“Hi,” she said softly. A smile, one he’d dreamed about, he realized, teased her mouth, and it was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.
Now that he was awake, he was aware again of the pain that radiated through his body, but instead of being unbearable like it had been the first time he swam toward consciousness, this time he could deal with it.
“Are you in pain?” she asked, a slight frown marring her forehead. He didn’t like seeing that, he’d rather see her smile.
“A little, but I’m okay.”
The door behind Marie opened, and two peoplebustled inside, he could tell one was a doctor and the other must be a nurse.
“Mr. Warner, it’s good to see you back.” The doctor checked the machines that were on the opposite side of the bed. He also had a tablet in his hand, and he tapped at the screen while he looked things over. “I think we can safely say that you’re out of the woods now that you’re awake. I’d explain what you all went through, but I think Dr. Hughes will be more than capable to tell you, and I expect you’d rather hear it from her than me.”
There was no malice in his voice, as though he had no issue passing over explanations to someone else. Isaac appreciated it, and the man went up in his estimation. “Yes.” That was the only word he could summon, as his lips were dry and his throat was parched.
“I’ll leave you both to it then. If you need anything, please ring the bell. While I’m okay with Dr. Hughes telling you the extent of your injuries, the administration of pain meds should come from me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of taking liberties like that,” Marie said. “Thank you, though, for understanding the situation.”
The doctor smiled indulgently. “I’ve been on that side of the bed, I understand it well.”
With a final nod, he and the nursewalked out. A chair scraped as Marie moved it closer, and then his hand was clasped between both of hers.
“It’s good to see you awake,” she kissed his knuckles. “I was scared you weren’t going to wake up.”
“Your voice brought me back.” It was then he realized that whoever she’d been talking to wasn’t in the room. “Who were you talking to before I woke up?”
“I wasn’t talking to anyone, it was just us, and then you said my name.”
That didn’t make sense to him. Hadn’t he woken up just after she’d finished speaking?
“Wait, Ox was in here checking up on you, but that was like an hour ago.”
“Time has no meaning when you’re unconscious.” That was the only explanation he could find. What he thought were seconds was actually so much longer.
“I’ve had patients tell me that. It’s not something we can truly understand. Do you want to know what happened?”
Did he? Was it that important that he knew? He was awake and alive, that was all that mattered. But maybe Marie needed to do this. Needed to tell him to help her. “I remember being hit around and then shot. After that not so much.”
“That’s right. You suffered multiple contusions over your body. You have two cracked ribs and right cheek bone. Because of the beating, you weresuffering some internal bleeding which was made worse when you were shot. The bullet grazed an artery, not a major one thank goodness, but enough to cause more bleeding.” She took a deep breath, and he wanted to tell her to stop, that it wasn’t necessary for her to go on. “I got you stabilized at the scene, but on the way to the ER you crashed, and then you crashed again on the table. It was…” Her breath hitched, and she swallowed as though she couldn’t say what needed to be said. Tears filled her eyes. “Touch and go, and the surgeons weren’t sure you were going to make it.”
He wanted to hold her. Pull her close and tell her that everything was okay, but he couldn’t. His body wouldn’t co-operate. He had to settle for holding hands with her. “I’m here and I’m okay.”
“I can’t imagine my life without you in it,” she whispered, the tears trickling down her cheek. “I love you, Isaac. More than I ever thought I could possibly love someone again.”
Fuck what his body said, he needed this woman close to him. Her distress was cutting him to the core. Digging deep, he found the strength to sit up and turn so that he could hug her awkwardly around the wires and tubes attached to him. “I love you too, Doc. So much. It was you who kept me grounded throughout all I went through. You were all I thought about.Coming back to you. You are the reason I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
He held her as she sobbed, his side killing him and his hold on his consciousness waning with every passing second. He fought against the pull, knowing that he needed this as much as she did.
Marie pulled away, but he didn’t want to let her go. “You need to lie back down. I can hear your monitor, you’re stressing your body.”
“I don’t want to,” he said, even knowing that was the smart thing to do.
“Please. Lie back down.”
He couldn’t ignore her plea. “Okay, but on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Her eyebrows rose in question.
“You lie next to me.”
