“I hope so.” Baby Alex had come into Detective Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales’s life last winter when a woman from Gonzo’s past let him know he’d fathered a child. Now the child’s mother was back in the picture, her drug problem rehabbed and her scumbag boyfriend out of the picture. Sam would never let on to Gonzo that she was worried about the baby’s mom getting custody after all the effort she’d put into changing her life.

At the hospital’s Emergency entrance, Nick insisted he was capable of walking in with her and didn’t need to be dropped off.

“I’m going to remember all of this the next time I’m the one who’s injured. You’re a terrible patient.”

“Like you have any room to talk about being a terrible patient,” he said with a scoff. “I’m totally fine. You’re totally overreacting, and this is me humoring you. You might want to try it sometime. It’s really good for marital tranquility.”

“If you weren’t already injured I might be tempted to punch you for using the H word. No one humors me.”

“If that’s what you want to believe, my love, have at it.”

Sam was still scowling at him when they entered the ER through automatic doors that swept them into the madhouse that was the waiting room. She was doubly glad she’d called ahead when she saw Harry waiting for them at the check-in desk.

As he waved them in, she saw Nick hesitate. No doubt he was considering how it would look to the scores of people waiting their turn when they walked right in, which was yet another downside to being recognized everywhere they went.

“Glad to see you guys,” Harry said jovially—and loudly. “I’ve got those forms you need in my office. Right this way.”

“Very smooth, Dr. Flynn,” Sam said with a smile for their good friend.

“Extremely smooth,” Nick added. “Thank you.”

“I know how our resident politician thinks,” Harry said as he escorted them into an exam room. “Now let’s see the boo-boo so we can all go home.”

With a roll of his eyes for his friend, Nick took off his coat and reached for the hem of his long-sleeved polo shirt.

Judging by the way he moved, Sam could tell he was in real pain, and when he revealed his chest, she could see why. She gasped at the angry purple bruises already decorating his left side. “Holy shit! I never would’ve taken you for pizza if I’d seen that!”

“It’s fine, babe. It looks worse than it feels. I swear.”

Harry leaned in for a closer look, then gently pressed against Nick’s side, drawing a sharp intake of air from him. “It’s going to require an X-ray to make sure nothing’s broken. I’ll get that going. Be right back.”