"I hear you''ve been cooking up some new research that might just be rted to my condition?" Wayne''s voice was raspy, the toll of his illness evident in every strained syble.


    Penn hesitated, the weight of responsibility pressing on his shoulders. "Yes, there''s something in the works, but it''s still... in its infancy. It requires further testing..."


    "Tests need patients, right? And I''m right here, ready and willing," Wayne said, lifting his gaze to meet Penn''s. The eyes that once held amanding presence were now hollow, searching for hope. "I don''t want the same old conservative treatment. I want you to hit me with this new angle you''re working on."


    "Wayne, it''s going to be rough," Penn replied earnestly. "Physical therapy alone will be more than five times as intense as the usual route."


    "I don''t care about roughness," Wayne countered, his stare unwavering. "I want to go home. I want to be with them again."


    Penn''s heart skipped a beat. "Your wife would never agree to it."d2


    "Then let''s not tell her." A faint smile crossed Wayne''s pale lips. "Just say it''s a normal course of treatment."


    "Wayne, you''re asking me to risk a lot here," Penn said, the conflict clear in his voice.


    The so-called new research was really a patchwork of his father''s old insights, and much of the data hade from Ayden. And Wayne''s condition came from Ayden.


    "I''m asking you," Wayne repeated, his tone gentle but insistent.


    Penn was silent for a long moment, the two men locked in a still standoff.


    Finally, Penn let out a shortugh. "Natalie always said you were stubborn. Right after you came out of thata, she was so frantic, she called me in the middle of the night asking if I had some sort of hypnotic trick up my sleeve. Something out of a TV show that could make you lose a chunk of memory."


    Penn shook his head with a smile. "I asked her why, and she said she was afraid you''d go looking for Olivia Whaley."


    Wayne''s expression didn''t change at the mention of the name.


    "A couple of dayster, she called back, all cheerful, saying she was worrying too much. Since you were a kid, you never asked for help from anyone."


    A soft chuckle escaped Wayne. "But I''m asking now, aren''t I?"


    "I''ll need to assess you again. If the assessment shows we can proceed with the new treatment, then we''ll go that route. If not, you''ll have to stick to the standard protocol," Penn said, pausing for effect. "Wayne, a few more months won''t make that much difference."


    Wayne turned his gaze to the window. The autumn wind was scattering the leaves, painting a picture of destion outside.


    Penn followed his gaze, feeling a twinge of regret. He should have chosen a better ce for this video call—somewhere lush with greenery, like the conservatory.


    "My little girl seems to have grown taller," Wayne murmured, staring out at the barrenndscape. "Kids grow so fast; a few months can make all the difference."


    "Rosalynn''s been with me for so many years... so many." As Wayne spoke her name, a sharp pain seized his chest, and he curled in on himself, clutching at his heart. "Wayne!" Penn rushed to his side.


    Gasping for breath, Wayne struggled toplete his thought. "I''ve never... never once been with her for Christmas..."


    Penn was taken aback.


    "Dr. Lange, I need to get home, please..." Wayne clutched at Penn''s arm, looking up at him with eyes that pleaded for mercy.


    Penn sighed, slipping a syringe out from his sleeve.


    Wayne''s condition had worsened, now coupled with severe physical symptoms, like the heart pain he was experiencing. Yet all the tests showed his heart was in perfect health-not to mention his symptoms of limb stiffness and weakness.This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Penn had anticipated Wayne''s emotional upheaval after the family video call, so he had prepared a sedative, just in case.