39. Finn
FINN
H e knew it had to be a lot for Lauren to take. Finn had plenty of experience with chaotic environments and being shoved unfamiliar places while others said and did a lot around him. He hadn’t even considered what it would be like for her, after hiding in the cabin away from people for God only knew how long. The bear side didn’t give a shit about the pain in his shoulder and chest, and the second Ethan confirmed the bullet went straight through and no vital structures were hit, Finn took the hit of morphine and immediately went to Lauren.
Simon started to bark at him and chew his ass for making stupid decisions working with Shotgun, but Finn barely heard him. Barely registered there were others in the helicopter. He took off the headset so he wouldn’t be distracted, despite the thumping roar of the rotors almost deafening him, and dragged himself to slide onto the seat next to Lauren.
She had her eyes squeezed shut and her hands over her ears, hunched over to make herself smaller, and tears ran down her cheeks. Finn’s heart ached for her, and it wasn’t even the bullet wound that gave him pangs. She was more the personification of overwhelmed than he’d ever seen a person be. It took some doing, but he finally tugged on her wrist and got her to look at him.
She wore fresh clothes, at least, instead of the old jacket he’d ruined by leaning on her, and smelled fresh and familiar but still like herself. Lauren stared at him with wide, slightly vacant eyes, and a twinge of concern seized him. He didn’t know how to help, so he did what he would have wanted if their positions were reversed: he put his arm around her and leaned back on the bench seat, letting his head rest against the wall and a little on hers, and breathed deep and even. The morphine definitely helped him relax, and he would have fallen asleep immediately if the bear weren’t hypervigilant about protecting Lauren.
It took some time for her to start to relax, although she didn’t speak or really even blink much. Finn just breathed and held her, and gradually she leaned against his shoulder. Her hand moved by minuscule little increments until it touched his, and he held on to her cold fingers through the mitten. He smiled to himself, the rest of the tension easing out of his shoulders. They would be okay. Everything would be fine.
Simon told him it would take about an hour to get back to the Lodge by helicopter, and that they were fucking lucky the weather cleared and they still had the aircraft out of the barn for a last-minute winter hunting trip. Otherwise, they never would have reached them in time. Finn figured he and Lauren would have been fine. They would have hiked back to the cabin to hole up until Ethan or whoever drove around to pick them up. It all would have worked out.
Funny how it felt that way with Lauren next to him. Even the added stress of protecting a mate wasn’t enough to undermine the confidence that all was right in his world. Finally, all the pieces were there. Something he’d been searching for and didn’t even know he needed was with him for the first time, and he could breathe. He held her closer, head turning to breathe her in, and imagined them napping for hours in the warm comfort of his room. He’d barricade the door so no one bothered them, and they could both recover from the stressful events.
He’d eventually talk with Simon’s lawyer about the deal with Shotgun and how to make sure it actually worked out and didn’t bite Lauren in the ass later. Trading in the fuckers who’d thrown her under the bus had been a last-minute idea, but he figured it didn’t hurt to appeal to Shotgun’s vanity. Being able to solve a crime no one else had for a year was probably a better way to get him to help Lauren than to threaten the fucker with internal investigations, but both together would definitely get things done. Although he’d wait until the paperwork was done and the charges against Lauren dropped before he breathed easier. At least he knew she’d have actual representation the next time she had to face a judge, instead of some overworked public defender who didn’t remember her name.
She shifted and squirmed next to him, and Finn loosened his embrace where he’d been crushing her closer. He kissed her temple, then murmured in her ear, “Are you okay?”
Maybe she wouldn’t hear over the noise in the helicopter and through the headphones. After a hesitation, she nodded. Didn’t speak, just leaned into him and squeezed his hand and nodded.
Finn squeezed back and kissed her again, unable to stop himself from nuzzling against her hair and temple under the fuzzy hat. “We’ll be there in about an hour. You can sleep if you want to.”
He wanted to. He wanted to curl up on the seat and wrap her up in blankets and hold her tight until the rest of the world faded away. Lauren hesitated, clearly thinking about it, then nodded again. Finn damn near jumped up in excitement, but slowly untangled himself to arrange some of the seats into a backward-facing arrangement that was basically a modified lounger-bed. Not super comfortable but better than the stretcher or trying to cuddle sitting up. Lauren watched with her eyebrows drawn together and her forehead wrinkled, so damn adorable he had to stop what he was doing to kiss her again.
Her whole face reddened but he just went back to making her a nest with the blankets and the duffel bag of clothes as a pillow. Finn didn’t give a shit that periodically Kira glanced back from where she sat, grinning to herself, and that even Ethan snickered. He couldn’t care less. They’d all been idiots when they finally found their mates, and he was damn well going to enjoy every second of finally having Lauren somewhere safe.
He didn’t try to talk over the noise of the rotors, instead gesturing for Lauren to shift over to the wider part of where the seats and bench aligned. Once she’d sat down, he shoved them the rest of the way together, giving her more room, then wrapped her up in more of the blankets as well as another layer of sweats and a jacket, too. Finn didn’t breathe easily until he stretched out next to her on his side, facing her so his back protected them from view. His nosy fucking friends wouldn’t be deterred from giggling with each other over it, but he didn’t give a shit.
Finn nuzzled against Lauren’s cheek, breathing her in. “Are you okay? Doing okay?”
Her fingers curled inside his, holding on to him, and she nodded. Her eyes were closed, though her face remained more tense than he wanted.
“I love you,” he breathed, sharing a secret. He would shout it to the world the second he could, but he wanted her to be the first one to hear it. “I love you more than anything in the world.”
Another nod, another soft squeeze of his fingers.
Finn smiled, the morphine starting to take over a little more when he finally stopped moving around and the rest of him relaxed. “Marry me, Lauren. Be my wife. Be mine forever.”
Silence. Stillness. So long he almost woke up all the way, then…a gentle tightening around his hand. A slight nod, her face turned toward his until her forehead tucked against his neck and her breath hushed on his skin. Finn smiled, the bear finally content, and slipped into dreams. Fucking finally.