A bottle of water and pills were waiting so Casper grabbed the urinal as soon as he heard the faucet in the kitchen. His eye crossed as he filled the plastic bottle and he shivered as he screwed on the cap and set it away from him. The process took several moments and was exhausting but Casper’s nose twitched at the smell of coffee and bacon. He hugged his stomach as it growled and ignored the way his mouth watered as he stuffed the handful of pills into it and washed them down. Casper drank until the bottle was empty then dropped it and fell back onto the bed. It had been so long since he smelled coffee and breakfast. It was a scent he rarely encountered and the headiness of it never failed to hypnotize him but the joys of coffee and breakfast always eluded Casper. Not even the few nights he spent inside Blackhurst. The bedrooms were too far from the kitchen and Casper never went to the dining room because he hated the brightness of mornings. And people.
His head rolled on the pillow and Casper’s eye traveled around the room. It caught on the large four-poster bed for a moment and his heart raced. Casper’s nose wrinkled and he gave his head a shake and his gaze wandered over the butter-colored walls and white molding and he wondered how he’d forgotten about this bedroom. Before the fall, Casper lived in the bedroom he converted into his new lab and dragged himself downstairs when he wanted tea or to take his rage out on Blink’s stupid cottage. He knew a pacifier when he saw one and Casper wasn’t going to quietly nod off in the pasture while Blink got richer and had all the fun. Not after they took Casper’s van. Whoever they were. He was still furious and wanted blood but Blink thought he could shut Casper up with a pretty little house by the sea and a new van but he was sorely mistaken. The van was a perfect facsimile but it didn’t feel like Gladys. The history wasn’t there and Casper still felt her loss and he hated the cottage’s uninterrupted view of the ocean. Too much light! He used his free arm to yank the covers over his head, leaving only the hand with the IV exposed to the sun.
“Can you wake up and eat something?” Hawk asked in a hesitant whisper, just as Casper was nodding off. Casper lowered the quilt and peeked and they both heard his stomach rumble at the plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast with strawberry jam. There was a mug of black coffee and packets of sugar were tucked under the toast. “That’s encouraging!” Hawk laughed softly as he set the plate on the floor, just within Casper’s reach. “I can run downstairs for some creamer,” he said but Casper shook his head.
“I don’t need it,” Casper said and stifled a grunt as he pulled himself up so he could eat. Hawk reached to help and Casper snarled and swatted at him.
“Knock it off,” Hawk scolded but it was calm and he hissed softly as he checked Casper’s hand. “I was hoping I could hold off on drawing blood but I don’t like the way you’re still bruising,” Hawk murmured. It was quiet, like a surgeon murmuring to a nurse as he operated but Casper suspected that Hawk’s heart rate stayed that low and steady whether he was in the heat of combat or up to his elbows in a drunk driver in an emergency room. Casper took a look at Hawk’s history when he joined Mr. Lavender’s cell and it was immediately obvious what kind of man he was. Dr. Aldous Hawkesworth abandoned his elite East Coast family and joined the Army so he could patch up soldiers in the field, in Germany and stateside until he retired with honors and a chestful of ribbons. He went on to work for Sage Bradley’s foundation and Casper knew a mole when he saw one.
“It’s the knee.” Casper wasn’t stupid. Dead cartilage, muscle and/or bone was poisoning his blood and the IV was just slowing it down.
“Will you let me look at it?”
“I’ll let you cut out whatever’s busted. For the coffee,” Casper muttered as he clumsily clamped the four packets between the fingers of the hand with the IV lock. Hawk made an apologetic sound and held it out to Casper patiently. Casper avoided Hawk’s eyes as he ripped the ends off the packets and dumped them into the mug then used his fingers to stir. Casper hunched forward over his plate and he didn’t care that the coffee was too hot as he gulped it down. Hawk watered it down but it was still heavenly and warmed Casper. He groaned as he drank then frowned at his mug when it was empty.
“How about some juice...” Hawk offered hesitantly as he pried the cup from Casper’s fingers so he shrugged and picked up the plate. Tears filled Casper’s eyes as he shoveled the eggs into his mouth and crammed in a piece of bacon. He chewed quickly and was glad that Hawk had gone after the juice. It might be poisoned! Casper paused mid-chew and studied the food then raised a shoulder and went back to shoveling. I could have died on the stairs, long before breakfast, he pointed out and ducked when Hawk swept back into the room. “Jesus! Drink this before you choke,” he said as he squatted and left the juice by the bed. “I wish I would have known about the knee before the coffee but Blink says an X-ray tech will be here and ready to go before lunch,” he said as he paced around the room. “Is there anything else I should know about?” Hawk asked Casper and he shook his head.
“I can think of a lot of things you should know but my knee is the only bit of my business that concerns you. Normally, I’d do it myself but I lost all that time, hung up and getting septic,” he complained and waved at the hanging bag. The painkiller was kicking in and Casper grinned as the looseness spread through his nerves and spilled down his limbs. For a moment, he liked the idea of beautiful Hawk taking out the bright burning bits while Casper hid from the pain and destruction. This time, he wouldn’t have to be awake for it and it wouldn’t be his own hand digging out the dead bits and making him vomit as he scraped and sucked away pieces of himself. “This is good. What is it?”
“Eggs, bacon, toast and jelly,” Hawk replied and Casper rolled his eye.
“The opioid,” he said and Hawk chuckled as he hunkered in front of Casper with a digital thermometer and unscrewed the IV from the saline lock.
“Probably not good enough, if your fever is as high as I’m expecting. I have a feeling I’m going to want to cut off anything I can’t peel away,” he warned and Casper smirked.
“Are you talking about my leg or the rest of my clothes?”
“I was talking about your jeans and anything else that might be in the way. No offense, but you smell like shit and I want to burn your clothes but I’m worried they’ll hurt the fire,” he teased but Casper’s lip curled.
“Blink’s got lots of fancy smelling things up at the house. Carry your ass up there if I offend you that much,” he said then tossed his empty plate on the floor. Hawk snorted and gave his head a shake.
“You smell like shit but that’s the least offensive thing about you. And I’ve got news, if you think that leg or your face are your worst features,” he said then went to a duffle bag in the corner. “Rest. We’ve got a big day ahead of us,” Hawk announced.
“Just cut out whatever’s damaged and go away,” Casper said and pulled the covers over his head.
“Whatever,” Hawk murmured as he left. Casper was pleased until Hawk returned. He arrived with another plate of toast and bacon and sat on the foot of the bed and happily ate and drank his coffee.
“This can’t be good for your appetite,” Casper said and pulled the covers to his ears.