She'd be okay. Mia was too hardheaded to accept any other outcome. So am I.

Chapter Twenty-five

Monday, December 11, 3:55 p.m.

A nurse stuck her head in the room. "You have a visitor, Detective."

Mia wanted to groan. Her head hurt. She'd had a steady stream of visitors since being moved into her own room. She could have told the nurses to make them stop, but every person was someone she loved. And someone who loved her. A headache was a small price to pay. "Sure, send him in." Jeremy peeked around the corner and Mia smiled. "Hey, kid."

"Hey." He approached the bed. "You look better."

"I feel better." She patted the mattress. "How's school?" He gingerly climbed up beside her. "My teacher made a mistake today."

"She did? Tell me."

And he did, telling her about his teacher's mispronunciation of some Babylonian king Mia had never heard of, speaking very gravely as Mia had learned was his way. As he talked, the headache eased and she put the worry over the states of her body and her career from her mind. This child was safe. She'd done something important.

Now she wanted Jeremy to be more than safe. Occasionally he smiled and once in the last week he even laughed.

He seemed content at Dana's, but somehow that wasn't enough. She wanted him to be happy, not just content.

He finished his tale and after a long pause and careful study of her face said, "You made a mistake that day." He frowned. "Actually, you lied."

Which day didn't need to be specified. "I did?"

He nodded. "You told Kates I never said a word about him. You lied."

"Hmm." So the teacher story was merely a clever segue. "I suppose I did. Would you have preferred I told the truth?"

He shook his head. "No." He bit his lip. "My mom lied, too."

Ahh. "You mean when she said she hndn't seen him? She was protecting you."

"So were you." He straightened abruptly. "I want to live with you."

She blinked. Opened her mouth. Denials and reasons why not sprung to her mind, but none would pass through her lips. There was only one answer she could give this child who'd been through so much. "Okay." And she'd find a way to make it happen if she had to move heaven and earth. "But I have to warn you, I'm a bad cook."

"It's okay." He snuggled down beside her, the remote in his hand. "I've been watching cooking shows. It doesn't look too hard. I think I can cook for us."

She laughed and kissed the top of his head. "Good."

Monday, December 11, 5:15 p.m.

Dana had come for Jeremy and Mia was again alone. She had much to ponder. She'd gained a cat and a boyfriend and a kid. And she'd lost a kidney and a career, all in two weeks time. Kates was dead, by Reed's hand. Jeremy was alive. And so was her mother. She'd have sacrificed nearly anything to save Jeremy, but the saving of her mother had sacrificed her career and that seemed a high price to pay.

I should have killed Kates when I had the chance, she thought. When he'd held the knife to her mother's throat, it was as if it were a stranger sitting there. She'd saved her mother, risking her own life. But she'd risked her life for strangers many times.

A stranger would be more likely to give her a kidney, though. It was hard not to be bitter about that. I'll live. And pragmatically that was the important thing. But her career was over unless a donor could be found. Kelsey wasn't a match, nor was Dana or Reed or Murphy or any of her friends who'd stepped up to the plate without being asked. Apparently even Carmichael had been typed, but no cigar.

Olivia was a solid fixture in her mind, but it wasn't something Mia felt she could ask. They were strangers. Maybe, someday, they'd be friends. If so, Mia wanted it to be for the right reasons, not because she'd cultivated a relationship in the hopes of begging a kidney. That seemed… cheeky.

So it seemed a career change was in the near future. So what will I be? It was an interesting question and not a little terrifying. But she didn't have to think about that now. Now she was taking the break Spinnelli had promised. But not at the beach and her skin was going the opposite way of a tan. But I'll live.

"Hey." Reed came in, carrying a newspaper in one hand and a big plastic bag in the other. "How are you feeling?"

"Headache, but other than that, okay. I swear, Solliday, if you have a box of condoms in that sack, then you'd better find another woman."

He sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her gently. "I never thought I'd miss your smart mouth." He handed her the paper. "Thought you'd want to see this." The headline read //smc local newscaster indicted for extortion. The byline was Carmichael's.

Mia's lips twitched. "This is much better than any of that pain reliever you keep shoving down my throat." She scanned the page and looked up with a grin. "Holly Wheaton's going to be broadcasting from a cell. I never thought that threat would be a reality."

"You know, you told me why she hated you. You never told me why you hated her."

"It seems so unimportant now. Remember I told you about how I fought with Guy in that fancy restaurant and gave him back his ring? Well, somebody had tipped Wheaton off that we were there and fighting. She'd been demoted from headline news to the society gossip stuff because no cops would let her near a crime scene. Anyway, Wheaton was waiting outside the restaurant with a camera. Asked me it it was true that Guy and I had broken up. It wasn't even good gossip. It was just spiteful."

She sighed. "And that's how Bobby found out his free hockey tickets were gone. He made sure I knew he wasn't happy. I shouldn't have cared. I guess it was a stupid reason to hate her." She grinned. "But I'm still happy her ass is going to jail."

Reed laughed and kissed her again. "Me, too." He moved to the chair. "Beth entered another poetry slam competition. I got invited. So are you, if you're out in time."

Mia sobered. "Did you ever ask her to do 'casper' for you?"

Something moved in Reed's dark eyes, intense and profound. "Yes. And then I told her I loved her, just like you said I should."

"She's got a gift."

"Yes, she does. I had no idea she felt that way." He swallowed. "To think that she'd thought I'd trade her to have her mother back. I never meant to hurt Beth that way."

"So, what will you do about it?"

He smiled. "I met with the contractors about the house. I approved the structural plans, but I'm going to let Beth and Lauren decorate. You get input on my bedroom."

She lifted her brows. "I do?"

"You're going to be living there when you get out of here."

He said it with an uncharacteristic belligerence. Her brows stayed up. "I am?"

"You are. At least until you're recovered. Then you can leave if you want to. You got something to say about that, Mitchell?"

He was nervous. It was sweet. "Okay. But I only get input?"

He relaxed. "I don't want stripes and plaid. Beth has a good eye. You can input."

"Okay." She laced their fingers together. "Jeremy came to see me today."

"And you watched TV," Reed said dryly.

She chuckled. "History of cheese or something." Then she sighed. "Reed, something's been on my mind." She stared down at their hands. "I don't want Jeremy growing up in foster care, even a good one like Dana's."

"You want to adopt him, then."

"Yeah. He asked if he could come live with me when 1 get out. I said yes and I'll do whatever I need to do to keep that promise. I wanted you to know that."

"We have a spare room. He can stay there. But he shouldn't have his own TV. That kid watches too much TV as it is."