“Are you one of those really independent people?” The man’s voice was sympathetic. “I’m like that, too.”
Red Sky At Morning 265
Dar glanced at him. “Yeah, I guess I am,” she admitted.
“Well, you just take it easy, okay? They’ll take good care of you up here, even if you don’t want them to,” the nurse chuckled. “The floor nurse will be in soon to take your vitals and get your chart started, and then they’ll bring you up some dinner.” He checked a tag on Dar’s arm.
“They’ll probably want you to take your jeans off, too.”
Dar’s eyebrow edged up.
“Don’t let them intimidate you,” the man whispered, giving her a wink. “Sleep in ’em if you want.” He grinned and patted Dar’s leg, then made his way out of the room.
Hmm. Dar had to smile, just a little. Then she sighed and let her head fall back, her mind turning over vague worries and more concrete ones, like what the hell they were going to do with her shoulder. Her head turned, and she peered at her own arm in worried annoyance.
Then she looked around the room, which was depressing and silent.
Surprising how alone you can feel inside a busy place like a hospital. Dar closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of shockingly pungent self-pity. She really didn’t want to be here.
She just wanted to go home.
KERRY PAUSED IN the doorway for a moment, watching the quiet figure lying on the bed. There was something so vulnerable about Dar, she almost didn’t want to walk in, for fear of startling her lover too badly. She took a breath, hesitating before she called out. “Hey.”
Dar’s head came up and she looked around, their eyes meeting with an almost palpable intensity. “Hey.” Dar managed a smile.
“Thought you went on home.”
Kerry walked over to the bed. “You thought wrong.” She eased the bag on her shoulder off and let it drop to the ground. “I’m not going anywhere.” She leaned on the railing, absorbing the look on Dar’s face.
“I’m staying right here with you.”
Dar felt a little ashamed. “Hey, you don’t have to do that,” she replied. “Not that I don’t appreciate the thought, but you need to go get some rest yourself.”
“No.” Kerry spoke the truth she felt in her heart and saw in Dar’s eyes. “Mom and Dad are going to stay at our place and keep Chino company.” She took Dar’s hand. “This is where I want to be, and you’re not convincing me otherwise, so just forget it.”
Dar’s eyes dropped to the blanket, then lifted again, filled with simple, yet poignant gratitude. “Thanks,” she said, softly. “I’m feeling pretty ragged right now.”
“I know,” Kerry replied. “Dr. Steve said some of that is from your concussion, and he knows you must be hurting a lot, but they can’t give you much for the pain because of your head.”
Dar nodded. “I figured that out.” She glanced around the room. “At 266 Melissa Good least it’s quiet in here, hmm?”
Kerry also looked around. “Yeah, not bad.” She nodded at the window. “Nice view.”
Dar studied her profile, seeing the slight tensing of the muscles on either side of Kerry’s mouth. “Did you arrange for this?”
Now the green eyes drifted around and met hers, and the hidden smile emerged fully, making those eyes twinkle. “Yes, I did,” Kerry replied. “And you’re in no condition to argue with me about it.”
Despite the aches and the pains and the aggravation, Dar suddenly felt much better. “You know something?”
“Hmm?” A blonde eyebrow raised in question.
“You’re better than ice cream.”
The smile turned into a broad grin, which wrinkled Kerry’s nose up and transformed her entire face. “There goes my life’s goal...now what do I do?” she laughed. “C’mon, tiger. Let’s get those jeans off. I brought your travel bag in, and it has real pajamas in it.”
Dar relaxed and accepted her fate. “Oho,” she remarked wryly.
“Now I know why you arranged for a private room.”
“Absolutely.” Kerry agreed with the banter. “You’re helpless and alone in my clutches here, and I can do whatever I want to you.” She removed one of Dar’s socks and tickled the bottom of her foot. “I am in total control.”
Dar snickered. “You know, Ker, that would be more effective if you didn’t have that cute little nose.”
A sigh. “I’d never be cast as a domineering world conqueror, huh?”
“No.” Dar muffled a laugh.
“Guess I’ll have to just make the best of it.” Kerry leaned over and bit her on the toe.
“Ooh.” Dar jumped, allowing herself to be absorbed into the play and forgetting for the time being where she was, and how she felt.
Which is exactly what Kerry intended.
THEY HEARD THE rumble of the dining cart long before it screeched to a halt somewhere near their door. Kerry glanced up from her laptop—which was open on, of all places, her lap—then set the machine aside and got up from the low couch.
After she’d changed into pajamas, Dar had dozed off, finally succumbing to the events of the day, leaving Kerry to work on sorting and organizing the data from the base. She was glad her lover had gotten some rest; the dark circles apparent under her very blue eyes had started to be worrisome, and she debated waking Dar up for the dinner she knew was on the way.
Dar forestalled her decision by stirring, and Kerry quickly crossed over to put a hand on her arm as her eyes blinked open and she looked around disorientedly. “Hey, it’s okay,” Kerry reassured her. “You just Red Sky At Morning 267
took a nap.”
“Ah.” Recognition flooded Dar’s face, and she flexed her hands.
“Yeah, guess I did. What time is it?”
“About six,” Kerry told her, looking up as an older woman dressed in Pepto-Bismol pink entered. “Dinnertime.”
“Hello.” The woman smiled at Dar. “Ready to eat?” She slid a tray onto the rolling bedside table and maneuvered it in front of her noncommittal patient. “Your doctor ordered you a regular diet, so we brought you something pretty standard. Tomorrow you’ll get a card, so you can order what you want, okay?” She had a kindly face and beautifully arranged silver gray hair.
“Anything?” Dar drawled, still half-asleep.
“Well,” the woman laughed, “anything on the card. My name’s Pam, and I’m here at nights. Give me a call if there’s anything you need while I’m up here. No guarantees, but I’ll see what I can do.” She waved at them, then left the room.
“Mm.” Kerry leaned on the railing. “What a nice lady.”
Dar fingered her silverware and studied the plastic tray and its contents with wary suspicion. “The guy who brought me up here was nice, too. Did you arrange for that, while you were at it?” She smiled at Kerry.
Kerry chuckled, but shook her head. “No.” She lifted the cover off the tray and allowed steam to escape. “Ah. Chicken.”
“Yes, chicken,” Dar agreed, examining it. “But on the bright side, those are sort of mashed potatoes, aren’t they?” She poked at them.
“So they are,” Kerry said. “They even brought peas, your one concession to vegetables,” she noticed. “And Jell-O.”
“I like Jell-O,” Dar allowed. “You think it’s strawberry?”
Kerry selected a jiggling cube and put it into her mouth experimentally. “Yeth.”
“Eh.” Dar stabbed the half-chicken with her fork. “Considering the last thing I had to eat in a hospital, this isn’t too bad.” She managed to rake a bit of the white meat off and tasted it. It was fairly bland, but not as dry as she’d expected, and she found it tolerably edible. “Mm.”