He didn’t have to for much longer. Only a few more minutes passed before the door opened and Lauren tentatively peeked her head in. Her eyes found Andrew, propped up in the bed, the sheet up to his waist. Her eyes swept his entire body, like she was looking for physical evidence of something, and then came back to his. She walked completely into the room and closed the door behind her.

She wore a hooded KU sweatshirt and her hair was piled on top of her head, and he wanted nothing more than to get up and go to her and tug her into his arms. She looked so familiar and comforting, and he willed her to come closer to him. He wasn’t sure if she was still upset with him, though, so he said nothing.

Maybe it would help that he was in the hospital. It would get him a pity kiss at least, surely.

Lauren addressed Jeni. “What do we know?”

“They said it could either be a blood clot, pneumonia, or a side effect from one of his chemo drugs.”

Lauren nodded. “Bleomycin. It can cause pulmonary toxicity.” She shot a glare in Andrew’s direction—what was that for?—and then returned her gaze back to Jeni. “Have they done a chest X-ray yet? A CT scan? Did they start any medications?”

“They did a lot of tests and took some blood. That’s it.”

At that moment the door opened, almost hitting Lauren in the back. She darted to the side, and the nurse taking care of Andrew walked in. The nurse took Andrew’s vitals for what felt like the thousandth time since he’d been here, and Lauren sat in a chair against the wall.

“The CT was clear, so no blood clot,” the nurse said. When Andrew didn’t reply, she added, “That’s a good thing.”

He nodded, forcing himself to tear his gaze away from Lauren and focus on the nurse. She was an older woman, with long gray hair pulled back, and a stern countenance. “Great.” He took a breath. He was so short of breath, he had difficulty saying more than a few words at a time. “What…now?”

“We’re still waiting on some other test results, which will probably be another hour.” She finished taking his blood pressure and pulse and made some notes on the laptop she’d brought in with her. “When we have more information the on-call physician will be in to talk to you. Until then, can I get you anything?”

Andrew shook his head and thanked her, and she left.

He looked at Lauren. “Come here.”