“Um….” He looked like a deer in headlights. “What the fuck is happening right now?”
I chuckled. “The way I see it, we’re already halfway there.”
“What…?”
Without turning around, I gestured at the nameplate above the head of the bed behind me. “You gave me your last name.”
“How did you know that?” he asked so quietly, I could barely hear him.
“I told you.” I reached over to pat him gently on the cheek. “I heard you.” I felt my eyes fill as I stared into his eyes, seeing all the love and affection I felt for him reflected right back at me. “You called me your husband.”
He melted into my palm, his eyes softening until they, too, were welling. “That was just for the hospital….”
“Was it?” I countered. I knew what I’d heard. I’d felt the raw anguish in his tears when I wouldn’t wake up no matter how much he begged. The pain in his voice when he’d told the hospital staff that they couldn’t keep him from his husband. “Or did you wish it was true?”
He was saved from responding when the door opened and a diminutive woman with black hair cut in a pixie style bustled in. “Oh, good. You’re awake. Dr. Christine said to expect it soon.” She hustled over to the end of my bed and picked up my chart,sweeping her eyes over the records one page at a time, then nodded. “How are you feeling, Mr. Porter?”
I smirked at Daniel. “Which one?”
He blanched as his own words were repeated back to him.
Yeah, sweetheart. I heardeverything.
As if she knew I was messing with Daniel, the nurse chuckled. “Mr. Marshall Porter. Presumably, he’s the one in the bed, unless you two have undertaken a body swap.” The smile faded. “You haven’t, have you? They’re a pain in the ass to reverse.”
“Yeah, that’s me,” I said, smiling, amused at her playfulness. “No body swap here.”
She heaved a sigh of relief, and her smile promptly returned. “Good. I don’t need the extra paperwork.” She tapped the clipboard to her thigh. “How are you feeling, Marshall? Any dizziness? Nausea?”
“No and no,” I said, shaking my head slowly as I took stock of my body. “A bit sluggish when I woke up, but I’m feeling better with every passing minute. I’m still feeling a little tender here—” I motioned to the area behind my left ear. “—but that’s to be expected, right? I hit my head pretty hard yesterday.”
“Right.” The nurse nodded, her jaw tightening slightly before she stepped around Daniel, who was still sitting on the bed next to my thigh. “Let me check just to be sure.” She placed the clipboard on the bedside table, then poked and prodded my skull a little in the injured area, noting when I winced. “Okay. The wound’s coming along nicely, but it needs a few more hours’ sleep to fix.”
Great.Moresleep. Like I hadn’t just slept for the last twenty hours or whatever. I rolled my eyes. Now that I was awake and chatting with Daniel, the last thing I wanted to do was sleep.
She must have noticed my reaction because she chuckled as she stepped away from me to pick up the clipboard. “I don’t see any reason why you have to sleep here, though. I’ll start thedischarge process so you can get out of here and back home, where I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable.”
Oh… I’d forgotten about the whole reason why I was in the hospital. My heart dropped when I glanced at Daniel only to find a heartbroken look on his face. “Um….”
The nurse looked at Daniel, then back at me, her eyebrows furrowing. “What?”
“Home was destroyed yesterday.” Daniel swallowed heavily, then shot me a guilty look. “Wedohave a place to stay, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to Marshall about it yet.”
“Oh.” The nurse glanced between us again as she chewed her bottom lip a little. “I’m very sorry to hear that.” She shuffled in place, then stepped back and held the clipboard up. “I’ll let you discuss things while I update your records.” One last guilty look at us before it felt like she broke the land-speed record leaving the room, the door clicking shut behind her.
“Sparkle Marshall! You’re awake!”
I laughed when Daniel dropped his head with a resigned sigh. “Hey, Rosey.” I turned my head just in time to see her launch herself at me, arms outstretched.
Squeezing me tightly, she nuzzled into my neck and refused to let me go, even when I started patting her on the head. “I was so worried!”
“I know, sweetheart. But see? I’m fine.” I kissed the top of her head and glanced at Daniel, who looked like he was ready to melt at the cuteness overload in front of him. “How are you feeling? Yesterday was a lot to deal with, wasn’t it?”
She didn’t pull away from me at all, instead nuzzling further into my arms as she nodded.
When she started to tremble, I tightened my hold and kissed her hair again. “It’s okay, Rosey. We’re all safe now. See? We’re all together again and safe.”
Daniel placed a hand on her back and gently rubbed, not stopping until she started to relax. “Now that we’re all awake, we should probably talk about a few things.”
