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“There! He did it again! Get Dr. Ryan,” Gemma directed, her tone shifting back to business.
Light cracked through my skull, the intensity tore through me, and it felt like my head would explode, but I pressed on. I had to see her. I had to show her that I was going to be okay.
God, I’d been so selfish. I cringed against the flood of thoughts filling my head as all the pieces of the standoff came back to me. Each fragment was a screaming reminder of how idiotic I’d been. I’d let my temper and rage take over and I’d very nearly paid the ultimate price for it.
And for what? My pride? To prove some point?
“Aaron? Can you hear me?”
I forced my eyes open another sliver, pushing beyond the pain of the bright lights. The only thing that mattered was Gemma. Seeing her face.
“Oh my gosh…” She came into focus just as she lifted a hand to cover her mouth. My eyes found hers and my heart twisted at the sight of tears streaming past her lashes and over her cheeks. “Aaron. Baby.”
I drank her in, letting the sight of her soothe away the pain from the near blinding light. After a few moments, my eyes adjusted and I slowly took in the rest of my surroundings. I was very clearly in the hospital again. The all-too-familiar beeps of the monitors pounded just above my head. Gemma was wearing a black sweatshirt that fell off one shoulder and her hair hung around her face. Her eyes were red and streaked with black smudges. No baby don’t cry. I’m here. I’m okay.
“We’ve got to—” I paused, my throat dry and scratchy. I swallowed hard before continuing. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
Gemma laughed, the sound more like a relieved sigh. “I couldn’t agree more. Although it is convenient for me, no commute to visit after my shift.”
I wanted to smile, to laugh, but I wasn’t sure it all worked. I was disoriented from my body, feeling more like a floating head.
“How long?”
“Six days,” she said, her voice small.
Six days…I marveled at the piece of information.
“My God.”
Gemma nodded and licked her lips nervously. “We weren’t sure…it was dicey for a while there…” a sob cut off the rest of whatever she’d been about to say, and I’d never needed to hold her more.
“What happened?” I tested my fingers again, and though I couldn’t see them, they felt like they moved. Gemma looked down and smiled at my hand. She wrapped her fingers around mine before bringing her attention back to my question.
“We can talk about everything later. Right now, you need your rest. Dr. Ryan will be here shortly to check on you.”
I wanted to argue with her, to demand that she tell me everything, but before I could, a wave of confusion and exhaustion came over me and everything went hazy again.
I had no way of knowing how much time had passed before I woke up again. This time, I was more coherent, but the room was empty—or at least appeared to be. The lights were dim and it took less effort to adjust my eyes. My body also felt lighter, more mobile, and within a few minutes, I managed to work my hand over to the control panel and raised the bed.
I smiled at the crumpled form curled up in a reclining chair in the corner. “Gemma,” I breathed, wishing I could raise my voice loud enough to get her attention. “Gemma?”
When it was evident that her sleep was too deep to be disturbed, I laid my head back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. I’d gathered bits and pieces of information from the last time I’d roused. I’d busted out my stitches and lost too much blood. I’d had emergency surgery to repair my wounds and had been kept under an induced coma to let my body stabilize.
The story was…I was a hot mess.
Luckily, being in a coma helped me heal and I was on the mend, although I had no idea when I would be released or when I could even dare to think about returning to a normal life.
Whatever was left of it.
I hadn’t been able to ask Gemma the list of questions that grew by the minute in my mind. I was pouring through them, cataloging them one by one so as not to forget anything, when a nurse came into the room, doing her normal rounds, but Gemma slept straight through.
“Poor thing,” the nurse commented, glancing at her in the chair after she’d checked all the monitors and asked how I was feeling.
“How long has she been sleeping there?” I asked.
The nurse smiled down at me. “She’s been there every night since you got here.”
My heart swelled like a balloon, overwhelmed with the flurry of emotions the nurse’s statement kicked up inside my chest. “Do you want me to wake her? I know she wants to see you.”
