Page 118 of Zorro

“The dog goes with Bear. Don’t separate them until he’s in an OR, then find him a vet, a damn good one and an MRI. I’ll expect to see them when I finish operating on Zorro.”

The EMT nodded, gently picking up the dog as he followed the men transporting Bear.

He blinked, his breathing shallow but controlled. “Hang on,” she whispered fiercely to Zorro, leaning close, kissing him again.

“Is she allowed to do that?” Blitz asked. D-Day shoved him.

Behind her, Buck muttered quietly, his voice steady and certain. “That’s one hell of a job, Doc.”

Everly slumped, trembling, chest heaving with a surge of dizzying relief. “He’s ready to go. Let’s move.” The team took over stretcher duty as they rolled him carefully on, then ran for the elevator.

Once inside, Zorro kept his eyes on her, his breathing shallow but focused. “Tell me this earns me at least a little pity sex.” She choked on a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. Around her, quiet, tense laughter bubbled up, deep relief mingling with grateful respect. His lips twitched. “Worth a shot.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, voice fading just a little. “But I’m yours.”

Her chest clenched. Hard.

“I know,” she said quietly. She exhaled shakily, her eyes filling as she stared down at Zorro’s pale, resting face. Alive because of her. She had saved him, just as surely as he’d saved her, and that truth pulsed through her fingers where they gripped the stretcher. She wasn’t letting go. Not now. Not ever. But they weren’t out of the woods yet.

With a clinical eye, Professor said, “You look like shit.”

Zorro squinted. “Fuck you, Einstein.”

D-Day’s brow furrowed hard, jaw tight. “You sure you’re not downplaying this?”

“I’d never lie to you,” Zorro said, lips twitching. “Except about how much you snore.”

Even Joker cracked a grin at that. “He’s fine,” he said dryly. “If he’s still giving D-Day hell, we’ve got at least a half hour before he codes.”

“Half hour?” Zorro wheezed. “That’s more than enough time for me to deliver a heartfelt goodbye and a list of posthumous demands.”

Buck leaned in. “Asshole. Drama queen. Fucking drama queen asshole. I’ve got another rope with your name on it.”

“Rude,” Zorro said. “You just don’t want to admit I make blood loss look sexy.”

Everly cut him a look. “I swear to God, if you don’t stop flirting while I’m keeping you alive?—”

“I can multitask,” he breathed, and then gave her that smile, the soft one, ruined around the edges, soaked in pain and still impossibly full of light.

“I heard that’s bad for your health,” Blitz said.

Zorro choked out a laugh. “Goddammit, Blitz. Don’t make me laugh, you fucker.” He quieted, then, with his voice as serious as it had ever been, said, “You guys know that I love you right?”

The team quieted at that, not with discomfort, but with acknowledgment. No more jokes. No more comments. Just a pause. Even for warriors, some truths land hard. But Zorro was just Zorro, and her heart ached with the love she felt for him.

“Hey, no one said it back…sad monkey face.”

Then Joker said, “Martinez. Fucking Martinez.” The guys said it one by one until the tears that had formed in her eyes overflowed.

Then Joker’s voice cut in as the elevator opened. “Let’s move double time. Evac’s waiting. Zorro, you keep talking. Don’t care what, just stay conscious.”

“Copy that,” he said weakly. “So, have I told you all about the time I delivered a baby in the jungle, shirtless?”

“Fucking Martinez,” Buck growled, but it sounded a lot like love.

Hospital Copa D'Or, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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