He sank down carefully, like he thought he might hurt me just by existing. His head came to rest on my shoulder, his hands gripping the blanket like it was the only thing anchoring him to the earth.
I slid my fingers into his hair, gentle, soothing. He shook against me—silent sobs, all that terror and guilt finally finding release.
We stayed like that long enough for the world outside the curtain to blur and fade. Him whispering apologies he didn’t owe me. Me whispering promises I intended to keep.
Eventually, I tilted his face toward me, brushing my thumb beneath his eye.
"When did you last sleep?"
He blinked slowly, confused. "...I don’t know. What day is it?"
My heart cracked. "Lee, you need to sleep."
"I can't. I need to…watch you. Make sure?—"
"I'm safe." I kissed his forehead. "You saved me. He's gone. It's over."
He swallowed hard. "What if?—"
"No what-ifs." I tugged him down beside me, careful of wires and pain. "Just sleep."
He resisted for all of three seconds… then his entire body sagged, exhaustion winning. He tucked himself against me, one arm around my waist like he couldn’t quite believe I was really here.
And within minutes, his soft, familiar snoring filled the tiny room—warm, steady, safe.
The sound wrapped around me like a blanket.
A promise. A homecoming. A heartbeat I knew better than my own.
I let it lull me under, too, breathing in time with him, letting the storm inside us both finally settle.
We slept tangled together on that narrow hospital bed—two broken people finally allowed to rest.
I woke to quiet voices—Louisa and Owen standing in the doorway, speaking with a nurse. Liam was still out cold beside me, snoring softly.
"He's sleeping," I said quietly, not wanting to wake him.
They came in, Louisa carrying a bag of what was probably clothes, Owen looking older than I'd ever seen him, worry carved into his weathered face.
"How are you, honey?" Louisa asked, touching my face gently.
"Alive. Safe. Grateful."
Owen looked at Liam, still dead to the world. "He hasn't slept in forty-eight hours. Not since?—"
"I know. He needs this." I kept my hand on Liam's back, feeling him breathe. "I've got him."
Something passed between us then, an understanding. Louisa's eyes filled with tears. "We know you do, honey. We're so grateful you came into our family, loved our boy so well. He deserves that. Deserves someone who sees all of him and loves him anyway."
Heat prickled behind my eyes. I looked down at him, peaceful in sleep, clinging to me like a lifeline. “He saved me in every way a person can be saved."
"And you saved him right back," Owen said gruffly. "Boy was just existing before you. Now he's living."
"We'll go get the ranch ready for you to come home," Louisa said. "Sophia's already got your room—Liam's room—all set up. Poet's been standing at the fence since yesterday, waiting."
"Tell her I'm okay. That we're both okay."
After they left, I watched Liam sleep, this man who'd literally killed for me, who'd driven like a madman to find me, who blamed himself for something that wasn't his fault.
