Page 98 of Heal
"Sure, did Becca want something? I can run and get it."
"No, we asked, she said she was fine." Beau stared across the room. "This wasn't how I planned to spend our night."
Parson laughed softly. "I know, but I'm glad you were here for him. He wouldn't have lived without you. He'd lost a ton of blood."
"Yeah, but it could have been a lot worse. We got lucky." Beau sank down in the chair by his desk. "You okay? I'm sorry to drag you into all this without warning."
"I'm fine. It wasn't quite the way I imagined meeting everyone, but considering the events, it went okay. Everyone's been nice. I haven't met Dyson yet, but I'm sure I will."
"Where's he?"
"Probably asleep. He never came down after his shower." Parson leaned against the desk. "He'll be okay?" He nodded to Bryon.
"I think so. I would love to get him to the hospital for proper care, but I know he'll fight me on that. I've done all I can with what I have, but it's not my area of expertise. I'm sure a specialist could do more so he doesn't suffer with issues in the future."
"I'm guessing he'd tell you that it's part of the sacrifices you make being part of the team."
Beau smiled. "It is, but that doesn't make it easy."
"No, nothing about this is easy." Parson bumped Beau's leg with his own. "I'm pretty proud of you tonight. You were amazing, at least what little I saw."
"Thanks, it's my job. I just do what I'm trained to do." Beau bent forward and rested his head on Parson's thigh. "I'm glad you're here. Glad that you know everything now."
Parson ran his fingers through Beau's hair. "You didn't tell me about Jason."
"The man from tonight?" Beau sighed. "I didn't want you to have to go to work and see him every day, knowing what he was. I needed to wait until the team was ready. I didn't want to put that secret on your shoulders."
"I appreciate that. I'm not sure I could have stayed silent and waited. You made the right call, though I hate that you even had to. This is going to hit CPS hard, rightfully so."
"It will. Sorry for that, but I'm glad we saved the kids."
"So am I."
Beau sat up. "I need to stay here all night, but if you want to take my car, you can." He reached for his keys off the desk.
Parson shook his head. "The kids are sound asleep downstairs, and I'd rather be here with you, if that's okay. If we're going to be a couple, I should probably get used to this."
Beau smiled. "There is no if. We are a couple. If I get my way, we'll always be a couple."
Parson laughed. "Something tells me you're used to getting your way."
"I fight for what I want." Beau looked up into his eyes. "And I want you."
Parson bent and kissed him. "There'll be no fighting. I want you too. This one time, I might just let you have your way."
Standing, Beau pulled him into his arms and kissed him. "I promise it will be worth your while."
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Beau checked on Bryon one last time before heading out of the room. He was so tired he could hardly think, but he hadn't wanted to sleep until Bryon was stable. He'd given him two units of blood, cleaned and wrapped the bullet wound to his shoulder, stitched up his neck, then had to deal with a sudden blood pressure drop.
In a big hospital with fancy equipment, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but here, where he had dated equipment, and was working alone, it wasn't as simple.
He wasn't complaining. He'd do it all over again to save Bryon's life, and he'd always come back to help the others because what they did was so important. If Bryon had gone to the hospital with the injuries he had, it would have raised too many questions. Questions they couldn't answer without risking the whole team.
It was almost noon, and the house was quiet. He'd sent Parson to bed a few hours ago in one of the guest rooms, but he'd only slept a couple hours before he was back up and now downstairs with the kids. He heard Dyson snoring from another room, and Becca had gotten up to pee, but returned quickly to Bryon's bedside.
He needed to eat. The coffee had kept him going, but now that the rush was gone, he needed food for energy. Hopefully, Bryon had cereal on hand, because that was about all he had the motivation to make.
