“We need to tell him he needs to get better before the ribbon cutting.” Julian shook his head. “All right, boys. Find Elin. We need her to draw up a sleep schedule. Bruce, check with supervisors make sure their personnel are okay. Rich, get in touch with Mia. I want a true report on the state of the power grid, water supply and food supplies. Bruce, grab Crescent 3 and check our structural integrity, and then head to the hospital and check the building. I’ll head up to Hunt. I need to see how University Hospital is doing, and I’ll get a full report on our nursing home patients.”
Chapter 38
Monday, September 3rd
Hurricane Greta T+5 days
Where am I?
Kip opened his eyes in the dimly lit room. Since the day before—or was it longer?—he’d been waking on and off. Drugs threatened to take him under into strange dreams again.
What happened?
He couldn’t put his thoughts together. Something stirred beside him. A monitor beeped.
“How’s my Big Security Guy today?” his angel asked.
Harper.This wasn’t a dream.Was it?
She leaned down and put her lips against his forehead. “Let’s have a listen.” She placed the head of her stethoscope against his chest. “You sound good today. I spoke to Hunt; he said if your chest x-ray looks good, you can lose the tube.”
His confusion continued.Why was Harper his nurse?He reached for her, and she took his hand. He held on tightly, wanting to stay present. He didn’t want to drift again.
The door opened, and suddenly the room grew bright. He closed his eyes, trying to avoid the annoyance. “How’s our patient?” Hunt’s voice boomed.
“Lungs sound good, and he’s awake,” Harper said.
Hunt’s face came into view. “Morning, sunshine.” He listened to his chest.
Kip gave him the finger as his brain fog began to clear.
“Patient is alert. Welcome back to the living. Your fever is gone, and your x-ray looks good. I’ll have Jamie and Harper pull the tube.” Hunt patted Kip’s shoulder, then leaned down and whispered in his ear, “She hasn’t left you. Don’t blow it.”
Kip gave a thumbs up.
“Hey, mate, let’s lose that tube. Here’s how it goes. I’m going to disconnect it and see if the effort you’ve been showing is sustained. I’ll deflate the balloon, and as I pull it out, you will exhale hard. Ready?” Jamie asked.
Kip’s thumb rose.
As the tube came out, Kip sputtered and gagged. “It’s okay.” Harper held a small crescent-shaped basin and wiped his lips.
“How are you doing?” Jamie listened to his chest and eased him forward to listen to his back. “Sounds good.”
“Hi,” Kip said in a low whisper.
“Hi.” Harper smiled.
“Harper, are you okay with him?” Jamie cleaned up the tube and pushed the vent against the wall.
“I’ve got him.” Harper sighed.
* * *
The minute Jamiecleared the room, the efficient nurse disappeared, and the frightened woman emerged. “You scared me.” She sat beside him.
Despite his illness, he managed to sit up and wrap his arms around her. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
She maintained the hug. “Would you like something to drink?”
