DESTINED AFFECTION

TWELVE

"Where are you parked?" Ally asked, stopping by the side of her Volvo, which she had parked in the fire lane in the ER turnaround.

Lauren stopped walking a few feet away with Camila by her side. "Just up ahead in my usual spot."

Leaning against her open car door, Ally suggested, "Why don't you come in and have a drink when you drop Mila off? I think the party is pretty much over, so we can just sit around and unwind."

"Thanks, but I think I'll just pick Kyle up and call it a day," Lauren said quietly. She was still reeling from the afternoon's events, to say nothing of the near-kiss moments before. I don't know what I'm doing anymore.

"Phyllis took Kyle home when I was leaving to come over here."

"Then I'll go on home and give Phyllis a break."

"I can ride back with Ally, if you want," Camila said in a voice too low for Ally to hear. "I've already taken up enough of your time, and I appreciate everything you've already done."

Even though the ER experience had been traumatic for Camila, emotionally and physically, she knew that Lauren's intervention had truly made it as painless as possible. She couldn't blame Lauren for wanting to look into the legal ramifications of her medical situation, now that her boss was aware of it. And no matter what the eventual result of Lauren's inquiries, she was far from angry at her.

"No, I want to drive you," Lauren insisted. The afternoon had been an emotional roller coaster for her, first with the stress of handling Camila's shoulder injury in the field, then the shock of discovering the brunettes's much more serious underlying medical condition. Lauren feared that if she just turned her back and walked away now, she'd drown in the feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and anger. She desperately wanted just a few moments alone in the car with Camila when they wouldn't be struggling with professional differences or emergencies. She was stunned to realize that that was the only thing she could think about. "I'm only a few houses away from Ally's, so it's really no trouble. If that's okay?"

"It's more than okay." Camila smiled, wanting nothing more in the world than to be with Lauren—anywhere, for any reason. "I'd like very much to go with you. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lauren smiled softly at Camila's impeccable manners even in moments of tension. "Your mama sure did a good job of raising you."

"She'd be pleased to hear that," Camila said seriously. Then she grinned. "There were quite a few times when I was growing up that I'm pretty sure she had her doubts."

"Now why do I find that completely believable?" Laughing, suddenly feeling her spirits lift, Lauren waved goodbye to Ally, led the way to her Subaru, and held the passenger-side door open for the brunette. Automatically, she slid her arm around Camila's waist to steady her while she climbed in, and it was then that she felt a faint tingling in her arm. At the same time, Camila shivered and gave a small gasp.

The sensation was so fleeting that Lauren might have ignored it if she hadn't already been so sensitized to the situation. She recognized immediately that the slight buzz she'd experienced was Camila's cardiac defibrillator firing. The focal electrical discharge from the internal defibrillator was not painful, but the current was large enough for someone in direct contact with Camila to feel it.

"Camz?" Lauren consciously kept her tone light, although her own heart had begun racing.

"I'm all right." Camila blinked, then grimaced faintly. God, just what I didn't need to happen now!

"Is that the first time it's gone off since the accident this afternoon?" Lauren asked intently, studying Camila's face.

"Yes." The brunette doctor said grimly. "The last time was two days ago, when I was in the gym. Fortunately, Mandy thought it was static electricity, so I didn't need to explain."