When he nodded, the physician disappeared into thin air, and then a moment later, Payne felt a warm palm encompass hers. It was Vishous's un- gloved hand against her own and the connection between them eased her in ways she couldn't name.
Verily, she had lost her mother. . . but if she lived through this, she still had family. On this side.
"Sister," he murmured, not as an inquiry, but a statement of fact.
"Brother mine," she groaned. . . before her consciousness slipped from her grasp and she drifted away.
But she would come back to him. One way or the other, she would not leave her twin ever again.
Chapter Sixty-nine
Xhex woke up alone in the room off the OR, and yet she sensed that John wasn't far.
The draw to find him gave her the strength to push herself up and swing her legs off the bed. As she waited for her heart to stop thumping from the effort, she noticed dimly that her hospital johnny had hearts on it. Little pink and blue hearts.
She couldn't even marshal up the energy to be offended. Her side was killing her and her skin was prickling all over. And she had to get to John.
Glancing over, she saw that the IV in her arm was plugged into a bag that hung off the bed's monitoring headboard. Crap. What she needed was one of those rolling poles they used to put 'em on. Could have used the help with the whole balance-while-upright thing.
When she finally put some weight on her feet, she was relieved to find she didn't face-plant right away. And, after a moment of orientation, she slipped the bag of fluids free and carried it with her, giving herself a pat on the back for being such a good little patient.
Thing was kind of like a handbag. Maybe she'd start a new trend.
She took the door that led directly out into the corridor, as opposed to going through the OR. After all, the episode with Doc Jane and John's procedure had helped her phobia, but she had quite enough to deal with at the moment and the last thing she needed was to walk into another operation--and God only knew what they were doing to that poor female who'd been rolled in after her.
Xhex stopped with one foot into the hallway.
John was all the way down by the office, standing outside the glass door and facing the wall across from it. His eyes were locked on the fissures that ran through the concrete and his emotional grid was dimmed to the point where it left her instincts squinting.
He was in mourning.
He didn't know for sure whether she had lived or died. . . yet he felt as if he had already lost her.
"Oh. . . John. "
His head snapped toward her. Shit, he signed, hustling down to her. What are you doing out of bed?
Xhex started to walk in his direction, but he got to her first, rushing up as if he were going to scoop her into his arms.
She held him off, shaking her head. "No, I'm steady--"
At which point, her knees buckled and he was all that kept her from hitting the floor. . . which reminded her of being in that alley and Lash stabbing her.
John was what had saved her from falling back then, too.
With smooth strength, he carried her back into the recovery room, easing her down on the bed and rehanging her IV bag.
How're you feeling? he signed.
She stared up at him, seeing him for all he was, the fighter and the lover, the lost soul and the leader. . . the bonded male who was nonetheless prepared to let her go.
"Why'd you do it?" she said through an aching throat. "Back in that alley. Why did you let me kill him?"
John's vivid blue eyes locked on hers as he shrugged. I wanted you to have that. It was more important for you to have the. . . closure, I guess it's called. There's a lot of shit in this world that never comes back around right and you deserved the satisfaction.
She laughed a little. "In a weird way. . . it's the most considerate thing anyone's ever done for me. "
A faint blush hit his cheeks, and juxtaposed against his square jaw, it was pretty damned appealing. But then, what part of him wasn't?