"And dramatic."
"Not really."
"And the corniest thing anyone has ever said to me."
He smiled. "Is it working?"
I stared at him. At this man who'd run into a burning building for me, who'd held my hand through the worst night of my life, who was looking at me now like I was everything worth having.
"Yeah," I said, my voice thick with tears. "It is."
He kissed me then—gentle, careful, mindful of my oxygen and all the ways I was broken. But there was nothing gentle about what I felt. It was everything. Every fight, every fear, every mile I'd put between us—undone in a single moment.
"I love you," I said against his lips. "You, impossible, reckless, ridiculous man."
"I love you too." He pressed his forehead to mine. "Please don't ever leave me again."
"I won't. I swear."
I drifted after that. Not quite sleep—more like floating, my body too exhausted to stay fully present. Brian's fingers stayed laced with mine, an anchor keeping me from slipping too far under.
When I surfaced again, the memory followed. Sudden and cutting, slicing through the fog.
Gunshots. I'd heard gunshots before the darkness took me.
"What about Larsen?" I asked, my voice rough. "Is he…?"
"He's fine. Well, not fine—he got shot twice, shoulder and leg. But he's stable. Out of surgery." A hint of a smile."He’ll be off duty for a while, though.”
I laughed—a real laugh, even though it hurt. "I think I’m done with security details."
The door opened, and Dr. Park stepped in, tablet in hand, scanning my chart before he looked up.
His shoulders dropped. The tension I hadn't noticed he was carrying finally let go. "You scared the hell out of us, Rothwell."
"I'm starting to get that."
"Smoke inhalation, minor burns, and bruising from the fall. But no serious lung damage or carbon monoxide poisoning." He shook his head. "Another few minutes in that building and we’d be facing a very different outcome. If Brian hadn't found you when he did..."
I looked at Brian as Park said this. He was watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read—relief and residual terror and something that looked a lot like what I felt.
We shared a glance, an entire conversation in a single look.
Thank you.
Always.
Park cleared his throat. "The waiting room is filling up. Your crew's been here for hours. Can I let them in?"
I looked at Brian. He nodded.
"Send them in."
Shane came through the door first, Garrett right behind him. Captain Rodriguez brought up the rear, still in uniform.
"There she is," Shane said, voice deliberately light. "The woman who almost gave us all heart attacks."
"I'm sorry?—"
