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11
Sage was living in a loopy dreamworld, and it was pissing her off.
The doctor had just been in for a final visit, and they were doing the discharge paperwork now. They didn’t want to tell her a lot about Gary. He’d made it through surgery, but he was still touch and go. The surgeon had been able to save the leg, but she got the feeling, just from their shared glances, that it wasn’t guaranteed to stay.
A crush injury to a leg was devastating and she couldn’t imagine how long it would take to repair. Gary’s career at Columbus Police Department was over, and she could almost see Candice’s relief. She’d been after her husband to retire for years.
Now he was being forced out, medically. Not the way he’d wanted to leave.
At least he was still alive, though.
Sage sat on the side of the bed and tried to get up the gumption to get her clothes on. They’d given her a stack of prescriptions to fill for pain, anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers, as well as a follow-up appointment with her own practitioner. They’d already warned her that she was probably going to have to go to physical therapy for her arm, but her GP could determine that when she saw him in a few days. She was officially on medical leave until approved to go back.
Just talking about it all made her head hurt even worse.
She’d explained that she had a son to take care of and the doctor had shaken his head. “You’d better let him take care of you this week,” the guy said, which pissed her off. It was her job to take care of her son, not the reverse.
With that thought in mind, she pushed to her feet. The nurse had warned her to wait, but that had been a long time ago. She’d probably gotten distracted and didn’t even remember Sage was waiting for her.
The world swayed around her, but she held steady. Her knee was bandaged in a thick Ace bandage, and it accepted her weight reluctantly. She’d gotten up a couple of times to go to the bathroom, but she’d always had a convenient nurse standing by or lending a hand. Very carefully, she leaned on her bad leg. She had to see what it would take. Eventually, she decided it would get her around, just not fast or gracefully. Her arm, on the other hand, was useless. There was a sling around her neck to brace the elbow high, and it hurt like a sonofabitch, even with the pain meds on board that made her head foggy.
She would just have to take it easy.
The air flow shifted behind her, and she turned, carefully. Adam cringed as he caught sight of her purple face, but he crossed the room to give her a gentle hug around her waist. “Morning, Mom.”
“Hey, buddy,” she said, her voice still raspy.
Brian stood in the doorway, looking more handsome than anybody had a right to. His brown eyes were so clear in the morning light, and he’d recently shaved. He wore a blue T-shirt and a flannel over jeans, and he looked so strong.
Maybe it was just the dichotomy between the two of them that made him seem more handsome right now, while she felt like a trampled piece of wet cardboard. And she just wanted to sag into his arms. “Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey,” he returned, grinning slightly as he looked her over.
She knew from the response of the other people that had come to visit her how bad she looked. Candice had cried when she’d come to see her. Sage had cried as well, but because of Gary’s condition. They had hugged for a few minutes and Sage had promised to be back to see him as soon as she could. Gary was such a vital, enthusiastic cop. He loved his job, and she couldn’t imagine him not being able to do it.
Her lieutenant had also stopped in. They’d gone over the body camera tapes of the arrest and determined that there was no fault other than the suspect. They’d followed procedure and done their job perfectly. Sage had felt a knot of tension ease in her belly when she heard that. She’d felt like she’d done everything correctly, but that doubt had still been there. And if Gary had been hurt because she’d fucked something up? It would have crushed her.
Not a great way for a rookie to make a splash in the department.
They were both out on medical indefinitely.
“Give me a few minutes to get dressed and they should have my discharge papers done.”
Brian gave her a nod. “We’re in no hurry.”
Sage limped to the bathroom with the bag they’d brought her the night before and sank down onto the shower stool. This was going to take a while. Eventually, she had to pull the cord for the nurse to come help, because she couldn’t get things maneuvered around the arm brace. It was almost twenty minutes later when they left the bathroom and Sage was near tears. That had been so painful. She sank down into the waiting wheelchair to be rolled out and closed her eyes.
When they reached the front of the hospital, Adam waited with her while Brian pulled his black truck around. The Chevy wasn’t jacked up, or anything, but Sage knew something was going to hurt getting in. She took a deep breath, bracing for the pain. Brian held up a finger and produced a stepstool from the back seat. It made it so much easier to get inside the vehicle. She sagged into the seat and barely noticed Brian lean across her to fasten the seatbelt.
Sage dozed on the way home and she heard Brian telling Adam that she was okay.
“I’m okay, buddy,” she whispered. “Just… my head hurts, and it’s better if I close my eyes. And the medicine they gave me makes me loopy.”
“Okay, Mom,” he said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder.
The next time Sage woke, it was because the truck rocked a little. When she opened her eyes, she chuckled. Brian had bumped up the parking lot curb and driven her straight to her door. She glanced at him out of her good eye. “Bless you, child.”
He laughed and circled the truck to help her down. Adam ran ahead to throw open the door as Brian guided her inside. Sage was touched to see that they’d made her a blanketed nest on the couch. She sank down gratefully and allowed Adam to push the button to lift her feet on the electric recliner. She tipped her head back and slipped into sleep.
