My head snaps toward her.
“Go,” Alex says, giving my arm a light push. “We’ll wait out here.”
My gaze flicks over to Blaine, almost asking for his permission.
He gives a silent nod and hooks his arm around Alex’s shoulders.
Not wanting to wait another minute, I head down the hall to Elliot’s room. I rap my knuckle lightly against the open door to alert my presence and step inside. He’s sitting up in the bed, the oxygen mask no longer covering his gorgeous face. He looks tired. There are slight shadows under his eyes, his skin still paler than usual, but he’s still the most beautiful thing in the world.
“Hi,” I rasp, walking around the bed to take his hand.
“Hi.” His smile is slow and sleepy. “I heard you carried me out like a real fireman.”
I let out a choked laugh. “Yeah, I did, and I don’t ever want to do that again, okay?” I cup his face with my other hand, and he closes his eyes, leaning into my touch.
“Unless it’s into the bedroom,” he mumbles, his lips kicking up in a small smirk.
Warmth fills my chest at his flirty tone. Fuck, I love him so much.
“Yeah, maybe,” I say, stroking my thumb over his cheek.
“The nurse said the doctor is on his way to let me know my results of the X-ray and blood tests and whether I can go home.”
“That’s good. How do you feel?”
“I’m fine. I’m just tired, but I get like this after a panic attack.” His smile is sad. “I was the same after you rescued me from the elevator.”
I run my fingers through his hair, brushing it off his face.
“It’s natural to feel drained. Your body goes into fight-or-flight mode to protect you, and the comedown from that can be exhausting.”
He hums in agreement before asking, “How’s Boomer?”
I smile fondly. “He’s fine. Your head coach took him to the vet to be checked over, and he’s all good.”
“Good,” he mumbles.
“Why did you run in, El?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. “We would’ve got him when we arrived. You didn’t need to risk yourself.”
“I didn’t think I would get locked in,” he admits, then yawns. “Plus, I didn’t want him to be scared. Dogs have big hearts too. They feel things, and they would risk it to protect us, so we should do the same for them.”
“He did protect you.”
He slowly blinks his eyes open. “He did?”
“Yeah. He was lying on you when we got there, and he was licking your face and neck to try and bring you to consciousness.”
“He’s the best.” He smiles. “As are you.”
Elliot’s results come back all clear, and he’s free to go home. They advise to take it easy for the next few days, as it can take a while for lungs to heal even from minor smoke inhalation, so it’s looking like he’ll be on day-to-day game-time observation.
Blaine and Alex follow us in their car back to Elliot’s apartment. Only when we step out of the elevator on Elliot’s floor, they don’t come with us.
“We’ll come by later with Ernie,” Alex says with a soft smile, pressing the button to hold the doors open. “I’ll bring some dinner too.”
“Only if you’re sure. I’m happy to cook,” I offer.
“Of course. We’ll come by about six.”
