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I gape at the blonde. “You didn’t!”

He grimaces and shrugs, clearly disguising a smile. “Captain’s orders!”

I turn sharply to Cole, a scoff on my lips.

He doesn’t even look at me, calmly lifting a spoonful of soup to his lips. “Kincaids love a loophole, Nadia.”

I spin, ready to stride off, wanting be anywhere but here -

But Cole’s hand flashes out, wrapping lightly around my wrist.

I turn back fully, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but he just smirks and slowly shakes his head at me. “You were more comfortable in the bed, Nadia. And safer.”

“And Cole tucked you in!” Shayne squeals, her hands balled into fists and tucked against her lips. Her eyes shine with delight.

I gasp, looking down at Cole, who blushes and drops my wrist. “I so did not.”

I gasp again, louder, at the guilt so obvious all over his face. “Cole!”

“He just pulled the blankets up over your shoulders,” Greg says, grinning at me.

“And tucked them in under your chin,” Grace adds, leaning her chin in her palm. I glare at the traitor.

“And gave you the sweetest little forehead kiss,” says Tommy, laughing, all eyes on me as I grow redder and redder.

“Oh, you weren’t even there,” Cole growls, glaring at Tommy even as he starts to laugh. And then they’re all laughing. And suddenly I am too, with my hands on my hips, giving into the ridiculousness of it all.

“Oh, whatever, Kincaid,” I say, tossing my hair over my shoulder and suddenly deciding that I don’t care, even as my face reddens.

Even if being righteous and enraged is too exhausting right now, I’m not very good at admitting that I was wrong. But I have to admit that Cole is right - I was more comfortable and whoever carried me did a nice thing. I’m being far too prickly about this.

“I’m getting some soup!” I call over my shoulder, still pretending to be lofty and superior. “Don’t you dare talk about me while I’m gone!”

“You wish, Na-na!” Grace calls after me. I hide my grin, not wanting to give in fully just yet.

When I come back with my soup and a stack of saltine crackers about a mile high, my friends have graciously complied and moved the conversation on to something else. Grace and Shay talk animatedly with Tommy and Greg about some action movies they missed while enrolled in active duty, where they have limited access to media, apparently.

And while they’re talking about films I like, I turn to Cole with a different question on my mind.

“The nurses are doing fine without you,” Cole murmurs, answering my query before I can get a word out. I blink at him, sitting back in my chair, looking over his smug half-smile as he continues to eat his soup.

“And why do you think I was going to ask about that?”

His smirk deepens incrementally as he glances at me from the corner of his eye. Without a word, he returns to his soup.

“Fine,” I say, lofty, turning to my own bowl. “If you know me so well, I don’t need to ask questions. Proceed to inform me.” I crumple a bunch of crackers into my soup. “You smug-ass wolf.”

He grins, laughing a little. “The patients got to the hospital just fine. A few came in during the day today while you slept, but nothing major. Well, one very broken leg, but the doctor handled it.”

I nod, frowning, considering this. “Any kids?”

Cole turns to me in surprise. “What?”

“Grace noticed it,” I say, raising my chin towards her. “All these women, very few men, not a single child. Not even anyone like…adolescent.”

Cole sits straighter and goes a little pale, glancing at Grace. He stays silent for a long moment, his mind clearly working through this information. “Shit,” he whispers, turning to me. “Do you have data on that?”

I shrug, even as I narrow my eyes at him, wondering what he knows that I don’t. “Age and gender information will all be in the computer if anyone bothered to enter it after I fell asleep. Why? I mean, why are you having such a strong reaction to this?”