The moment Axel was injected with the new medicine, the change didn't come instantly, but it didn't take long either.
Two minutes passed in a stretched, unbearable silence, every second dragging like it might snap. Then the monitor gave a steadier sound, no longer erratic, no longer frighteningly uneven.
One of the doctors leaned closer, checking the readings again to be certain. "His pulse is back to normal," he said at last.
The relief in his voice was unmistakable. Nurses exhaled breaths they hadn't realized they were holding.
Tension drained from shoulders that had been locked tight with fear. Someone murmured a quiet thanks under their breath, not even sure to whom it was directed.
Ivan's chest finally expanded properly, air rushing back into his lungs like he had been drowning. Dallas felt it too, his knees almost buckling from the sudden release of panic that had been holding him upright by sheer force of will.
They rushed closer without thinking.
