Chapter 15
All the movements blurred together until they set her on the stretcher. She blinked in the cool night air. When had the sun set? That question disappeared from her mind as they eased the stretcher down the stairs, jostling her. Brooklyn swallowed hard, trying not to throw up.
“I got you, Brooklyn,” Giana assured her and held a bag near her mouth.
When they lifted her into the ambulance, Brooklyn lost control and retched. They tilted the board behind her to the side to keep her from choking. When she finished, they settled her back gently.
“You’re okay, Brooklyn. We’re going to get you put back together. I promise,” Giana told her. “Big ouch now, as they start an IV. Do you want Fluffikins?”
“Ow! I wish Da… Caden was here,” Brooklyn whispered, still with it enough not to blurt “Daddy.”
“Caden would want to be here too. Fluffikins?” Giana checked on her earlier question.
“Let Fluffikins stay at home. I’m too messy. I want him safe.” Brooklyn closed her eyes. Giana was here now. Brooklyn wasn’t alone. She could rest.
“Uh, uh, Brooklyn! Keep those eyes open. No sleeping for you,” Mark demanded.
Sighing, she followed his directions. Maybe she could doze with her eyes open.
“Talk to me, Brooklyn. Tell me about your family,” Giana interrupted her plan.
Between Mark and Giana, she didn’t have a chance to snooze. That became even more impossible when they reached the emergency department. The flurry of activities overwhelmed her. She clung to Giana’s hand as her lifeline between tests, injections, and stitches. Her headache never got better.
Completely exhausted and overwhelmed, Brooklyn sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her discharge papers. She pulled at the stiff, blood-soaked neckline of her shirt, suspecting it would never be the same. All she wanted to do was take a shower and sleep forever.
They wouldn’t send her home without someone to stay with her. Giana had to return to the firehouse to take care of the paperwork, so Aspen and Pippa had already packed a change of clothes and necessities. They should be there to pick her up by the time the hospital released her.
“Little girl…”
Her head popped up at the sound of his voice. Surely, she was imagining it. That quick motion made her weave with dizziness.
“Whoa, Brookie. Take it easy.” Caden steadied her with his powerful hands on her shoulders.
She stared at him. His skin and uniform were dirty, and he smelled like he hadn’t showered for days. She reached a hand up to grab his shirt. “You’re here? I’m not imagining you?” Brooklyn asked, almost afraid to find out she was hallucinating. The material felt solid in her fist.
Caden leaned forward to kiss her lightly. “I’m here. I got home and found a lot of blood smeared on the floor. Are you okay?”
“I fell. My head split open. They had to shave part of my head,” she told him as tears ran down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry. Hair will regrow, sweetheart. Don’t cry. That will make your head hurt,” Caden said.
“It already throbs,” she whined.
“Badly, I bet. Zale is talking to the doctor so he can tell me how to help you.”
“The entire team is back?”
“Yes. Jerico is giving them my insurance information. I had you added to my account before I left,” Caden told her.
“Really? I was so scared. I tried to talk them out of bringing me here, but they didn’t listen.”
“It’s a good thing they didn’t,” Zale said, catching the end of her statement as he walked in the door.
Brooklyn was so glad to see him. Zale would take care of her. He lifted her chin to check out her eyes and winked. “You aren’t supposed to have this much excitement when we’re out of town. You scared us.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, tearing up.
“Don’t cry, Brooklyn. Think happy thoughts. Your daddy is here,” Zale reminded her.
Brooklyn blinked the moisture from her eyes and leaned on her daddy’s chest. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
He looked at Caden and reported, “Sixteen stitches, probable concussion, no brain swelling or skull fracture. She’s got nausea meds on board and can take acetaminophen when she gets home. I’ve got you covered on that to protect her stomach.”
“Thanks, Zale. I don’t know what we’d do without you,” Caden told him.
“I don’t plan on your ever finding that out. Now, they’re going to send you home. Sponge bath tonight. Bath tomorrow. You can’t get those stitches wet for a while.”
“Can I take this off?” Brooklyn reached up carefully to touch the tight bandage around her head. “This is making my headache worse.”
“Not for a while. It keeps you from bleeding. From what we saw in Caden’s kitchen, you need every drop of blood left in you to stay there.” Zale told her.
“I’ll clean it up when I get home,” she promised Caden. She definitely didn’t want to mess up his immaculate house.
“You will not. It’s Daddy’s job,” Caden told her.
“Okay! I’ve got your discharge papers. Now I understand why they call you a special forces team. I’ve never seen things move so fast. I think I need to find my own six buff guys,” the fifty-something nurse told them with a twinkle in her eyes.
The woman in scrubs looked sternly at Caden, who cradled Brooklyn to his chest. “You take care of her. She is the sweetest patient we’ve had for a long time.”
“Definitely. She’s going to be wrapped in bubble wrap for a while,” Caden assured her.
“Thank you for helping me,” Brooklyn told her.
“I’m glad your soldier got back to take care of you. Let him.”
Brooklyn watched the nurse disappear from the room as her kind words resonated inside her aching head. She relaxed completely against Caden’s solid form. “You make everything better, Daddy.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her softly. “Let’s go home, little girl.”
Jerico had pulled Caden’s truck up to the entrance for him.
He opened the door, and Caden lifted her inside.
Her daddy buckled her seatbelt before closing the door as softly as possible.
She propped her elbow on the console and cradled the side of her skull in her hand.
It hurt too badly to rest her head on the seat.
Through the window, Brooklyn could hear the men talking.
“That head is going to hurt. I’ll bring over some painkillers and nausea medicine. An icepack is a good idea. Do you have a bag of frozen peas?” Zale asked.
“You made that a staple in our freezers,” Caden said. “Let her sleep or wake her up?”
“Clean her up and put her to bed with some meds. It’s important to check on her for the first four hours. More than that time has passed since she fell. You’re going to have a light-sleep night tonight. Do you need the team to take turns monitoring her so you can rest?”
“My little girl. I’ll take care of her. We’ll recover together,” Caden told him.
“I’ll lobby for several days off for you to recover. We’ll get at least three. If you need more…”
“I’ll take personal time,” Caden said brusquely.
“Noted. Keep me in the loop. We’ll let Hank lead training for a while. I get the impression he’ll have something unique up his sleeve,” Jerico said.
“Take her home. I’ll drop off some meds at the front door soon,” Zale said, hurrying back to his vehicle.
In seconds, the driver’s door opened, and Caden heaved himself into the truck. She could tell he was operating on his very last bit of energy and regretted adding to his exhaustion. He should be in bed sleeping. The entire team should have celebrated their return with their little girls.
“I’m sorry. I’m so stupid and clumsy,” she whispered, overwhelmed by how much trouble she had caused.
Caden turned to her immediately and ran a hand over her cheek. “You aren’t stupid, little girl. Accidents happen. You didn’t plan this.”
“You could drop me off at a hotel,” she suggested. Her life was so screwed up. Maybe some people were unlucky at life. She definitely was.
“That’s never going to happen,” he told her sternly. “I will never abandon you. I’m your daddy, and I love you.”
“But I’m so much trouble,” she said sadly. “I won’t think badly of you if you decide I cause too much havoc.” Her tears exhausted, Brooklyn couldn’t even cry.
“If you didn’t have a head injury, I’d spank your bottom now. Given your condition, I’m going to wait to punish you for talking so badly about yourself,” he told her in a hard voice that she didn’t dare argue with.
“Sorry,” she squeaked.
“No more talk about leaving or being a bother or I’ll add additional punishment to my list.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, Daddy,” he corrected.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“I missed you, little girl. Spending time in the hospital when I return from a mission outshines arriving home to an empty house. One makes my heart hurt from worry, the other rips my heart out of my chest. Which do you think I prefer?”
“My being in the emergency department.” The band around her chest loosened as she realized he really meant it.
“Exactly. Now, are you ready to go home?”
“Yes, Daddy.”