The Fledgling by AE Jones Page A

handed her to another nurse who cleared the baby’s nose and mouth.
    Deanna flopped back, exhausted. “Is she okay?”
    After a few seconds, cries bounced around the elevator and cheers rang out in the hallway behind them.
    Nancy patted him on the shoulder. “Okay, hero, move back and give us some room.”
    * * *
    Misha sat in the seventh floor waiting room. The nurses had found him a pair of scrubs, which apparently had not been easy because of his size. He rested his head against the wall and took a deep breath. A couple minutes later, a hand rested lightly on his arm.
    “Hey, big guy.”
    He opened his eyes to see Nurse Nancy smiling at him.
    “Is she okay?”
    “They’re fine. They both just got settled in the room. Let me take you to see them.”
    Misha groaned as he stood. “Do you have a twin? I thought you worked in the ER?”
    She smirked. “I do. I’m actually off duty now. When I heard the elevator was stuck and you two had never made it to OB, I had a bad feeling. Couldn’t bring myself to leave until they got you out of there. Do I dare ask why your accent has changed from Southern to Russian?”
    “Not really. It’s a long story.”
    “Well, I like the Russian accent better. The Southern one was a bit too Gone With the Wind for me.”
    They ambled down the hall, and she bumped her shoulder against him. “You did a good job today.”
    Nancy left him at the door to Deanna’s room, and Misha stood for a moment in silence, mesmerized by the young mother lying in bed with the baby in her arms.
    He cleared his throat. “You two make one of the prettiest pictures I have ever seen.”
    Deanna smiled. “She is gorgeous, right?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Thank you so much.”
    Misha shrugged. “You and the baby did all the work.”
    “That isn’t true and you know it. Do you want to hold her?”
    He rubbed his palms against his scrubs and walked up to the bed. “Yes.” He reached down and, ever so carefully, picked her up. He studied the light fuzz on her head and the button nose on her perfect face. Her eyes stayed closed, but one of her hands poked out from under the blanket, and he blinked at the teeny fingers as they flexed slightly.
    With a lump in his throat, he said, “Hello, little one, welcome to the world.”
    * * *
    Misha lugged the three-foot teddy bear through the sliding doors of the ER. He had decided to stop there before going upstairs to see Deanna and the baby. He smiled when he recognized Nurse Nancy behind the desk, but she frowned in return.
    His stomach twisted. “Has something happened?”
    “No, nothing bad happened…Deanna already left with the baby.”
    Misha’s chest constricted. “What? But I told her I would pick her up and take her home today.”
    Nancy reached up and patted his arm. “I know. But Deanna felt like she needed to do this on her own. She asked me to tell you thanks again for everything.”
    Misha nodded and took a deep breath. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”
    “I think you gave her a wonderful chance at a new start. If you hadn’t been with her in the elevator, the outcome could have been very different. As a nurse, I had to learn a long time ago that I can only help my patients with medical problems. What they do once they leave here is up to them. It’s hard, but you have to let them go.”
    In his head, he knew she was right, but someone needed to tell his heart to stop protesting so much. He held up the large bear. “So what should I do with him?”
    “I’ll take it up to the children’s ward. They’ll get a kick out of it. Better yet, it’s time for my break. Why don’t you come up there with me and give it to them yourself? The kids will love you. They’ll think you’re a giant and hang off of you like monkeys.”
    Misha turned the bear around and looked him in the eye. “I think we’d both enjoy that very much.”
    Nancy chuckled. “I thought you might.”

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    I hope you enjoyed the second book in my Mind Sweeper