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pillow
again, his forehead crinkled. “What happened?”
    “You fell when you were being lifted in the
air.” Someone had put the video on YouTube before John had even
made it to the hospital. The medics who’d brought him in had shown
her the video, in case seeing the way he’d landed would help
diagnose injuries. It’d made her want to vomit. “You turned your
head at the last second, which is probably the only reason you
didn’t break your neck.”
    “I didn’t—oh, thank God.” His whole body
seemed to melt into the bed. His feet shifted a bit under the
sheet, as if he needed to test whether they moved at his will.
“Anything else broken?”
    Before she could answer, the curtain around
his bay was yanked back, and one of Gwen’s favorite colleagues
stepped around it with John’s folder in her hands. “Mr. Sheldon?
I’m Dr. Maya Reynolds. I’m happy to see you’re awake.”
    He gave a pained smile. “Happy to be
awake.”
    Maya’s brows drew together and she glanced at
the papers again. “John Sheldon…Why does that sound familiar?”
    A hint of a smile crossed his lips. “I play
for London Legends.”
    “Oh? And that’s…” She paused. “A band?”
    Gwen couldn’t stop a snort. Quickly, she
covered her mouth and pretended to sneeze, but John’s scowl told
her he wasn’t fooled. So she explained to Maya, “It’s a rugby
team.”
    “Ah, that makes more sense, given the number
of bones it looks like you’ve broken and healed over the years.”
Flipping through the folder, Maya quickly scanned his test results.
“Well, I overheard Nurse Chambers giving you the good news that you
haven’t broken your neck. There’s more good news—you didn’t break
any other bones that I can see, though how you managed that I’ve no
idea. You must’ve drunk a lot of milk when you were a little
boy.”
    “Is there bad news?”
    “I don’t see anything in your test results
that would make me worry about most of your organs. I strongly
suspect you’re concussed, though. I can see from here that your
pupils are dilated, and you seem to be having trouble focusing on
me. Can I take a look?”
    “Mmm.”
    Gwen switched places with Maya, standing off
to the side during the short exam.
    Maya held her finger in front of John’s face.
“I want you to lift your hand and touch my finger with one of your
fingers, then touch your nose as quickly as you can. Got it?”
    The corner of John’s eye twitched as he
concentrated on Maya. He lifted his right hand, paused, then
swallowed hard and said, “Sorry, could you repeat the
instructions?”
    “Sure. Touch one of your fingers to my
finger.”
    It took him three tries. A sinking feeling
dropped in Gwen’s belly.
    When he finally managed it, he said, “There
was something I was supposed to do next.”
    “Touch your nose as quickly as you can.”
    He poked himself in the eye. Wincing, he
cursed.
    “It’s all right,” Maya said. “I’m going to
send you for a CT scan. Once we have those results, we’ll know more
about what happens next. Any questions for me?”
    “When can I go home?”
    Maya’s expression turned regretful. “I’m
afraid I can’t make any promises until I’ve seen the CT results.
And even then, it’ll depend on a couple of factors. Do you have
someone at home who can look after you?”
    His Adam’s apple dipped with a hard swallow.
“No.”
    “I’m afraid that’s going to be a problem,
John. Even if this is a minor concussion, you’re going to need
someone taking care of you. Is there anyone we can call for
you?”
    His gaze flicked to Gwen before he scrubbed a
frustrated hand over his face. “How long will I need looking
after?”
    “At least forty-eight hours. Maybe more.”
    He cursed again. “Christmas Eve and Christmas
Day?”
    “Yes,” Maya said, “I’m afraid your timing was
pretty bad. Is there anyone who can help you? A friend? A
parent?”
    “My parents moved to Australia when they
retired. My sister lives