“Dr. Noble?” a nurse called from the hospital room door with a soft knock.

Pax flipped through notes and test results on Evelyn’s chart, lifting a finger for her to wait. The steady beep of the cardiac monitor counted off time like a metronome for him to lower his hand, allowing her to speak.

With an exhale, he scowled, finally closing the top of the chart. “Okay, Carol. What is it?”

Annoyed, the nurse pressed her lips together. “The expanded toxicology report is negative. No poison or even parasites. Still, her white count has nearly tripled since her initial tests yesterday, and her kidney function is dropping.”

He took the newest reports from her outstretched hand, his frown deepening as he scanned the results. “Organ failure.” He swore, pursing his lips. “This has got to be related to something she ingested or was exposed to in the past thirty-six to forty-eight hours. I’m certain of it.”

Carol eyed him. “Is that your professional analysis or are you certain because of your special extrasensory perceptions?”

Pax placed the new reports at the front of the patient’s chart. “If you must know, Nurse Nosy, it’s both. My extrasensory perceptions have saved plenty of lives, and if they help me save Evelyn, then all the better to sniff her with, my dear.” He tapped the side of his nose.

“Ha.” Carol gave him a half grin. “With all the scowling and growling you’re doing these days, at least you haven’t lost your charm.” She looked at Evelyn. “What about the claw marks on her back? Could that have been the point of infection?”

He nodded. “Evelyn’s toxicology screen wasn’t the only thing that came back negative. Her CT scan showed nothing out of the ordinary and no emergent bleeding that would cause her to fall comatose. The slash marks are the most likely explanation, but her symptoms don’t parallel her test results. She’s presenting like she’s been poisoned, but her labs say otherwise.”

“Sometimes the answer isn’t what’s written on paper, Pax. You said so yourself. Go with your gut.” She nodded, giving him a grin. “Or in your case, your nose. What should we do next?”

Paxton squeezed the bridge of his nose almost in irony. “Draw spinal fluid and test for everything related, especially anything obscure.” He exhaled. “This would be so much easier if we knew who she was and if she’d travelled outside of the country recently.”

“True.”

He looked at Carol. “Any luck on her identity?”

“No.” She shook her head. “The police called again asking the same thing. They wanted to know if anyone came into the ER looking for someone fitting Evelyn’s description.”

Rubbing one eye with the heel of his palm, Pax exhaled again. “I have the entire hospital staff on notice to page me immediately if someone comes looking for her as well. I guess that puts us at ground zero same as the cops.”

“You’re exhausted, Paxton. I had a bed made up in the on-call room down the hall.” She eyed him. “It’s a single, so don’t get any creative ideas about stress relief.”

He grinned at the older woman. “Why, Carol…whatever do you mean?”

“Can it, Casanova. Take a valium to take the edge off, if necessary, but the horizontal mambo with my nurses is off limits. When it comes to stress management, you can explore better living through chemistry, hound dog.”

He laughed out loud, but then inhaled, giving his face a quick scrub. “I’m not on-call, so you needn’t worry. Let the doctors who have to be here use the room for whatever.”

The nurse snorted. “There will be no whatever on my watch. I’m charge nurse, and I’ve got my own strategy to keep you doctors in line and your pants on. Besides, when has being on-call ever stopped you from making use of an available bed?”

Pax eyed her, but his gaze was soft. “Anyone ever tell you you’re no fun?”

“Are you really going to argue with me? Half my nurses and quite a few residents call you the Big Bad Wolf, and I don’t think they’re referring to your huff and puff style of teaching, although, I hear there’s quite a lot of blowing going on when you cover the topic of bedside manner.”

He lifted his chin, meeting her raised eyebrow with a smirk. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Pull someone else’s legs, Noble. Mine are long enough.” With a snort, she moved to Evelyn’s bed to straighten the sheets, tucking them higher after checking the cardiac leads on her chest. When done, she turned and looked at him over the edge of her square-rimmed glasses.

“Still, all joking aside, Pax. You haven’t left the hospital or slept or eaten, for that matter, since your friend was wheeled into the ER. I would never presume to tell you to go home, but if you’re going to help that girl, it’s best you not keel over from exhaustion. You need to recharge your shifter batteries and put that nose of yours to good use. You really need to rest.”

With a sigh, he got up from his chair and stuck Evelyn’s chart in the holder at the end of her bed. “Aww, even with all your prickles, it’s nice to know you really do love me.” He winked. “Though for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”

She lifted a hand. “There it is in a nutshell, Doc. Despite your little boy charm and the fact you get an erection every time the wind blows, you also happen to be the most caring doctor in this hospital.” She looked at him over the edge of her glasses again. “But don’t push it, buddy, or I’ll put a choke collar on more than just your neck.”

He laughed out loud. “Okay, okay. I surrender, boss.” Giving her cheek a quick peck, he watched her turn to leave. “Just make sure someone wakes me when the next round of results is complete.”

Pax nodded to her as she left, but then turned his eyes to Evelyn. He walked to the end of her bed and touched her foot beneath the hospital sheet. “Come on, honey. Help me out a little. I need a sign. Anything. I need to put the pieces together to help you wake up. You gotta give me a break, Evelyn. I never got the chance to get your number, but you have to know how much I want to get to know you better.”

He gave her toe a squeeze, and in that moment, she inhaled and her heart rate spiked on the cardiac monitor. He froze, but as soon as he let go, everything returned to the same static beep and soft breathing. His hand hovered, hoping it wasn’t his imagination. Could she be responding to his touch or her body just moving from reflex?

“Involuntary idiopathic movement,” he mumbled, raking a hand through his hair. “First year medical school, you idiot.” With an exhale, he waited a moment longer before turning for the door to head to the on-call room.

Carol was right. He needed sleep.