“Oh, baby, baby, what happened?” Domi knelt down, reaching out tenderly, but her hands hovered, unsure where to touch.
Ana’s little face was so pale, her eyes huge in a drawn face, tears rolling down her cheeks, and she was clutching her left arm to her stomach, but she reached for Domi.
“Shh, shh, baby, just lie there,” Jordan said, getting down on their knees and pressing their hand against Ana’s head. A retired paramedic, Domi trusted Jordan’s judgment even though it killed her not to be able to gather Ana up into her arms. Jordan glanced at Domi, eyes serious and worried. “We don’t know if she hurt her neck or back, so it’ll be safer to keep her like this until the ambulance gets here with a neck brace and a backboard.”
Domi pressed her hand over Ana’s, her daughter’s fingers feeling tinier and more fragile than ever. Her heart pounded in her chest, stomach churning, and it was all she could do not to burst into tears herself.
“I’m so sorry,” Karen said, tears in her eyes, though she was doing her best to put on a brave face. She just wasn’t succeeding as well as Jordan or Domi. “She was playing well on her own, and we started talking, and Jordan was showing me something on their phone, then the next thing we knew, we heard Ana scream and fall…”
“It’s not your fault,” Domi said automatically, as another wave of sick fear and worry through her stomach.
My poor baby.
It could have been worse, though.
Thank God, it wasn’t her neck.
“I’m sorry, Mommy, I’m sorry.” Ana started to cry again.
“It’s okay, baby,” Domi said automatically, wanting to comfort her daughter, but it really wasn’t okay. If Ana had fallen and hadn’t hurt herself, Domi would want to wring her neck, but because she had hurt herself, it didn’t seem right to rub that in. Still, she never wanted Ana to do this again. “Now you know why Mommy or Aunt Rae always want to be with you when you climb. No more climbing on your own in the future, okay?” She said it as gently as she could, and pure relief shot through her when Ana did nothing more than nod.
The sound of sirens caught her ear, getting louder as they came closer, and Jordan jumped up.
“I’ll go direct them back here.”
Karen patted Domi’s back. She was so glad they were there to help her keep from totally falling apart when Ana needed her. She would fall apart later once Ana was taken care of.
Mitch
Familiar, bouncing curls caught Mitch’s eye in the last place he’d expected. His heart did a little double thump inside his chest, lifting up in happy anticipation. It sank just as quickly, worry rising up to replace it.
She was walking next to a stretcher the EMTs were bringing in, her entire focus on whoever was on it.
Mitch was on the move before he realized it, blinking with shock when the child, whose hand Domi was holding, came into view. There was no mistaking they were mother and daughter; they looked exactly alike. The little girl, dressed up in a blue princess dress, had a neck brace, an arm brace, and was resting uncomfortably on a bodyboard, eyes red from crying. His heart went out to her immediately—kids were the hardest.
“Hey, Mitch.” Braden greeted him, drawing Domi’s attention. Her head jerked up, and her eyes widened when she saw who the EMT was talking to. Mitch gave her his most reassuring smile. “We have a possible fracture. I think her neck and back are okay, but she should be x-rayed just to be sure.”
“Of course.” Mitch bent over to smile down at the little girl. “Hey sweetheart, we’re going to get you fixed up, okay?” He directed another smile at Domi, who seemed shell-shocked, finding him here at the hospital. It also made him realize how little they’d talked about their day-to-day lives when they were together. He’d never told her where he worked, and all he knew about her job was she did it from home. They’d kept their conversations very focused. “Hey, Domi.”
“Hi.” She blinked as if surprised that she’d spoken.
“You know my mommy?” The little voice piping up was tense with pain but curious.
“Yes, I do. Your mommy and I are friends, so I’m going to take extra special care of you, okay?”
“Okay.” The little girl was still looking at him a little dubiously.
Thankfully, things had slowed down after the car accident this morning, and no one had jinxed them again. Mitch was able to smooth Domi’s way through everything. He was actually starting to get a little worried about her, the way she was acting like an automaton, but she finally relaxed after they got Ana on pain meds, and the little girl was no longer hurting so badly.
Jane gave him a weird look when he hounded the technician to hurry Ana’s x-rays along. Yeah, usually Mitch didn’t try to cut the line, but this was Domi… and her daughter.
Which made him understand a little better why she’d been reluctant to get into a real relationship and why she might want something more stable than a fuck buddy.
Oddly, meeting her daughter and finding out she was a single mom solidified things for him. It didn’t turn him off at all, which was a pretty definitive sign his feelings for her were far more serious than he’d realized. Not that he could focus on that right now or say anything to her about it, but he knew.
“Okay, pretty ladies,” he said, breezing back into the room where they were waiting, pushing the wheelchair in front of him. His shift had technically ended fifteen minutes ago, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “The doctor has signed off, so you two are good to go. As long as you promise no more monkey impressions.”
Ana giggled at the stern look he gave her before sitting up straight with a mock solemn expression.
“I promise,” she said, holding up the arm that didn’t have a cast on it. Thankfully, it had been a simple fracture. She’d need to be x-rayed again in about a week to make sure the bones had stayed in a good position, but surgery shouldn’t be needed. Her shoulder had been jarred, but there was no injury to her neck, back, or head. As things went, it was as good a diagnosis as one could hope for.
“Thank you for all your help.” Domi had been quiet, and now she looked drained.
“Of course. Are you two going to be okay getting home?”
“Yeah, I texted Rae, and she’s almost here.”
“Good.”
“Thank you for all your help.”
“Of course.”
They stood there, looking at each other for a moment. Her face was pale and worried, but her dark eyes were filled with gratitude. Relief. Mitch had done what came naturally to him with Domi—took charge without a second thought. Now, with her looking at him the way she was, it took every ounce of his self-control not to reach down and tug on her curl, the way he did at Stronghold or lean down to kiss her lips and tell her everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you, Murse Mitch.” The little voice piping up, with the silly name he’d told her to use, brought him back to reality. Domi blinked as if she’d been affected as well. Mitch turned away before he could do something stupid in front of her daughter. He doubted Domi would forgive him.
“Okay, Queen Ana, let’s get you moving,” he said, shaking off the spell Domi had him under.
“It’s Queen Elsa,” she told him primly, resting her arm in her lap.