Nana touched Rose's cheek, and Rose turned her face, rooting instinctively. John listened to Nana humming, soft and sweet, but didn't recognize the tune. Nana's face was open, ingenuous, easily read as a book, and he could almost see the flow of her thoughts on her face. He'd meant it when he'd said that Nana could depend on him; he'd gladly do what needed to be done to help her.
He relaxed, for what was possibly the first time that day. Being around Nana always calmed him, and his tension bled slowly away as he watched her sway gently with Rose, listened to her hum.
So of course his beeper, set to vibrate, went off. Swearing under his breath, John left the unit and stripped off the iso gear, tossing it into a red bag. He washed his hands and unclipped the beeper from the waist of his scrubs and looked at the message. It was Carstairs, the page a soon but not urgent. He scowled at the device as if it was responsible, then rapped gently on the glass door to get Nana's attention, held up the beeper, and then went to the nurse's station to call Carstairs and ask what he wanted.