Elise went to find Nate the instant she left Brodi's room. She found him just inside the waiting room, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"Any luck?"
"Actually, yes. The friend I have here is a neurosurgeon; I knew her in the army. She knows about Brodi's situation and says she will see him. She was actually just about to leave work, so she's headed down from her office right now."
Elise visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Nate. I just have a bad feeling about Dr. Adams for some reason and I wasn't looking forward to letting him get hold of Brodi again."
Nate nodded his agreement. "Me either. Hey, what's that?"
Before Elise could respond, Nate stalked over to her and gripped her chin in a gentle but firm grasp and moved her head left and right. "Where's that bruising coming from."
Elise hesitated as Nate released her chin and looked her directly in the eyes. She had been so elated about Brodi she'd forgotten about the incident with Psymon. Ironically, she wasn't angry with Psymon over his actions; she was strangely relieved that he cared enough about anyone to behave in such a protective way over them. He might have some maniacal and antisocial habits, but he'd never been violent, at least to her knowledge. Still, Nate wouldn't take the news well. It was bad enough that Brodi had woken up in the middle of the disagreement (although, on the other hand, she realized that had probably saved her from further harm.)
The hesitation was enough time for Nate to put two and two together, and Elise saw that he had figured it out on his own by the way his face hardened.
"The only other person in the room when we got back was Psymon. What did he do? Where is he?"
"Nate, it's OK. Really, it's not that bad, and he was just upset about Brodi. Besides, I gave him a couple of kicks he won't forget anytime soon."
"I don't care. I'll bust him up for this one. Where. Is. He?"
"NATE!"
Saved by the bell, this time in the form of a beautiful redhead in hospital scrubs walking towards them. Crisis momentarily diverted, although Elise was sure he wouldn't drop it that easily.
"Nate Logan! I can't believe you've been coming to visit your friend for this length of time and we haven't run into each other! How are ya, hon?"
Nate smiled as he gave his friend a hug.
"Jennie! I'm good, how have you been? This is my friend and teammate, Elise Riggs. Elise, this is Jennie Brenner."
The woman turned and smiled at Elise, extending her hand in greeting. "Miss Riggs! How nice to meet you."
Elise returned the smile and shook hands. "Dr. Brenner. Thank you for agreeing to look at our friend."
"Always happy to help. Nate and I go way back, and I know him well enough to trust his judgment. If something's not right, something's not right. I looked at his file when Nate called me a few days ago. He was unconscious for three weeks? I saw the MRIs, the CAT scans, the X-rays. No blood tests were done after he recovered from the pneumonia?"
Elise shook her head. "None that were run by me, anyway. And I'd have to approve any type of medical treatment if he's incapacitated."
"I'd say coma counts as incapacitated. Let's go talk to Mr. Ford, shall we?"
