“Who?”
Jayla rolled her eyes. “Doctor Dietrich, of course.”
Chloe would just as soon not, but that decision wasn’t hers. “That’s up to Erik.” The doors drew her eyes again. Were they removing his skin now? A shudder racked her. She needed to stop, or she was going to make herself sick.
“Speaking of weddings…”
Chloe gave her attention back to Jayla just in time to see her reach into a bag and pull out two thick bridal magazines. “There’s no time like the present to plan.”
Jayla was determined to distract her, and Chloe was grateful to her friend for trying. With just a hint of a smile, she asked, “So are we planning my wedding or yours?”
Color bloomed in the other woman’s cheeks before she released a wistful sigh. “A girl can dream, but that’s not going to happen for me.”
“Why not?” That guy, Nova, the way he’d looked at Jayla when he’d brought her flowers, in Chloe’s opinion, that was a man in love.
“It’s a long story, but basically, he thinks of me as a little sister.”
Chloe hadn’t gotten that impression at all, but Jayla opened the bridal magazine, clearly done with the topic. “Have you thought about color schemes?”
The surgery took hours, but Jayla stayed by Chloe’s side, making sure she got up and stretched every once and a while, or walked around, using the excuse that she needed to stretch her back and Chloe should come with her. She also entertained Chloe with stories about the people who funneled in through the day, checking on Erik’s progress. Some of them brought food and drinks, insisting Chloe eat. She appreciated their efforts, but could only pick at the fare. How much longer?
When Doctor Fernandez finally emerged, Chloe jumped to her feet. He looked tired, but he was smiling, and relief hit her so hard she nearly crumpled to the floor.
“He came through with flying colors.” The surgeon was still smiling as he shook his head. “The level of healing is amazing! The blood vessels are already beginning to connect to the graft. It’s miraculous!”
“Can I see him?”
“They’re moving him to a recovery room now, but once he’s situated, you can.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Paige came to get her not long after to escort her to Erik’s room. “He did great,” she said. Like the surgeon, Paige looked tired, but she was all smiles, too. “Everyone behaved themselves, and Kong didn’t have to rumble threateningly even once.”
“That’s a good thing.”
The nurse chuckled. “Yes, it is.” They approached a door, and Paige cautioned, “He’ll probably sleep for another thirty minutes or so, but you can sit with him, talk to him.”
Chloe vaguely heard her, but her attention was fully on Erik. He was lying in the bed with the covers pulled up to his broad shoulders, his chest rising and falling steadily. Instead of the thick padding of white bandages she’d expected to see, the side of his face was covered with something that reminded Chloe of the gel facial masks she’d sometimes use, only a bit thicker. It was a pale, translucent green that glowed slightly, and as she drew closer, she could hear a gentle humming.
“What is that?”
“According to Doctor Fernandez, that’ll help with adherence, keep the area hydrated, and stimulate blood flow.”
Nodding vaguely, she moved around the bed to the chair set beside it and took Erik’s hand, careful not to jostle the IV. Paige said something before she left, but Chloe didn’t hear her. He’d made it through. He’d come back to her… “I’m here, Erik. I love you.”
Exhaustion hit her like a ton of bricks. The last thing she remembered was lying her head down on the edge of the bed.
Erik was healing fast, a fact which Doctor Fernandez reminded him of at least twenty times a day, but he wanted out of the infirmary. It had been five days, and while the pain had minimized after the first day, when his face wasn’t tingling as the nerves came to life, it was itching, and he couldn’t scratch it. At first, all that feeling had been exciting after so long with limited sensation. Now, it was driving him nuts. The new eye was also an adjustment. Everything had seemed off kilter at first, and he’d gotten dizzy a couple of times. According to the doctor, his brain had been suppressing input from his damaged eye for years and was now being flooded with unfamiliar signals. He would’ve been climbing the walls if it weren’t for Chloe. She could have left, gone home, slept in her own bed, but she’d insisted on staying; she wouldn’t even considerleaving him to sleep at his place, so the staff had set up a cot for her in his room. She’d been by his side from the moment he’d woken up from the anesthesia and found her hunched over, sound asleep, holding his hand. It was nice to be cared for like that; to be loved that deeply. He felt the same, would have done the same if their positions were reversed – though he hoped he’d never have to – he never wanted anything to happen to his Chloe. She was his everything.
Currently, she was tucked in beside him, reading something on her phone, while Bruce made use of her cot for a mid-morning nap. The dog’s head suddenly popped up, looking at the door, and Erik muted the TV. Doctor Fernandez was coming, and by the sound of it, General Davies was with him.
“I said no,” the general barked, clearly annoyed. “Do I need to remind you of the forms you signed before coming here?”
“All I’m saying is imagine the medical breakthroughs we could make if you permit me to do a study.”
Chloe sat up with a look of concern and put her phone away. Erik rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. The general would handle this.
“My people were experimented on for half their lives. No.”
