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"Banged up," I replied dryly, forcing a smile to assure her I was okay. "But otherwise fine. Don't worry. My concussion is mild, but to be on the safe side, they'll keep me in overnight."
"I spoke with the nurse," she said and straightened the bed sheet around me. "I brought your pajamas and toothbrush. Are you able to get up and walk around?"
"Oh, sure," I said and moved my bed more upright. "But I have a bitch of a headache that is worse when I get up completely."
"Can't they give you anything for it?"
I shrugged. "Tylenol, but it doesn't work completely. Plus, they don't want to mask any more serious symptoms that might indicate bleeding."
"Oh, Drake," she said and frowned. "I thought they ruled that out with the MRI."
"It can be minimal at first and progress. By tomorrow, I'll have another scan and check before they let me go. Until then, I can't do anything stressful, no reading, no television. Just lie here like a lump and let my brain recover."
"I brought your iPad thinking you could at least read," she said with a frown. "But we can talk."
"We can talk," I replied and smiled at her, squeezing her hand once more. "Sorry that you're missing your studio time."
"Don't even say that," she said adamantly. "You're the most important thing in the world to me, along with Sophie. I can paint any time."
"Is Sophie with Karen?"
"Yes, she came right over as soon as I called."
"Good," I said and briefly closed my eyes, which felt tired just from being open for that long. "That's good."
"You tired?"
I could tell Kate moved the chair closer to the bed by the sound of it scraping on the floor.
"If you want to sleep, go ahead. I can amuse myself. I have a novel downloaded to my phone I've been meaning to read."
"That sounds good," I said and peered at her from under one eyelid. "I may sleep for a while if you don't mind."
"You sleep if you feel like it. I'm a big girl."
"Okay, nurse," I said with a smile, my eyes closed.
* * *
I woke sometime later, my hearing gradually returning, but consciousness was slow to re-emerge. I felt like I was in a strange time warp, and that everything had slowed down. Finally, I came to completely and took in a deep breath. Kate was still sitting beside me, her eyes on her cell as she must have been reading that book she mentioned. She looked a little better than earlier, probably less worried now that she had a chance to talk to me and realized I was all right. I didn't say anything, just watched her, so glad to have her in my life, unable to think of a life without her and Sophie.
Every day when I worked in the hospital, and especially after working on the trauma team in California, I saw the results of the harm that could come to humans and the brain, either from diseases like cancer and epilepsy, or from accidents and violence. I never thought it would be me on the receiving end, having been lulled into complacency from a lifetime of freedom from serious injury.
After my father died in a plane crash, some of that sense of invincibility disappeared, but I still felt it was so unlikely, you couldn't change the way you lived to prevent something like a death in a plane crash. My false sense of my ability to protect my loved ones died when Kate was attacked, and I had felt vulnerable for a long time after, my faith in my own ability to deal with the risks in life eroded. That was why I hired bodyguards for Kate and myself. But I never suspected I would really become a target. I had this vague sense that I could become one, but it was just an overabundance of caution rather than a real sense of personal danger.
Now, even that was gone.
I thought about Monroe. He seemed irrational and unable to see that his sister had been found guilty of attempted murder, and was now facing a murder charge. Surely by now he must have realized she was a danger, and was a sociopath. Was he that blinded by his blood ties to her that he couldn't see it? Someone like Lisa went through life lying and cheating those around her. Sure, she might flatter them at first, get them on her side, and could be charming, but soon, the lies would start, the manipulation and then the harm. Her brother seemed unable to see clearly that this was on Lisa, not me or Derek Richardson. She had been an adult when she became involved with Richardson and with me.
It was her who did harm, not us.
I took in a deep breath and stretched and Kate realized that I was awake. She glanced over at me, her expression softening immediately. She slipped her cell into her pocket and stood up, leaning over to give me a kiss. Her lips pressed against mine and she held my face -- the good side of my face -- in her hand.
"You're awake."
"I am." I glanced at the clock on the wall. About thirty minutes had passed since I fell asleep.
For the rest of the afternoon, I either snoozed or talked with Kate about everything -- the trial, the attack, and my injury. By the time the workers started to bring dinner around, Kate had been with me for several hours.
