What’s happened?”
Casey took Amanda’s hands in hers, not even trying to conceal the tears of joy that were glittering on her lashes. “We found Paul,” she said simply. “He’s on his way to Sloane Kettering right now.”
Amanda lurched with shock, all the color draining from her face. For an instant, she looked as if she might faint. “You… He’s…” She couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence. “How? When?”
“I’ve known since earlier today. I just didn’t want to tell you until we’d successfully pulled it off. Now we have. His plane landed just after 4:00 p.m.-about forty-five minutes ago. We helped him stage a heart attack. He’s arriving by ambulance. He’ll be here before six.”
“A heart attack?” Clearly, Amanda was only absorbing pieces of what Casey was saying.
“He’s fine,” Casey assured her. “It was all an act. We needed to get him here as fast as possible.” Casey waved away the rest of Amanda’s questions. “Let Paul fill you in on the rest. Just know this-the instant he found out about Justin, he moved heaven and earth to get here. So don’t doubt his commitment.”
As Casey spoke, Patrick walked over, followed by the rest of the team, who’d just arrived. Everyone wanted to be here to see the culmination of their relentless search.
“They’ll be here soon,” Claire told Amanda with a smile. “Paul’s energy is overwhelming. I almost can’t breathe past it. The only thing rivaling it is
Amanda laughed, something she hadn’t done in an aeon. “I don’t believe this. You’re miracle workers.”
“We can discuss how awesome we are after Paul’s been tested and confirmed as a strong donor match,” Marc said in true Marc style.
“Any psychic hints?” Amanda asked Claire.
Claire gave an apologetic shrug. “Right now, all I’m picking up on are relief and joy. Both are emanating from you and Paul. I can’t tell if that positive energy relates to anything more than your current feelings. We’ll have to wait and see. But my prayers-all our prayers-are right here with you.”
“Thank you,” Amanda whispered. “I…” She wanted to say more, but couldn’t find the words. “Thank you.”
“You’ll thank us afterward,” Casey said.
“And tell us how awesome we are,” Ryan reminded her with a wink.
“With pleasure,” Amanda assured him. She turned back to Casey. “Does Dr. Braeburn know? How is this going to work?”
“Dr. Braeburn has been advised, as has the hospital lab. Paul will come up here first to see you and Justin and to meet with Dr. Braeburn. Then he’ll go directly down to get tested. The lab results will be prioritized and rushed. We’ll have our answer in three days.”
“Oh, God.” Amanda pressed her palms to her cheeks. “I don’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe it,” Patrick said, patting her shoulder. “Because it is.”
Hutch and Mike, still dressed as EMTs, carried the stretcher out of the ambulance and rushed it inside. Paul lay still, his face partially concealed by the oxygen mask, a blanket pulled up to his chin to help do the job.
It was only in the closed elevator that Hutch said, “Okay, time to get up and get into this.”
Paul rose, yanked off the mask and shrugged into the hooded parka Hutch handed him.
“You obviously can’t put up the hood. You’d stick out like a sore thumb,” Hutch said, shrugging out of his uniform. “But keep the jacket zipped. The hood will bunch up around your neck and hide a chunk of your face. Mike and I will walk ahead of you, so we’ll block you from view. And remember what I said. We’ve arranged to have the waiting room cleared, supposedly for cleaning. We’ll guide you straight to the PICU and to Amanda. The rest is up to you.”
Amanda was in the waiting room with the Forensic Instincts team when the approaching bustle of movement made her snap around. Two men in suits were striding down the hall toward her. They stopped inside the waiting room, and the taller man gave her a wink. Then, they veered off, going over to join the FI team on the sidelines.
Left standing alone, Paul stared at Amanda, unzipping his parka and pulling the sides apart so that she could make out his whole face.
The action wasn’t necessary. She already knew who he was.
He just stood there for a moment. Then he made his way toward Amanda at the same time as Amanda ran forward to meet him.
They hugged each other fiercely, holding on to each other for strength and comfort as much as for a reunion.
“I’m so sorry,” Paul murmured, when he finally stepped back, gripping Amanda’s shoulders in his hands and searching her face. “If I’d had any idea… If I’d even guessed.” He gave a self-deprecating shake of his head. “And you had to go through this all by yourself. There’s no way I can ever make that up to you.”
“Oh, yes, there is,” Amanda told him fervently. “Be a healthy donor match for our son. Please. Help me save his life.”
Paul sucked in his breath, squaring his shoulders to take on the responsibility that should have been his from the start. “If I am a viable match, will that be enough?”
Amanda shook her head. She’d gone through every detail with Dr. Braeburn, every possible best- and worst- case scenario. As much as any layperson could understand, she did. Her son-their son-had a huge uphill battle, even if all Paul’s infectious disease testing checked out, and he was the donor. Paul’s peripheral blood stem cells would have to be purified. The purity would have to be high enough and the quantity of stem cells sufficient enough for transplantation. Then, once the peripheral stem cell transplant took place, there was always the chance of graft versus host disease, if Justin’s body rejected Paul’s cells. She couldn’t allow herself to consider that, not after all they’d gone through to find Paul. He was here. God wouldn’t have brought them all this way just to fail now. Paul had to be the answer.
Still, he was entitled to know everything-including exactly what he was getting into.
“This won’t be just a simple blood test,” Amanda explained, “not after you’ve been officially ruled a donor. You’ll have to get four days of injections to stimulate your blood marrow so it will release more stem cells into your blood. The fifth day will be the transplant itself. They put you on a special machine that collects and separates your blood. Then, there’s a stem cell purification process that takes place in a sterile lab. Dr. Braeburn can explain the whole process to you.”
Paul waved away the entire matter. “I’m not the issue. I’ll do whatever has to be done. But, once that’s over, once my cells are in Justin’s body, what are his chances? How long will it take till we see results?”
“A few weeks.” Amanda clenched her fists at her sides as she spoke. “We need engraftment to occur. That means your donor cells have to successfully take, so to speak, at which point Justin will begin to develop an immune system. Then he can start to fight off all his infections.” A watery smile. “We have to pray. But now that you’re here, I believe in miracles again.”
Paul’s expression softened. “As do I.” He glanced past Amanda, and down the hall. A hint of awe flashed in his eyes. “Is he… Is Justin…in there?”
Amanda felt her heart swell, and she nodded. “He looks so much like you,” she said. “He has your eyes, not just the color, but your shape and your eyelids. Oh, and your eyelashes. Remember how I used to tell you how every woman would kill for those thick lashes of yours? Well, now they’re Justin’s, too. And his nose, Paul. It’s a tiny version of yours. He even has your dimple.” She touched Paul’s cheek with her fingertip. “He’s got so much of you in him. He’s curious about everything. He’s easygoing-until he really wants something. And he’s always moving. He kicked me nonstop my entire last trimester. I’m sure he’s going to be a marathon runner like his father. I’m sure…” Amanda fell apart, her body racked with sobs as her stoic veneer shattered.
Only this time, she had someone to hold her.
Paul wrapped his arms around her and gave her a fierce hug. “We’re going to make this right, Amanda.
