With just over a fortnight passed since that disastrous argument with Hudson, Johnny had had time to turn over his brother-in-law?s accusations. Matty?s tale of the birth-night, when he had finally coaxed it from the woman, was hair-raising. He couldn?t concentrate on his work; finally he decided to do something about it. Throwing down his latest project onto the scarred worktable of his studio, long strides took him out of the room with barely a pause to lock the door.

Clouds dimmed the sky, threatening rain without quite following through in an on-going bluff, but he was too preoccupied to notice. Hands jammed in his pockets, Johnny?s green eyes were searching the commons as soon as he entered the Red Dragon Inn. If Eva wasn?t down there he would look up her room in the register book, but he?d already decided to check the public areas first.

As crazy as the Inn could be at night, the afternoons were often relatively quiet. Eva sat in the middle of that quiet, leaned forward over a table by the window, a cup of coffee in her hand, and a medical journal folded open. A pen twirled between the fingers of her left hand, occasionally pausing to make notes in the margin of her magazine.

When Johnny spotted Eva at the table, bent over her reading, he turned his steps in that direction. Pulling back a chair opposite hers, he dropped into the seat without even a pause. Still, despite the abrupt nature of his arrival, his baritone voice was polite. ?Eva ? ya go? a few minutes free??

The movement had caught her eye, so there was no start of surprise as he took the seat across from her, just an easing of her expression from concentration to friendly warmth. "Sure, babe. What's going on?" Pen left as a holding place in her journal, she closed the pages and pushed them aside, reaching instead for her cup of coffee.

?Star? off by thankin? ya fer takin? care?a Sianna an? all while I was gone ? ain? really ha? a goo? chance ta do tha?. An? fer keepin? on with watchin? ou? fer them all after th? birth, th? meds an? all.? Johnny smiled easily, and there could be no doubt how much those thanks were meant. ?Twins are gettin? big ? ya should stop by more often ta see?em, th? goo? work ya did.?

Eva twisted in her chair, embarrassed by the thanks. "It was no problem..." She glanced up at him, a soft smile on her lips accompanying a nod. "A lot of changes in that first year... I'll try to come by."

?Ya do tha? ? one?r th? other of us is there pretty much all th? time.? With the matter of the visit settled in his mind, Johnny nodded and then continued, ?Bu? fer i? bein? no problem ? well, Sianna don? know how much meds like ya go? fer her can run, bein? used ta herbal thin?s and her Gran?s remedies more?n anythin?, bu? I know tha? stuff can run pricy. Askin? ya ta take care?a them I din? expect ya ta have any kinda expense like tha?, so ya le? me know wha? it?s come ta an? I?ll make sure yer repaid fer it.?

Her coffee cup turning circles in her hands, Eva looked up at him, soft smile fading at the edges. "There's no need, Johnny. It's taken care of." Sensing this might be an argument, she moved on quickly with the hopes of distracting him. "I'm glad you came by though, because I wanted to talk with you about Sianna's condition."

Blonde eyebrows lifted at Eva?s statement that the meds were taken care of, but he let her distraction work for the moment. Leaning forward, he braced his forearms against the table. ?An? I wan? ta hear abou? it ? an? wha? brough? it on, if?n ya know. I knew she was havin? a rough pregnancy, bu? I din? think tha? she?d still be havin? problems from i?. An? Matty tol? me somethin? happened durin? th? birth, too, tha? she was close ta th? edge there fer a bi??? The fear of that still rode him, clear in his voice, despite or because of finding out about it so much later.

Though she hadn't been formally practicing for many years, Eva still had a doctor's manner when she needed to. Her voice was calm and steady, and she met his eyes without any trouble. "There was a rough moment, but she came through it strong. Without being able to run any tests, it's hard for me to say for sure, but I think Sianna had a condition called preeclampsia. It's fairly common in multiple pregnancies. Basically it elevates the mother's blood pressure. If she had regular prenatal care..." Eva shook her head. "Probably, wouldn't have been a problem to monitor, and might have made her pregnancy and labor a little easier. But Sianna's a tough woman, and she came through." There was more to say, but Eva paused, giving Johnny a moment to digest that, and raise questions.

A moment which Johnny needed. Running one silver-meshed hand back over the scruff on his cheek, he frowned deeply. ?She was stubborn abou? no? seein? a doctor, an? I le? her ge? away with tha?.? A shake of his head toward the table?s surface before he again looked up and across at Eva. ?So th? preeclampsia raised up her bloo? pressure ? an? then it?s stayin? up, tha?s from th? same thin?? Or somethin? else? An? if?n Si were ta ge? pregnan? again, would she be havin? th? same problems??

It was always tricky to raise concerns as a doctor without over alarming a patient, and yet still instilling the proper sense of importance. "Well, this is why I wanted to talk to you. Theoretically, once Sianna recovers from the pregnancy, her blood pressure should be returning to normal. But from what I can tell from my follow-up visits, that doesn't seem to be happening. If she still has high blood pressure, it's imperative that she manages that with regular monitoring by a doctor and medication. She could be feeling just fine, but her health could very much be at risk." She knew that she stopped before answering his last question, but again, she wanted him to take a moment to make sure he understood.