Page 13 of Dr. Scandal Claus

I smiled as she darted out the door, slamming it behind herself. Only then did Ethan look up and his eyes got huge.

"Is that for me?" he asked, nodding at the bright blue paper with pixelated creatures all over it. The game store sold lots of different patterns of wrapping paper, and I'd chosen Ethan's favorite in a nod to the item wrapped inside it—a new Xbox.

"It is! But you can't have it until tomorrow morning," I told him, laughing playfully as he darted over to me and tried taking it from my hands. I held it up high as he swiped at it, and while I was happy that he was excited and eager to see it, I felt concern snake up my chest and wrap around my throat.

I didn't know if I was seeing things but the same blue tinge of his lips a few weeks ago seemed to be making an appearance again. It made my chest ache and my mind go frantic with worry.

"Did you eat?" I asked him, and I walked over toward the Christmas tree.

Ethan calmed and followed me, and while he did mumble, "Yeah, pizza," I was more worried about this symptom and what it meant.

"Feeling okay now?"

"Fine…Can I just open one tonight?"

"Tomorrow," I coached, and I put the gift next to the stack of other gifts he had sorted out and piled in one spot. They were all his and he was too happy to get them.

"Mom, that's not fair. All the kids at school?—"

"Ah…But I'm not all the kids at school's mom." I winked at him and tousled his hair and noticed the blue tinge was gone. Maybe I was seeing things. Maybe my fear was just making me hallucinate.

"Dang it." He stomped his foot and crossed his arms over his chest, and I put my arm around him and guided him toward the couch.

"Let's watch this movie, then we'll go to bed early. And when you wake up you can wake me up." He dragged his feet as we walked and I chuckled.

"Even if the sun's not up?" he asked, though I knew he'd sleep until at least 8 a.m.

"Even if the sun's not up…" I repeated, and we plopped onto the couch.

The movie was about halfway over, and I kept checking the time. Ethan seemed sleepier than normal, so when he dozed off just as Santa's sleigh was stuck in Central Park, I turned the volume down and laid a blanket over him. He was as exhausted as I was, but even still, he'd sleep longer than me. My schedule at the bakery had me up by three every day. Sleeping until six would be a dream.

I changed into a pajama shirt and shorts and curled up in bed. My phone was lying on my nightstand plugged in, and I should have been able to shut off and just sleep. Every cell in my body was fatigued. But my mind kept playing back the trip to the ER and me being so scared that Ethan was going to die. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his blue lips. I couldn't sleep if I tried, so I pulled out my phone and texted Nick.

Scarlett 7:49 PM:Hey … you busy?

He responded immediately, not that I was surprised. No one was working this late on Christmas Eve, at least not those with routine jobs, and as a specialist, Nick could pick his own hours.

Nick 7:49 PM:Free as a bird. What's up?

Scarlett 7:50 PM:I'm just worried. You know…mom stuff.

Nick 7:50 PM:About what?

Scarlett 7:50 PM:About Ethan. I swear his lips were blue again tonight. The babysitter said his belly hurt too…

I was probably overthinking things like those parents whose kid gets a sniffle and they rush to the ER, but my kid had a diagnosed hereditary condition that could kill him. I was right to be worried. I'd given my own blood for the DNA testing, but the results weren't in. Knowing where he got it, however, wasn't going to fix it.

Nick 7:51 PM:Look, is he breathing normally?

Scarlett 7:51 PM:He's sleeping peacefully on the couch. No complaints.

Nick 7:51 PM:Then just trust that the medicine is doing its job. If the symptoms we spoke about during his checkup appear, just message me first. If it's bad we'll get a ambulance to you, okay? He's going to be fine. I promise you.

Nick's promise wasn't good enough for me though. It wasn't that I doubted his expertise; it was hardwired into my DNA to worry about my child. Nothing would make me feel better until Nick and the other doctors told me Ethan was cured, which I didn't think would ever happen, not with a condition like this. I laid my phone down and sighed, frowning at the wall. Reaching for Nick was supposed to help me feel better, but it hadn't helped at all.

A few minutes later my phone buzzed again so I picked it up, still unable to sleep.

Nick 8:02 PM:I was going to ask you to go with me to this thing…It's a hospital New Year's Eve gala. A fundraiser…ritzy and all that. I need a plus one.