Chapter 13: Bay Two

The lab on Route 6 sat between a tire shop and a tax preparer.

The woman at the desk gave us each a paper cup of water.

"Cheek swab," she said. "Rub it on the inside until I say stop."

Eli rubbed the swab hard against his cheek.

I did mine, sealed the tube and signed the form.

"Is the child coming in?" the woman asked.

"Not yet," I said.

"Then it's a partial. I can run the two of you, but for a parent-and-child result I need her sample or a court order."

Eli took the receipt.

"Court order," he said to me, quietly. "We'll ask for it Friday."

We walked out into a cold, bright morning.

I had slept four hours in his bed, and for the first time in a week I felt almost steady.

His phone buzzed before we reached the truck.

"It's the station," he said. "Captain wants me in early. I'll drop you at the motel."

"I'll ride along. I want to see where you work."

"Nell."

"I'm not scared of an ambulance."

He gave me a look and opened my door.

Station Four was a brick building on Mill Street with two red bay doors.

Three of his crew stood in the open bay with coffee, beside Medic Unit Two.

A woman with a gray braid waved. "Hadley! You're on in ten."

"Morning," Eli said.

He put a hand on the small of my back, and it was the first time he had done that in front of anyone.

Nobody said a word. Everybody noticed.

I was reading the duty board on the wall when a heavy engine pulled onto the apron.

My father's white SUV stopped with its nose across the bay door.