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As another man walked around the corner of the hallway, giving Austin a high-five and grinning, before coming to a halt, clutching at his chest, and smiling at her.
“Well hello, Gorgeous… I’m Andy, a Libra, and available for dinner tonight,” the other man began – only to have three sets of eyes turn to him.
“She’s Kyle’s,” they said in unison, causing her to smile in understanding at his crestfallen face.
“Oh.”
“Kyle should be waking up soon and might be a little groggy from the pain medication. The break was clean, and they’ve got him bound right now until they can put a cast on. The mask on his face is to get him some good oxygen since he had moderate smoke inhalation,” the chief explained politely, before angling his head. “Believe it or not, these guys work really well together and saved Kyle’s life.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“You can go in,” he offered in understanding, opening the door for her. “Take a few minutes to say hello alone before I let these guys in, okay?”
Reyna entered the hospital room silently, smelling the overwhelming stench of smoke and sweat almost immediately. His beloved face was streaked with soot, and she could see rivulets marring his forehead where he had perspired, leaving tracks. There was a clear plastic mask over his lips and nose that fogged up slightly with each breath he took.
… At least he’s breathing,she thought, feeling grateful in that moment to be there with him, as she pulled up a chair beside the bed.
She slipped her fingers into his right hand, touching his palm, only to see his fingers twitch slightly. Glancing up, she saw a faint, pained smile on his face as he lay there with his eyes closed.
“… Tickles,” he croaked softly.
“You are much too ticklish, Mr. Rimes,” she whispered tearfully, fighting back the sob that was threatening to escape her. He was alive, talking to her, and she was almost undone by the relief in her very soul at being there with him.
“Recognize… you…” he said gruffly, turning his head slightly. “… Always.”
“You scared me today,” she whispered softly, pulling his hand to her lips and kissing it gently.
“Me… too…” he breathed, and closed his eyes as the door opened. She saw the other firemen, Austin, Andy, Justin, and the chief walk into the room, coming to stand beside the bed.
“Hey wimp,” Austin smiled – and just before Reyna laid into him; there was something in his expression that just didn’t look right.
“Buddy, glad you hung on there,” Andy said gruffly, clearing his throat, “And really sorry about hooking you with my pike. I figured you’d rather have a cool scar than grill marks…”
Kyle smiled softly behind the mask and nodded, looking exhausted.
“Not a… wimp…”
Austin choked back something, cleared his throat, and leaned forward to whisper loudly in Kyle’s ear.
“Bros then the hose, always…” he said, causing Reyna’s eyes to widen as she tried to muffle her laughter, and the chief rolled his eyes in disbelief, almost in an exact mirror image of Justin.
Kyle pulled his hand from Reyna’s, and made a fist just as Austin did the same, before bumping knuckles and pretending their fist-bump made their hands exploded, fluttering their fingers at each other.
“Y’all are idiots,” Andy chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “And I, for one, am really glad the three of us made it out of there – together.”
“Me too.”
“You know it.”
“Same…” Kyle said softly, looking back at Reyna. “Glad… you’re here.”
She smiled tearfully at him, before nodding.
“Of course, I am – and I’m not going anywhere,” she replied. “You’ve got your own nurse for as long as they let me stay…”
“Can I get one of those?” Austin hissed towards Andy, who elbowed him as Reyna ignored him, focusing on Kyle.
She was going to get some warm soapy water and wash his face, neck, and arms, to make him feel a little better… and hopefully find out how bad off he was. The idea of leaving him didn’t sit well, and she could always run home, check on Yam, and then come back out, if necessary.
