She’d tried to lie back and rest a little, but it made her shoulder throb, even though the head of the gurney was inclined. She shivered. Why was it so cold in here? She pulled the blanket they’d given her on the ambulance around her in a big bundle again, wincing at the pain it caused her to move her shoulder, even with the lidocaine still in effect.

She sat there for a few more seconds, idly dangling her feet and staring into space. Another big shiver brought her out of her trance. Walking, she decided. Walk around a little, get the blood pumping, that will warm me up. She slid shakily off the gurney and took the two steps to the curtain. She didn’t feel well enough to do a lot of cardio, she thought to herself, but maybe just moving around a little would help. She brushed it aside just enough to slip by and stepped out into the bustling hallway.

***********

Josh was wearing a rut in the floor by the front desk, waiting on Dr. Bennett.

“I don’t understand why we can’t just see Donna Moss now, and talk to Dr. Bennett whenever he finally decides to get his ass down here,” he said to the duty nurse mid-step, turning with his hands on his hips and his ego three feet in front of him. “What possible rule could you have against that? Especially since he’s apparently off at the coffee machine or doing something else imminently more important than his job.”

“JOSH.” Toby stood stock still behind him, hands in his coat pockets, face expressionless. “Continue your pacing and be quiet.”

“Toby, we’ve been here waiting —”

“We have been here waiting for less than 3 minutes,” Toby said. “Shut up, force yourself to close your mouth and quit talking and leave that poor woman alone. You’re scaring the normal people.”

“Mr. Seaborn?” Dr. Bennett rounded the corner.

Toby and Josh both converged on him at once. “Parking the car,” Toby said. “We’re friends of Donna Moss. I’m Toby Zeigler,” he said, shaking Bennett’s hand.

“Josh Lyman. How is she?”

“Well, you can take her home tonight, no problem, but as I was telling Mr. Seaborn, she’s had a pretty bad night,” Bennett said. “The worst of it is, after what she’s been through, she’s in a relatively severe state of emotional shock. Which is not unusual, considering, but she’s not responding to people or other stimuli very well, which is always cause for at least some concern.”

“What do you mean, ‘not responding’?” Josh asked.

“She’s, well, she’s shell-shocked, Mr. Lyman. She’s been thrown for quite a loop,” Bennett tried to use terms that wouldn’t be too alarming without downplaying her condition. “She’s just a little slow on the uptake, she zones out a lot, doesn’t hear you at first when you talk to her, seems like she’s off in her own little world, that kind of thing.”

Josh and Toby looked at each other worriedly.

“Some people react this way after an event like this, some don’t; it’s pretty hard to tell which you’ll do until you experience some kind of trauma like this. So if this seems out of character for her, that’s not necessarily cause for alarm.”

“It does,” Toby said. “What can be done for her?”

“We’ve done what we can here,” Bennett said. “The main thing she needs is sleep. That will go a long way toward making her feel more like herself. Take her home, get her to bed, don’t make her talk about it if she doesn’t want to, not tonight anyway. She should be a little better in the morning. If she’s worse, you should call a doctor right away. I’ll leave you the name of one of the counselors here at the hospital. I’m going to refer everyone involved in tonight’s incident to a trauma counselor for a few sessions, but we won’t worry about that for a few days. Just put her in a comfortable, supportive environment. She’ll probably be able to do the rest from there.”

“We can do that,” Josh said, nodding emphatically. “What else?”

“She’s got some minor cuts and bruises, but the thing she’ll really want to keep an —”

Josh saw something over Dr. Bennett’s shoulder that made him stop listening entirely. There, wandering slowly down the hall, was Donna, blanket around her shoulders and trailing to her knees, looking for all the world like a lost child. Sweet, caring, beautiful Donna. He took off across the ER as fast as his feet would carry him.

“Donna!” he called as he ran toward her. She was looking at the tile pattern on the floor as she shuffled along and didn’t see him coming. He was within three feet of her and already had his arms out to envelop her in a bear hug before she realized someone was near her. “Donna, thank God, are you —”

Donna shrank back instantly, pulling her arms and the blanket tighter around herself and turning her face away from Josh and into the wall. “Please just leave me alone,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Josh stopped cold, arms still outstretched, looking a little hurt in spite of himself. “Donna?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just — I’m sorry I ever said anything. Please just leave me alone,” Donna continued, her whisper barely audible. Dr. Bennett and Toby were rapidly approaching behind Josh.

“Donna?” Josh asked again, even more concerned. He had no idea what was going on. He glanced back at Bennett, who gave him a little shrug and a look that said, ‘This is what I was talking about.’ A little slow on the uptake? THIS is what you meant by a little slow on the uptake?

“Donna,” Josh said, very softly. Her face was still turned from him. Josh bent his knees a little so he was closer to her eye level. “Donna...it’s me. It’s Josh.”

“Josh?” she whispered tearfully, still not moving at all.

“Yeah,” Josh kept his voice as low as hers. “It’s Josh.”

All of a sudden, she jerked her face toward him, and for the first time, he saw recognition flash in her eyes. “Oh, Josh!” she fell forward toward him, opening her arms. He moved forward and caught her, holding her tightly in his arms, rocking her from side to side slightly and gently shushing her as she cried.

“I’m so sorry, Josh,” she said as her tears continued. “I didn’t realize —”

“It’s OK,” he said softly into her hair. He realized somewhere in the back of his mind that he was crying a little, too, but he didn’t care. All he could think of was never letting her go. “It’s OK, you’re OK.” He reached up and laid a hand on the back of her head, unable to get close enough to her. “I mean, are you OK?”

“Yes,” she said, still weepy, but sounding a little stronger.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?” he repeated.

“Yes.” She wound her arms under his coat and had fistfuls of the back of his shirt in her hands. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Where else would I be, Donna?” he said earnestly, and she tightened her grip on him. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of her, and lowered his head as he exhaled, intending to bury his face in the crook of her neck. But he opened his eyes just before he did and all he saw was baby blue and deep, dark red.

He pulled back from her a little for the first time, willing his eyes to focus through his lingering tears. His fears were confirmed. A significant amount of blood had soaked into her shirt on her left shoulder, and had run and dried in several small trails down the front of her shirt, some running nearly to her waist. It had all come from her shoulder, where, in the middle of the red spot he could see a little hole...

“Oh, my God, Donna...” his voice was so shaky he could barely get the words out.

She looked at her shoulder. “It’s OK,” she mumbled.

“It’s not OK, what...what happened?" He reached toward the hole in her shirt like he couldn’t believe it was real. "Oh, my God, Donna is this...were you...were you sh—”

“It’s not bad, Josh,” she said weakly. “It’s fine, it’s just a little sore, it’s not bad, it’s just...just a nick.”

That had been affirmative answer enough. She had been shot. Oh, God, she’d been shot.

They were standing, still holding each other at the elbows, but even in her state and with her own tear-blurred vision, Donna saw his eyes glaze over and felt him lean backward, ever so slightly. Her caretaking instincts took over. “You need to sit down,” she spoke as firmly as she had since she’d seen him.

He stopped himself from keeling over when she said that. “I don’t,” he said, shaking his head, as much to clear it as for emphasis. “But you need to. You were sh-shot, Donna, you should be sitting down. You should be lying down! You shouldn’t be wandering...what were you doing wandering down—” his head seemed to be clearer but his voice was still shaking badly. He finally just stopped.

In an attempt to placate him, Donna wordlessly sat down on a nearby bench. But it was not an entirely unselfish gesture. She took his left hand in her right hand and pulled him down onto the bench next to her. He also sat, looking at the floor for a moment while he tried to regain his composure.

But the first thing he regained firm hold of was his anger. “THIS is what you call minor cuts and bruises?” he said lowly, but menacingly, to Dr. Bennett.

“Mr. Lyman,” Bennett stood his ground when experienced senators would have run screaming. “I understand this is difficult, and that this type of injury is scary, if for no other reason than that the thought of what might have been is more terrifying that what actually happened. As I was about to say earlier,” he indicated where they’d been standing by the front desk, “this is the worst of her physical injuries. It’s just a flesh wound, practically a graze. We didn’t have to remove a bullet from her shoulder, she was just, well, as Miss Moss herself said, she was just nicked by the bullet, it caught the flesh on the top of her shoulder near her neck and a small amount of tissue and muscle underneath. No major damage, no major blood loss. It required a few stitches, nothing more.”

While Bennett was talking, Josh had gingerly peeled back the collar of Donna’s shirt to reveal the white bandage. When he did so, he could see the hole on the back of her shirt just under the shoulder seam, where the bullet had kept moving after it hit her. The wound had also bled on the back of her shirt.

Donna still had his left hand. She squeezed it gently. “It really is OK, Josh.” Josh lifted his eyes to hers. “Really,” she said again, nodding. “I wouldn’t say so otherwise. I promise. I promise I’m OK.”

Finally, he smiled softly, giving her a little flash of the dimples she found so adorable. He let go of her shirt, reached up and laid his right hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb. “Thank God for that,” he said, his eyes shining. She got lightheaded for the umpteenth time that night when he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead before hugging her again, much more gently this time, and obviously leaning toward her right side.

“Thank God for that,” he whispered near her ear, and Donna was about to get weepy again when she noticed the fourth member of this little hallway meeting for the first time.

“Hey, Toby.”

“Hey, Donna.” As menacing as Toby could be, he had a way of coming across as extraordinarily gentle and calm when the occasion called for it. He cleared his throat softly. “It’s good to see you.”

Donna, still resting her chin on Josh’s shoulder, laughed a little, and Josh pulled back from the hug to see her face. He needed to see her laugh after all the crying she’d done in the last few minutes.

“It’s...good to be seen, I guess,” she said, misty-eyed.

Toby nodded. Being the master communicator that he was, Toby had long since learned the art of less being more at times like this. He wasn’t going to clutter the moment with platitudes. He cast his eyes back toward the entrance. “Well, here comes Batgirl and the Boy Wonder.”

He waved to CJ, who was watching Sam in a combination of awe and annoyance as he tried to charm their way past the front desk. CJ saw Toby and swatted Sam on the arm. They both looked down the hall and saw Donna. Sam walked away from the nurse with a mumbled “thank you” and he and CJ came toward them at a jog.

Donna stood up as they approached, and Josh was off the bench in a second, making sure she was steady on her feet.

CJ had already put on her trademark brave face, and was trying to make a joke of the situation, “Well, Donna Moss, fancy meeting you he—” she trailed off and went white as she noticed the blood on Donna’s shirt.

Not wanting to put her through the explanation again, Toby broke in, “She’s fine. Couple of stitches, just because she wanted a story to tell. She even did the whole thing without anesthesia to prove how tough she was.”

Donna and CJ were just standing looking at each other, and finally CJ broke into a smile. “She’s a woman in the 21^st century, Toby,” CJ said without looking away from Donna. “Tough is par for the course.”

“Long live the Sisterhood,” Donna said quietly.

“You bet your ass,” CJ said. Both of them were barely containing their tears, so neither moved toward the other. Donna was the first to break eye contact, needing to look at something else before she cried yet again. Perhaps unwisely, she looked over at Sam.

Sam looked like a terrified little boy. Fingers on both hands twisted together awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, head bowed, but eyes still glued to her shoulder wound. He finally sensed her looking and moved his eyes to hers.

He opened his mouth several times to say something, but nothing ever came out. Donna found her voice first.

“Is there anybody still left at work?”

“It’s Friday night,” he said.

“It’s the White House,” she said.

“Well, that doesn’t mean —” the moment got the better of him and the banter fell flat. “Are you sure you’re OK?” he whispered very softly, eyes brimming with tears, heedless of his efforts to keep them hidden.

Donna lost her own battle with her tears at that. She nodded and reached for him with her right arm. He hugged her, staying on her right side entirely, keeping his hands at her waist so he was sure not to hurt her. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded again, with just a hint of a laugh. He kissed her cheek and pulled away, pawing shyly at his own cheeks, in case any tears had managed to fall.

CJ took it upon herself to move the conversation along. She extended her hand, “CJ Cregg, Doctor...”

“Bennett,” he supplied.

“Sam Seaborn, we spoke on the —”

“Yes, of course, Mr. Seaborn,” Bennett shook Sam’s hand as well.

“Thank you for calling,” Sam said.

“Well, as it turns out, I didn’t need to, did I?” Bennett said. “You folks do a pretty good job of looking out for...for each other on your...own,” he was distracted by a new conversation Josh and Donna had started.

“Why are you being so hard to get along with?” Josh said in a deceptively soft but obviously exasperated voice.

“I’m not,” she quipped. “You’re being overprotective.”

“Would you please just sit back down? For me? Please, Donna. I said ‘please.’ In fact, I said it twice.”

“And I’m as amazed as the next person by that, Josh, but I don’t want to sit back down right now,” she said.

“I’m just trying to —”

“Don’t whine,” she cut him off. “I understand what you’re trying to do, and it’s very sweet, it really is, but you need to stop.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s annoying me!”

“No, why won’t you just sit—”

“Because. I. Don’t. Want. To,” she said.

“See what I mean?” Bennett said to the others.

Toby, sensing that Josh was about to keep pushing, and wanting the conversation to end while Donna was still semi-happy, turned without warning and kicked Josh in the shin.

“Ow, dammit!” Josh said, falling to the bench and rubbing his shin.

“You heard the lady,” Toby said. “Tonight she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to.”

Donna, CJ, Sam and even Dr. Bennett were all looking at Toby with bemused expressions.

“And anyway, everyone wins when you shut up for two seconds,” Toby continued. “What do want to do, Donna?” he said sincerely.

Donna sighed heavily. “I wanna go home.”

The entire group looked to Dr. Bennett for approval.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Bennett said. You’ve got some forms to sign at the front desk. I’m gonna go over the care instructions for your shoulder with these guys, so you don’t have to worry about remembering everything.”

“And I shall accompany you to the front desk for the, you know, signing of the forms and other fun things,” Toby said, extending one arm in the direction of the front desk, and putting the other at the small of Donna’s back. “Besides, I just can’t get enough of that nurse that Josh pissed off when we came in here.”

“You’ve been pissing people off already?” Donna looked at Josh.

“I...wanted to see you.”

Donna smiled sweetly at him for that. “And you thought pissing people off would be the best way to do that?”

Josh grinned and shrugged. “Do not try to understand the way my mind works, Donnatella. It will only make you dizzy.”

“Boy, I’ll say,” she groaned and walked toward the front desk, Toby right behind her. Josh looked after them. She was walking pretty slowly, but he supposed that was to be expected after all she’d been through tonight. Was that a momentary flinch he’d seen just before she’d turned to walk away? It was barely perceptible, but he could have sworn he’d seen it. It was fine. They’d get her home, get her to bed. She’d be much better after some sleep.

“I don’t want her spending the night alone tonight,” Bennett said quietly after Toby and Donna had walked away.

“Not a problem,” CJ chimed in immediately.

“I’m sending her home with a prescription for Vicodin and a few tablets to get her through the next day or so. The next couple of days are when she’s likely to be the most sore. Give one to her tonight when you get her home; it will take care of any pain she’s in now and help her sleep. Fill the prescription, but encourage her not to use them beyond when she needs them. If she thinks she can get by on Advil or Aleve, go with that. Change the bandage twice a day; she’ll probably need help with that, and she should keep it dry. Use Neosporin or some other antibiotic ointment on the wound each time you change the bandage. I’m sending her home with a sling, but she doesn’t really need to use it unless her shoulder’s really bothering her. It might help to immobilize it at night if she finds she’s hurting it in her sleep. Whatever works best. She should make an appointment with her doctor on Monday to have the sutures examined in a week, but if she has any problems before that, I want to see her back here.

“She’s got some relatively minor cuts and abrasions on her wrists. Those bandages will need to be changed once a day, and the cuts should be treated with the Neosporin each time as well. Do that for several days.”

Bennett looked back at Josh. “You see what I was talking about with the shock?”

Josh nodded mutely.

“I meant what I said. Don’t make her talk about it if she doesn’t want to. Let her do what she needs in her own time. I’m telling you, you’d be surprised how much better she’ll be after a night’s sleep, but to think she’d have no lingering effects after an event like this would be...foolhardy. The hospital coordinates with the authorities after an event like this. We’ll call in a few days to refer her to a trauma counselor, but if she gets worse instead of better, I want you to call me, and we’ll get her in to see someone here, day or night,” Bennett said.

“Trauma counselor?” Sam asked. “You think that’s going to be necessary? I mean she certainly seems shaken, but —”

“Believe me, Sam, you wouldn’t be saying that if you’d seen her when we first got here,” Josh said, shuddering a little at the memory.

“Well, if you don’t have any questions, I have patients,” Bennett said.

“Thank you,” Josh said sincerely as he stood and shook Bennett’s hand.

“It’s...what we do,” Bennett said. “Call us if anything comes up.”

***********

The three of them walked wearily toward the front desk.

“What happened when you first got here?” Sam asked.

“Long story,” Josh said. “I’ll tell you the whole thing later, but suffice it to say she didn’t recognize me right away.”

“Didn’t recognize you?” CJ said, flabbergasted.

“I swear to you CJ, I had to tell her a couple of times before she realized it was me,” Josh said, shaking his head. “And to be honest, before she did realize it, I think she was afraid of me. Or afraid of whoever she thought I was, I don’t know.”

“She’s been through a lot, Josh,” Sam said, in an attempt to sound reassuring. “Who knows what this feels like from her perspective? She’ll shake it off.”

“Yeah,” Josh said. But he knew, he knew from personal experience, that it wasn’t always possible to shake things off, no matter how badly you wanted to.

They got to the front desk, and Toby was standing with his arms full, looking a little bewildered. Donna had plopped down on a bench by the door, her face tilted up, head leaned back against the wall.

“Now, tell me, why was that so hard to do a few minutes ago?” Josh said lightly as he approached.

“Didn’t want to a few minutes ago,” she said, cracking one eye open to look at him. She sounded exhausted. “Can we go now?”

“Are you guys done with everything...” he motioned back to the desk, unaware of the duty nurse who was boring holes in his back with her glare.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Then we’re ready to roll.”

Toby finally turned to CJ in search of help. “For the love of God, Claudia, could you just take this stuff?”

“What the hell is all that?” she giggled as he dumped it into her arms.

“A sling, care instructions, some medicine, and possibly escrow papers that Donna just signed, I don’t know, it all happened so fast,” Toby moaned.

“I don’t give a damn what it was, I would have signed anything to get sprung from this place,” Donna said, still unmoving.

“Give me the keys, I’m gonna go get the car,” Toby said.

“Left jacket pocket,” CJ said, wrestling with her newly inherited burden.

Toby fished the keys out of her pocket and turned to Sam, who was trying to get the paperwork from CJ so he could see exactly what Donna signed.

“Where did you park?” Toby said.

“About a quarter-mile from Timbuktu,” Sam deadpanned. “You’re never gonna find it, I’ll go with you.”

CJ got everything in order while they waited, and Josh sat beside Donna, absent-mindedly running the back of his index finger along the side of her leg. He was sitting on her left side, so he didn’t dare get any closer than that. He looked at her face about every 20 seconds.

“It’s just gonna take them a couple of minutes to get the car,” he said quietly. “Then we can get you home and you can get some sleep. I know you’re tired.”

Donna nodded only slightly, eyes still closed, face still tilted toward the ceiling, head leaned against the wall. She looked almost...peaceful, Josh mused.

He was snapped out of his reverie by his ringing phone. Donna’s head lolled to the side and she cracked her eyes open to look at him as he answered it.

“Josh Lyman.”

“We’ve got a small problem,” Sam said into his ear.

“Don’t tell me you’ve lost the damn car, Sam, it’s—”

“Will you listen, please? Tell CJ we’ve got press outside.”

“Oh, man. How much?”

“Just a couple, mostly TV doing stand-ups outside the hospital from the look of it, but also a couple of photographers from The Post and the wire services. We should have thought about that, anybody with a police scanner would know that this was where they brought everyone from the bank,” Sam said.

“Do they know about Donna?” Josh asked. Donna raised her eyebrows in question.

“Swear to God, Josh, Toby and I walked right past them to try to get a look at some of their press passes, and I don’t think they knew who we were. I think they’re just covering the event. All the veterans are still down at the bank trying to get that part of the story. If they knew Donna was involved, the White House Press Corps would be down here. Hell, these guys looked young enough to be interns, for God’s sake. I think we’re safe, but I wanted CJ to know right away and I wanted to tell you so you could tell Donna. We’re going to pull right up to the doors. Hospital security is keeping them pretty far back, but she’ll only have to spend a few seconds in view of the cameras that way.”

“Okay,” Josh said.

“We’re on our way,” Sam said, and ended the call.

“We’ve got a little press outside,” Josh said, looking at CJ.

“Oh, man,” Donna said, rolling her head back to center and closing her eyes.

“Sam doesn’t think they know it’s you, just a couple of rookies covering the hospital,” Josh said, putting a hand on her knee.

“Well, if they don’t know, I sure shouldn’t go out there,” CJ said. “My presence here indicates some kind of White House connection.”

“I know,” Josh said. “But this means the Donna angle on the story is probably going to break soon anyway, and you’ll want to work that.”

“Yeah,” CJ nodded.

“I don’t wanna talk to anybody,” Donna mumbled.

“You don’t have to,” Josh said. “Toby’s going to pull right up to the door and security’s keeping these guys pretty far back, anyway.”

Donna cracked her left eye open to look at him again. “’Kay.”

Sam came jogging in, game face plastered on. “They’re watching the entrance,” he said. “But they’re not close.”

Donna heaved a heavy sigh. “Let’s just go.”

She pulled herself away from the wall and stood slowly. She waved off attempts of help from Sam and Josh, who both put supporting hands on her anyway as she stood.

“Listen,” CJ turned Donna toward her as Josh shrugged out of his coat. “There’ll probably be a few flashbulbs, maybe a shouted question or two. Just ignore them. If they knew you were involved and that you worked for the White House, Leo would have already been on my phone going ape. Right now, they’re just looking for people with a connection to the incident. They’ll probably get your angle before too long, but let me worry about that. For now, for right now, we’re just four people walking out of an emergency room.”

“Four people who work for the President walking out of an emergency room together,” Donna said.

“These guys didn’t recognize me or Toby, Donna, and we were two feet from them,” Sam said. “Anything they do when we walk out there will literally just be a shot in the dark.”

“Sam and Josh are gonna be on either side of you. That’ll shield you from the cameras for the most part. They’ll put you in the back of the car and get in with you. I’ll be getting the doors. We’re gonna do all the work, all you’ve gotta do is trust Sam and Josh. Don’t feel rushed, or worried about how much of you they can see. We’re gonna take care of that part. All you’ve gotta do is get in the car.”

Donna took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” CJ said.

Josh held his coat out for her. Donna carefully slid her left arm in before putting the right side of it on. Josh carefully laid the coat on her shoulders but she couldn’t help but wince a little.

“You OK?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “I think it’s safe to say anything’s going to rub it the wrong way for the next few days.”

“You ready?” CJ asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

Josh stepped around to her right, arm around her waist. Sam took up residence on her left side, arm around her back. Both were about half a step in front of her.

CJ shouldered Donna’s things in her left arm and looked at the three of them. After exchanging one last round of nods, CJ led them out the door.

The press were down the driveway quite a bit and to the back of the car, on Sam’s side of Donna. He stayed in front of her and slightly turned toward her as they took the few steps to the car. CJ had the door open when they got there. Sam stayed with his back to the press as Donna got in first and scooted to the middle, followed by Josh. Sam walked around the back of the car, careful to keep his head turned away, and got in the driver’s side behind Toby as Josh got in the car. CJ got in the front passenger seat. All three had carefully schooled neutral expressions on their face.

There were several flashes, and a shouted question or two, but the whole thing went off without incident. Three doors shut almost simultaneously.

Toby didn’t let on much, as usual, but his pride as a boss and communications professional was displayed in his comment as he pulled the car away from the doors.

“That,” Toby said, referring to the transfer of Donna to the car, “is exactly how it’s supposed to go when we do that.”

“You did good,” Josh said to Donna softly, hand still around her back. Donna nodded tiredly and finally leaned against him, since he was on her right. Sam was looking out the window, but wordlessly took his right hand and wrapped it comfortingly around Donna’s left knee, resting his wrist on her leg. Donna didn’t move her head from Josh’s shoulder, but turned her left hand a little, as much as she could without hurting her shoulder, and laid her fingers on Sam’s wrist.

The car was completely silent as they pulled out of the parking lot onto 23rd Street.