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CRAIG

The sounds of a hospital awakening, plus the daylight through my window, had me assessing my aches and pains before I even opened my eyes. I coughed lightly, sending a fresh wave of pain through my ribcage. The sledgehammer pounding in my skull didn’t help. I let out an audible “Fuck me,” and heard a light chuckle from beside the bed. With effort, I turned my head and pried one eye open to see Jonesy sitting there, holding a cup of coffee and smiling at me.

“I don’t think fucking would be good for you right now,” he said before taking a sip of coffee.

“Ass,” I replied jokingly. The bright light coming in through the window didn’t help my nagging headache. “What time is… wait, what day is it?”

I heard him get up from the chair and set his coffee on the hospital tray at the end of my bed. “It’s Saturday morning, and it’s approximately six forty-five.”

My brain did a quick assessment. “Were you here earlier?”

“I was here yesterday afternoon when I got a phone call that you had been admitted. I came back this morning about ten minutes ago.”

I hummed in understanding. “It’s awfully early. Your coffee smells good, though,” I said, looking at it on the tray and taking a sniff.

“I would have gotten you coffee, but I didn’t want to risk it if they didn’t want you to have any yet,” he replied. His expression deepened, taking my hand in his. “You terrified me, Howler.”

His smile had faded, and I saw concern and worry. He looked at me differently; no, more intensely. I watched him raise my hand and kiss my knuckles; his eyes glistening, closing before tipping his head up to the ceiling. He let out a slow breath, and I waited.

He held my hand to his chest and looked back down at me. “I’ve been such a fool. I love you so fucking much, Craig. You have no idea what you mean to me. The panic I felt yesterday when I heard what happened carved a hole so deep in my chest I couldn’t breathe. You own my heart—you always have, and for that to ever go away…I-I don’t know what I’d do. I honestly can’t imagine going on without you in my life.” He paused. “I know how frustrated you’ve been with me when we’re together in public or with my family, for that matter. I haven’t been able to bring myself to touch you in front of them. My own family, for Christ’s sake. But I need everyone to know how you make me feel, and I’m going to make sure they do.”

My eyes stung with tears hearing his words, and I squeezed his hand.

We heard footsteps, and someone cleared their throat. Jonesy’s eyes widened. It was as if the spell had been broken, but he didn’t let go of my hand when they smiled at us. I realized Jonesy wasn’t worried about being overheard. He was simply startled by someone entering the room, and he relaxed immediately. I was the one surprised by his proclamation in public, where anyone could overhear. He’d always been so restrained and careful.

“I only caught part of what you said, but it was beautiful,” the nurse said as he walked around the end of the bed to attend to the machines hooked up to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt, but hearing things like that from a man to the one he loves gives me hope I can find that one day.” He fell quiet as he checked my IV. Jonesy looked at him and asked his name.

“I’m Carlos, the overnight nurse,” he replied as he finished what he was doing. “I’m about to end my shift.”

“Do you have someone special in your life?” Jonesy asked sincerely. I don’t think I’d ever heard him ask a personal question about someone’s love life in front of me before.

Carlos rested his hands on the bed rail. “No. I’ve never been lucky in love. This place seems to keep my attention more than any man ever has,” he snickered. “Long hours and unpredictable schedules make it difficult to date.” Jonesy nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile.

“What do you guys do?” Carlos asked, glancing at both of us.

Jonesy let out a huff. “Well…I’m a detective with the SFPD. And this guy, who's laid up at the moment, is a private investigator,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze.

“Ahhh…so that’s how you got in here so early. You flashed your badge, didn’t you?” Carlos asked with a wink.

“Guilty as charged,” Jonesy admitted. “I know this is too early for visiting hours, but I needed to be with my guy here before I head off to work.”

“We’ll take good care of him,” Carlos replied, smiling as he left.

After Carlos left, Jonesy said, “I got hold of Marcus and Tony last night. Expect them to visit sometime today. Knowing those two, I’m sure the rest of the crew will be notified and want to come see you, too. Just don’t let them hog your day. You need to rest.”

“You’re going to work today?” I asked, confusion fogging my brain.

“Yeah. That was the furthest thing from my mind yesterday, but I talked to the captain about it last night. During our conversation, I decided I needed to fulfill my obligation and meet the makeup team at the Palace Hotel. I’m going undercover, remember?”

“Oh, shit, that’s right. Will you be back later today?”

“You can fucking count on it, Howler. I’ll be back this evening. I’d like to hear what you remember about what happened yesterday, but we can talk about it tonight. I also need to speak with the doctor to see how long they plan to keep you here. Hopefully, they will release you by the end of the weekend.”

“Did they find my phone by chance? I’m sure it got lost in the crash, but I feel kinda lost without it.”

“They only retrieved your laptop and duffel. No phone was found, babe. We’ll need to get you a new one.”