“No,” I shake my head, “stay, please.” Dylan looks at me with such tenderness; it almost makes the gravity of the situation seem a little bit less. As they’re about to leave, I add, “You guys should stay, too. You’ve been here waiting the whole time.”
With Dylan sitting right next to me, Dr. Young goes over the progress of the surgery offering what he’s sure will be a very good prognosis.
“Can I see her?” My voice wobbles in relief and immeasurable gratitude.
“I’m afraid she won’t be ready for visitors for a few hours. She’s in recovery now and then we have to make sure she’s stable before we move her. You could come back–”
Knowing what he’s going to suggest, I cut him off. “No, I’ll wait. Please come get me when I can see her.” Dr. Young stands and nods, agreeing to take me to her no matter what time it is.
After he leaves, Maddy and Reid stand, making sure there’s nothing else they can do for us before they leave to pick up Braden. “Thank you, both, so much for coming.” They let us know they’re never more than a phone call away, if we need anything and then they’re gone.
When it’s just me and Dylan in the room, I collapse into a chair, letting the weight of the last twelve hours fall away. Tears of relief burn in my eyes as I hang my head in my hands. “Come here.” Dylan pulls me into a tight hug, his arms banding around me, taking away some of the pain that had built up in my heart throughout the day.
When the tears turn into a full-blown cry, his hand combs back my hair. With a calming touch and soft words, I relax into him, so thankful that I have him with me. “Thank you for being here,” I mutter against his tear-stained shirt.
With his lips pressed to the top of my head, he says, “Nowhere I’d rather be.”
We stay like that for a long time, both of us eventually dozing. When a nurse comes in to get me a few hours later, she lets me know that I can finally go and see Rachel. Like the pillar of support he’s been all day, Dylan tells me he’ll be right here waiting for me when I get back.
“Now, I don’t want you to be too shocked,” the nurse whose nametag reads Diane, tells me as we stop outside of Rachel’s ICU room. “She’s heavily sedated and very swollen. I know it doesn’t look like she’s doing well, but even in the short amount of time she’s been up here, she’s improved. Take five minutes, hun, but then let her get some rest.” Diane offers a sincere smile and opens the door for me.
Fear clogs my throat, making it almost impossible for me to speak. Though she’s right here in front of me, I can’t battle back the terror of almost losing her. With soft footsteps, I approach her bed. “Hey, Rach.” I hold her hand in mine, immeasurably thankful for its warmth. “You made it,” I whisper against her skin, a single tear tracking down my cheek. “You get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning.” Careful not to disrupt the IV in her hand, I give her one more kiss and tell her I love her.
When I get back into the waiting room, I catch the tail end of Dylan’s phone call to Reid, telling him that Rachel is fine and that we’ll be heading home soon.
He collects the bag that Reid brought in earlier. On the short elevator ride down to the main floor, I rest my head on Dylan’s shoulder, exhaustion taking up residence in every square inch of my body. “What’s in the bag?” I ask through a huge yawn.
“I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here, so I asked Reid to stop at my place and grab a few things in case we stayed the night.” It’s a simple gesture, one I’m sure he didn’t even have to think about twice. But to me, it means so much.
Pulling his face to mine, I say against his lips, “I’m so lucky to have you.”
“No,” he kisses me softly, filled with more emotion than an innocent kiss should ever have, “I’m the lucky one.”
Taking in every inch of tanned, hard muscle currently sprawled across my bed is my new favorite way to wake up. With an arm tucked under the pillow and the other stretched out across my chest, he’s damn near perfect. It’s impossible not to follow every ripple and curve of his strong arms with my fingers. The lightest of touches makes him stir. His hand flexes on my chest. With a light graze of his short fingernails across my skin, a wave of goose bumps races everywhere.
With a thickly drowsy voice, he mumbles, “Morning,” as he slides closer to me, resting his head on my shoulder.
I press my lips to the top of his head, inhaling the lingering scent of his shampoo. “Sleep okay?”
He nods. “Woke up even better.” A warm, sleepy smile graces his face before he presses a soft kiss to my neck. “Thank you for everything these last few days.”
Lightly combing my fingers through his hair, I look down at him. “Of course. I was able to move some meetings and sessions, so I have the rest of the week off to be here for you and Rachel.”
His arm bands around my waist, pulling me tightly to his side. On a long yawn-turned-sigh, he says, “I should get up.” Propping himself up on an elbow, he adds, “I need to get to the gym before I go to the hospital. Peter’s been great, but there are a few new staff members coming in and out today and I want to make sure he and Eddie have everything taken care of.” As he rolls out of bed, I miss his warmth immediately. “Gonna grab a shower first.”
His boxer-brief covered ass struts out of the room, making my mouth go dry. My mind wanders – Conner all soapy and wet, slick and hot. Thoughts of water cascading in between the ridges and planes of his sculpted body do nothing to calm the raging erection that’s currently tenting the sheets at my waist.
His boxers land next to me on the bed. “You gonna join me or what?” His laughter fills the room; his naked body is framed by the bathroom door, accentuating the piece of art he is.
Not needing to be asked twice, I leap from the bed, strip out of my shorts, and join him in the hot water. “You’re in a good mood this morning.” It’s impossible not to notice. He’s pulled me into his arms, trailing kisses and bites along my neck.
Pulling away from me, I notice some of the worry lines that had creased his brow since Rachel’s surgery a few days ago are gone. “Yesterday was a good day.” Now, that’s an understatement. Some of the swelling reduced and the doctors were able to lower her sedation meds. Right before we were ready to leave last night, Rachel actually opened her eyes. She was even able to recognize Conner and me and have a very short conversation with us before she fell asleep again.
Lathering up a handful of body wash, I massage the bubbles into his shoulders. “You want me to help you out down at the gym today?” He moans, leaning into my touch. Rolling his neck to the side, I rub away the built-up tension.
“No,” his word is near breathless. “It’ll do me good to get down there for a bit.” He turns around to face me, his face slack and dotted with droplets of water.
“I’ll meet you there later, then?” My question mingles together with his moan-of-an-affirmation and I run my soapy hands across his chest, tracing down the deep-cut V of his abs.
