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Doc cleared his throat "Just apply soe it, and he should be back to doing his job"

"Yes, Dr Weber" Carol tried to hide the hitch in her voice She hated when she got emotional on the job

"Carol," Doc said, his voice soft and consoling

Unable to look hi tears "Yes, Doctor?"

He looked sympathetically at her and then patted her shoulder "Got another case of the flu to look after" He walked out of the room, his movement slower and stiffer than usual

She wanted to tell hiet more rest, but she kneould be futile She wondered, though, what he’d intended to say That the other doctor and nurse dying hadn’t been her fault?

No, it wasn’t her mistake, she tried to convince herself The miner who killed them was the one responsible But if she’d only raised the alarm somehow before he shot theain That it had been her fault, just like To been attacked was, too And if the reds hadn’t been trying to take her hostage, Ryan wouldn’t have been har her fro He left the exaht?"

"They died because of me" She pulled away fro at it but not seeing it

"The forentle, and no matter how badly she felt, his tone was like a entle caress

Carol let out her breath "Yes"

"I’ve been there, done that, Carol"

She turned around and stared at him in disbelief

"Yeah Only it wasIn this case, you were an innocent bystander"

"Not an innocent bystander at all I knew they’d come to harm I didn’t…" She shook her head "I didn’t save them Even after they had been shot I didn’t reh"

He pulled her into his ar the nurse It rong Everything about this rong But she couldn’t push him away She needed this She needed him The warmth The security No pressure Just concerned friendship For thethe tension from her stiff spine "You didn’t knohat they were, ere You didn’t know that the silver could kill or that if you’d reht have survived You reacted the way your nurse’s training had prepared you You couldn’t have known that Doc and the nurse were different froarou You did the best you could under the circuh tears and saw his face frowning with concern "I wish my visions had told ly scant and…" She shook her head "It’s a curse I have to bear" Just like having to shape-shift against her as now And damn, if she could keep it at bay, she would She turned, opened the drawer, and retrieved antibiotics and a bandage

She motioned to the exam table "Do you want to sit up there?"

"I nor to do with hospitals," Ryan said, his tone lighthearted, as if he was trying to change the soed ain "Here I thought you were going to be a difficult patient"

"With you tending to e, she dressed his wound with the antibiotic and then wrapped the bandage around his arm He stiffened, but when she looked up to see if he was hurting, he cast her an elusive smile "On the scale of one to ten, the pain is nonexistent Your hands are cold"

She frowned at hie "I didn’t touch you with my cold hands You don’t have to be macho for me I know it has to hurt" She handed him his shirt

He pulled it on while she watched, ready to help him if he needed further assistance

"Do you knohy Darien and the others shift in the visions but can’t shift back?" he asked, surprising her

She thought he already believed her She folded her ar defensive "I don’t know That’s why it’s so frustrating I thought you believed me now"

"Let’s just say I normally don’t put much stock in psychic abilities Not in supernatural entities, ghosts, or any of that stuff"

Just as she suspected "Then if I told you I’ve had a ghostly experience, you wouldn’t believewith amusement "My Aunt Tilda sees them all the time"

"Ahh, and you don’t put much stock in your Aunt Tilda"

"Quite the contrary I find her about the hostly visits"