Page 18 of The Moment You Know

Not interested in hearing whatever she was going to say, especially when she was doing that whiny thing with her voice that he hated, David turned away from her. He could see that Paige’s eyes were now open and he drifted as close as he could to the paramedic who was leaning over her. Hale followed close behind.

“Hi there,” the paramedic quietly greeted Paige.

Paige blinked very slowly at him. “Who … are you?”

“My name is Brandon,” the paramedic said. “And that’s my partner, Lucas,” he added, motioning to the paramedic on her other side. “We’re here to help you.”

“You sound like that … um … Morgan, um …”

“Freeman?”

“Him. Yeah.”

“I get that a lot. Everyone tells me I’m better looking, though,” he said with a wink.

“No, they don’t,” countered Lucas.

Brandon ignored his partner and looked down at Paige. “So, now that you know our names, can you tell me yours?”

“It’s …”

David watched as her expression went utterly blank and his heart dropped as she obviously struggled with what should’ve been a simple question.

“… Paige,” she finally said.

Hale rubbed at the back of his neck. “Jesus Christ.”

Brandon nodded, pleased that she had been able to answer, but also seemingly a little concerned at how long it had taken. “How are you feeling, Paige?”

“My head hurts,” she answered slowly, her words a little slurred.

“Are you experiencing any nausea?”

She gave a short nod and then winced, as if that small action had hurt. “Yes.”

“Does it feel like you’re going to vomit?”

“I don’t … know.”

“Well, let me know if you think you are, all right?”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment, causing Brandon to ask, “Paige? Are you still with me?”

“You sound like Morgan … um …”

“Freeman? I know. I get that a lot.”

David swallowed hard; he’d been thinking that when Paige regained consciousness, she would be fine, but she clearly wasn’t.

“Fuck,” Hale whispered, barely louder than a breath.

“Paige, can you keep those pretty brown eyes open for me?” Brandon asked, when her eyes fluttered closed. “Can you do that?”

She did, but with difficulty, then murmured, “Sabre-Toothed Squirrel.”

It took David a moment to register what she’d said because her words were still coming out rather slurred, but when he did, a wave of nostalgia crashed over him. It was so strong that it actually hurt and he almost missed the paramedics exchanging alarmed looks.

He stepped forward a little more and without thinking, said, “That’s an inside joke. It makes sense to me.”

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