James’s POV
The doctor didn’t rush.
That’s how I knew the news wasn’t life-ending.
But it was life-changing.
We stood in the small conference room just off the pediatric ICU. Melinda had one hand wrapped around her coffee cup. The other was clenched tight against her hip. She hadn’t slept, not really. Neither had I.
The doctor sat across from us, patient, clinical, kind.
“The biopsy came back benign.”
Melinda exhaled so hard it sounded like a sob.
I grabbed her hand.
The doctor continued, gently. “It was reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. Not cancer. Likely triggered by a virus he picked up. His immune system overreacted. It’s not uncommon in children with certain genetic markers.”
I stilled.
Melinda straightened. “What kind of markers?”
The doctor tapped the folder.
“Elijah teste
