Sanctuary

right.” Jo sighed heavily. “Even if I do feel better now than I have in weeks.” Then her eyes fastened on the syringe and widened. “What the hell is that for?”
    “Just need a little blood.” Needle poised, Kirby grinned. “Want to scream, and see how long it takes him to run in here?”
    Jo averted her eyes, held her breath. “I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.”
     
     
    WHEN Jo was dressed again, Kirby tossed her a fat plastic bottle. “They’re just vitamins,” she said. “High-potency. If you start eating right, you won’t need them. But they’ll give you a boost for now. I’ll let you know when the blood work comes back from the lab, but everything else is within normal range.”
    “I appreciate it, really.”
    “Show it, then, by taking care of yourself and talking to me when you need to.”
    “I will.” It always felt a bit odd for her to make an overtly affectionate move, but she stepped over and kissed Kirby’s cheek. “I will. And I meant what I said. I feel better than I have in a long time.”
    “Good. Follow Doctor Kirby’s orders, and you should feel better yet.” Keeping her concerns to herself, she led Jo out.
    Brian was exactly where she’d expected, restlessly pacing her living room. He stopped and scowled at them both. Kirby met the look with a bright smile.
    “You have a bouncing one-hundred-and-ten-pound girl, Daddy. Congratulations.”
    “Very funny. What the hell’s wrong with you?” he demanded of Jo.
    She angled her head, narrowed her eyes. “Bite me,” she suggested, then strolled to the door. “I’m walking back. Thanks for squeezing this idiot’s whims into your schedule, Kirby.”
    “Oh, I’ve been working on doing just that for months.” She chuckled as the screen door slammed.
    “I want to know what’s wrong with my sister.”
    “She’s suffering from acute brotheritis at the moment. While extremely irritating, it’s rarely fatal.”
    “I want a fucking straight answer,” he said between his teeth, and she nodded approvingly.
    “I like you even better when you’re human.” She turned to the coffeepot, pleased to see he’d made himself useful and had brewed fresh. “All right, straight answers. Would you like to sit down?”
    His stomach jittered painfully. “How bad is it?”
    “Not nearly as bad as you apparently think. You take it black, don’t you? Like a real man.” Her breath caught when he closed a hand hard over her arm.
    “I’m not in the mood for this.”
    “Okay, so my witty repartee isn’t going to relax you. It’ll take a couple of weeks to get full test results back, but I can give you my educated opinion from the exam. Jo’s a little run-down. She’s edgy and she’s stressed and she’s annoyed with herself for being edgy and stressed. What she needs is exactly what you’ve shown me you can give her. Support—even when she kicks against it.”
    The first trickle of relief loosened the pressure in his chest. “That’s it? That’s all?”
    She turned away to finish pouring the coffee. “There’s doctor-patient confidentiality. Jo’s entitled to her privacy and to my discretion.”
    “Jo’s my sister.”
    “Yes, and on a personal level I’m happy to see you take that relationship to heart. I wasn’t sure that you did. Here.” She pressed the cup into his hand. “She came home because she needed to be home. She needed her family. So be there. That’s all I can tell you. Anything else has to come from her.”
    He paced away, sipping coffee without realizing it. All right, he thought, she wasn’t suffering from any of the mysterious and deadly diseases he’d conjured up while he’d been waiting. She’d just run herself out of energy. It wasn’t cancer or a brain tumor.
    “All right.” This time he said it aloud. “I can probably browbeat her into eating regularly and threaten Lexy away from picking fights with her.”
    “You’re very sweet,” Kirby murmured.
    “No, I’m not.” He set the cup down abruptly and stepped back. His worry had faded enough to allow him to see Kirby clearly. The way those mermaid eyes were smiling at him. The way she stood there, all cool and composed, all pink and gold. “I’m just looking out for myself. I want my routine back, and I won’t get it until she’s steadied out.”
    Eyes warm, Kirby walked toward him. “Liar. Fraud. Softie.”
    “Back off.”
    “Not yet.” She reached up to catch his face in her hands. He’d stirred more than her