“For Evan Riley?”

Jax sighed in disappointment. She dropped her tense shoulders and continued pacing. The woman and child stood and followed the young doctor through the doors.

“For Gretchen Mills?”

Jax spun around so quickly she felt dizzy. She raised her hand and walked directly to the doctor. “I’m her wife,” Jax said right away, wanting to avoid any legality dance. “How is she?”

The doctor looked at the chart in her hands. She flipped the papers. “Jacqueline Levine?”

“Jax, please.”

“I see Dr. Hudgens contacted you. I’m Dr. Melendez, the chief of neurology here.” She reached out to shake Jax’s hand.

Jax shook Dr. Melendez’s hand and said, “How is she?”

“Gretchen is mostly stable.”

Jax’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean mostly?”

“She’s going through a few tests and scans right now. She’ll be put in a room right after. I’ll catch you up on everything while I take you there.” Dr. Melendez scanned her ID to open the double doors.

Jax dodged a nurse as she followed Dr. Melendez. “Did they tell you exactly what happened?”

“It looks like she fell down some icy steps at her office building. She had mild hypothermia when EMS got to her, so she could’ve been lying there for over an hour. Does your wife make it a habit of working late and alone?” Dr. Melendez pressed the elevator button, and the door opened.

Jax stepped on, thinking of the many, many fights she’d had with Gretchen. “She does.”

“She hasn’t regained consciousness, and from the physical signs of her injury I’m not surprised. She lost a lot of blood. We had to stitch up a significant laceration on the back of her head and clean out some scrapes on her face. She has a few bruised ribs, and her shoulder was dislocated.”

“Jesus.” Jax fought against a wave of nausea.

They stepped off the elevator together, and Dr. Melendez directed Jax to a wing of private rooms. She put her arm out, letting Jax enter the room first.

Jax looked at the room number: 815. She let out a sad laugh at the irony. Their wedding anniversary was August fifteenth. “How long before she’s settled?”

“About an hour. I’d recommend taking that time to get anything you need to get settled because once she’s back in this room, all we can do is wait.”

“Dr. Melendez,” she said earnestly, stopping the doctor from leaving. She tried to read her face but couldn’t. “What’s her prognosis?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“Just give me an idea. No promises. I understand that.”

Dr. Melendez stared at the paperwork in her hands for a moment before dropping her hands to her sides and looking at Jax with sympathetic eyes. “I can’t know anything without the results of her head CT, but I’ve seen injuries like this before, and the human body is capable of a lot of things. However, if I were you, I’d call her family and ask for all the prayers you can get.”