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"Do you want to get something for yourself and bring it up here?"
"I do," she said and left me alone. The worker brought in my tray and I moved the head of my bed up a bit more, checking under the domes to see what was for supper.
A lump of what looked like meatloaf, some pasty mashed potatoes, some mixed vegetables, and a cup of vanilla pudding. It looked like what I thought I'd get in prison, but my stomach grumbled. I'd missed lunch and was hungry.
I waited as long as I could for Kate to return but realized there was a limit to how long food like that would stay palatable and cold meatloaf was not something I wanted to risk. I ate my meal, and when Kate returned with a sandwich, some chocolate milk and cookies in hand, I was half done.
"What have you got?" she asked and peered at my tray. When she made a face at the food, I laughed.
"You'd never survive working at a hospital. Or living in a prison."
We ate together and talked more about the trial and the attack. It made me tired and my headache worsened.
"I should turn the lights down and rest," I said, grimacing at the pain.
"Do you want me to call the nurse?" she asked, frowning. "Maybe you need more pain meds."
"No, that's okay," I said and closed my eyes. Kate turned off the main overhead light and so the only light coming in was through the window. "I just need to close my eyes for a while."
For the rest of the evening, Kate sat with me and when I felt like it, I slept and when I woke, we talked. Finally, at around eight at night, Kate was ready to go back home.
"Sophie's already in bed," Kate said to me as she pulled my covers up and tucked them in around me. "I'll go home now so Karen can go to her own house. She'll come back tomorrow if I need her. When do you think you'll be discharged?"
I shrugged. "They'll do a follow-up scan and if that's okay, they'll discharge me after lunch. I'll get John to give me a ride home. Then I'll just have to take it easy for a while. Maybe a week to ten days, depending."
Kate bent over the bed and kisses me tenderly, her hands cupping my face.
"I hate to leave you," she said, her eyes moist. "We haven't been apart at night since I was in the hospital and I don't like it."
"Text me when you get into bed," I said and squeezed her arm. She kissed me again, and then got her coat and waved to me when she left the room, her expression sad.
I didn't like being separated from Kate either, but it was for the best. The knowledge that I'd be going home in the morning comforted me so that I was able to close my eyes and go to sleep.
* * *
I w
oke up around eleven to the sound of my cell phone dinging. I wasn't supposed to be using my cell for any work, but I decided I wanted to read Kate's text.
KATE: Hey, you. I miss you in my bed Dr. Dangerous.
DRAKE: Dr. Dangerous? They're calling me that now? I'm not at all dangerous. Quite the opposite.
KATE: No, you're not. You're delicious. Delectable. Delightful. You're dangerous the way Rocky Road ice cream is dangerous -- you can't help but want more more more.
DRAKE: Mmmm. Rocky Road ice cream... Damn. Now you've got me craving ice cream. I wonder if John would go out on an ice cream run for me.
KATE: You must be feeling better if you're hungry.
DRAKE: I always feel better after talking to you, Ms. Bennet. Did I tell you lately that I love you?
KATE: You did earlier today but you can tell me again if it pleases you.
DRAKE: It pleases me very much. I love you, Mrs. Morgan. Sleep tight. See you tomorrow.
KATE: I love you, Dr. Morgan. Don't let the bedbugs bite.
DRAKE: Give Sophie a hug and kiss from me and tell her that her daddy loves her very much.
