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it would be overstating things to say that we here at the institute are most impressed with the sort of physician you have become. Your father spoke very highly of you, and your brother and sister made it clear that we could search forever and not find anyone more capable of filling our needs.'
    My father spoke highly of me? Thea was so blindsided by the notion that she almost missed the words that followed.
    'Capable of filling your needs?' Thea asked when she realized what had been said.
    The last thing in the world she wanted to do here was fill anybody's needs.
    'Your father served as a physician and advisor to patients and doctors from around the globe,' Karsten said. 'He cared for royalty as well as for the poor and disenfranchised, whose care is paid for by foundations he has helped develop.'
    'Yes?'
    Thea felt sick at what she sensed was coming next. She looked over at the twins, but in concert they averted their eyes.
    'Well,' Karsten continued, 'we would need approval from our board, but I suspect that will be no problem. Put simply, we want you to stay here at the Beaumont and take over your father's practice.'
    Hartnett straightened up and took the baton.
    'I can and will handle Petros's administrative responsibilities as medical director of the institute until you feel up to assuming them,' he said. 'And if by some… what I mean is if your father's condition should improve to the point where—'
    Thea was on her feet, glaring at her brother. She felt as panicked as if she had just been asked to spend the rest of her life in a broom closet.
    'This is your doing, Niko!' she snapped. 'You and Selene told them I didn't really have a job and would be happy to take over here. Why would you do that?'
    'We didn't do anything, we merely—'
    'Well, I do have a job. I have a job and friends and a life I enjoy, just like you normal people do! I'll stay here as long as I feel Father needs me, but you know that I have my reasons for working where I do.'
    Without waiting for a response, Thea whirled and marched down the hallway and back into the ICU.
    Embarrassed, the three hospital officials muttered apologies and left the conference room.
    The twins stayed behind.
    Petros knew now. He had brain damage. He had profound damage and he could not move or speak. The pain in his back and pelvis was unremitting and unbearable, but he was helpless to do anything about it. One of the nurses had said something about an accident, but then he must have faded out again before he could hear any more. An accident? If he had had an accident of some sort, with damage to his brain—his midbrain, probably—he had absolutely no memory of it. Was he driving? Walking? In someone else's car?
    Thea was here. I he ard her voice. She must be back from Africa. It's been so long. When she first left, she was so terribly angry at me. She thought I didn't care. That wasn't true. Why couldn't I make her understand how much I wanted for her? Dimitri had been a complete waste, and the twins were technicians— bright enough, but technicians all the same.
    Help me! For God's sake help me. I have to speak to my Thea. I have to help her understand that I only want what's best for her. I have to help her see what she's done to me by leaving the way she did and how she can make it right.

CHAPTER 5

    Handling stress had never come easily to Thea, especially in the area of athletics, where she had little ability, and also during interviews, which usually played into her insecurities and difficulty with language nuances. Before beginning treatment, when confronted with a pressured situation, she would usually become restless, defensive, and combative, and before long might melt down in a fit of anger. With the help of Dr. Carpenter, and an improvisation therapy group geared to being in tense situations, she practiced being interviewed until she could maintain her composure. Eventually, she was able to get a sense of whether her answers to the interviewer were