“Just breathe,” I murmur.
Her eyes flutter shut. “Trying.”
The scanner beeps. The medic frowns. “Multiple cracked ribs. Severe contusions. Dehydration. She needs fluids and a warm IV environment.”
The second medic adds, “We should move her to the enclosed tent. More equipment, fewer distractions.”
“No,” I say instantly.
Lena stiffens like she expected me to fight for her, but still can’t believe it.
One medic tries anyway. “Lieutenant, the isolation tent is protocol—”
“Protocols don’t matter,” I say. “She’s not leaving my sight.”
The medic exhales slowly. “Then you’ll need to come with her.”
That… I can live with.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say, tightening my hold on her.
Lena opens her eyes, something unspoken shining in them — gratitude, fear, relief, maybe all of it tangled together.
“Ronan…” she breathes, voice barely there. “You don’t have to—”
“Yes. I do.”
Her lips part, but she doesn’t argue again.
The medics wheel in a portable bed. Lena hesitates, and her fingers clamp around my wrist. Not wanting to let go. Not trusting this place. Not trusting anyone who isn’t me.
I bend, sliding my free hand beneath her knees. “I’ve got you.”
She gasps softly as I lift her — she’s weightless to me, even hurt. She curls into me instinctively, forehead pressing into my shoulder.
Every muscle in my body locks at the contact.
The medics lead us to the isolation tent. They expect me to lay her on the cot and step back.
I don’t.
I set her down carefully, crouching beside her. My hand stays wrapped around hers, thumb brushing her knuckles.
A medic gently attaches an IV. Lena flinches.
I feel the recoil travel through my own body.
“Easy,” I murmur. “I’m right here.”
She finds my eyes. “Don’t leave.”
She says it quietly. But the meaning punches through me like a fist.
“I won’t,” I promise, voice low, steady. “Not for anything.”
The medics work around us. They’re efficient, professional, but every time one moves too quickly, I shift, blocking their proximity. Protecting her. Shielding her.
River appears at the doorway, watching in silence.
