Anderson (SOS #1)

Chapter 1

?

Hiding his emotions, his face a mask, Anderson Travolta stood at attention in his CO’s office on this eventful morning. Anderson was shaking inside, the news hitting him harder than he could have possibly imagined. He asked, his voice breaking, “I’m sorry, sir. Could you repeat that?”

The older man gazed at him, sorrow in his expression. “Your sister’s in the hospital. It appears she’s been assaulted and is in grave condition. You’ve been given leave to go see her, if you so wish.”

“I do wish, sir,” he stated, struggling to remain calm. “Do you have any details about what happened?”

“No, not at this time. I’m sure you’ll be given more when you get there. You ship out in two hours.” Anderson saluted, and his CO saluted back. “Dismissed.”

Anderson walked to the door, clamping down on the emotions racking his body.

His superior added, “Sorry, son.”

Anderson nodded and stumbled out of the tent, heading for his bunk, where he quickly packed a bag, not even sure what he was taking. Completely blindsided by this news, he had to get to Talia.

As the rest of his team caught sight of him, they came over. “Hey, what’s going on?” asked one of the men.

“Why you packing?” Gunner asked. When Anderson didn’t reply, Gunner grabbed him by the shoulder.

Anderson just stared at his best friend and long-time confidant.

Gunner studied Anderson’s face and asked, “What’s going on, Anderson? Talk to me. … Everyone else,” he yelled to the others, “step out.” As soon as they all walked away, Gunner faced his friend expectantly.

Taking a deep breath, Anderson replied, “Talia’s in the hospital. It’s bad.”

“What happened?” Gunner’s voice rose in shock.

Anderson expected that reaction from Gunner.

He grimaced at Gunner and shrugged. “I don’t know for sure.

” Talia and Gunner had a bit of history, a history that Anderson still hoped would work out one day.

Meanwhile, his sister had married somebody else.

Now Anderson wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but he vowed he would find out.

“What do you know?” Gunner asked.

“Just what the CO told me. Talia was assaulted, it’s bad, and she’s in the hospital. No other details for now,” he added, with a wave of his hand. “You know how it goes.”

“Who assaulted her?” Gunner asked, his tone hardening. “Because if that asshole—”

“I don’t know,” Anderson interjected, cutting off his friend, who was upset too. “I don’t know any more, just that I’m leaving on the next flight.”

“Of course you are.” Gunner frowned. “What about the babies?”

“I … don’t know. Presumably someone is there for them.”

“Right,” Gunner muttered, relief lighting his face. “That would make sense.”

Just then his team members returned, their faces somber, overhearing it all.

Gunner stepped back and asked, “Do you want any of us to go with you?”

“Not yet. … I’m not sure what’s going on. Just let me see what’s up. Then I’ll let you know.”

“Do let us know,” Burton snapped.

Another of his team came up behind him, nodding. “If you need us, we’re there. You know that.”

“Thank you,” Anderson replied, grabbing his duffel bag. He walked away almost blindly, his heart locking down the emotions still threatening to overwhelm him.

He didn’t remember the ride to the plane, nor boarding it.

He did jerk awake from some catnaps, which may or may not count as sleep.

Otherwise his mind had been consumed by Talia.

His family amounted to just him and his sister.

They’d gone through foster care in their late-teenage years, both struggling in a world that had suddenly gone ugly.

Their parents had died in a car accident, and, even to this day, it felt as if Anderson and Talia woke up from a dream to find everything shattered around them.

One minute they’d been part of a happy home with the perfect family, and the next minute they’d been orphaned and put into the foster care system.

Supposedly nobody in their extended family had any interest in taking them in, and maybe Anderson couldn’t blame them.

At the same time, he did blame them. He blamed them a lot.

After all, he and Talia needed just a few more years to finish high school.

Then they would have moved on and moved out as adults.

But nope, no one was willing to take in two teenagers, so Anderson and Talia ended up in the system.

Then the struggle became real. They’d both played the role of absolutely perfect kids to avoid causing any waves.

They would just do their time and get out the minute they turned eighteen.

However, Anderson got fed up and left prior to being old enough but still close enough that the bureaucratic process kicked in after he’d already turned eighteen. Nothing they could do about it.

Talia was ever-so-slightly younger, eleven months to be precise, so she had to stay that little bit longer. He’d joined the US Marines but had kept in touch with her as much as he could. With just the two of them, they’d stayed close.

She married about four years ago and got pregnant less than two years back. Anderson was still trying to sort out dates when he realized the triplets were somewhere around ten months old now. With that data, he was more than a little concerned about their care.

Hopefully Tim, her husband, was doing his best under the circumstances. Anderson sympathized because triplets without Mom right there had to be tough. Even harder was the fact that Talia would be frantically doing everything she could to get out of that hospital just to get back to her babies.

No way she wouldn’t be. If ever a woman was born to be a mother, it was Talia.

Anderson had stayed as close to her as he could while stationed overseas. Still, that didn’t leave him a whole lot of in-person family time. Considering that now, he vowed to change that element of his life.

Talia just needed to get through whatever this was.

And he would make damn sure he did absolutely everything so that she could get back on her feet again.

When he finally exited the plane, he took his cell off Airplane mode and sighed at all the texts that had come through.

Gunner had sent his fair share, but Anderson knew more were to come.

He wouldn’t contact Gunner just yet. Anderson would see Talia and would speak to her doctor first. He noted the time on his phone, almost nine o’clock in the morning, and the normal business of living bustled around him.

He bypassed all that to head directly to the hospital.

He had to find out just what happened and how bad the news was. He wouldn’t rest or make plans until he knew. Grabbing a cab, he directed the driver to the address for the San Diego hospital.

As soon as he walked in, he headed to the nearest nurses’ station and asked for his sister’s room.

The woman looked it up and gave it to him.

He hesitated before asking, “Do you have any update on her condition?” She gave him a guarded look and shook her head. He frowned and nodded, not willing to waste any time arguing with somebody who wouldn’t give him what he needed. As soon as he got upstairs, he would find out more. And fast.

It took a couple minutes and a few flights of stairs to get to her room. As soon as he entered, he found her in a ward with several other people. As he walked to her little corner, he peeked around the curtain and froze.

She was sound asleep. Too sound from his viewpoint.

Her face was pale. If this stillness was sleep.

There were monitors and tubes everywhere.

He confirmed she was breathing, but it sure was shallow.

Her body was lax but in an unnatural way.

Her skin lax and white. He glanced around her immediate area, frowning.

He hated seeing Talia like this. She needed a private room.

She needed round-the-clock care. Surely that wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary, so why was she in here?

As he turned around to find a nurse, he instead saw a doctor standing nearby, a clipboard in hand, glaring at him.

Anderson glared right back. “Can I get an update on my sister’s condition? ” he asked abruptly.

The doctor’s expression cleared. “She’s your sister?”

“Yes,” he declared, trying to suppress the waves of anger and impatience building and swirling in the back of his mind. “I just got stateside after hearing the news. I am currently stationed overseas.” Then he introduced himself.

“That explains it. I am Dr. Rainer.”

Anderson frowned at the confusing reply but ignored it for now. “When did this happen?”

He checked the tablet in his hand. “The day before yesterday. She’s been here under our care since she was brought in.”

“Do you have any details as to what happened?”

“Not really. You’ll have to talk to the consulting doctor for specifics. All I can tell you is that she was beaten up.”

He froze. “I was told she was assaulted.”

“And that can mean so much and yet nothing at all,” Dr. Rainer replied in a calm tone. “I understand that you need answers, but all I can tell you at this point is that she is expected to live.”

Anderson immediately felt something settle inside.

“Thank God for that,” he noted, letting out a harsh breath.

Dr. Rainer’s face softened, as if realizing that Anderson really did care.

Anderson dropped his duffel bag beside his sister’s bed and turned to face the doctor again.

“What can you tell me about her current condition?”

“She’s got several broken bones, … and she’s in a coma.” When Anderson grimaced, the doctor held up a hand. “She’s under supervised sedation at the moment,” he explained. “We had to straighten a leg and an arm, plus the pelvis, and she’ll need physical therapy for a while.”

“That’s fine,” he noted. “She’ll get whatever she needs.” A note of determination filled his tone.

At that, the doctor smiled. “We’re glad she’s got somebody who cares.”