Chapter 4
The day spent at Griff and Hadley’s had gone better than I had hoped. They accepted Danae without issue. They’d given me hell on and off for not telling anyone about her or giving her anyone’s contact information. I took the hit because I deserved it.
Johann had seemed to enjoy talking to the Patriots. I hoped he saw that when he wasn’t around, she would have support no matter what. Even if she never took me back, which I prayed she would, our baby would have a family to look out for her.
Today was his first day back at the base.
He had no idea what he would walk into when he got there.
That was true of most military personnel, but especially true when you were part of elite and special force teams. Danae was working at the clinic.
She would be there from eight a.m. to five p.m., though that end time was flexible depending on the cases they had.
I’d spend the evening with her at Johann’s place.
I had until the end of the week to make sure Danae was situated before I headed back to work. Before I went to Johann’s place later, I had a video call with the bosses. I was surprised to get all four. I thought it would only be Sean. I hadn’t wasted time getting to the point.
“Thanks for doing this, especially first thing on Monday. I’ll be quick,” I told them.
“You take as long as you want. By the way, we really liked Danae and her friend, Johann, too. You need to make sure you win her back. Don’t let her get away,” Gabe stated. The other three nodded and murmured their agreement with his proclamation.
“I intend to win her back. That’s why I asked to speak to you.
I want to request, for a while at least, not to be sent on assignments that take me out of town.
She needs someone to be here for her. Johann can’t guarantee he’ll be around consistently, and he doesn’t have the option to request no out-of-town assignments.
Her trouble with her blood sugars dropping has me worried.
She says she can manage, but what if it drops too fast and she can’t? ”
I paused to take a breath. Talking about what-ifs made me anxious. Sean spoke in the gap.
“You don’t need to explain any more why you want it. It’s clear that Danae has had no one she can rely on besides Johann for a long time. And after what happened with you, and she’s pregnant, it’s hard for women to be vulnerable during pregnancy.”
“You need to know, we already talked about your situation with her and the whole disappearance thing,” Griff added.
“Yeah, we did. And you have shit to make up for. Take it from guys who fuck up with our women. Fix that shit and don’t make the same mistake over and over,” Gabe tacked on.
“What they’re saying is you got it. No out-of-town assignments while she’s pregnant. Show her how much you love her and that she can always count on you. There, end of discussion,” Undertaker stated in his no-nonsense tone.
“Damn, Mark, can’t you show a little softness?” Gabe teased.
“Nope. If I do, it ruins my street cred,” he replied dryly.
The rest of us laughed at Undertaker’s dry wit. I thanked them profusely and promised I’d get back out there after October, or if Danae developed a support system she felt safe with before then. Truthfully, I wanted to wait until after the baby was born.
I was relieved it was that easy, though I had hoped they’d let me stay local for at least a little while.
They were family men. I was eager to let her know.
That was why I was in her clinic's parking lot. It was close to lunchtime. I’d stopped to pick up some food from a place I knew she liked.
We’d eaten there more than once when we were dating.
The entire four months we were together, I hadn’t come to visit her here.
At the time, she wanted to give no one there a reason to gossip about her dating someone who had been a patient, even though we hadn’t gone out until after that time she patched me up.
I hadn’t needed a checkup after that initial treatment.
Now, I didn’t give a damn what they thought.
It had been long enough, and hell, they probably wouldn’t even recognize me.
I got out with the food offering and strolled across the lot to the door.
Opening it, I entered the waiting room. It wasn’t full.
I’d say about twenty percent of the chairs were filled.
Their occupants barely lifted their heads or shifted their eyes away from their phones to see who had entered.
I proceeded to the front window. Behind it was a woman in her mid-twenties, by my reckoning.
She was a pretty blonde who had a pleasant smile.
“Hello. I need your name, the nature of your problem, your ID, and your insurance card. Please sign in on the clipboard, and we’ll get you seen as soon as possible.” She had her speech down pat. I bet she could say it in her sleep.
“My name is Heath. I’m not here as a patient. I’m here to see one of your PAs. Would you let Danae Seong know I’m here to see her? Thank you.”
The woman, whose name tag read, Kristie, opened her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open. It was evident no one had come to see Danae. But I was here for my woman and daughter.
“I-I’ll let her know. If you’ll have a seat,” Kristie said in a rush. Then she was up and out of her seat. I remained standing but took up a spot to the left of the open window.
The people in the waiting room were now paying attention to me. God, hadn’t they seen someone deliver food before? The smells coming from the bag I held made it clear what was in it. My stomach growled. I’d brought enough for two, hoping I might be able to stay and eat with her.
I heard the occasional murmur of voices in the back.
The sound came through the open window at the check-in desk, but the words were unintelligible.
From the angle I stood, I looked back at the inner hallway.
When a woman passed by the open door between the receptionist's seat and the hallway, she paused.
When she saw me staring back, her face flushed, and she hurried along—more murmurs, and two more women who paused at that doorway.
I guess Kristie was back there telling anyone who would listen that there was a man at the front desk to see Danae.
Kristie returned and sat in her chair. She was flushed, and seeing where I stood, she rapidly said, “She’ll be with you soon. She’s finishing up with a patient. You might want to sit.”
“No, I’m fine standing. I’m not a big sitter,” I informed her.
I waited fifteen minutes. During that time, two more people checked in, and two were called into the back. Needing a change, I ambled over to the windows on either side of the main door. I looked out at the world outside.
“Heath, what are you doing here?” I heard Danae’s dulcet voice call out to me a minute later. I turned and strolled over to her. She had the door to the back hallway open. She frowned with concern.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello. Is everything alright? Are you hurt?” Her eyes scanned me from my head down, then paused when she saw the bag. I held it higher.
“I’m good. I brought you lunch. You need to eat, and I know you love the food from Parisian Plates. I wanted to surprise you, that’s why I didn’t ask you. If I need to wait until you're free to eat, I’ll wait. But I hoped to join you.”
Her worried expression shifted to surprise, then to pleasure. She shook her head.
“Heath, you didn’t need to do that. I packed a lunch. But it does smell amazing.” She paused to inhale deeply before continuing, “God, that smell. I need a few minutes to finish up a couple of things. Come with me. You can sit in my office.”
I happily let her lead the way. As we traversed the long hallway and turned left into another, we passed a few of her coworkers. She nodded and smiled at them. They returned them and studied me with frank curiosity.
The office she took me to wasn’t huge. It had a desk, a file cabinet, and two chairs for visitors.
The paintings on the wall were generic ones you’d find in any clinic.
But the two green plants on the file cabinet weren’t.
Those were all hers. Her old apartment had living plants scattered in every room.
“Have a seat. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Do whatever you need to. I can wait,” I assured her.
Her hands skimmed over my shoulder as she left.
It wasn’t a kiss on the mouth, but I’d take it.
To pass the time, I got out my cell phone and checked my messages and emails.
I might not be officially working, but I like to stay in the loop.
As for personal emails or texts, I had no one outside of Ben and the other Patriots.
The worst part of waiting was resisting the tantalizing aroma wafting from the bag.
I heard the murmur of voices and the soft tread of feet.
I had moved my chair, so it angled toward her door.
I wasn’t someone who could sit with my back to an opening.
Many military men and women developed that issue.
In exactly twelve minutes, Danae came hurrying into the office. She stopped next to my chair.
“Sorry. This is awfully sweet of you, Heath, but you didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to. And I have to make sure you eat. Does anyone know…” I had lowered my voice and shifted my focus to her tummy, then back to her face.
“My boss does, but I haven’t announced it to everyone. The majority are sweet, but a few are catty. I was waiting as long as I could. There would be lots of questions.”
“They’d ask who the father was. I get it. If you don’t want me to stay, I’ll just give you this.” I stood and held out the bag.
Her hand on my arm stopped me. “No, I want you to stay. I’m not going to be able to hide it much longer.
I think some are suspicious as it is. I took a lot of bathroom breaks in the third month.
I didn’t feel sick until then. Unless you’d rather not let them see you with me and make the connection. ”