And did the corners of her little bow mouth tip up in the threat of a grin?

"Let me get this straight," she finally--finally--said. "Lucas Riley had his orgasm, and then he vanished into thin air?"

The deep growl of masculine laughter behind her made Annabelle jump before she could form an answer. She jerked around, alarmed by the unexpected sound. The two orderlies had come up behind her. Now they stood, waiting for Dr. Duncan's orders, hands in their pockets, deep chuckles still rumbling from their chests.

Their humor struck Annabelle in her indignant bone.

"What exactly is so funny about this?" Annabelle asked sharply.

"Nothing, ma'am," one said, though he raised his hand and whispered behind it, too loud for Annabelle not to hear it, "Sounds like the lad had a good time."

Another deep rumble of amusement followed.

"This is not funny!"

"Indeed not." The doctor directed a glare at them. The two men responded not by smothering their grins, but merely by directing their eyes to the floor.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" the doctor asked.

"Well, only that she seemed so calm, and then she said something about space aliens taking Lucas off for experiments and that you, Dr. Duncan, were spying on her. She said you were one of them. The space aliens."

The doctor didn't seem offended. In fact, her response was quite positive. "Excellent," she said, exchanging a glance with the orderlies. "Gentlemen, would you stay with Miss Tinker--like I already told you--while I speak with her sister?" she said with quite a sharp tone.

The two burly men nodded and left them alone.

Dr. Duncan crossed her arms and drew a breath. Annabelle mimicked her, knowing serious words were coming.

"You must not be fooled by the calm façade, Ms. Tinker. Your sister is very disturbed. She is displaying clear, paranoid delusions, and now she's involving me in them." She pursed her lips as though thinking over her words. "That may help us, or it could hurt our course of treatment. We'll just have to wait and see. I'm going to sedate her and let her rest. I suggest the same for you and your mother. We'll call you when she wakes up."

"Please let me stay with her." The doctor's frown prompted Annabelle to add, "My sister has always been levelheaded and sure of herself, doctor. You can't imagine how unnerving it is to see her like this, but I think I can help keep her calmed down, now that I'm aware of how serious her condition is. Please let me stay."

"I don't know..."

"Annabelle, what's going on? What's wrong with my baby?" Her mother came out of the room, wringing her hands together, nearly tying her fingers in knots.

Dr. Duncan went to her and took her hands. "Mrs. Tinker, I'm going to sedate Erin so she can rest. Go home and get some sleep."

"No, no, I won't leave her!" Susan's tone was as frantic as Erin's had been before she'd flown out of her room.

"Mom," Annabelle said. "I'll be here. Go home and try to sleep.