Absolute Zero (57 page)

“Doctor Michaels?”

Ian’s eyes stayed on Anne while the female Doctor turned her head toward the sound.

“Yes?”

“Do you want me to stop her now?”

“Yes. I suppose she should be exhausted by now. Go ahead, but don’t frighten her,” she added before turning her head back to the courtyard below.

Moments later, an orderly walked out to the yard, headed straight for Anne. He stepped in front of her intended path. Instead of running into him, she swerved and ran around him without missing a beat. The man’s face turned up toward the window and gave a slight shrug to the Doctor.

“That’s interesting,” she mumbled.

He attempted the same maneuver on her next trip around and she did the exact same thing. He started running next to her which only served to cause her speed to increase. Another orderly walked from his post and helped corner her, his arms reaching around her torso as he lifted her slightly. Her body seemed to freeze up before she slumped like a ragdoll in his arms. He walked toward an empty wheel chair and sat her in it before turning and wheeling her back toward the building.

The Doctor turned toward Ian as he watched Anne disappear from his view.

“Did she enjoy running? I mean prior to this, was it something she did regularly?” she asked.

“Aye. She ran every day,” he answered.

“This is fantastic. This is…” she let out an excited breath, “this is
wonderful
,” she smiled. “I’m really encouraged by this,” she added before turning.

A minute later, the orderly appeared down the hall, Anne in tow. Her hair was matted to her forehead with sweat, yet her breathing didn’t indicate any type of exertion. The closer they came, the more evident her displeasure seemed to him. Her expression had changed from a blank stare to an almost scowl. She looked…irritated.

“Did you enjoy your run, darling?” Ian asked gently as she neared.

No response; just the same expression. Her eyes were locked on his, however.

“I’ll call one of the nurses to give her a bath, you can go ahead and put her in her room,” the Doctor ordered. The orderly turned the wheelchair toward the door to her room but stopped as soon as the sound hit their ears.

A loud, almost irritated huff of breath erupted from Anne.

*****

“Then charter a plane and fly them here. I’m not leaving,” he said through the phone before relaxing back into the chair, his eyes focused on his laptop screen in front of him.

His other phone buzzed on the small table in the corner of her room, causing his eyes to dart toward it. Beth’s name appeared on the screen, causing a small jolt of apprehension to race through his system.

“See if you can make that happen. If I have to sign the papers in person, so be it, but I’m
not
going to Scotland. We can do it here. Bring the lawyers, the agents, bring the owner - whoever; just do it,” he ordered as he grabbed the larger phone from the table. He swiped the screen with his thumb as Lachlan droned on. He missed the call. He let out an agitated sigh before placing it back on the table.

The phone at his ear began beeping, interspersed with Lachlan’s voice as he pulled it away to look at the screen. It wasn’t Beth, as he expected. It was his lawyer, probably wanting more information regarding the sale of the American facility yet again. This was normal, this constant barrage of work related calls and yet it couldn’t happen at a worse time. Everything seemed to be happening at once but his first and foremost concern was Anne.

“I need to go, I need to take this call,” he stated into the phone. “Call me later and let me know if we can make that arrangement,” he added before ending the call and picking up the other one.

His eyes automatically wandered over to Anne seated on her bed. Her eyes were fastened on him as a nurse placed a spoonful of yogurt near her lips. He gave her a small smile as she automatically opened her mouth, her eyes never wavering. She was able to eat solid foods now, with assistance. Lately, her hand would drum on her thigh or the bed in a constant motion. Yesterday, she raised her hand to grab the spoon before it flopped down to her side. Doctor Michaels couldn’t have been more pleased, due to the fact that it was a one-time motion, not repetitive like every other physical movement Anne seemed to perform. She considered that small movement a breakthrough.

Each day, for the past week, she ran until the orderlies would stop her, although it was almost comical how she would dart around and try to avoid them, causing them to chase after her until she was finally cornered and caught. Her huffs of displeasure were the most welcome sound. She was trying to communicate, or so it seemed. He could only imagine what was going on in her head. Knowing Anne, she was probably stringing together a litany of curse words and unfavorable comments as she was lifted and placed into the wheelchair, puffs of agitated breaths bursting from her lips. Even her facial expression changed ever so slightly, he noticed. Her lips were turned down and her brow furrowed just a wee bit as they wheeled her back to her room.

“Hello?” he answered after an awkward silence, realizing that he had already accepted the other call as he reluctantly pulled his eyes from hers.

Almost immediately, a new voice filled his ear, speaking in an excited tone. The words were exactly what he wanted to hear, and yet they meant little to him. He sat and listened, offering up an automatic “mmm hmm,” every once in a while, but his mind was elsewhere. As soon as he could, he would disconnect this call and dial Beth’s number. She was privy to information that he couldn’t access on his own. She was the primary, actually, the
only
person that Anne’s medical information was available to and he knew she was calling with the results of Anne’s scan. It was information he anticipated and dreaded at the same time.

“Right. Well, that’s good news. Is there anything else?” he asked absently as his eyes drifted back to Anne. He noticed her hand had stilled on her thigh. In fact her eyes were now attached to the nurse that was feeding her. He almost expected her to say something to her. It truly appeared as though her mouth was fighting with her brain as her lips opened and closed a fraction before her mouth turned down.

“Call me back when you have everything ready to sign,” he stated before ending the call and immediately grabbed the other phone on the table.

He ignored the flashing light indicating a voicemail, preferring to speak to Beth directly. He held his breath as the ring sounded in his ears. She picked up before the first ring even ended.

“Well?” he stated in lieu of a greeting, his pulse pounding, his nerves practically zapping in his body as he waited for the words that would either make or break him.

*****

“Just one more hour? Please? I’ll call in to that Chinese place you like and buy you dinner,” he cajoled.

“Mr. McClellan…” the nurse started before he held up his hand to stop her words.

“Ian. Call me Ian,” he flashed her the most charming smile he could muster.

“
Ian
. We have very strict rules about visiting hours. If I let you stay, I’d have to let everyone stay. I can’t just be bending rules,” she stated in a stern voice, but he could tell she was fighting back a smile.

“It’s a celebratory dinner, and to be honest, she hates the food here. I can tell. Did you notice how she frowns at you when you’re feeding her? That’s because she doesn’t like the food,” he stated in his most convincing voice. “Come on, Margie. I’ll buy you Kung Pow Chicken. It’s your favorite…”

“Fried rice and a shrimp egg roll,” the older woman stated without moving her lips.

“Anything you want, love.”

“Fine. I’ll tell the Doctor it’s a one-time thing. Because it
is
, you know,” she admonished with a stern voice that didn’t match the smirk on her face.

“Right,” he smirked back.

“She’s a very lucky woman,” she stated after a long sigh, her attention now focused on Anne.

“How so?”

“I’ve just never seen someone so devoted to someone else. You put your life on hold, waiting for her. She’s very lucky,” she stated again as the both gazed at the woman on the bed.

“If you knew her before this, you’d know
I
was the lucky one. She’s an incredible woman.” he stated as he watched Anne study her splayed fingers. “She’s verra intelligent, funny even though she doesn’t think she is, she has a big heart. She smiles at me and I lose my mind. I know she’s in there, just like I know she’ll come back to me. I’ll wait however long I have to. She’s my world,” he stated on an almost whisper.

The sound of a loud sniff caused his eyes to wander to the woman next to him.

“Ack! Why are ya cryin’? I dinnae mean to make ya cry,” he stated as he watched her quickly wipe her eyes.

“It’s just so…ugh, I’ll go order the food,” she said before quickly turning and walking from the room.

He turned toward Anne again once they were alone, walking up to the bed and seating himself on the edge. He gently grabbed one of the hands she seemed so intent on staring at, his eyes searching her face, waiting.

She finally met his gaze, and he had to wonder what she was seeing. Did she see him? It certainly seemed so and yet her eyes were distant, almost as if she were looking through him.

“I have some good news, Annie,” he stated softly as his thumbs rubbed the top of her hand.

“Your scan and the blood work came back negative. Doesn’t that make you happy? That makes
me
happy. Oh! And the company I’m selling to agreed to a clause to keep the employees for at least a year. You don’t know how much negotiating
that
took,” he gave her hand a slight squeeze, watching for some type of reaction and receiving none.

“Can you blink at me? Give me a sign that you hear me?” he whispered on a shaky breath as his other hand raised and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Anything?” he added before letting out a breath after a few moments. “Beth’s flying in tomorrow to see you. I have a meeting in the afternoon, but I’ll be back here just as soon as it’s over. I bought you something. Do you want to see it?”

No response, no movement.

He removed his body from the bed and walked to the chair in the corner, grabbing a bag and bringing it back as he sat again.

He removed a box from the bag and opened it, revealing running shoes.

“See?” He pulled out one brightly colored shoe and held it out to her. “Ya can’t be running in those god-awful shoes they give you. These are the best. I have a pair. They’re like floating on air, I swear. Do you want to try them on?” he asked and waited patiently for any type of response. A few moments passed.

“Come back to me. Please? I’m floundering over here. I dunno what to do,” he stated softly, searching for any sign of recognition, even the slightest change in facial expression. “We’ll go to Scotland, we’ll live in my house, unless you want a different one, it doesn’t matter to me. We’ll be happy, Annie. I’ll make sure nothing bad ever happens to you again, I promise,” he stated as his palm caressed the side of her face. “You just have to come back. That’s all. How easy is that?” he quipped lightly.

No response.

He sat and stared for an indeterminate amount of time before the Doctor appeared in the doorway.

“Are you bribing the staff with food?” she asked as one side of her mouth lifted.

“Aye. I am. I admit it,” he replied in a serious tone.

His eyes turned from the Doctor back to Anne. For the smallest of seconds, it truly appeared as if her lips turned up in the barest hint of a smile before they settled back into a straight line. Maybe it was wishful thinking on his part, maybe he imagined it or maybe, just maybe, he was reaching her.

*****

“Wow,” he stated with a smile as he stopped two steps into the room the next afternoon.

“I know,” Beth stated turning her attention back to Anne. “Her hair is so long now. She looks cute with a pony tail. She always kept it short after it grew back,” she stated, “after the chemo,” she added. “Anne is the eternal pessimist. She kept it short in case she lost it again. She used to say it would be less devastating to lose it if it wasn’t long to begin with,” she said softly.

Her hair was pulled back from her face in a short ponytail, making her look younger. Beth had applied light makeup at some point which only accentuated her features. She looked amazing to him.

“She’s been frowning all day, though. Completely ruins the effect,” Beth stated.

“That’s because it’s raining outside. She likes to run around the courtyard. I’ll guarantee that’s why she’s pouting. Dr. Michaels says she was pacing back and forth up and down the hall this morning,” he said as he sat on the opposite edge of the bed from Beth.

“She also said that they found her standing at the window last night, staring at the sky,” Beth added.

“Putting things in perspective,” he supplied.

“You know about that?” Beth asked.

“Aye. I thought it was a little strange at first, but it makes sense. It seems to keep her on an even keel, so whatever works,” he breathed out. Anne was staring at her hands on her lap, seemingly unaware they were discussing her.