With regard to patient behavior, Madelyn Conroy was a bit of a pain in the ass.

The neurologist on call in the emergency room had diagnosed her with a moderate concussion. The scalp laceration at her hairline had been neatly stitched. Wearing her hair forward covered the threads, though not the purple bruise that was blooming. Luckily the only other injuries sustained were sore muscles from being thrown about. The Subaru's airbag deployed, but thankfully caused no damage, and in fact, probably saved her from further trauma.

Currently, she was spending the morning tucked into her living room sofa, a bed pillow propping her up slightly. There had been a brief disagreement about whether she would teach today or stay at home and rest. From her position of defeat, she could hear Harry's voice coming from the kitchen, where he was ending his conversation with the chairman of the business department on her landline. Madelyn propped herself up on her elbows anxiously, when she heard Harry walking toward the living room.

"What did Dr. Clark say? Was he upset that I won't be able to keep our meeting today? Did he let slip why he wants to meet with me? Harry, say something!"

"I will answer your third degree in a minute." Harry settled gingerly on the coffee table in front of the sofa, scooting her mug of tea aside. He noted that she had taken no more than a bite of the eggs he had prepared for her. "First of all, if you're not going to eat, you need to lie back down, doctor's orders."

Madeline reclined further, but not without a huff.

"Now, how does your head feel? Is it still hurting?" Harry pushed her hair back from the bruise, assessing the half dozen stitches that marred the high side of her forehead. "It's been just about long enough that you can have more ibuprofen if you'd like."

"Stop fussing, Harry. What did he say?" Madelyn demanded, pushing his hand aside like a petulant child.

Attributing her mood to the accident and her discomfort, he sighed and leaned forward. Harry rested his elbows upon his thighs and clasped his hands between his knees.

"First off, he expressed concern about your well-being. Of course, I didn't give him the details of the accident. I simply explained that it appeared your brakes failed when you hit some rocks and ice coming around the switchback and that the neurologist suggested at least two days of rest before returning to work. That is of course if you have no lasting symptoms from the concussion."

Seriously, Madelyn thought, if he didn't get to the important information, she was going to start kicking her feet.

"Great. That's nice, hopefully, he isn't upset that I'm missing classes today. I can update the student assignments online later and I'll be back to work tomorrow. But I need to know about the meeting. Did he sound upset? I wish I knew what it was about; I don't like being in the dark."

"Baby, calm down. You're supposed to take it easy for a couple of days, not get worked up like this. Whatever he needs to see you about can wait. And you're not going..."

Madelyn's face felt hot and it wasn't due to the rays of late morning sunshine streaming through the windows.

"Do not tell me to calm down, Harry. And do not tell me what I can and cannot do! You don't understand what it's like; not only am I the youngest professor in the department, but I am a woman."

Noting that Harry seemed to be taking controlled breaths and was now massaging out the tension in one hand with the other, Madelyn tried to explain more calmly.

"There are some in the department who would prefer that I had never been hired, others who believe I don't know my place. I have two strikes against me. First, I am young for a professor and second, I'm a female in a man's world. Things are always improving and I hope that someday age and gender won't matter, but for now, I have to remain above reproach. Never, have I been called in to talk to the chairman and I'm worried. Harry, what if someone reported me for being involved with you?"

Making direct eye contact, Harry said, "I don't think there is any basis for concern since no one has really seen us together on campus. I would guess that he would not have connected us until just now, when I called to explain your absence. But I'll play the devil's advocate for a minute; so what if someone did complain? We haven't done anything wrong. I am no longer your student, you hold no authority over me, I'm not even in the undergrad program anymore."

"It's just the implication of impropriety, Harry, that's all it would take to smear my reputation."

"Madelyn, you can't think like that. There is no guilt here, you've done nothing that can be held against you. In fact, if anything, I pursued you. So if our relationship is the reason Dr. Clark wants to see you, I will be happy to set him straight. In the meantime, let me ask you a question. Do you think we're doing something wrong?"

"No. I've turned the situation on its head, thought about it from every angle, and maybe it's a little unorthodox, but it isn't wrong."

"Then stop trying to look for a problem, or make yourself feel guilty."

"You're right. I'm sorry I snapped at you. There's a lot going on, but that's no excuse. Thank you for being so wonderful to me." Madelyn raised her lips and received a brief, tender kiss.

"Speaking of a lot going on, I got a call from Officer Hopkins while you were asleep."

"Did he give you the identification number for his police report so I can make an insurance claim on the car?"

"He did, but that wasn't the reason for his call. He said the accident investigator was at the scene today and some things aren't adding up." Harry took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. "Baby, they don't think this was just an accident."

"I don't understand. I slid on the ice and skidded off the road."

"Ah, well that's part of the problem. You didn't skid, and you should have. Apparently, that section of the road had been graveled to increase traction coming around the switchbacks. Even with the ice, there should have been skid marks where you drove onto the gravel and hit the brakes. There were none. You had even said the brakes didn't work. Then there's Jack."

Madelyn tried to control a shudder as she thought of how Jack had pulled her from her wrecked vehicle. He seemed to be trying to help her, at first. Then the control switch got flipped. The second she had resisted him, he became impatient with her, insisting that she needed to come with him. When Harry had arrived, Jack became belligerent, almost combative.

"At any rate, Hopkins is turning the whole thing over to the detectives that were looking into the incident with Jack at the restaurant last week. He told me that normally, they would write this kind of thing off as a straightforward winter road accident, but given the preliminary evidence, the fact that Jack happened to be there so conveniently, combined with his violent history..."

"He's suspicious."

"Yeah, he is."

Several moments of silence passed as they considered the implication spread before them. Finally, Harry gave her hands a squeeze and broke the stillness.

"I know this is a lot to absorb. Just remember you're not alone in this," he raised her hands and kissed them in turn.

"Do you think I could have that ibuprofen for my head after all?"

"Of course, love. I'll get it. Do you want more tea?" Harry stood and picked up her mug.

"No, thanks though. I think what I really need, is a nap. Would you lie down with me for a bit?

"You know I will. Come on, I'll get you settled in bed and bring you some medicine."

Her head certainly hurt, and she was scared and frustrated. Still, once she was snuggled under the covers with Harry, she was able to relax and let sleep creep near. It helped that he was gently running his fingers through her hair, brushing it back in long, languid strokes. Madelyn reached her hand to his face and cupped his cheek. She realized he hadn't taken the time to shave. Looking into his eyes, which seemed a slightly darker green at the moment, she saw his concern. Beyond that, she thought she saw commitment and a steadfast strength that she could rely upon.

Or maybe that was the concussion talking.

"Harry?" she nearly whispered before drifting off.

"Mmhmm?"

"You know I'm going into work tomorrow, right? I can't let this keep me down."

It wasn't worth arguing over. He knew she had managed independently before he was part of the picture and trying to stand in her way would only alienate her. He would find other ways to take care of her.

"I know, baby. Rest now, so you can heal. I'll be right here."

"I believe you," she sighed as her eyelids fluttered closed.

***

Author's Note:

Thanks all for bumping DELIVERY up to 65K reads. Yay!!

If you haven't already checked out SLIGHT PRESSURE, come on over to the @PussyJockeys account and read the side project I'm working on. It's a round-robin book, co-written with @styles_orama and @alessandra. It features Dr. Harry, the gynecologist and it's a load of fun!

Twitter @dirtyyarn