Page 41 of Perfect Chemistry

The chaos and noise in the room stopped, as five sets of eyes suddenly turned to the woman on the bed. Two brown eyes peeked out from heavy lidded eyes. Katie blinked slowly.

“Duh-le” the hoarse whisper came out.

The nurse sucked in a breath and ran out of the room. “I’ll page the doctor!”

The orderlies released Tyson and stepped back.

Tyson stood in the middle of the room and watched her struggle to open her eyes and speak. Finally, her eyes opened and fixed on him. “Don lea m”

Tyson exhaled a shaky breath. “Say it again, baby girl.” His voice was hoarse as tears threatened to fall at any second. She had been unconscious for nearly two months. “You can do it. Say it one more time.”

“d-don lea me,” the small voice whispered again.

Tyson took three steps to the bed and shakily took Katie’s hand. He caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead. “I’m not leaving you, baby girl. I promise, I won’t leave you.”

The doctor rushed in with the nurse hot on his heels moments later. “She’s awake and speaking,” one of the orderlies reported.

The nurse looked wide-eyed from the orderly to Katie, then to Tyson. “I’m so sorry, Gunny. I misunderstood.”

Tyson shook his head. “Don’t be. My girl’s quite jealous. Aren’t you, Preston? Perked right up when you saw someone putting their hands on your man, didn’t you?” He teased.

Katie tried to roll her eyes, and only succeeded in exhaling a huff. For Tyson, she might as well have stood up and danced. She was still in there, and she was fighting for him.

The doctor finished Katie’s exam, and confirmed that she was finally on the path to real recovery. “These are excellent results, Staff Sergeant Preston. You’re out of the woods, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Gunny, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Tyson nodded and tried to follow the doctor out of the room, but stopped when Katie squeezed his hand. “No,” she huffed out in her hoarse whisper.

Tyson looked down at their clasped hands and smiled. “If it’s alright with you, Doc, Katie would like to be present for this conversation.”

The doctor looked over at Katie as her eyes moved to him. He nodded in acceptance. “Very well. Let’s have a seat and discuss the next few steps of the recovery plan. Although Staff Sergeant Preston is awake and responsive, I will recommend that Gunnery Sergeant Johnson retain the medical power of attorney. Do you understand, Staff Sergeant?”

“Uh,” she grunted.

Tyson nodded, smiling.

Over the next hour the attending doctor reviewed several options for the next phase of Katie’s recovery. Katie fell asleep after ten minutes but woke up periodically to grunt when she liked something. Tyson remained by her side holding her hand the entire time.

“If you have any questions or issues, just give me a call,” the doctor informed them before leaving the two alone in the room again.

Tyson sat still for a moment, and then stood up. He walked over to the door and locked the bolt. “Ok, baby girl. There’s no one but us, and I have to tell you something.” He paused for a moment as he gathered a few things from around the room, keeping his hands low where Katie couldn’t see what he was holding.

“You stink, Marine. Who does PT and doesn’t conduct proper hygiene after, huh?” he chided lightly.

Katie grunted and the corner of her mouth twitched.

Tyson chuckled and caressed her face again after placing everything on the small tray table beside the bed. “Seriously, though. Are you ok with me being here? I have seen every inch of you, baby girl, but you’re awake now and you have all the power. If you want me to grab a nurse, I will step outside while you get cleaned up.”

“Stay. me.”

Tyson smiled. “Okay. I’m going to start with your face, and then we work our way down. Ready?”

“uh.”

When Katie was finally cleaned up and had sipped a bit of lukewarm water, she fell asleep again. Tyson arranged the room so that the two beds could be side by side and laid down to rest as well.. He kept one hand in Katie’s as she slept, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Katie’s Point of View

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