Page 15 of Shielding Instinct

With Cooper’s all-clear, Hawkeye knew that Petra had none of those conditions. That Cooper checked without Hawkeye’s signal meant that Cooper believed this was a medical event.

“I’m drawing a blank,” Petra said.

Her voice was calm but from her racing pulse, Hawkeye knew she was feeling anxious. Who wouldn’t be?

“I know if you’re having a heart attack, you have to inhale as deeply as you can and cough out strongly and keep doing that violent coughing routine as a kind of self-applied CPR until you get to a hospital. But this?” She shook her head. “I’m racking my brain. Beyond checking FAST, What is the newest protocol? I’m thinking baby aspirin. But then I also seem to remember not to do baby aspirin.”

“If this is a stroke, all you can really do is get to the hospital as fast as possible. There’s a golden hour for getting the medications in. But no to the baby aspirin. You’re right, they used to advise that, but not all strokes are caused by blood clots.Ruptured blood vessels can do it, too. Since aspirin thins the blood, it would make any bleeds more severe.”

She rolled her lips in, bobbling her head, indicating that she understood.

Hawkeye hated this for her. Hated every second that she was in danger. He wanted the wheels down and Petra in an ambulance. He had no idea how far it would be to get help from here.

As if reading Hawkeye’s mind, Halo leaned forward. “Seven miles, brother. Ten minutes if they go lights and sirens once she’s loaded up. I can manage Cooper and your baggage if you want to go, mate.”

Hawkeye glanced over his shoulder, giving Halo a nod before turning back to Petra to ask what she wanted. “Would you like my support once we’re down? I can get to the hospital and make phone calls for you, keep people informed.”

For the first time, he saw a reaction from her other than bewilderment. Her eyes got glassy as tears dampened her lashes. “Would you? I was trying to figure out what to do on my own. And since we’re family.”

“Family…” he left that open-ended because he couldn’t guess what she meant.

“Not family. I must have been thinking of home when I said that, wishing my family were here or someone I knew better. But we do have people in common. Rowan Kennedy and his wife, Avery Goodyear, are dear friends of mine. So, I’m grateful for your kindness. I won’t feel like a complete stranger in a strange land.”

He looked back at Halo. “I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ll get to the hospital with Petra.” Now that they could hear the piercing scream of sirens, her anxiety was rising. He hoped to distract her. “Interesting that you put Rowan, Avery, and me together in your mind.”

“Not really. The counter staffer told me I’d be sitting next to the working dogs. And when I looked out the window, I recognized the uniform. I was on the phone with Avery and sent her a picture of you all when you were on the ground by the luggage handlers. You were below my window. She told me who you were. Well, since I was above you, she couldn’t see your faces. But she was able to recognize Max and Cooper, and she was able to tell me that their handlers were Halo and Hawkeye.”

That explained their first exchange when he’d said his name, and she’d said “yes” like she already knew him. “Friends of Rowan and Avery, yes, that makes us family of sorts. Youaren’talone. Okay?” It felt good to have the connection and to have a stronger reason to stay with her and offer his support. It also felt good that she was speaking cogently about a timeline.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the pilot announced, “we are coordinating with the paramedics to safely disembark the passenger who is experiencing a medical emergency. The responders are moving stairs into place, and the emergency crews will come on board. Please, keep hands and feet out of the aisles. We have no time frame for this event. Our passenger’s health and well-being are paramount. Hopefully, this is your final destination, and this delay will be a minor inconvenience. I’m leaving the seat belt light on. Please remain seated at all times. Imagine if this event took you by surprise, and let’s follow the golden rule. Yes?”

Petra’s eyes held wide as her lips sank into a frown.

She had to be listening to that, knowing that she was the problem. The surprise was happening to her.

“Hawkeye,” she whispered. “I should feel badly, right? Headache? Something? This feels kind of silly.”

He got it. From when she kept things contained during the dog and cat scramble earlier in the day, she did not like attentionor disruption. Like anyone would, Petra would want to deny that anything serious was wrong with her.

She was a smart woman, capable of dealing with facts. So, he’d just lay it out. “Petra, I’m seeing a blown pupil that’s non-reactive. We aren’t playing with that. There’s a window to get the proper meds in. We need to exercise every caution and get you in front of medical staff so they can determine what’s happening.” Hawkeye wanted to add that every second she wasn’t in the hospital with help focused on her was a second too long for him.

This wasn’t about him. Not at all.

This was about Petra’s safety.

As the door opened, Halo swung out of his seat to stand in the aisle.

“Cooper,” Hawkeye pulled his dog’s attention away from Petra. “Go with Halo.” Cooper wasn’t down with that, and Hawkeye completely understood. If someone were to ask him to step away, there would be pushback. But this was not the time to argue with his dog. “Cooper, go sit with Halo.” He curled his fingers through Cooper’s collar to help guide him over.

Halo moved Cooper into the bulkhead space with the other dogs, then sat in the end seat, scooting down until his knees were against the bulkhead wall, blocking the K9s in and the rescue team out.

Cooper rested his head on Halo’s leg, watching intently as the paramedics came on.

“There’s a good boy, Coop,” Halo crooned. “Your new friend is getting some help. She’ll be right, mate.”

Hawkeye made to get out of the paramedics’ way, but Petra reached out and gripped his arm with both her hands to anchor him in place.

The paramedic watched it happen. “You’re fine there. Who are you?”

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