“He’s asleep,” Casey said as Colin bent over his husband. “He’s not unconscious. He’s exhausted from his injuries and the trauma.”
“He still doesn’t seem right to me, Adam,” Colin muttered. “He’s not...himself.” He glanced at their doctor. “It scares me.”
Adam laughed softly and rested a hand on Colin’s shoulder. “Look. A concussion injures neurons in the brain. Injured neurons have a harder time doing their job right. They can’t make the connections they need to make in order to do what they normally do, like talk, or remember things, or demonstrate appropriate emotions. But like any injury, they’ll heal given time and proper care.”
Colin nodded, then reached to caressed Joshua’s hair. “I hate it when he’s hurt or sick. Makes me crazy. And this is making me ten times crazier than normal.”
Casey scoffed out a laugh. “If he got hit by a meteor, you’d find a way to make it your fault.”
Colin shot him a scowl, then turned when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“Colin?”
“Esther!” he said, moving to his boss’s side. “I’m so sorry. I meant to call in. I’ve been...” He gestured to Joshua and shook his head.
“Colin, stop. I’m not here to berate you. I’m not here as your boss. I’m here as a friend.” She gazed down at Joshua then turned to Dr. Casey. “How is he?”
“He’s banged up pretty good, but he’ll be fine, ma’am,” Casey said. “And I’ll see you later,” he added, patting Colin’s arm as he left.
“I am sorry, Esther. I lost track of everything except Josh.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re handling your cases. I came here to give you everyone’s best wishes for him and to tell you to take as much time as the two of you need. Thank god he’s going to be OK.” She turned and eyed her attorney. “I suppose you simplyhadto go along on the raid.”
Colin’s head dropped and he blushed. “Well...” he drawled, then met Esther’s eyes. “I had to go, Esther. He could have been lying there dead. I had to be there. I had toknow.”
Esther nodded. “Any...issueswe might need to deal with?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.
“If you mean, did I assault the suspect, break about sixteen laws, and put my legal career in jeopardy? No, ma’am, I did not. Iwantedto. I wasreadyto. Fist all clenched and poised to knock him into next week. But...I couldn’t do it.”
“I’m glad,” Esther told him. “Though we would have dealt with it somehow.”
“Is Norm handling the prosecution?”
“He is. And don’t even bother asking.”
Colin scowled down at the floor but nodded in understanding. “OK.”
“He’ll need to talk to Josh.”
Colin frowned and nodded, staring down at Joshua’s face.
“And Colin? It should be as soon as possible. While it’s all still fresh.” She touched his arm as she turned to leave. “Give us a call if you need anything.”
“Please thank everyone for me,” Colin said as he walked her to the door.
When he returned to Joshua’s bedside, he saw that his husband’s eyes were open. “Hey you,” he said. He lowered the railing and sat on the bed, leaning over Joshua. “How you feeling, bud?”
“I was awake when Esther was here, but I didn’t let on,” Joshua said with a soft laugh. “I didn’t feel up to making small talk.”
Colin smiled and ran his fingertips over Joshua’s forehead. “That’s the only part of your face that isn’t bruised or cut,” Colin laughed.
“Yeah, I am seriously fucked up,” Joshua said. He tried to lift his right hand to caress Colin’s face then winced in pain. “Fuck!”
“Told you. You have to be a leftie for a while.”
“Hey! Did you call my mom?”
“Yeah. But I told them not to come. Told them I’d rather bring you there to convalesce. I’ll book a flight after you’re home.”
