Chapter 13
Stewart
I stayed away from the physical therapy area when I knew Rita would be there, and I called Aspen to find out if we could do our last session over the phone or somewhere else. I didn’t trust being in the same space as Rita and not wanting to see her.
For four days I walked around the clinic pissed the fuck off. I did my best to keep it away from the patients, but I figured I must be doing a piss poor job when Dana called me into her office.
“It’s good to have you back, Major.” She started. “Or at least it would be good to have you back if you weren’t acting like you would rather be anywhere else but here.”
“Sorry.” I stood at attention. “I’m glad to be back.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded.
“Alright.” She didn’t look like she believed me. “Sergeant Serrano is scheduled to be moved into rehab in a couple days. Why don’t you check in with him and the rehab facility and make sure they are ready for the transfer?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I was glad Andre was finally getting out of the hospital. It had taken three surgeries to make sure he didn’t lose his leg. He was going to have to do some work to make sure he was walking properly and able to get back to duty, but I was glad that he was one step closer to going home.
Just thinking about his road to recovery brought my mind back to Rita. Would Andre still need PT years after this? Was there more that could be done for Rita so she didn’t have to keep doing therapy?
I closed my eyes for a quick moment. I had to stop doing this. I’d tried, but there was nothing more I could do until she stopped seeing me as someone she needed to fix. I’d told her I was fine from the start. I wished she had believed me.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Dana asked. “You can talk to me if you need to, and everyone would understand if you continued therapy. There’s no shame in taking the time you need.”
“It’s nothing. Just some personal stuff came up while I was on leave.” I went for a thin smile. “Trust me. I don’t need any more therapy.” A specific therapist, but no more therapy.
“Alright.” She shook her head. “In that case, go check on Serrano, and then take the rest of the day off.”
“I don’t need to.” I was coming back full-time next week. I didn’t want Dana to question if that was a poor decision.
“You don’t have to come back full throttle.” She laughed. “Take the time. If you’re like me, then I’m sure there’s plenty at home that needs taking care of. Finish those things off, handle your personal crap, and come back ready for next week.”
“Alright.” I did have some laundry that could use some work, and I wouldn’t have a lot of time once I was full duty to make sure my house was straight before going home to Georgia.
“Dismissed.”
“Thanks, Captain.” I nodded in salute and left her office.
I wasn’t surprised to find half our unit in Andre’s room when I walked in.
“Didn’t you get enough of this place when you were staying here?” I patted Kai on the back as I walked past him to check on Dre.
“Absolutely, but I can’t leave a man down.” He laughed.
“I told them I didn’t need everyone standing guard.” Andre smiled over at me. “Will you tell them they can go, Major?”
“I can tell them, but you know they aren’t going to listen to me.” I pulled up his chart and went over the vitals.
“Damn right we aren’t.” Devon was sitting in one of the other chairs in the room. “This is our second home until you’re out of here.”
“Which should be very soon.” I informed them all.
“Really?” Andre’s smile grew. “You’re not fucking with me, are ya, Doc?”
“Nope.” I closed out of his chart and put my hands in my pockets.
“I just talked to Captain Hollis, and she gave me the good news that you’re getting out of here.
” The three guys cheered. “You’re not going home just yet.
” I tempered their excitement. “You still have some time in rehab before you’ll be released, and maybe a little longer after that before you’re cleared to return to the unit. ”
“But I’m on the way to getting my life back.” His smile didn’t waiver. “Thanks Doc. I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t been there. You saved not just my life, but my leg.”
It didn’t feel right accepting his thanks.
I knew I’d done all I could, but how much more could I have done if I hadn’t stayed in the truck?
Would he still have had to have the same number of surgeries?
We’d never know. Just like we’d never know if getting out might have made things worse.
Sometimes you just had to live with what you did know and put the rest behind you.
I felt my chest start to tighten. I took a long breath and let it out slowly. The guilt eased as I did. I’d done the best in the fucked up situation we’d been in, and Andre would be fine. I couldn’t ask for more.
“I want you to get some rest.” I told him. “We still have a few tests to run over the next couple of days, but as long as everything looks good, then we’ll have you out of here before the beginning of next week.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“That also means you guys should probably head out.” I looked over at Devon and Kai.
“Alright.” Devon stood. “Take it easy, man. We’ll see ya soon.”
“Thanks for coming by.” Andre shook hands with both of them before they walked out of the room.
“Relax, and if you need anything, Captain Hollis will be on call tonight.” I informed him.
“Thanks again, Major.”
“You’re welcome.” I patted his leg as I walked out, thankful that he still had it.
I didn’t expect Devon to have waited for me outside Andre’s room.
“What are you still doing here?”
“I wanted to find out what happened with your girl.” He pushed himself off the opposite wall.
“Nothing.” I turned to the elevator. “That didn’t work out.”
“What? Why?” He followed me.
“We weren’t in the same place.” I pushed the down button.
“Damn.” He shook his head. “Sorry, man.”
“Thanks.”
“Was it the going home with you, do you think?” He asked. “Was it too soon for her?”
“No. It was the way we met.” I shared. “She couldn’t get past it.”
“That sucks.” The elevator dinged, and the doors opened for us to step in. “Maybe if you give her some time?”
I shrugged. “Maybe, but for now I’m giving her space.”
“You really think that is a good idea?” The doors closed.
“I have no idea, but I don’t know what else there is I can do.” I ran my hand through my hair and leaned against the wall of the elevator. “I can’t force her to see me differently.”
“I get that.” We finished riding down to the main floor. “When do you head home to see your mom?”
“Two weeks.”
“Maybe a little distance will help.” He suggested. “Give you a chance to clear your head.”
“I hope so.” I stopped walking. “I need to grab my things.” I pointed to the doctor’s area.
“Alright.” He nodded. “If you want to grab a drink later, shoot me a text.”
“Will do.” I went into the break room and then back to the locker room.
I picked up my bag and cleaned out my stuff. If I was going to go home and do laundry, I might as well throw these in. A couple of the other doctors came in, and I spent a few minutes chatting with them before leaving for the day.
I was right outside the clinic door when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a guy a few inches shorter than me with a bald head and dark brown eyes looking at me.
“Are you Major Harris?” He looked slightly familiar, but I couldn’t place him. We’d probably worked together on a case at some point.
“Do you know Rita Fontaine?”
Now I remembered where I knew him from. He was the guy I saw her hugging.
“I know Ms. Fontaine.” Why was he asking me about Rita? Had she lied to me? Was something going on between the two of them?
“I’m a little worried about her.” That stopped the dark hole I was going down.
“What do you mean?”
“We were working out her muscles and something happened.” My breath caught in my throat. “I tried to get her to stay, but she said she wanted to go home.”
“And you let her?” I was already moving toward my car. She could have pulled something. Or it could be internal. Hell, if I could mess up a disk helping, who knew what she might have done.
“I couldn’t force her to stay.”
I wanted to scream at him that he damn well could have. He should have called me. I would have made her stay, but I wasn’t about to waste any more time talking to this guy.
“I’ll take care of it.” I opened my car door and threw my things onto the passenger side. They weren’t important. Right now, the only thing I knew was that I needed to get to Rita.