“It’s more than that. There’s this blankness that was never there before. She was so scared the first few days, and now it’s like she’s just given up.”

“I don’t know Gretchen as well as I know you.” Meredith rolled her eyes at Jax’s amused look. “Not like that. I mean you always talked to me and got to know me, but Gretchen never did. She cared about my credentials and background check, and knowing she had hired the best. But one impression I always had of her was she’s fierce, no nonsense, and that means she won’t give up easily.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Are you still working on that?” the waitress said, interrupting the one hopeful moment Jax needed.

She handed over her plate and sat back. She took the check the moment it was placed on the table.

“You always pay for me,” Meredith said coyly.

Jax smiled. “And you always make sure I’m okay. It’s the least I can do.” She paid and escorted Meredith from the diner with a hand on her back. They walked together to their cars and paused next to Jax’s truck. She braced herself against the cold breeze. The sun was shining just enough to cut through the bitter cold. The air felt fresh instead of painful. “Thank you for meeting me.”

“Thank you for the invite.” Meredith leaned up and kissed Jax once, a sweet, short kiss. Her eyes were twinkling when she stepped back.

Jax got into her truck and started the engine. She looked at Meredith curiously when she climbed into the passenger seat. “What are you doing?”

“I hate seeing you like this.” Meredith leaned across the center console and kissed Jax deeply. She ran her fingers through Jax’s hair and scratched at her scalp.

Jax sank deeper into her seat at first, but then she pulled back and whispered, “I have to get to the hospital.”

“Forget about the hospital.” Meredith ran the tip of her tongue along the bow of Jax’s upper lip. “For just a few minutes, think only about this.” Meredith unzipped her jacket and brought Jax’s hand to her breast.

Jax looked out the window to see if anyone was around, but not a soul could be seen. She kissed Meredith hard. Forgetting about her injured wife, her angry sister-in-law, and the meeting she had at work in less than thirty minutes seemed like the best bad idea she had heard in a while.

* * *

Jax weaved through traffic and made it to the hospital ten minutes later than she was supposed to, but not nearly as late as she expected. She saw Dr. Melendez through the window of Gretchen’s room and wasted no time letting herself in.

“What did I miss?” she said loudly. She couldn’t look at Gretchen, fearing she’d know why she was late.