pressure is good, so don't worry about that.”

At the sound of the doctor's voice, Marissa opened her eyes. “Hey there”, Braxton said as he reached over the side rail and squeezed the fingers of her good hand. The IV was still in, so he had to be careful.

“How are you feeling?” Dr Maynard asked her.

“Thirsty.”

“I'll see if a nurse will get you some water. Are you in pain?” she nodded. “You can have some pain medication, too.”

“What did I say coming out of the anesthetic?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did I say anything that sounded weird?”

Braxton and Gideon both looked confused. “Why would you think you said something weird?” Braxton asked.

“I've heard that people sometimes do.”

“Do not worry, Marissa”, Gideon told her. “Anything you say in here stays in here. We cannot – and do not – talk about it to anyone.”

“Not even the cops?”

“Not even to them. But why would you worry about that?”

“Just wondering”, she replied. Braxton made another mental note - to ask her more about that when she was feeling better. “Can I go home now?”

“No, you are our guest for the night.”

“I want to go home.”

“You can't. Not tonight.”

Marissa sat up. “You can't keep me. I will sign myself out.”

“I don't want to play the heavy, but I will if I have to”, Dr Maynard told her. “I will have you admitted involuntarily.”

“I don't meet the criteria.”

“Gideon, may I have a word with you?” Braxton asked.

“Of course.”

They moved out of Marissa's bay to talk. She felt this was her opportunity, so she began to inch herself down the stretcher. When nobody seemed to see her, she picked up speed. At the foot, she slid off. Out of the corner of his eye, Braxton saw her and ran over just in time to catch her before she fell to the floor. “Marissa! You know you can't walk without your crutches!”

“Then I will crawl.”

“No, you will not. You will get back onto that gurney.”

“Make me”, she said defiantly.

“Challenge accepted.” He picked her up and walked around to the side, lifting her over the rail and set her down. “Now, you will lie here while Dr Maynard explains to you *why* he wants to keep you overnight. Gideon, can you put her head up on this thing?”

“Sure.” He raised the head of the stretcher and Marissa lay back. She was shocked by Braxton's demeanor and not sure she liked it. “Let me get a nurse to bring you some water and pain medication. I'll be right back.”

Braxton pulled the blanket over Marissa. It had taken every ounce of willpower and training in him to not yell at her. He knew it was likely an effect of the anesthesia that caused her to try to leave and also maybe even a bit of fear now that the biopsy had been taken. Now she couldn't escape finding out about the results. But he was only human and for a moment, he'd been very angry at her. He quickly got that in check. He had to - if he didn't, he'd drive her away for good.

“I'm cold”, Marissa complained.

“I'm not surprised. You don't have an ounce of fat on you.”

“Can you loan me some?” she asked in jest, but then realized it might not be taken that way. “I'm sorry, I was joking, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.”

“You didn't, sweetie”, Braxton replied. “I'm a therapist. I've had way worse said to me – and not in a joking way. Tell you what, when you get to your room, I'll give you a big hug – apparently, I give off a fair bit of body heat. In the meantime, I'll get you a blanket when Gideon gets back”, he finished - just as Dr Maynard returned.

“A nurse is going to bring your water, I have your pain medication”, the oncologist said as he flushed her IV before injecting it into the tubing. “She needs a blanket?”

“Yes, she's cold. Where can I find one?” Braxton asked.

“I'll get one.” He was back in a flash with a warm blanket and put it over her. A nurse had brought her some water in a plastic cup. “All right, now you need to know what happened in surgery.” Marissa's face took on a worried look. “You are fine, but I need to keep you here to be sure. There was some bleeding while I was taking the biopsy and I had a time getting it to stop. Your blood pressure went down, too. That is not unusual with anesthesia, but it went too far down. We got it up and you are okay as far as that is concerned, but you need to stay in case you start bleeding again. I don't want you to be far from the hospital - it's best if you are here where we can deal with it right away. I'm on call, so I will be here all night if you need me. I have given permission for Braxton to stay the night with you, so you won't be alone.”

“He doesn't have to.”

“He wants to, and I think it's a good idea. You are probably less likely to try to leave if he does.”

Ryan Duncan poked his head into the bay. “I'm sorry, I was called to the ER”, he apologized. “How are you feeling, Marissa?”

“Tired”, she replied.

“She's had pain medication”, Gideon told him. “She was in a fair bit of discomfort when she woke up.”

“She's staying, right?”

“Yes.”

“I'll come and see her tomorrow, but I'll tell her now about the procedure. I can repeat it later if she doesn't remember.” He stepped up to the head of the stretcher. “Marissa, the operation on your wrist went well. I got the pins in the broken bones and the cut stitched up. It looks like there's a pretty bad infection in there, so I am putting you on IV antibiotics.”

“It wasn't infected yesterday.”

“It probably was starting deep inside the wound and festered overnight. Some infections can get bad really fast. I sent a culture to the lab to find out exactly what we're dealing with.”

“Do I have to stay here?”

“Not any longer than Gideon wants to keep you. We can teach you how to flush the IV and give yourself the antibiotics at home – or at Braxton's place.” Marissa sighed with relief, but wasn't sure she could handle doing it.

Braxton seemed to have read her mind. “I'll learn how to do it, too”, he told her. “I don't think you can do it with your dominant hand in a cast.”

“It's very important that you stay here until we release you”, Gideon said. “You cannot leave without arrangements to get your antibiotics and without learning how to administer them. If you stop them, the infection will get worse and you could lose your arm or even your life.” Once again, Braxton could swear Marissa looked happy about the prospect. He just *had* to ask her about it.

“I'm so tired”, Marissa said, sleepily.

“That's the anesthesia and the pain medicine”, Gideon replied. “We'll clear out of here and you can drift off. Braxton will be here. They'll come in a bit to take you to your room. We wanted to keep you in Recovery longer than normal in case the bleeding came back.” He moved away from the stretcher. “Braxton, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure.”

They went out of Marissa's hearing range. “Braxton, did you notice anything in Marissa's expression when I told her she could lose her life if she stopped the antibiotics?”

“She looked happy.”

“Exactly. I wanted confirmation from someone else, in case I was imagining it.”

“You weren't. And she had the same look when I explained to her that even if the tumour is benign, it would eventually grow so large that it would kill her if it is not taken out.”

“What do you make of it?”

“I don't know.”

“Death wish?”

“Perhaps. I intend to talk to her about it after she's feeling better. But Gideon, you can't commit her just because she refuses further treatment. Not if she's of sound mind.”

“Would someone of sound mind want to die?”

“It depends. But to do an involuntary admission, she would have to be likely to harm herself right now. Today. And she's not.”

“I just can't stand to stand by and watch an otherwise healthy person do this.”

“I know, Gideon. You care. Perhaps too much. We need to know when to let go of patients that don't want our help. It isn't easy to do. But I haven't given up on Marissa. She needs time to heal from her surgery, then I am going to try to get to the bottom of it. Not as a therapist, I can't be that to her now. As a friend.”

“I promised you I'd back off for a couple weeks and I will do that. After that, it will depend on the results of the biopsy.”

Braxton returned to Marissa's bay. She was asleep, so he sat on a stool and watched her. She was on her right side. A nurse had put a pillow under her left arm to support her wrist. A lock of hair had fallen on her face – he gently pushed it back. She opened her eyes. “Go back to sleep, Marissa.”

“You can go home, Braxton.”

“I'm not going home until you are released.”

After a while, Marissa was taken to her room. As soon as she got there, a nurse came in. She took her vitals and asked if there was anything she needed.

“My feet are cold, could I have another blanket, please?”

“Of course. Do you have socks on?” Marissa shook her head. “I'll get you a pair. You missed supper. Do you want something to eat?”

“No, thank you. I'm not hungry.”

She was back in a couple minutes with a blanket and socks. “I'll put the socks on her feet”, Braxton offered. He figured she might not want the nurse to see her scars. After she'd left the room, he lifted the blankets off her feet. He picked one foot up and slipped a sock over it. He couldn't help but notice the scar on the back of her heel. He involuntarily winced. Marissa noticed.

“Thank you for doing that so that the nurse didn't see it”, she said. “I could have done it, though. That way you wouldn't have seen it.”

“I can handle it, Marissa”, he replied as he slid the second sock on her other foot. He tucked the blankets back in. “I know they never found the men who did that to you, but do you know who they were?” She didn't answer. “Was it related to your disappearance?”

“Could you please hand me my water?”

She was diverting and he knew it. Psychology 101. He didn't push it, though. Tonight was not the time. He got her water and she took a drink. “I need to go to the bathroom. Where are my crutches?”

“We didn't bring them, remember? Can you walk if I help support you?”

“I think so.”

“Or would you rather a bedpan?”

“No!”

She got out of bed and Braxton put his arm around her waist. “Lean on me, okay?” They were about halfway there when her legs buckled under her. Braxton caught her and carried her the rest of the way. “You stay here until I get back”, he instructed. “I'm going to see if I can find a wheelchair.”

He did find one near the nurses' station. When she was back in bed, he sat on the bed beside her and wrapped his arm around her. “Here's that warm hug I promised you. Not too tight, though. I don't want to cause your kidney to bleed again.”

She was already falling asleep. “Braxton”, she said with a bit of a sleepy slur.

“What, Marissa?”

“Don't get too close to me.”

“Why not?”

“I won't be here much longer.”