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He held a cup with a straw up to her. “You should have a drink of water.”
After she drank, she noticed a bouquet of flowers on the table near the window.
Doc’s eyes followed hers. “From Yvette and Michaela. They came by shortly after you were out of surgery and moved to this room. You were pretty loopy from the meds. You probably don’t remember them being here.”
She didn’t. A smile formed on her face. “That was nice of them.” And so unexpected.
She’d gotten to know Yvette the month she’d worked in Ops, but she wouldn’t call Yvette a friend. Yvette was her Ops Training Officer and while she found Yvette to be nice, there was definitely a line there separating them as training officer and subordinate.
She’d had a few conversations with Michaela, but again, wouldn’t call her a friend, just an acquaintance. A few weeks earlier, her team was having difficulty with the installation of their proprietary equipment in Houston. Michaela had developed the equipment, so she and a few others from the team came on site to assist. The equipment in Houston was older and Michaela determined that their equipment needed special adapters to work. Laura Lee was prepared to share a hotel room with her, but Michaela was engaged to Lambchop, Delta Team’s lead, who was also on site, so she roomed with him. Laura Lee had hoped to get to know her better while on site, but the opportunity didn’t present itself.
“You were still on some hefty pain killers. The surgeon is weaning you off them. Now that you’re awake, you’ll have to call them. I know they’ll come back and visit while you’re here. Now that you’re fully awake, I’m going to go home. But I’ll check on you again tomorrow before we head out on the case.”
Did that mean he’d stayed the entire time since she’d been brought in?
“I should probably call my mom and tell her I’m in here,” she remarked.
“I already did. She’s the emergency contact in your file. I promised I’d have you call her when you were awake. You should do that soon. She’s a nice lady, was very worried about you. I didn’t know her Parkinson’s had progressed so quickly since you were recruited to the agency. She said she can’t travel. I’d asked if she would come.”
“She has her good days and bad days. But, that’s correct, she can’t travel alone any longer. It’s been a horrible hit to her independence.”
Laura Lee smiled fondly, thinking of her adoptive mom, who she just thought of as Mom. Dorthea Saxton, or Dotty as her dad called her, was an incredible woman. She’d been an excellent role-model, a confident woman who made sure Laura Lee knew who her birth parents were. And she’d been the very best mother that Laura Lee could have had.
Laura Lee had no distinct memories of her original parents who’d both been killed when she was four years old, just random images and emotions that came to her in her dreams. But Dorthea Saxton made sure that as she grew old enough to understand, she knew what kind of people they were. Denzel and Ruth Lee had been brave. They were ordinary people who turned into community organizers who were fighting to take back their neighborhood from the criminals and drug dealers to make it a good place to live, a good place to raise a family.
They lost that fight. And they’d both been murdered for their efforts.
“Saxton?” Doc called.
Laura Lee didn’t realize her eyes had re-closed until she heard his voice. “Oh, I guess the meds they’re giving me are strong.”
Doc chuckled. “Your surgeon is backing them off gradually.”
“I don’t like the idea of taking any pain killers, but I guess in this case it’s necessary. That was the worst pain I’d ever been in, in my life. Doc, thank you for being here and for everything you did to help me.”
Doc patted her shoulder. His facial expression was the softest she’d ever seen it. “You’re welcome. Next time, though, let’s not let it get to that point. And I am serious about seeing a gynecologist after you’re healed. My wife has a good one. I’ll make sure you get his contact info.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I assume I’ll be around the area for several weeks recuperating enough to go back to the onsite installations.”
“I’m sure Shepherd and Cooper haven’t even thought about it yet. They just got the schedule adjusted to cover for you and Dupont.”
“Dupont?” Laura Lee asked.
“He’s on emergency leave. His father passed away.”
“I hadn’t heard. That really sucks. He was very close to his dad,” Laura Lee said.
“Yes, I know,” Doc agreed.
Even though she didn’t like to be in Ops, she had gotten to know both Brad ‘Circles’ Dupont and Caleb ‘Hound dog’ Smith well. They both worked shifts in Ops. They were both great guys. She had a small secret crush on Brad. She always went for the smart, nerdy types. And Brad Dupont was as nerdy as they came, right down to the black-framed glasses. He was also crazy-smart and super-calm. Nothing seemed to panic or upset him. The grin that seemed to always tug his lips up always made her smile, and his subtle humor made her laugh. And his face was cute. His facial features were very similar to her adoptive father’s. His skin tone was just a fraction darker than her own. He wore his black hair clipped close, a number two, and he was always clean shaven. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t such a small crush.
Laura Lee took another drink of her water. “I think my head is clearing. I feel more awake now.”
“Do you want to try to sit up a little more?” Doc asked. “Dinner will be here soon. You’re on a liquid diet for a few days, but you’ll need to sit more upright to try to eat it.”
“Yes, I should probably try while you’re here,” Laura Lee agreed.
Doc raised her head by about a foot. He waited until she indicated the dizziness had passed before he raised it a foot more, and then again after the next wave of dizziness cleared. She was sitting up at a good enough incline when her dinner tray arrived. She was just a bit lightheaded and had no appetite, but Doc insisted she try to eat, or rather sip as it was all liquids.
