After dinner, the room settled into an easy hum, the faint aroma of takeout still lingering in the air. Kimi leaned back in his chair, glancing at Seven with that sharp, calculating look of his—the one that meant business.

  “Seven, when do you plan to submit your incident report to your superiors?” he asked casually, though the weight behind his question was anything but.

  Seven, who’d been sneaking glances at Sana, turned to him. “In a couple of days, I suppose. I don’t have my laptop with me.”

  Kimi’s brow furrowed, a flicker of understanding crossing his features. “Fair enough. When you’re ready, copy me on all correspondence with your superiors. I want to advise you properly.”

  Seven tilted his head slightly. “Got it.”

  But Kimi wasn’t done. “I pulled a team together this morning to dig into similar cases. So far, not a single precedent fits the circumstances of your case. We’re expanding the search now, casting a wider net for anything remotely comparable.”

  Some of the tension in Seven’s core loosened. He hadn’t expected much, but Kimi was already two steps ahead. A pang of gratitude stirred in his chest.

  “Thank you, Kimi. But I’m not na?ve about how this will play out. I’m a soldier; I’m always prepared for the worst. Whatever the military decides, I’ll accept it.”

  Kimi squared his shoulders, his jaw setting in the way his family knew well—his courtroom posture. “Let me make one thing clear,” he said, voice firm, almost cutting. “I’ve never lost a case since I was called to the bar. Not once. And I’m not about to let yours be the first. Our reputations are on the line here. Yes, this case is a challenge, but that’s where our strength lies. Its uniqueness works in our favor.”

  His words landed like a gauntlet thrown, heavy with conviction.

  Katherine, who had been scrolling on her phone, looked up, oddly impressed by Kimi’s resolve. “Okay, Mr. Perry Mason,” she teased, “On a less life-or-death note, Kasra still hasn’t added you to our group chat. Mind sharing your number?”

  “Sure thing, Kate,” Kimi said, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Our numbers are ridiculously easy to remember: the ‘703’ area code, then ‘9,’ then our position in the Shahi household. For example, Dad’s is 703-911-1111. Mine’s 703-966-6666.”

  Katherine broke into a mischievous grin as she nudged Seven with her elbow. “Bruh, isn’t it wild that Sana’s number is all sevens?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Coincidence? I think not.”

  Seven’s head snapped almost imperceptibly toward Sana. Their eyes met for a fleeting second, too intense for either of them to ignore. It was a look that said far more than words: recognition, an unspoken thread pulling taut between them. Fate didn’t just knock twice; it barged in, apparently with a dark sense of humor.

  Sana’s pulse gave a tiny, treacherous jump, and she fussed with the edge of her blanket as if smoothing invisible creases.

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  Before the charged silence could deepen, the door swung open, and Kasra reappeared with the brisk energy of a man juggling three things at once. His expression was a mix of relief and purpose.

  “Seven,” he said, striding in. “Just spoke to James’s wife, Esme. She’s desperate for updates and wants to visit, but with two little boys, daycare is her only window.”

  Seven straightened, his tone gentler. “He should be conscious once the anesthesia wears off. Tell her she can come anytime tomorrow. He’ll be awake and glad to see her.”

  Kasra exhaled. “Good. She’ll be relieved to hear that. Oh, and by the way, Esme used to work as a critical care nurse at Walter Reed. She said she’d be happy to help if you need an extra pair of hands.”

  Seven paused. “That’s kind of her, but she’s got her hands full with two kids. I wouldn’t want her running herself ragged. They need her more than I do.”

  The sincerity in his remark drew quiet admiration among the Shahis: This man isn’t just competent, he’s thoughtful, selfless.

  “Seven,” Ami asked after a moment, “what’s the treatment plan for James and Sana?”

  Seven clasped his hands loosely, leaning forward. “To be honest, I haven’t thought beyond their hospital stay. Sana’s path is fairly straightforward: she can go home once she moves her bowels without issue. James, on the other hand, will need to stay here until the first stem cell injection is done.”

  His brows knitted. “As I told Kasra earlier, I’m on leave for another five months, though the infraction might complicate things. I’m fine treating them both, but I can’t be in two places at the same time.”

  Ami, ever the strategist, immediately suggested, “What if James came to stay with us after discharge?”

  Seven nodded slowly. “That could work. But the house would need to be wheelchair accessible, with a bathroom big enough for assisted showers.”

  “What else?” Ami pressed, already mentally rearranging her home like pieces on a chessboard.

  “Separate rooms for privacy. Ideally, they should be in hospital beds; it’s more ergonomic. Two wheelchairs, transfer chairs, and an adjustable massage bed.”

  He hesitated, then added almost offhandedly, “And… an outdoor kitchen. I’ll need to prepare some medicines, and they might stink up the house.”

  “Outdoor kitchen?” Ami blinked. “Would the barbecue area work?”

  “As long as I can cook outside, yes.”

  “Oh! And I’ll need special crockery for the decoctions,” Seven continued. “I’ll make a list, and someone can help procure them.”

  “No problem. Anything else?”

  Seven’s gaze slid toward the dark window, as if seeing the seasons ahead. “Eventually, they’ll both need aqua therapy. With winter coming—”

  Ami cut in with a triumphant smile. “We have a heated pool in the basement.”

  “Perfect.”

  Ami mentally ticked off every item he mentioned, then added, “We’ve got the space to house Esme and the boys, too. She won’t have to worry about chores; we can hire a nanny for the kids and have the chauffeur ferry them to daycare. What do you think?”

  Seven’s expression softened. “That would be ideal. Having his family around will help him recover faster.”

  Then he turned to Kasra, slipping back into work mode. “Kasra, since we’ll all be in separate rooms, can you design waterproof call bracelets for each of us? Ones that vibrate and light up in different colors so I know who’s calling.”

  Kasra grinned. “Consider it done.”

  Just then, a soft cough broke the rhythm of the conversation. Seven caught it instantly. “Mr. Porter’s waking up. Let me check on him.”

  The atmosphere flipped in an instant, excitement rippling the room like an electric current.