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Zane burst through the ER doors with Maggie in his arms. She was still woozy and groggy but held onto his neck like she would drown without him to hold on to. In record time, he’d found Tim Rutledge, the ER doctor on tonight and had gotten Maggie examined more thoroughly and sent for a CT scan. As he waited for her to return from radiology, he stared at the blank TV screen in the tiny ER cubicle they’d been assigned. How did people do this? Just sit and wait? He felt like he was going to lose his mind with worry even though he was pretty sure she was going to be okay, this time. But what if next time she got worse than a bump on the head and a headache? He’d brought this pain on her. If he’d just reported Shawna to the police last year when she was stalking and harassing him, Maggie wouldn’t be in danger now. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. This was all his fault and there was only one way to keep her safe that he could think of. Only, he wasn’t sure he could do it.
Two long hours later, after multiple tests and giving their statements to Detective Morales who had shown up not long after their arrival at the hospital, Maggie was settled into a room for overnight observation. She had a small butterfly bandage over the cut in her head and the blood had all been washed away. Her dazed expression had been replaced with a tired but irritated one. They’d been arguing about her staying at the hospital for the last fifteen minutes.
“Really, Zane. I’m fine now,” she assured him. “Can’t I just stay at your place? You’re a doctor after all. I don’t want to stay here overnight. I hate hospitals.”
“Everyone hates hospitals,” Zane told her again. “And you’re staying here per Dr. Rutledge’s orders. You have a goose egg on your head. As much as I would love to take you home and just hold you all night, you need to be monitored and get plenty of fluids and rest.”
Maggie eyed him in aggravation looking like she was going to continue to argue but then dropped her head onto the pillow. “Fine, but you’d better have me out of here before breakfast in the morning. The food here is horrible.”
She started to rub her temple and Zane pulled a chair up to the side of the bed taking her hand. He was relieved she felt good enough to argue with him. It had been a close call. Closer than he ever wanted to get again. He brought her hand up to his lips and gave her a gentle kiss to her palm then held it. “Try to get some rest while you can, baby,” Zane said, his voice low and tender. “The nurses are going to be waking you up every couple of hours and asking you annoying questions like I was earlier, so sleep while you can.”
Maggie gave a huge yawn, covering her mouth with her hand. “ I’m so sorry. The medication is starting to help the pounding in my head but I think it’s making me sleepy. I don’t think I can keep my eyes open much longer.”
“You sleep now, baby,” Zane intoned. He kissed the hand he held again. “Everything is going to be okay.”
She thought she heard an odd note in his voice, but she was pulled into sleep before she could process what it was.
