Smiling at the memory, Cade considered the similarities between Hamm and his foster father and felt a fresh wave of gratitude. He remembered how Hamm had pulled him from the streets and given him a home, had reined in his wayward behavior and shitty teenage attitude. It couldn't have been easy; Cade had made sure of that. Now, with the perspective of an adult, he realized he owed the older man so much, deeply appreciated all he'd done, but had never told him. It was an oversight he promised to correct, but not now. Right now, it all felt too raw.
Eager to escape Hamm's presence in light of this revelation, he mumbled an excuse about taking care of Tristan and crossed the room to where the siblings were cuddled up on the sofa. Though Cade hated to interrupt their reunion, the possibility of Tristan having a more serious injury still nagged him.
"Tristan, we should get you to the hospital now."
Natalie's face contorted with worry. "Tris, what's wrong? You said you were okay."
"I'm fine, but Cade," Tristan responded, emphasizing the name with mock exasperation, "wants me to get checked out because of my head injury."
"What injury? What happened?"
Sidestepping the details of the assault, Tristan answered, "I may have a concussion, but Cade is worried I have a brain bleed."
Natalie blanched. "Can that happen?"
Feeling bad for worrying her, Cade answered, "Yes, but it's probably not that. Taylor examined him back at the site and said he was most likely fine. I trust Taylor, but I still want to have Tris checked out be sure."
Natalie seemed satisfied with his explanation, and Cade's guilt eased. "Okay, but I want to come with you."
"Why? I don't even want to go."
Much to his relief, Natalie said, "I agree with Cade. We should get you checked to be safe."
"Ugh, fine," Tristan relented sullenly. Rising to his feet, he added, "But let me use the bathroom first."
When Tristan was out of earshot, Natalie glanced at Cade with a smirk and held out her clenched hand. Cade couldn't help but smile as he bumped his fist against hers, his respect for her climbing.
They were going to get along just fine, the two of them.
Cade sat fidgeting in a hard plastic chair in the tiny hospital room, still angry over the confrontation with the nurse who had insisted that only family members could accompany the patient to the exam room. He had hated to resort to intimidation, but there was no fucking way he'd have agreed to stay in the waiting room while Tristan was being checked out. Luckily, his menacing glower seemed to convince the nurse to relent, which was good because assaulting a health-care worker was against the code.
As the nurse took Tristan's vitals, Cade sat beside Natalie, continuing to ward off thoughts of brain surgery, permanent damage, or maybe even death. He forced himself to remember that he trusted Taylor's judgment but also accepted that he wouldn't truly believe Tristan was safe until he heard it from a medical professional holding definitive proof.
Cade listened to the nurse's questions and Tristan's answers about his symptoms, trying to determine how likely it was that the injury was more serious than they initially thought.
When asked how he'd been injured, Tristan said, "I hit my head when I fell."
"What did you hit it on?"
"A concrete floor."
"And when did this fall happen?"
"About twenty-four hours ago," Tristan admitted sheepishly.
The nurse glared. "Why did you wait so long to come in?"
"Oh, I was tied up and couldn't get away," Tristan answered, throwing a smirk and a wink at his two companions. Cade looked over at Natalie with an eyeroll, and she returned the gesture, making Cade feel like they bonded again, this time over Tristan's lame joke.
The nurse soon left, and as they waited for a doctor, Cade fought the uneasy, restless feeling. When he realized he was bouncing his leg, copying Tristan's nervous habit, he forced it to be still, but that only increased the tension in his body.
When the doctor finally entered the exam room, Cade sat up straight, ready to listen. She repeated the same questions the nurse had asked, which Cade thought was annoying. Wasn't all of that in the fucking chart? She examined Tristan's eyes with a light and probed at the bump on his head as he winced. She said she wanted a CT scan to rule out anything serious, then exited the room less than five minutes after she arrived. The whole encounter was a bit underwhelming.
Tristan yawned and reclined on the hospital bed, while Natalie rested her head against the wall behind her chair and closed her eyes. Cade waited anxiously, trying to convince himself that everything would be alright, that the universe could not possibly be so cruel as to snatch Tristan away from him now, when they'd just found each other.
A radiology technician entered the room, wheeling Tristan away for the CT, and then Cade and Natalie were left alone.
"Are you worried?" Natalie asked, finally breaking her silence.
