“Thank you. They’re lovely.”
He set them by the window, before moving to her and kissing her forehead. “How are you?”
“I’m getting to be fine. The nurse just gave me a shot of pain killers.”
He chuckled. “She told us not to stay long.”
Austin moved aside as each one came over to her and kissed her forehead. She thanked each one, individually.
“So,” she said, “did you catch the killer?”
Captain Martinez shook his head. “No, you did.” He arched an eyebrow, critically. “Remind me later to reprimand you for going after the killer even when I had taken you off the case.”
“Yeah, well…you know me. Headstrong. Besides, I couldn’t let him get away. And,” she pointed to Austin, “I told him to call for back up.”
“He, did,” Kurt said, giving Austin a look of gratitude. “If not for you, we would have lost her.” His voice cracked.
“I did all I could,” Austin answered with a smile.
Brittany rested her head back on the pillow as her mind grew foggier by the second. “Oh, you should have seen him. He was incredible! I thought he was Jackie Chan popping out of nowhere from one of his action movies, to take down the bad guy.” She giggled as her mind played back the scene with Austin.
His face turned red. He lowered his head and bit back a grin, as her co-workers laughed.
“Sounds like Brittany is drifting off to la-la-land,” Gibbs mentioned.
“What happened?” Martinez asked with a touch of humor in his voice.
Brittany was shocked. The man who never smiled, actually was doing it now. Good grief…he did have teeth, and they were real!
“Oh, you should have seen it,” Brittany began excitedly. “He did aha,” she tried to position her hands correctly as if she was ready to do a Karate chop, “and ahi-yah, and…he kicked him, sir. Derek fell to the ground and rolled around in pain, screaming like a girl.” She giggled even more.
“Brittany?” Austin asked, stepping closer and laying his hand on her shoulder. “What happened with the ditzy blonde? When I arrived, she was already out cold.”
“Well,” she paused, waiting for the wave of dizziness in her head to pass, “when I ran into the alleyway, blondie jumped on me, which knocked my G42 out of my hand. We wrestled for a bit, but I had her down, and I was able to knock her unconscious with one blow of my fist. That’s when Derek shot me from behind.” She gently touched her bandaged middle.
“So Reeder is our hero?” Kurt walked up to Austin and patted his shoulder. “We have you to thank for saving our Brittany’s life.”
Austin offered Kurt a kind smile. “I acted on instinct. I knew I couldn’t let her die.” He looked at Brittany and took her fingers gently in his hand. “I couldn’t lose the woman I’d fallen madly in love with.”
“I’m glad.” She sighed as her eyes slowly closed. “Because I didn’t want to lose the man I’d fallen madly in love with, either.”
~*~*~*~
Every other step Brittany took, she winced. She was on her way to making a full recovery, but unfortunately, her father’s wedding came upon her, and she knew she had to attend. Although she’d missed the family dinner, they had all dropped by to visit with her while she was in the hospital. Some days, Patricia came by herself. It was a little awkward at first for Brittany, but soon she saw what her father had seen in this woman. True, she wasn’t Brittany’s mother because nobody could fill those shoes, but Patricia was well suited for her father. And they were happy. That’s all that mattered.
“My sweet lady,” Austin said as he helped her walk while keeping his arm around her waist, staying clear of her wound, “I told you we should have gotten you a wheelchair.”
“I don’t need a wheelchair.”
Once inside the chapel, she paused, putting her weight against him. She nodded to guests attending the wedding, some she remembered from her childhood. Glancing up at Austin, she grinned. “You’re better than a wall.”
“What?” His mouth quirked.
“What I meant was, I’d rather have you hold me up than the wall. You’re more comfortable.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m always comfortable in your arms, too.”
Could she love and adore this man any more than she already did? Not only had he saved her life, but since she was released from the hospital, he played her nurse-maid twenty-four, seven. He either put his meetings on hold, or he conducted them over his cell or computer, only so he could stay and care for her.
