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“What’s happening to Grayson?” he asks, just as the ER nurse spots them.

“No idea, but we have a civilian incoming. I’ll call later.”

“How did you get in here and past me? Do you need a doctor?”

“Iama doctor, Nurse…uh… Goldberg. Dr. Merritt. I’m visiting from Nashville. We were in the MRI suite when the machine malfunctioned. I have a few injuries from the glass, and my husband was…uh… nearby.”

“Oh my. I’ll get you some things for your back, straight away. Did your husband faint from the shock?” she whispers.

Gideon laughs out loud, and it’s enough to startle Grayson, who clasps Nix to his chest and sits up, growling. His eyes flash red for a moment, and if it weren’t for Nix hugging him as tightly as possible, Nurse Goldberg might have noticed the alpha’s glowing chest.

Finn grabs a lead apron off the floor and hands it to Nix, who carefully covers Grayson’s chest.

Ouch, fuck.

“Forgive me, Nurse Goldberg, but could I trouble you for that foreign body removal tray?”

“Oh my goodness, yes,” she says for the third time before turning on her heel in search of the medical supplies.

When she’s out of earshot, Finn asks, “What happened down there?”

Grayson shakes his head as if to clear it. He kisses Nix hard on the mouth, shaking his head for the second time.

“Fuck if I know. One minute I was dealing with the wolf, and the next I was…”

He looks at Nix and then at Gideon before continuing.

“I was dreaming…without being asleep? Like standing on a rampart…you know, like on a castle? Then I was…fighting in a battle… it was weird.”

“Like in your dream? A war? With weapons?” Gideon asks, mostly because Weres don’t fight in human wars.

“No…with magic,” he whispers.

Finn’s heart stutters in his chest as a multitude of facts and memories coalesce in his head.

Nurse Goldberg chooses that moment to throw back the curtain all the way.

“Here you are, Dr. Merritt. Would you like me to remove the glass for you? I could also get the intern who covers our on-call?”

“I’ll do it,” Gideon says, unceremoniously taking the tray from heroutstretched hand. “Oh, for Goddess’s sake. Thank you. Shoo.” He waves a hand to get her to leave.

ThisGideon has exceeded his tolerance for people who can’t shut up and get out of his way.

“Well, I never.”

“Clearly not. Thank you, and goodbye,” Gideon says again, and once she’s backed all the way out of the med-bay, Gideon pulls the curtain closed behind her.

“You were so rude to that nice lady,” Nix chastises and pulls Grayson off the bed so he can sit on Grayson’s lap on the waiting chair.

“She was getting on my last nerve, Kitten.”

“Still, you have to be nice or people will talk. Remember us. That’s not good.”

“I think the exploding MRI is memorable enough. Lie here, Finn. Let Dr. Gideon look at your sexy back.”

The bed is so warm from Grayson’s body heat when Finn lies on his stomach, and that’s the last pleasant thought he has about the entire process.

He stops counting at eighty-eight tiny clinks in the metal basin, but it goes on for much longer. Gideon works in silence until Nix finally has enough.