'I'm not worried that you'll eat her,' Edward said, smiling back.

I frowned harder at him, and he smiled like all the angels were tap-dancing at his side. I wanted to tell him to leave, at the same time that I knew Dr Cross and I weren't trustworthy on our own. Part of me didn't care.

Cross looked back at me. His eyes were brown with an irregular circle of gray around the pupil. I wondered if he thought his eyes were brown or hazel.

'Dr Cross.' Edward said it sharply.

The vampire startled, as if he hadn't realized he'd been motionlessly bent over me staring into my eyes. 'Sorry, I must be more tired than I knew.' He got very brisk, putting back his stethoscope around his neck, pushing down the sheet, and rolling up my gown. The gown was huge on me, as most of them always were, so it was a lot of cloth to get out of the way until he could see my lower side. 'It might have been quicker to go from the top,' he joked.

'Maybe,' I said.

'One size does not fit all,' Edward said.

The doctor glanced back at him smiling, his hands wound in the cloth of my gown. He was frowning as he gazed at my bare side. He put his back to Edward so he didn't flash my nakedness under the gown to the other man. I appreciated his concern for my modesty. His bangs swung out from his face just above me so that I could actually not see his eyes for the fall of hair. It bugged me. I wanted to see his eyes.

Dr Cross touched my side. 'Remarkable; the scar looks weeks, months old.'

I looked at where his hand was pointing. There was a new white scar tracing the edge of my hip. It looked like it had hit just under my body armor. 'If it hadn't been a silver bullet I'm not sure there'd be a scar,' I said.

He looked up at me, smiling. 'Really? I know theoretically that nonsilver bullets don't hurt you, or me, but I've never tested the theory.' He laughed at the thought of being bulletproof.

'I haven't been shot by a nonsilver bullet in a while. I don't honestly know.' I could see the gray around his pupils again. It made the brown of his eyes seem paler, or maybe they were just that light a brown.

'Dr Cross,' Edward said, his voice a little sharp.

The doctor startled, blinked, and turned to look at Edward. 'Yes, Marshal Forrester?'

'Can Marshal Blake be released?'

He looked at my hip, and the gown spilled back to block his view, so it was just natural for him to move back more of the gown until he bared most of my lower body. His fingers traced the scar, and then his fingertips traced the line where my leg met my groin. He hadn't touched anything he shouldn't yet, and normally I would have been pissed, but his hair had fallen down across his face again. I wanted, needed to see his eyes.

I touched his hair. He raised his head to meet my gaze. I swept his hair back from his face. His eyes widened, lips half opened. He looked startled, almost frightened.

'Anita!' Edward's voice made me startle. I dropped my hands away from the doctor.

Dr Cross stood up abruptly and pulled down my gown over my body. 'I'm sorry,' he said, 'what was I saying?'

'You were saying that Marshal Blake looks good.'

'Well, yes, she does, very good, I mean, she's quite beautiful ...' The doctor frowned as if trying to gather his thoughts and failing. He knew he was being inappropriate, but he couldn't seem to help it.

'I meant her wound looks good, as in healed,' Edward said.

'It does, of course, that is what I meant.' He tried for brisk again. 'I would like an X-ray just to make a hundred percent certain that the pelvis crack is healed completely. Bones can take longer to heal even with shapeshifters.'

'What would it entail to get her X-rayed?'

'I'm not sure I understand,' Dr Cross said.

'I mean, would she have to be on a stretcher or in a wheelchair?'

'Wheelchair should be sufficient.'

'Who would normally take her to get an X-ray?' Edward asked.

'A technician would come to get her. He would take her down and bring her back when it was done.'

'Why don't you go set that up,' Edward said.

'Ah, yes, good plan,' Dr Cross said. He got tangled in the curtain on his way to the door, fumbling at it. 'So sorry, I seem to be clumsy today.' He finally got free of the curtain and out the door.

'I'll bet twenty dollars that he comes back with the wheelchair and the idea that he'll take you to X-ray personally,' Edward said.

I frowned at him, but I could feel the texture of Dr Cross's hair on my fingertips. The sound of the shower stopped. Micah would be out soon, but if I had a cracked pelvis sex seemed like a bad idea.

'I forgot to ask about getting the IV taken out.'

'You forgot a lot of things,' he said.

I sighed. 'It wasn't on purpose.'

'You captured him at least twice with your gaze, Anita. You vamped the vampire.'

'Not possible,' I said.

'Yeah, neither is you healing a silver bullet in a little over twenty-four hours.'

We looked at each other.

The door opened, letting out a puff of steam and the sweet smell of clean skin and water. I turned to see Micah standing in fresh jeans and T-shirt. His hair was almost black when it was this wet, and straighter, so you could see that it reached midback on him, instead of the inches shorter it would be when the curl contracted it all up. The unbound wet hair I liked; the clothes ... I was disappointed. I'd really wanted him to come out naked and wet, and the moment I realized that I knew I was in trouble, because that would have been completely inappropriate in front of Edward.

'I need to feed soon,' I said.

'Did the doctor say you could have solid food?'

'No,' I said.

'What did he say?'

Edward answered. 'That he wants an X-ray to make sure the crack in her pelvis healed along with the bullet wound. He's supposed to send a technician to wheel her down.'

'But he wouldn't take the IV out?'

'She forgot to ask,' Edward said, 'and he forgot to offer.'

Micah frowned from one to the other of us. 'What did I miss?'

'She captured the vampire doctor at least twice with her gaze. He damn near groped her.'