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Killion looked down at her hand still clutching his arm, noting the sensation her touch created, and quickly took his hands off the wheelchair, which also pulled his arm from her grip.
“I, uh… It’s the facilities policy,” he said, stumbling over his words. “Sorry.”
“Oh.” Rainy’s shoulders drooped in defeat as she moved to sit in the chair, “I didn’t get to walk into this place, so I was hoping I’d get to walk out. I’ve worked so hard. Kind of like a victory lap or something.”
Her sullen words mixed with a chuckle that lacked enthusiasm hit Killion hard and made him feel something that, yet again, he didn’t understand. After a moment of thought, he reached out his hand to her.
“What?” She looked him up and down with a furrowed brow, indicating her confusion.
“You’re right.” He grasped her hand and slowly pulled her back to her feet and steadied her, “You’ve worked hard. Let’s walk –– it’s not far anyway.”
Rainy wore a mega-watt smile. “Thank you. It may seem silly, but it’s sort of a big deal to me. When I got here, we didn’t know if I’d be able to stand on my own, much less walk.”
“I knew you would,” Killion said, weaving his arm around hers as he guided her out of the room, pausing to look down both ends of the hall they were about to enter. “As long as Nurse Ratchet doesn’t see us, we’ll be fine.”
The couple made their way down the corridor, one step at a time, a bit slower than Killion would have liked, but elevator bound, nonetheless.
“I won’t miss her at all,” Rainy admitted. “Or this place.”
“A lot of good happened here,” he corrected.
“Oh, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful because they gave me my life back in so many ways, but it was beginning to feel like a prison.”
“Understandable,” he replied.
“It’s one of those things I’ll be glad to put behind me.” She went on, preventing the inevitable awkward silence that would otherwise stand between them. “I can’t wait to be with the babies all the time, not just a few hours in the afternoon. Is it weird that I look forward to getting up with them in the middle of the night?”
Killion gave her a cross look. “Yes. It is weird. Sleep has new meaning with a single baby, much less two at once. Though, they are pretty good at sleeping regularly. Just one feed during the night, then an early morning feeding and we just start the day then.”
“It wasn’t always like that, though, right? I hate that I missed so much –– even things like getting them on a routine.”
Rainy’s step was more of a shuffle, and Killion braced her before she tripped. “You okay?”
She smiled with a quick nod. “I think it’s the brace –– threw me off.”
He didn’t doubt that the brace tended to get in the way, but he saw what happened and that she didn’t quite lift her foot completely. She had been distracted, focusing on conversation instead of her movement. A clear sign that there was still some work to do before the things most take for granted, like walking, became second nature to Rainy again.
“Getting the twins on a routine really didn’t take much. The NICU was great about that.” Killion changed the subject back to what made her smile. Their children. “By the time they came home, they were used to it, so I just maintained it. You didn’t miss anything there.”
She seemed relieved by his statement, and it struck him as interesting. Like weight off her shoulders. If one had to guess, that weight was guilt –– something he knew she struggled with even though her absences were completely out of her control.
“I can’t wait to see them. To be with them.”
“They’ll be asleep by the time we get there.” He grunted, then saw the disappointment his words gave her. “That doesn’t mean you can’t be with them, though.”
She looked up at him and smiled, then turned away but the disappointment was still there, and he didn’t know the source. Perhaps it was him. Either way, her forced smile felt more for him than her. Like she was more worried about his feelings than her own, yet again, he was stumped by her.
“Phew.” She let out a deep breathless sigh. “I guess I forgot how long these halls were. I’m a little out of breath. I’ll have to work on that.”
Killion stopped abruptly, full of concern. “Do you need to rest? We can take a minute to rest.”
“I’ll be fine. The elevator isn’t far now.” When Killion didn’t move, she reassured him. “Really, I’m okay. It’s been a long and exciting day. A little extra tired is all.”
Killion bobbed his head and continued, his eyes fixed on her, watching for any signs of distress. Recognizing the worry coursing through him, Killion was quick to try to redirect the energy and his focus because staring at her made him feel and feeling things for her was a dangerous game he wasn’t interested in playing. At least not at the moment. Getting distracted and lost in Rainy, trying to dissect everything she made him feel, good and bad, would get them hurt. This was a mission. An extraction. He had a duty to his team, to Rainy…and his heart.
“It’s so quiet, it’s almost eerie,” she said as they rounded the corner, finding another long corridor. “I still can’t believe BK Security rented the entire wing.”
“It’s for your safety,” Killion pointed out. “Made our jobs easier too. We managed the wing and the small staff designated for your care. It was the right thing to do, given the circumstances.”
