Page 13 of Finding Lexie
She was suddenly very glad she hadn’t completely embarrassed herself by kissing him. God, that would’ve been mortifying.
“Lexie?” the doctor asked. “Does he have your permission to stay?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m assuming this is your handiwork?” the doctor asked, picking up Lexie’s arm to study the IV line Midas had inserted.
“Yes.”
The doctor examined the needle and nodded. “It looks good.” Then he continued his examination, asking about what had happened when she was in captivity and how she felt.
Lexie wasn’t embarrassed to answer his questions. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and while she hadn’t enjoyed what had happened to her, she knew things could’ve been a lot worse.
After twenty minutes of poking and prodding and questions, the doctor stepped back. “You’re dehydrated, sunburned, and you’ve got sand flea bites all over, but I suspect none of that is a surprise. I don’t see anything that is immediately life threatening, but I recommend you check with a doctor when you get back to the United States and have a full blood panel done. While you look good, and were very lucky, you could still have underlying issues that aren’t obvious from a physical exam. You’re sure you weren’t sexually assaulted?”
Lexie shook her head. “I wasn’t.”
She saw the doctor’s gaze flick to Midas once more, before he met her eyes again. “I can have a female nurse come in to talk to you if you prefer.”
“Honestly, they didn’t touch me like that. I swear.”
The doctor still looked skeptical, but nodded. “All right.”
“How much longer do you think Dagmar Brander will be here?” Midas asked.
“I am not sure. His physician insisted on bloodwork and our lab is working on analyzing that now. He…he is a very sick man.”
Midas nodded. “Can Lexie stay here until he’s discharged?”
“Of course,” the doctor said. “She needs fluids. I’ll have another bag brought in for when that one is gone.”
Lexie supposed she should be irritated that Midas and the doctor were talking over her and not to her, but she was so exhausted, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. The examination table was the most comfortable thing she’d lain on in months and the air conditioning in the building felt heavenly.
She jerked when a hand landed on her shoulder and her eyes popped open.
“I apologize. I did not mean to startle you,” the doctor said. “The best thing you can do is rest. I hope what happened doesn’t turn you off from our country forever.”
“No,” Lexie answered. “I definitely want to come back someday.”
The older man smiled at her, shook Midas’s hand, then turned and left the small room.
Lexie expected to feel awkward, being alone again with Midas after all the questions the doctor had asked about her health, but she was just too tired to work up the energy to be embarrassed.
“Close your eyes,” Midas said gently.
“That would be rude,” Lexie said, but her eyes shut anyway.
He chuckled. “It’s fine. I’m gonna go check with my team, but I’ll be back.”
“Thought you weren’t going to leave my side,” Lexie mumbled.
She heard Midas snort out a laugh. “I won’t be gone more than a few minutes. I’m going to ask one of the nurses to step in here while I’m gone. Besides, you’re gonna be out of it in thirty seconds.”
“Am not,” she protested weakly, not even sure why she was disagreeing with him.
She thought she felt a hand brush against her hair, but decided she must be delirious. Why would Midas be touching her so gently? She was a stranger to him…even if they had known each other once upon a time.
“Sleep, Lex. When Dagmar gets the okay to leave, we’re gonna have another loud, uncomfortable helicopter trip to the Navy ship.”
