The door to the room opened again, letting in the telltale shaft of light from the hallway and Sam’s father poked his head in the door.
“I’ll go with you, Logan. We’ll just go right down to the cafeteria and Iris will call the minute she wakes up.”
“It’s all right, big guy,” said Sam’s sister, Rose, as she slipped in the room past Sam’s father. “I’ll be here, too. We’ll make sure she knows you’re just downstairs if she wakes up before you get back.”
Logan looked at all of them. They had no doubt in their minds she’d wake up. For them, it was simply a matter of when. They were just letting her sleep off the injury like it was nothing. He didn’t know what it would have been like to be surrounded by this family growing up. No wonder Sam was so incredible.
Her mother squeezed his shoulder again and nodded her head toward the door. “Go on, now. Just a quick trip to eat and get some coffee. And, Gregory,” she said, looking toward her husband, “get some juice in him. He’ll pass out if he doesn’t hydrate.”
Logan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. No one had ever taken care of him like this. Sure, he’d found brothers in the military, brothers who supported him and who he would support no matter what. And they would always be his brothers to him. It wasn’t a bond that time or space could sever.
But Sam had such a strong cradle of family surrounding her. She received love and strength and comfort no matter what happened. And, for some reason, Sam’s family was offering that strength and love to him now. As though he were one of them. As though he belonged.
He rose and joined Sam’s father as they walked down the hall and got into the elevator. Gregory punched the button for the second floor, where the cafeteria was located before clapping Logan on the back.
“Don’t worry, Logan, she’s tough. She’ll be just fine. She always did like to sleep in, though. We’d go up to the lake when she was younger, and everyone would be out on the water before she’d even peek her head out from under the covers. Always did like her sleep.”
Gregory laughed and shook his head as though Sam wasn’t lying in the hospital. As though she wasn’t sleeping when she should be waking up. The doctors had assured them she wasn’t in a coma. She was simply sleeping, but Logan had no idea how her dad could be so calm about it.
They exited the elevator and went to the cafeteria where Logan dutifully ate a sandwich and chugged a bottle of juice, but declined the coffee. He rose to go back upstairs, but Gregory waved him back down.
“Give her time to rest, Logan. She’s all right. In the meantime, you can tell me what your plans are.”
“Uh, my plans, sir?” Oh crap, he felt like he was ten years old and getting a dressing down from his dad. Only Sam’s dad didn’t seem to be judging him. Logan looked at him warily, not sure what the man wanted.
“Sure, your plans. Are you going to marry my daughter when she wakes up? You love her, don’t you?”
Logan grinned. This, he knew the answer to. “More than anything, sir. And yes, if she still wants me when she wakes up, I hope to get her down the aisle as fast as she’ll let me.”
Her father looked at Logan for a long time, not breaking eye contact, not giving any clue to what he was thinking. Logan didn’t squirm at all. He kept his gaze locked on Gregory and let him look his fill.
For once, Logan felt whole. He didn’t feel damaged any longer like he had when he first came home. He wasn’t broken or a danger to anyone around him. He finally felt like he was worthy of Sam
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew he still had PTSI, and that there would be some hard times ahead of them. He knew he would need Billy to pull him out of flashbacks. He knew he had a lot of sessions with Ernie in his future, but he felt somehow like he could be whole despite that. He could have a future and work through it all with Sam at his side.
Gregory nodded. “Well, good then. Let’s go see if my little girl is awake. Maybe I’ll tell her she’s had enough time to lollygag in bed. She’s got a man waiting for her.”
Sam didn’t wake up. Not for another six hours and by then, Logan wanted to claw through his skin and right on out of it. Billy sat next to him, his head in his lap.
The dog had alternated between sitting and calming Logan, and climbing up onto the bed to lie with Sam. As a service dog, he’d been allowed in the hospital as long as Logan was there, and none of the doctors or nurses seemed to object to him lying in bed with Sam.
Logan took Sam’s hands and threaded them through Billy’s fur, and he would swear Sam’s eyes began to move behind her closed lids at that.
Her family was coming and going, taking turns going down for food or out for a walk, when needed. They all seemed to have unflappable confidence she would simply wake when she was ready.
Billy raised his head and whimpered. Logan followed the dog’s eyes to the bed and saw Sam watching him, eyes open and calm.
“Sam!” Logan shot from his chair and was by her side in an instant. She simply smiled up at him.
“Can you talk, Sam? Are you okay?”
“Of course, I’m okay, silly man. Why wouldn’t I be? You took care of me, didn’t you?” she asked him with such confidence, much in the same way her family had believed she would wake up. As if it was simply so.
“Yeah,” he said, sitting in the chair by her bed and raising her hand to his lips. He kissed each finger. “Yeah.”
Then he laid his head on her chest and listened to her breathe and to the soft rumble of her laughter, until one of the nurses arrived to check her vital signs.
Yeah. He would take care of her for the rest of her life. For as long as she’d let him.
Epilogue
“Is she serious?” Logan whispered to Sam, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, tugging her back to his front.
Sam nodded and murmured “mm hmm.”
“Wow.” Logan had never seen a woman on a mission quite like this. He’d also never seen a woman deny being in labor quite so vehemently.
“The baby is not coming.” A very pregnant Kelly waddled around the room, one hand on her lower back, the other hand pointing and giving orders to those around her.
Somehow, she gave the impression of whipping around, even though her pace was slow. Her pace also included the occasional clutching of her stomach as she bent and groaned, all the while denying she was in labor.
They were there with several of their friends and Kelly’s family members for a “nesting party” designed to help top off the nursery design and help the couple prepare for the baby’s arrival in three weeks.
From where Logan stood, it seemed like this baby wasn’t going to wait three weeks. Hell, to him it seemed as though the baby wasn’t going to wait three hours, but he could be wrong. He was no expert on babies.
Sam seemed to sink further back into him, snuggling in his arms and he tightened his grip. He’d never been so happy in his life. They planned to have the wedding the following summer because her mother and sisters wanted time to plan.
Sam didn’t see the need for a big wedding with a fancy dress and all the frills, but she was doing it for her mom and sisters. She and Logan had gone down to town hall and gotten married quietly. They simply didn’t want to wait.