Once he had me completely fixed up, I stood slowly, trying to catch my bearings. My head began to spin, and I had to close my eyes again and wait for it to pass. Even with my eyes closed, I felt a crushing sense of whirling darkness around me. I reached out for anything that could stabilize this out-of-sorts feeling and was met by two strong arms.
“Hey, hey, you okay?” he asked with genuine worry in his voice.
“Yeah, just dizzy. It’s a side effect of one of my meds. It happens a lot, but they said once I stop taking them, it should go away.” My eyes slowly opened once the spell began to fade, and I spotted the concern in his. I’d only had a few dark spots in my vision compared to the complete blackness I used to get. That had to be a good sign.
“How long do you have to take them?”
“Until my heart heals and I can regulate my blood pressure without them,” I stated word-for-word what the doctor explained to me just twenty-four hours ago. I regretfully dropped my hands away from his warm skin.
“Your heart?!” he exclaimed, sounding alarmed.
I held up my hand and lethargically said, “Tomorrow, okay? I’m so tired, Lane.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
He headed to his bathroom and I re-entered the darkened bedroom. I crawled in between the kids and my head was so thankful for the pillow underneath it, I was out before I even heard Lane turn off the shower in the bathroom.
~~~~~~~
Soft giggles woke me from my sleep. I hadn’t been able to sleep very hard for the past couple of years. I was always afraid something would happen while I was out, so eventually my body caught up with my mind and learned how to slumber, always in a semi-alert state.
My back faced the window and when I opened my eyes, I smiled when I saw two bright, smiling faces snickering at each other. They were each other’s best friends. No matter what kind of situation we had been thrown into, I could never regret the bond that had grown between them. They didn’t need TV, video games, or an endless string of toys to occupy themselves. They had each other, and the games they created between the two of them amazed me every day.
Currently, they seemed to be in some kind of staring contest, seeing which one could go without blinking first. Braden could always make Kate giggle, which caused her to blink within seconds. It was the best sound in the world to wake up to.
“Good morning, sweethearts,” I said, stretching and thinking about how I wished I could sleep for a few more hours. I was shocked when I saw that it was already eleven in the morning. Even with eight hours of sleep, I still felt as if I had been run over by a bus. Ever since I’d gotten sick, I hadn’t felt like I could ever fully recharge my batteries. I was always running a little low and really hoped that went away soon. “How long have you guys been up?”
“Shh!!” Braden and Kate promptly admonished me. Their little fingers covered their mouths in a highly dramatic fashion.
“Daddy’s sleeping!” Kate whispered. “He didn’t leave.” She smiled brilliantly as if she couldn’t believe he really stayed.
“Duh, Kate. He crossed his heart, remember?” Hmm, he was supposed to have been sleeping when Lane said that. Sneaky boy.
I rolled over in the huge, king-size bed and looked at where they had pointed moments ago. A cough sputtered out of my throat at the sight of Lane. Last night, he had pulled the couch across the room and pushed it flush against the side of the bed Kate slept on.
His large body could barely fit across the length of it. An average human being would have made that piece of furniture look like a normal, full-length couch, but a man built like a Greek god made the poor thing look like an armchair. One of his legs was draped over the low backside and his feet were hanging off the end. His undamaged arm was slung above his head, dangling over the end. He had the sling back on and his injured arm was cradled against his chest. He didn’t look even a little bit comfortable, and I felt bad that we had all stretched out in that magnificent bed while he squashed himself onto that plastic-looking furniture.
“He has a lot of muscles,” I heard Braden whisper. I had to agree with him there. He told me that he didn’t work for the police department anymore, but I wasn’t sure what he did now. Regardless, all of that fighting he had been learning to catch Flores really had kept his body in outstanding shape.
“That’s because he’s a superhero,” Kate informed Braden.
“I’m gonna have muscles like that too,” he told her.
“I’m sure you’ll be just as strong, buddy,” I chuckled. “Just remember you have to eat all of your vegetables. I bet Lane always eats his spinach.”
The crease in Braden’s nose crinkled and I could tell he was deep in thought. I had a feeling he was weighing the odds of leafy greens actually causing muscles in his head, which made me laugh to myself.
“Let’s let him sleep in a bit more. We can go play in the other room until he wakes up.”
“But...” Kate hesitated. “I think he would be sad if we were gone.”
“We’ll be super quiet, mama,” Braden added with an exaggerated whisper.
“Alright. Well, I’m going to take a shower, but I’m serious you two, do not wake him up.” I dumped out books from the backpack and even some crayons and coloring pages for them to share.
“Thank you, mama,” Kate murmured. My heart clenched at her words. How much longer did I get to be her “Mama”? I just couldn’t stand the idea of it being any different, but I knew things would unquestionably change sometime soon.
LANE -
Sleeping on the floor probably would have been a better choice than that tiny-ass couch. My legs were hanging off the arm of one side and my feet were asleep from the blood loss. That annoying pins-and-needles feeling poked from the inside out. I slowly twisted my feet in a circular motion and turned my head toward the tiny whispers that came from the bed.
Kate and Braden were leaning toward one another, deep in conversation.
“That’s a really good job, sissy,” Braden said.
“Thanks. I’m making it for you, and you can add it to the other pictures I made you,” she replied.
“I don’t think we’re going to get to go back and get all of our things from home,” he stated solemnly.
She shrugged and told him, “It’s okay, I like it here better. Daddy’s here.”
“He’s your daddy, not mine,” Braden expressed sadly.
“Maybe he can be your daddy, too.” She looked up at him with so much hope in her eyes, I almost wanted to be the kid’s dad just so that look would always stay there on her sweet face.
“No, I got mama and you got your daddy.”
“But, I want mama too,” she panicked.
“Don’t worry, Kate. I’m your big brother and brothers have to take care of their sisters.” I swore that little guy puffed out his chest with those words. Kate leaned over and kissed him loudly on the cheek, and he giggled while swiping his hands across his face. “Eww, Kate!” he protested while continuing to laugh.
I decided to take that moment and sit up. The laughter immediately died from both of their faces and I felt kind of bad for surprising them.
“Morning,” I said with a rasp.
“Braden! Mama said we couldn’t wake him up. He needs sleep,” Kate said in an accusatory tone.
“Sorry.” Braden looked up at me and spoke quietly.
“You guys are fine. It was about time I woke up anyway.” I glanced at the clock and groaned when I saw that it was close to noon. Charlie would be calling soon, wondering why the hell we hadn’t come back to the station yet. “I bet you two are starving, huh?”