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“I was a little distracted by the ghost reappearing in the doorway,” Troy said, stepping forward.

Oscar drew back. “It’s fine.”

“Don’t do that,” Troy snapped.

“Do what?”

“Pull away from me, shut me out.”

Oscar’s frown deepened. “Are you talking about us as people or as doctor and patient?”

Troy took a deep breath, reminding himself where he was,whenhe was. It had been over six years since Oscar had walked out of his life, slamming the door behind him and never looking back. Yet being around him again made Troy act like it was still six years ago, and they were still something.

Troy cleared his throat, turning back to the tablet. As much as he would have preferred to hear the story from Oscar, Troy browsed the information in his file. Charts popped up, along with reports, and he flipped through them, dread and horror curling in his gut as he read. Troy knew, just as anyone who served did, that life came fast, and pain and death could come even faster.

“God,” Troy muttered.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Troy winced at Oscar’s words, glad the man couldn’t see his face. Jesus, an IED.

Clearing his throat, Troy spoke as evenly as he could. “Undress down to your underwear, please.”

He used the time while Oscar did as he was asked to continue reading the medical report. Nothing he read assuaged the ache in his chest as he poured over the extended hospital stay, the frequent surgeries, and the drawn-out recovery. Oscar was, by all accounts, back on his feet and ready for duty, but damn, he’d been through hell and back before he got there.

“Done,” Oscar said.

Troy braced himself, turning to face Oscar, and suddenly, he realized a few things all at once. One, there were a lot more scars on Oscar’s body than the last time Troy had seen it, and they couldn’t have all been from the IED. Two, the missing half of Oscar’s arm, while clean and healed, sent another ice pick of pain through Troy. And finally, worst of all, Troy realized the damage done to Oscar’s body, and the time the two of them had been apart had done nothing to dull the desire Troy felt for him.

Oscar’s face was tight as if he were fighting to keep control. “I know.”

Troy shook his head. “It’s not?—”

How was he supposed to finish that thought? How could he explain that, despite the fact that the scars littering Oscar’s bodyand the missing arm pained Troy, it was the sight of Oscar’s body that drew a tremor of need out of him? Despite thinking he’d moved on and buried Oscar and their relationship in the past where it should have been all along, Troy realized the grave hadn’t been deep enough.

Yeah right.

Troy forced a professional smile. “You wouldn’t be the first injured person I’ve had in here, and you won’t be the last. So quit looking at me like I’m about to hold your hand and tell you everything will be okay.”

“I wasn’t thinking that, but good, don’t.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t want you to have a human moment where someone cares about you, now would we?” Troy asked, setting the tablet aside.

Oscar glowered at him. “I see your bedside manner hasn’t gotten any better.”

“And getting hit by a bomb did nothing to improve your bad attitude. We all have our challenges in life,” Troy said as he stepped forward to begin the examination.

Oscar continued glaring at him as Troy examined the arm with as much professionalism as he could muster. Scar tissue had formed, but overall, it looked like the surgeons had done a neat job. The other scars on Oscar’s body, Troy noted at a glance, weren’t quite as neat.

Oscar broke the silence with a soft snort. “You always did like to give me shit.”

Troy poked and prodded, testing for sensitivity along Oscar’s body. “Maybe if you weren’t always such a shit, I wouldn’t have to.”

It was almost funny how Troy liked to bitch to Dean that Sloane was such a grump when the first and only love of Troy’s life was no different. Oscar’s resting face seemed only a twitch away from a dour scowl, and he spoke with a deep rumble thatcould have been a growl half the time. He didn’t come off as intimidating, but he certainly had a way of driving people away, especially with his mistrusting attitude.

Everyone but Troy, that was.

Troy was careful around Oscar’s sides, remembering the man’s ticklishness. “Any lightheadedness or nausea from the meds?”