Ailin half-smiled, squeezed my shoulder, and said, “Call me if you need me to come back.”
“I will. Thank you for coming.”
“Anytime, kiddo.” He and Seb walked out of the room, holding hands.
After a few minutes, Hiro stood and held his arm out to me, saying, “Rasha, I want you to meet someone.”
I was pretty sure my heart exploded at that. He was actually letting me meet her officially. Yeah, I’d been here, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask me to leave now that she was awake. I stepped forward with a huge smile. Hiro rolled his eyes at me, but I saw the smirk he was trying to hide.
He put his arm around my back and scooted me closer to him and Rasha, saying, “Peanut, this is Basil. He’s my… boyfriend.” He cringed at that word, and my eyebrows shot up.
“You have a boyfriend?” Rasha asked quietly, her voice a little raspy.
Hiro said, “Uh, yeah, I guess I do. Basil, this is Rasha.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rasha. I’m glad you’re doing better,” I said, and she grinned up at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay… my chest hurts a little, but I’m okay,” she whispered before yawning, her eyes getting droopy. “Are you a witch?”
I glanced at Hiro, but he wasn’t giving me anything, so I turned back to Rasha and said, “I am, but I promise I’m not going to hurt you or your daddy.”
She smiled up at me. “You’re like Glinda, the good witch.”
Hiro snorted out a laugh and said, “He’s exactly like Glinda. He even likes pink.”
I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled at the sweet little girl and said, “I like bubbles, too,” thinking of the bubble Glinda floated in in the movie.
She giggled, and I could feel how happy the sound made Hiro. “You like pink?”
“It’s my favorite color. What’s yours?”
“Orange, but I like pink, too. Are you really Daddy’s boyfriend?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I am… is that okay?”
“Do you cook?”
“Uh, yes… I can?” I didn’t know why that sounded like a question, but I also didn’t understand the eight-year-old’s randomness, either.
She smiled up at me. “You can cook for Daddy, then.” She nodded like that settled something.
“Uh… okay.” I shot Hiro a look, and he only chuckled.
Hiro gently bopped Rasha on the nose. “You’re a goofball.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You need to get some rest, so try to take a nap, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.” She sighed. “Will you be here when I wake up?”
It took me a moment to realize she was speaking to me. “If your daddy wants me here, yes.”
She yawned. “He does.”
I lifted my brows and turned to Hiro, who smiled, shrugged one shoulder, and said, “She’s not wrong.”
“Yeah, Rasha, I’ll be here.”
She nodded as her eyes drifted closed.
Hiro pulled me over to the bench seat thing they had along the wall instead of to the chairs we’d been in before. Probably so we could talk and not disturb Rasha. As soon as we were sitting, I said, “She’s adorable.”
He smiled. “Thanks. She likes to keep me on my toes.”
“I bet.”
Hiro rubbed his face, like that could alleviate some of his stress, then leaned back so he was in the corner of the bench and sort of facing me. When I sat beside him, he ran his fingers through my hair, then started playing with one of the braids. I stayed very still, wondering what he was doing and debating whether I should try leaning against him or not. He wasn’t exactly the cuddliest guy I’d ever met, and now that Rasha was out of immediate danger, I wasn’t sure he’d like me leaning on him.
It was several minutes before he quietly said, “Can you tell Ailin thank you for me? I didn’t get to say it before he left.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I can’t thank him enough. She seems almost back to normal. Usually she’s in so much pain, she can’t really talk for at least a few hours.”
I offered a sad smile. “I’ll make sure he knows.”
“Thanks. Are you sure you don’t mind stayin’ here with me?”
“Of course I don’t mind, Hiro. I want to be here.”
He nodded, then opened his arms up. “Then come ‘ere.”
I sent him a smile, then scooted over and wrapped my arms around his waist with my head on his chest. He moved around so his knee wouldn’t dig into my stomach, then draped his arms around me and kept playing with my hair. I closed my eyes and soaked him up for as long as he’d let me.
“Basil?”
I blinked and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Then the hospital, Rasha, and Hiro all came back to me, and I realized I was still lying on Hiro’s chest, having fallen asleep at some point. I tilted my head up to find Hiro smirking down at me. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine. I fell asleep, too.” He kissed my forehead. “I need to go sign some papers and talk to the doctors before they’ll let me take Rasha home. Do you mind waiting in here with her in case she wakes up?”
“Sure.” I pushed off his chest and rubbed my eyes with a big yawn.
Hiro stretched as he stood up.
“What time is it?”
“About seven in the morning. I’ll be right back. It’ll take a few hours before she’s actually discharged, but I wanna get the ball rollin’ so we can get home. She hates being stuck in a hospital bed.” Before I could really respond to that, he squeezed my shoulder and walked out of the room.
I stretched, but didn’t get up. Instead, I watched the sleeping girl in the hospital bed with a pang in my heart. How could someone be so cruel? How could they harm an innocent baby? How the hell was I going to fix this? If Ailin couldn’t fix her with his healing magic, there was no way in hell I’d be able to. How was I going to save her?
Hiro came back with a bunch of papers, so he sat beside me, filling things out and handing me the sheets he was supposed to take home with him.
Eventually, Rasha woke up, ate some gross hospital food, saw a bunch of doctors that ran a few more tests, and then finally she was discharged since they knew there was nothing else they could do for her hex. I walked with them down the hall to the parking lot with a hospital staff member wheeling Rasha out in a wheelchair. Hiro went to get his car, so I stood with the little girl. She looked happy to be going home.
After Hiro got her settled in the back seat and the guy wheeled the wheelchair back inside, I stood there awkwardly. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Should I invite myself back to his house? Should I tell him to call me if he needed me, even if I didn’t want to leave him? Should I tell him I’d meet him at his house? I hadn’t driven here—I’d ridden Blaze—but I could get my Bonded to fly me over if I needed to.
Hiro hesitated in front of me for a few seconds, then he sighed and asked, “Want to come back with us?”
I grinned. “I’d love to.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re only allowed in my car if you stop smiling like that.”