“I think so,” Finn said, though he leaned heavily on River's support as they made their way toward the cottage door.
The drive to Beacon Point Medical Center felt both eternal and too short, River's hands gripping the steering wheel while Finn dozed fitfully in the passenger seat, still clearly exhausted from whatever his brain had put him through during those missing hours.
“River,” Finn said softly as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. “What if this is just who I am now? What if the episodes keep getting longer and more intense until I never come back?”
River felt his chest tighten with fear and determination. “Then we figure out how to love each other through it. But we're not giving up on finding answers, and we're not accepting that this is permanent until we've explored every option.”
As they walked into the emergency room, Finn leaning on River's arm for support, both of them felt the weight of crossing a threshold into more serious medical territory. The episodes had progressed beyond what they could manage at home, beyond what love and hope could handle without professional intervention.
Whatever was happening to Finn's mind, whatever was causing these extended disappearances from reality, they needed more help than they'd been willing to admit. Even if that help came with risks and uncertainties that might change everything about their relationship and their future together.
Chapter 15
Desperate Measures
River
River paced the emergency room's waiting area like a caged animal, his sneakers squeaking against linoleum that smelled of disinfectant and despair. Six hours. Six fucking hours Finn had been unconscious, and the doctors kept running tests that told them absolutely nothing useful about why his brain had decided to check out of reality for an entire afternoon.
“Mr. Hayes?” A tired-looking doctor in scrubs appeared, clipboard in hand and the expression of someone about to deliver news that wouldn't make anyone feel better. “We've completed the initial workup on Mr. Torres.”
“And?” River stopped pacing, his heart hammering with equal parts hope and dread.
“All the scans came back normal. Blood work, EEG, MRI—everything looks completely typical for a healthy twenty-six-year-old male.” The doctor flipped through pages that apparently contained a whole lot of nothing. “There's no medical explanation for the extended unconsciousness he experienced.”
River felt the ground shift under his feet. “What do you mean no medical explanation? People don't just lose consciousness for six hours for no reason.”
“Sometimes neurological events can occur without showing up on standard testing. We'd like to keep him for observation, run some additional tests?—”
“He's awake,” River interrupted, because he could see through the glass doors into Finn's room where the man he loved was sitting up in bed looking confused and fragile. “Can I see him?”
The doctor nodded, but River was already moving toward Finn's room, driven by the need to touch him, to confirm he was really back and coherent.
“Hey,” River said softly, settling into the chair beside Finn's hospital bed. “How are you feeling?”
Finn looked at him with eyes that seemed slightly unfocused, like someone trying to bring the world into proper alignment. “Tired. Confused. Like I've been dreaming for years and just woke up.” His voice was hoarse, uncertain.
“You collapsed in the kitchen while we were talking about...” River hesitated, not sure if mentioning the wedding conversation would trigger another episode. “You just went down. Completely unresponsive.”
“The wedding,” Finn said quietly, and River's heart sank because apparently the conversation was still vivid in Finn's memory. “I was talking about our wedding that's never going to happen because it only exists in my head.”
Before River could respond, familiar voices echoed from the waiting room—multiple voices, heated discussion, the kind of family drama that meant someone was either very pissed off or very scared. Maya appeared first, like an avenging angel in scrubs, her dark eyes blazing with fury and terror in equal measure.
But she wasn't alone. Behind her came a man River had never met but recognized immediately from Finn's bone structure and auburn hair—Captain Torres, looking uncomfortable in civilian clothes and carrying himself with the military bearing that never quite went away.
“Where is he?” Maya demanded, her voice carrying across the emergency room with enough authority to make nurses look up. “Where's my brother?”
River stood up and left the room, preparing for the confrontation he'd been dreading, but his attention was caught by Captain Torres, who was studying the hospital environment with the careful attention of someone evaluating a potentially dangerous situation.
“I called Dad,” Maya said, noting River's surprise. “Figured if Finn's having episodes this severe, maybe it's time for family medical history that might actually be useful.”
Captain Torres stepped forward, extending a hand to River with formal courtesy that didn't quite hide his obvious discomfort. “You must be River. I've heard... some things about you.”
“Sir,” River replied, accepting the handshake while wondering what exactly Captain Torres had heard and from whom.
“The doctors said there's no medical reason for him to have been unconscious for six hours,” Maya continued, her psychology training evident in the way she'd clearly gotten a full briefing. “Which means this was psychological. Which means his condition is worse than either of you have been admitting.”
“Maya—”
