Ruby turned toward him slowly. A flicker passed through her eyes, relief, tension, and something else she couldn't yet name.
"A hospital?" she repeated. "Yes," he said. "In the city." The word city landed differently in the room.
He watched her carefully as he said it. Not too quickly. Not too casually. Measured. Ruby exhaled slowly, as if she had been holding her breath for hours.
"Good," she said at last. But it wasn't just relief in her voice. It was thought.
Processing. Arranging pieces she didn't yet have names for.
"I don't like the idea of waiting," she added softly. "If there's something wrong, if we need answers…"
"We'll get them," Maxwell interrupted gently. A pause. Then, more carefully. "I'll be with you the whole time."
That was important. He made sure she heard it. He needed her to hear it.
Because what she was beginning to feel now… what was stirring in her mind… was not something he could afford to let grow unchecked. Not yet.
