“Has the infection compromised her renal function?” I asked, using the precise clinical terms that always settled automatically into my mouth whenever panic threatened my focus.

Dr.

Owens turned to face us, tapping her black ballpoint pen against the top edge of her clipboard with a rhythmic click.

“Her serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels are completely within normal limits,” Dr.

Owens said, her measured tone filling the room.

“We caught this before it migrated into her kidneys, which is the best possible outcome we could hope for.”

Ethan let out a low, shaky breath, running both of his hands through his hair until it stood up in messy tufts across his forehead.