Chapter 5

S alem went to work.

Sanity was at work. Routine was at work. There were no handsome, charming, pesky ice dragons at work. The last bit was the most important.

He went into his office first, reviewing the schedule of what surgeries he had this week. Salem's office looked like most surgeons' offices—in a word, organized chaos. He had multiple file cabinets and a bookcase taking up one long wall, his desk crammed on the other, with just enough space for a chair, his small fridge and microwave, and absolutely nothing else.

Would Gregori's long, lanky legs even fit inside—ugh, brain. Stop. Just stop.

Salem shoved computer glasses onto his nose and forcefully focused. There was one follow-up today, a ten-year-old patient he remembered well because of the kid's sass. He had been an interesting case. The kid had fallen off a water slide and damn near burst his spleen in the process.

Other than him, Salem had…a surgery this afternoon? He wasn't supposed to.

Frowning, he opened the calendar appointment, then clicked on the link leading to the patient's file. First page was a note from the other surgeon in the department. Dr. Kyle was maybe two weeks out of graduation, his residency completed, and this case was too much of an outlier right out of the gate. He'd deferred the surgery by two days with an urgent plea, asking Salem to please take lead and let him assist.

Honestly, Salem preferred it when the young surgeons did this. If they weren't confident in the procedure for whatever reason, he would absolutely take lead, letting them assist and get the experience necessary so the next time they saw something like this, they'd have confidence.

Salem shot off a quick email to the surgical team in general agreeing to take lead, mentally rearranging his schedule. He'd need to get some takeout a half hour earlier than he normally ate lunch to accommodate this, but it was doable. He knew better than to go into surgery on an empty stomach.

A commotion of raised voices started up out in the hallway. It got louder and louder, to the point Salem's instincts insisted he get up and check. It sounded like trouble brewing.

It didn't take long to find the problem—an overweight man in a patient gown, one leg in a cast from hip to toe, wobbling around with a death grip on a crutch, all the while shouting.

"You're not putting those fucking things in me!"

Two nurses—Jessy and Min—were trying to corral him, likely afraid he'd fall and do damage if allowed to run free, and the head nurse of this floor was right in his face. Nora was a massive woman, taller than most men, and it was never a good thing when she got involved. It usually meant things had gone south.

"Sir. You sit your ass down before I make you. You are not allowed to make a commotion like this. You're near the pediatric wing, which means kids can hear you."

"I don't give a fuck!" the man snapped back. "You're not putting any of those damn needles in me! They hurt!"

Unfortunately, Salem could put the pieces of this puzzle together without much help. Some men were such babies about pain. It was pathetic.

He stepped right in, planting himself at Nora's side and giving the man a hot glare.

"You're walking around on an injured leg and you're complaining about a needle ?"

The man almost looked abashed for a second before his bad temper bounced back. "I don't want them!"

Jessy leaned in and quickly filled Salem in under her breath. "He's due for surgery in thirty minutes. Multiple fractures that need to be pinned to heal right. I can't get an IV or IV anesthesia started with him."

In other words, surgery was already delayed because of his tantrum.

Salem spoke to Jessy, but his eyes were on the man. "Cancel the surgery."

The man's head snapped around as he protested, "You can't do that! I need the surgery!"

"Clearly you don't if you're acting like this."

"Who's going to fix my busted leg?!"

"That's now a you problem." Salem got right in the man's face. "You don't talk to my nurses like this. The only reason I can even function as a surgeon is because of them. Without nurses, I couldn't do shit. You don't get to disrespect them, I don't care how scared you are of needles."

His pale skin was already red with anger but now it turned nearly purple with embarrassment. "I'm—who said I'm scared? I just?—"

"You would not be throwing a tantrum about two tiny needles unless you were scared. But a man of your age should be better at handling his emotions. I've three-year-old patients who handled pre-op better than you. Now, go get dressed and get out. We will not be making you a referral."

Nora got a grip under his arm and forcefully turned him about. "This way."

The man whined, but he had no choice but to move as Nora hauled him back to his room.

Salem would call security if necessary, but he trusted Nora to have this one in the bag. Frankly, even he wouldn't mess with her in a dark alley. They'd never find his body.

"Thank you, Doctor Hunter," Jessy said, beaming. "I figured it would take another man to shut him down."

"Always does with the misogynists. Everyone okay here?"

"We are."

Satisfied, he gave them a nod and went back to his office.

Salem had barely attained his seat when his work BFF sailed through the open door, parked one hip on his desk, and slurped coffee. Alexis had very strong Greek heritage and it showed in the high brow of her face, her dark silky hair in a loose curl around her shoulders, and her olive skin tone.

"Hello, Alexis," he greeted, deadpan. "May I help you?"

"Dish! I need wedding details. How was Brazil?"

He'd known Alexis since freshman year in college, and they had basically survived residency together, so to say he confided everything in her would be an understatement. Salem had no compunction about spilling the beans.

"Wedding was beautiful. I have literally never seen my brother so happy, which made the long-ass flight worth it."

"Hell, I'd be crying tears of joy if I had a dragon husband, for that matter. I bet you wished you could have stayed longer."

"Yes and no." Salem leaned back in his chair, feeling a wave of fatigue hit him all over again. Thanks to Gregori, he had not gotten a lot in the way of sleep. "A complication followed me home."

"Is the complication handsome?"

He shot her a warning look. Alexis was of the opinion he worked too much and lived too little, so she would not be sympathetic to his plight. He knew this, so he must be venting out of habit.

"An ice dragon by the name of Gregori has decided I'm his mate."

"Ooooh." Alexis leaned in, riveted now. "You said no."

"Of course I said no."

"I figured. You're too much of an idiot to say yes."

"Alexis…" Salem groaned, already wishing he'd kept his mouth shut.

"I'm just saying. You only do casual hookups these days—ever since college really. I've seen guys approach you and you shoo them away without even a backward glance. Good guys with amazing careers, hot bodies, decent personalities, and you can't even drum up interest. So of course a sexy dragon with the hots for only you is an aggravation. I sadly didn't expect different."

Salem just stared at her, waiting for her to accept he would not change and move on. "Can I go back to work now?"

"No." Alexis gave him a sweet smile and started pumping. "How many times have you had sex with him?"

"Too many times."

"Oh, more than once? Damn, you really do like him."

"I absolutely did not say that."

"It's okay, after nearly a decade of knowing you, I also know how to translate you. You said he followed you here? Where is he now?"

"My apartment."

Her eyes bugged right out of her head. "Oh. My. Fucking. God. He charmed you into letting him stay? The sex must be fantastic!"

It was. He knew better than to admit it out loud. "I haven't had a chance to review the surgery notes. Why was?—"

"You're not going to switch the topic until I have two things. One, name. Two, picture."

"Why the hell do you think I have a picture of him on my phone?"

Alexis looked at him like she knew that he knew this stalling was absolutely useless, and why he bothered was beyond her and to hand over the goods already.

Ugh, fine, might as well get this over with. Salem grabbed his phone, pulled up the Insta for the wedding, and scrolled through for precisely three seconds before he found a picture of Gregori and Dimitri.

He handed his phone over, just wanting to drop the subject. "Gregori. Guy on the left."

Alexis took it, whistling low. "Wow. Stunning. Aren't dragons pansexual by nature?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome. So when he gets tired of you being an idiot, I'll shoot my shot."

Normally Salem would make some sarcastic comment about her going for it, but this time he couldn't. He didn't like those words at all, and he shifted uneasily under them. Surely this wasn't jealousy. Not when he'd already made it clear he wanted nothing to do with a relationship. He didn't own Gregori—the man was free to pursue whoever.

The more of a pep talk he gave himself, the more sour his emotions became.

Salem took his phone away from her and pointedly changed the subject. "Why was Kyle nervous about this surgery?"

"Fine, fine, I'll let you off the hook." Alexis shrugged her shoulders, sipped her coffee, and played along. "So, get this. The kid is one of those. Situs Inversus."

Salem jerked his head back in surprise. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

Situs Inversus was a very rare genetic condition where the organs in the chest and abdomen were positioned in a mirror image of normal human anatomy. Salem had seen this in person precisely once, years ago, when he was still in residency himself. Well, no wonder Kyle was hesitant to be lead surgeon. It could definitely be confusing having everything flipped, and the last thing you wanted was confusion at a surgery table.

"There's a growth on the kid's liver, and biopsy is showing it's not cancerous, but it's also not stopping. It's grown a centimeter in the past year and it's already causing both pain and discomfort. So it's got to come out."

Salem nodded in understanding. "Okay. I feel like Kyle made a good call here. I already sent an email saying I'd take lead this afternoon, but I want to go meet my patient."

"Sure. I was actually on the way myself to explain why we delayed until you got here. This will go over even better."

He gathered up his iPad, wanting to make some notes, and followed her. Then doubled back for three markers. If this surgery had been delayed, then likely both patient and parents were now anxious, no matter the reason. It was best to release the tension ahead of time if possible.

His patient was only one hallway away, and when Salem stepped in, he found the father—who did look stressed out of his mind, wringing a worn-in ball cap between two hands—and mother, a simply dressed woman in her late thirties. The ten-year-old was in a patient gown, sitting upright in bed, with an IV in one hand already and a blanket clutched close for comfort.

Yup. Way too much tension in this room.

"Hi there," Alexis greeted everyone. "I bring to you good news. This is Doctor Hunter, who, fortunately for us, just got back from his brother's wedding yesterday."

That was his cue. "Hi, all. Let me explain a bit about why they delayed surgery for me to come in. Did anyone talk to you about what Situs Inversus is?"

"Um, Doctor Alexis did," the mother admitted. "But I'm sorry, I'm not sure if I really understand it all. How will this affect him long term?"

"It won't." Salem shot her a reassuring smile. "The nice thing about this condition is it isn't at all harmful. He'll have a normal lifespan, just like the rest of us, without any issues. Except in times like these, when he might need a surgery, and it sends the poor staff's heads spinning. Let me tell you something, looking at the mirror image of anything gets confusing. And when those organs are teeny-tiny, it doesn't help anything. Now." He braced his hands on the side rails of the bed and looked at his patient directly. "You, sir, have nothing to worry about there. So don't let it fret you. Now, Doctor Kyle waited on me because he knows I've seen a patient like you before."

Half the tension in the father fled out of his body language. "You have?"

"I have indeed. It's incredibly rare, no lie, so I'm one of the very few in this hospital who has." Salem gave him a comforting nod. "I promise you, I've got this. After today, Doctor Kyle will as well, because he's still assisting in the surgery. He wants to see all of this with his own eyes so he's not caught flat-footed again."

"Sounds great," the father muttered. "Damn, I never expected this as a complication."

"No one did. I read from the chart that you guys tried a variety of different methods to avoid surgery, but now it's unavoidable, so let's just power through it so your son can heal."

Salem straightened and pulled his markers out of his pocket. "In that vein—Cas? You want to help me and Doctor Kyle out?"

"Uh…sure?"

"This will be the one time you're allowed to draw on your body." Salem offered him the markers like a gambler would a hand. "Pick your weapon of choice, sir."

He seemed excited and immediately picked a black.

"Good! Now, normally, your liver would be over here ." Salem lightly touched the spot in question. "But we don't want to cut over there, 'cause your liver is over here . So let's make sure we mark the right spot, okay? I'm going to pull this gown up some, thank you, Mom, for the help, and first thing's first. Let's mark off the spot where your liver isn't."

Salem wrote in a mostly legible scrawl with bright blue, Wrong side ! Abort abort !

Cas started laughing and drew a bunch of access denied symbols to join the words.

Good, this was working. Salem circled the area where the incisions would be. "Right spot."

Cas immediately switched to drawing arrows and OK s around the circle. Salem joined in, marking a treasure trail from the wrong side to the right side, then made an elaborate X to mark the spot, much like a pirate map.

"Phew, okay." Salem admired their handiwork. "Don't think mistakes can be made now. Whatcha think, Cas?"

"Can I keep drawing?"

"Sure." Anything to occupy his mind so he didn't stress out. "Want mine too?"

"Yeah." Cas took the offered marker, happy to keep going.

Alexis spoke to his parents in a soft voice. "We'll get surgery prep going in about two hours. I don't think this will take long at all. He should be back in his room by midafternoon. I promise you, he's in great hands."

Salem shook hands with both parents, gave the same assurances, then left because he did have a lot to do in the next few hours if he wanted to squeeze in lunch somehow before the surgery.

Falling into step with him, Alexis said almost rhetorically, "What is it about us letting kids draw on themselves that makes them so happy? It's like a magical charm."

"Lure of the forbidden, I guess."

"Maybe that's it." Alexis looked at him and acted like she was waving a magic wand in front of him. "Handsome ice dragon is forbidden. Is it working yet?"

Salem sighed, letting his eyes roll off down the corridor somewhere. "Memo to me, stop talking to you about my love life."

"You don't have a love life. That's the point."

And how to argue with that?