Sacha shook his head. “No. Not true. Need to find her.” He tried to sit up, but Jack quickly stopped him.
“You were badly injured,” Jack said, trying to prevent Sacha from getting up. “Please, don’t fight me.”
Sacha flexed his fingers, slowly opening and closing his hands as if testing his mobility. They needed to get the nurse before Sacha did anything to hurt himself. Sacha moved his legs and tried to sit up again, only to have Jack hold him back, a hand to Sacha’s chest.
“Sacha,” Jack pleaded. “Stop.”
“I need to find her,” Sacha growled, balling his hands into fists. “Get the fuck off me!”
“What about Chip?” Gio asked. “Remember Chip?” An idea hit him, and he quickly grabbed his phone. He found the video he wanted, turned up the volume, and pressed play.
“Don’t you sass me,”Sacha argued in the video as Chip barked at him.“Do you hear this? I told you. If he keeps hanging out with Cocoa and Ace, he’s going to turn into a delinquent.”
Chip barked again and started talking in his doggy language.
“Excuse me? How dare you, sir! Don’t you run over to your dad. He’s not going to give you any bacon.”
“Well…”Gio’s laugh could be heard from the other side of the phone since he’d been the one recording the video.
“You shit! You already gave him bacon? Oh, you’re in trouble now.”
Sacha stilled. He closed his eyes, a shuddering breath escaping him. “Gio,” he murmured. He opened his eyes, his brows furrowing, and extended a hand. Gio gently took his hand and pressed it to his cheek, holding his breath as Sacha ran his thumb over Gio’s bottom lip. A tear tracked down Sacha’s cheek. “I remember. We love each other, have a life together, with Chip and Cookie.” His bottom lip quivered, and Gio softly pulled him into his embrace.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“It’s like…losing her all over again,” Sacha whispered against Gio’s chest.
“I know.” If he could take the pain from Sacha and make it his own, he would. Gio closed his eyes. “I was so scared.”
“I’m sorry.” With a sniff, Sacha pulled away and lay back, his eyes closed.
“I’ll go get the nurse,” Jack said, hurrying out of the room. He returned a short time later with the neurologist and her staff.
“Mr. Wilder, it’s good to have you back with us,” the doctor said as she approached the bed. “Though we hadn’t expected you to be quite so active. It usually takes patients much longer to regain consciousness.”
“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m an anomaly,” Sacha grumbled.
The doctor chuckled. She removed her penlight from her front pocket and started to check his eyes.
“My vision’s blurry.”
“That should be temporary, but if it doesn’t improve in the next day or so, we’ll run some tests,” the doctor replied. “Everyone’s body reacts differently. Given your medical history and background, and the fact that you tried to get out of bed shortly after waking up, I’m going to emphasize the importance of being patient.” She gave him a pointed look.
“I can’t see your face, but I’m gonna assume you’re giving me a look.”
“You would be correct. Recovery is a gradual process. It could be days, weeks, or even months. You need to take it slow and allow your body the time it needs to heal. No running obstacle courses, no chasing after dogs, and certainly no carrying them on your shoulders.”
Sacha turned his head in Jack’s direction. “Really?”
“What?” Jack glowered at him. “She asked me what you did for a living.”
“I don’t carry dogs for a living,” Sacha told the doctor, and Gio tried his best not to laugh. Damn, Gio had missed him fiercely.
“But you do carry them.”
Sacha sighed. “I carryone. Mine. It’s fine. I did it for years.”
“Yeah, when you were in your twenties,” Jack muttered.
