“Zoe. Someone’s here to see you.”
“No doctors.” Zoe’s frown was set, stubbornness in every cute, chubby little line of her face. Then her body jerked and she moaned.
Rose forgot about Vlad as she hurried to her daughter. “Baby, I’m here. I’m here. It’s going to be okay. I promise.” She pulled Zoe into her arms.
“Mommy, it hurts.”
“I know, baby. We’ll fix it.” Rose hated that she said this every single time and hadn’t been able to fulfill the promise. The words were like ash in her mouth.
“Zoe.” Vlad’s tone was soothing and soft.
Rose blinked. She’d almost forgotten him in those seconds of hearing Zoe’s pain in her voice.
“My name is Vlad. I’m not a doctor, but I might be able to help you. Can I sit next to you?”
She glanced up at Rose, pain pinching the skin around her beautiful dark eyes—eyes that had always reminded Rose of Vlad’s. Rose nodded her approval.
Zoe looked at him. “You got a funny name.”
He smiled, then very gently sat next to her on the bed. “When the pain comes, does it feel like your skin is stretching?”
She nodded.
“Do you…see any images in your mind when the pain hits? Does anything pop up in your imagination?”
“Tigers.”
He straightened and sucked in a sharp breath.
“What?” Rose asked. “What is it? Why are tigers significant?”
He ignored her questions and focused on Zoe. “I’m going to talk you through breathing and things to think about that should help ease the pain. Okay?”
Rose glared. Positive thinking wasn’t going to help her baby.
“I want you to take a long, slow breath,” Vlad coached.
“Can’t. Hurts.”
“I know. But this will help. I promise. One long deep breath, and imagine the way your arms feel when you feel good.”
Zoe nodded as she tried to take a deep, stuttering breath.
“That’s it. Good girl. Now close your eyes and concentrate on how your whole body feels when you feel good. How your two legs feel. What the shoes on your feet feel like. What it feels like to wiggle your toes against the inside of your shoes. Got it?” He looked up at Rose. “What’s her favorite toy or game? Something that involves physical sensation.”
Rose snatched up Zoe’s special blanket and handed it to him.
“I want you to imagine feeling your blanket against your fingers,” he continued, speaking to Zoe. “Do you remember what if feels like? Concentrate on the soft material against your skin.”
“She sucks on the corner,” Rose added.
Vlad nodded. “Remember what the corner feels like against your lips, on your tongue. How the blanket feels when it touches your cheek.”
As he talked in slow, rhythmic, soothing tones, Zoe’s breathing evened out and the tight lines around her eyes and mouth eased. Her little body relaxed and her shoulders slumped.
“Feeling better now?” Vlad asked.
She opened her eyes and smiled. “Better. I tired.”
“You rest, baby,” Rose said. Vlad stood and Rose tucked Zoe into her bed, making sure she had her favorite blanket in hand. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”
She nodded, then looked up at Vlad, her dark eyes narrowing toward sleep. “Thanks for stopping the pain.”
“You’re welcome.”
Rose felt tears pricking her eyes and sniffed them back. She didn’t like Zoe seeing her upset, not so soon after an episode. She motioned to Vlad, and they left Zoe to sleep.
In the living room, Rose stood for a long moment just staring at the pale carpet and breathing deeply. She felt so drained she wanted to sleep, too. And cry. She desperately needed to cry.
But she refused to do it in front of Vlad.
“Why are you here?” She kept her back to him until she was sure the tears pricking at her eyes wouldn’t fall.
“I’m not sure how to start.”
She finally faced him. “Let me start then…by saying thank you for helping Zoe. If you can tell me how to do that, I’d appreciate it. Then you can leave.”
Vlad scowled. “I can’t leave you.”
“You did before.”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s… This is a complicated story.”
“I’m too tired for stories, Vlad.” She crossed her arms and braced her legs to stave off the emotional exhaustion weighing on her. She wouldn’t let him see her pain, only her anger. Even if he had just helped with her daughter.
“I was expecting a different reaction to my being here,” he said.
“What?”
He shrugged. “I thought you might slap me.”