Mia smiles. “Perfectly healthy. No signs of distress.” She clamps both her hands around mine. “It’s nothing short of miraculous, Nik. When we heard about the accident we prepared for the worst.”
Swallowing hard, I choose not to respond to that comment. I can’t let my mind go there. “Can I come back and see her?”
“Yeah. She’s asked to see you, too. The doctor is with her now and can give you a full update.” She looks beyond me and I know that Grace and Lucy have been hanging on her every word. Being the seasoned nurse that she is, she recognizes loved ones waiting for information when she sees them. “I’m sorry, but we can only allow one person to see her at this point and Nik is her emergency contact.”
I want to smirk at them and be smug about the fact that she has me set as her go-to person, but it’s not the time. I have my woman to go see and that takes precedence.
I don’t turn around to see if her sisters are waiting for an invitation to join me, I just follow Mia through the double doors of the emergency room.
Mia directs me through what looks like a war zone, doctors and nurses still hustling around in the wake of a major accident. I was so focused on Ashley and the baby that I hadn’t even thought of the other victims of the accident. I have no idea if the others were injured or even alive. Heartless as it may be, right now I just want to see Ashley and worry about the others later.
“Right through here,” Mia says, pulling aside a curtain just a crack. “Cole was the doctor who treated her,” she explains and the relief I feel knowing that her husband, and my longtime friend, has been caring for Ashley is intense.
“That’s a relief. Thanks, Mia,” I tell her, giving her shoulder a gentle touch. “I know it’s your job and Cole’s, too, but having you both here tonight is a godsend. For real.”
“Of course. We’re glad we could be here, too. And now that we know you’re going to become a father, I’d say we’re long overdue for a night out.”
“You got it. As soon as she’s up to it.” I promise something that is easy to fulfill.
Walking past the curtain, I keep my face neutral, not wanting to show my anxiety to Ashley.
“Hey,” I say quietly.
She looks up and the smile she gives me breaks my heart. It’s fake. I know it.
“How are you?”
As soon as I’m sitting in the chair next to her, nodding to Cole who’s typing something into the laptop he’s holding, tears pour out of her eyes and she begins to sob, leaning over a little bit to rest her head against my chest.
“Mia said she was okay!” I say to my friend, my tone accusatory.
His eyes drift to Ashley and he grips her foot. “She is but it’s normal to be emotional and a bit overwhelmed. Her body’s been through a trauma and it might take a few days for her brain to catch up with the fact that she’s all right.”
I let Ashley cry against my shoulder, rubbing her back and trying to offer her a little bit of comfort.
“She is, though? Going to be all right, I mean?”
“Yes, she is. She hit her head against her window which caused a concussion and some mild lacerations. We have wrapped her wrist because of a small fracture but we won’t need to cast it. I think it will heal perfectly if we keep it wrapped. We would like to admit her overnight to monitor her and the baby. Other than that, and a few cuts and bruises, I expect a full recovery. She’ll want to take it easy for a while. She mentioned that she lives alone but she’ll need someone to stay with her once she’s released from the hospital.”
“She’ll be staying with me.”
Cole and I both chuckle a little when she whimpers, “I’m right here, you know.”
“Glad you could be here for us, Cole. You and Mia, both.”
Ashley turns her tear-filled eyes up to me and I know she’s needing an explanation. “Dr. Ryan here has been a good friend of mine since we were eight. His wife, Mia, too. She’s the nurse who updated me and brought me back here.”
“Oh.”
Cole just grins and taps the end of the bed. “I’ll be back in to check on y’all in a bit and we’ll get the papers ready to transfer her over to the hospital room. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to hit the call button and someone will be right in. You’re a lucky woman from the sounds of it.”
Ashley hiccups through a cry and nods against me.
“Thanks, man. Making her cry even more,” I joke to Cole.
He shrugs and winks at Ashley and then disappears through the curtain.
“Scared the shit out of me,” I tell her.
“Me, too.”
Placing a hand on her belly, I lean down and kiss first her forehead and then her stomach. “Take care of your mama, little man.” It’s then that I realize there’s a band around her stomach.
Her hand finds the back of my head, playing with my hair. “We’re both going to be good as new soon. That’s just a monitor to keep an eye on him, too.”
I lift my head to look at her. “I meant what I said. After we leave here, you’re going to stay with me. No time limit on that, either. I’d like it to be long term. Get rid of your place.”
Her red-rimmed, puffy eyes widen. “Like… move in?”
“Yes. I’ve got three extra rooms, you know? I was already planning on converting one into a nursery for the baby.”
“Umm, that’s a lot for me to ask of you.”
“Good thing you didn’t ask, then. Good thing they’re keeping an eye on you for a little bit, you seem to be confused.”
She giggles a little and the sound is like music to my ears.
“I can probably do that,” she eventually says after we’ve been holding each other for a few minutes.
“Yeah?”
“I mean, if it would make you feel better,” she teases.
“That’s the only reason, huh?” I ask, knowing it’s not but the fact that she’s being cute and cheeky makes me happy. That is, until I remember who’s in the waiting room. “Your sisters are here,” I tell her. “I wasn’t very nice to Grace but I won’t apologize for that. She deserved what I said.”
“Oh no. What’d you say?”
“Nothing she didn’t already know. If you want me to go out there and give them an update I will. If you want them to come to your hospital room, I’m good with that. If you’d rather wait to see them until you’re settled at the house, that’s fine, too. This is your show, you run it. I’ll do what you say. But just so you know, my vote is to keep them in the dark because I feel like being a complete asshole at the moment, but the other half of that vote is that I support you. So you can see I’m a little conflicted at the moment but in the end, just know I’m all about you so you drive.”
“That was a lot of words in a short period of time.”
I lower my voice and let her know, “Learned today that if I don’t tell you everything I need to, it could be too late. Life is short, Ashley. I don’t want you wondering where my loyalty lies. It begins and ends with you and our little man.”
“They need to know. Grace was awful today and my guess is that after today she’s going to realize that. And she’s a complete brat for what she did today…”