Page 60 of Holding Grace

“So today is...” My brain felt weirdly sluggish, slow. Yesterday had been...had been...

Michael saw my struggle and stepped in gently. “Today is Saturday. Yesterday when you were awake for a few minutes it was Friday afternoon; now it’s Saturday night.”

“Thanks.” It was probably too much to ask to wake up from being out for several days and not be a little fuzzy in the brain.

Then something occurred to me.

“It’s Saturday night. Why aren’t you at the pub?”

“You’re here, I’m here.” Michael said, as if it was as simple as that.

Before I had a chance to respond, a man wearing scrubs walked in. He nodded at Michael and smiled at me as he washed his hands.

“Good evening, Grace. My name is Gavin and I’m your nurse for tonight. It’s good to meet you.”

“It’s good to meet you, too.” My voice was still a little raspy, but it was working.

“Your fiancé tells me you’ve been in and out a little.”

I shot Michael a look while Gavin checked something on the monitors. My fiancé? I’d obviously taken a blow to the head, but I’d think I’d remember something like that.

Michael responded with a quick shake of his head, so I made no comment.

“How are you feeling?”

I thought about how to respond to Gavin’s question. “Sore. Achy. Thirsty. Like my brain is stuck in mud and wrapped in fog.”

“The thirsty we can take care of.” Gavin poured water from a pitcher into a cup, slid a straw in, and offered it to me while instructing me to take little sips.

While I sipped, he checked my IV, then asked, “Sore and achy where?”

“Yes?” I responded tentatively, wringing a short laugh from him.

“Got you. Where is it worst, then?”

“My head. My left shoulder. My left hip. My...well, my butt.” I blushed as I said it, but it was true. Although as far as my butt it was more numb than sore.

“No doubt.” Gavin gave me an understanding smile. “I’ll message the doctor about some pain meds for you. In the meantime, let’s try a different position for you and see if we can take some pressure off your hip and bottom.”

He used the controls to the bed to lower my upper body a touch and lift my legs a little, which seemed to help. He explained to me about my injuries – the worst of which was a concussion, no surprise there – answered my questions, and then with a promise to be back in a bit, left Michael and me alone.

I immediately looked at Michael, eyebrows raised. “Fiancé?”

“It just came out.” Michael’s cheeks flushed as he came to stand next to the bed. “An emergency room doctor called and asked if I knew you and what my relationship was to you, and I just said it. I didn’t want to take the chance he wouldn’t tell me what was going on or let me see you.”

“Okay. That makes sense.” It did, but even if it didn’t, I didn’t want Michael to feel bad or embarrassed about it.

“Once you were here, I had to stick with it. Mercy’s been here, so she knows, too. I didn’t tell anyone else.”

I reached for his hand with my left one, stopping with a gasp as sharp pain shot through my shoulder, reverberating and radiating outward. I dropped my hand to the bed and closed my eyes, breathing through it.

Michael’s big warm hand covered mine gently. “What can I do?” He sounded so worried.

I continued to breathe carefully as I opened my eyes, still wincing as I did. “Ow.”

“Your shoulder is strained. They weren’t sure of the extent while you were out, but it seems like it’s pretty painful.”

“I can confirm that,” I agreed. “Maybe you should stick to my right side for now.”

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