Page 115 of Anchor
And his fingers, he could feel them now. Still foggy and still underwater, but his. He pushed again. Nothing moved.Try again.
His body didn’t respond like it used to. Signals went out like broken phone calls. But he felt himself, and that mattered. He could feel her nearby. That mattered more.
He tried one more time. A breath pulled through his nose, shaky and shallow, but it was his own.
1030 HOURS
Claire didn’t move from the bedside. Seth had dimmed the lights again, recalibrated the monitors, and silenced extraneous alerts. The nurses outside were ready. Foley had been updated in Ann Arbor. And now, Dr. Sita Malek entered the room.
She moved with calm precision. Hair braided back. Slate-gray scrubs. A tablet in one hand, a penlight and reflex tool in the other.
Claire stood as she approached. Sita gave her a small nod.
“I read the report. Two distinct motor responses, eyelid tremor and shallow autonomous breath. Let’s see how much more we can get.” She didn’t crowd Reid. She stood at a respectful distance first, studied him, and then stepped closer.
“Reid Hanlon,” she said clearly, her voice low but direct. “You’re in a neuro-rehabilitation center in Denver. You sustained a traumatic brain injury. We believe you may be regaining consciousness.”
Claire stood still as stone.
Sita leaned down gently, shining the penlight into Reid’s eyes, one after the other. “Pupils sluggish… but reactive.” She moved to the pressure wand, applying light contact to the sole of his left foot. “Stimulus, low-grade.”
Claire caught it—a subtle flinch. Nothing dramatic, but a withdrawal.
Sita marked it immediately. “Left foot withdrawal present. Spinal loop is active. Motor systems intact. Let’s try something higher.”
She turned to Claire. “Can you speak to him again? Same way you did before. Just a few words.”
Claire moved forward, her mouth suddenly dry. She leaned close, brushing her knuckles across Reid’s forearm. “It’s me. You’re safe. We’re in Denver. Tuck brought us here. You don’t have to wake up all at once. Just let me know you’re still in there.”
A moment passed. Then, his left hand twitched. Not a spasm. Not a jerk. A slow curl of two fingers.
Sita looked up sharply. “Motor function above the spinal cord. Voluntary movement.”
Claire pressed a hand to her mouth, tears hot behind her eyes. “You saw it?”
Sita nodded once. “We all did.” She looked at Claire fully now, voice careful but steady. “I think we’re looking at the start of emergence.”
THIRTY-NINE
ROOM 218 – 1800 HOURS
The door opened quietly. Claire looked up from Reid’s bedside as Tuck Hanlon stepped in, wearing a button-down shirt, tie loosened, and a jacket folded over one arm. His face was drawn from a long day, but something lit behind his eyes the second he saw her. “I heard.”
Claire stood. “You missed it.”
Tuck crossed the room and hugged her, one arm around her shoulders, the other steadying his own reaction. “This is really good.”
She pulled back, exhaling.
Tuck looked at Reid, then at her again. “You haven’t told them yet, have you?”
She blinked. “Told who?”
“Seth and Patrick. That you’re pregnant.”
Claire opened her mouth. Closed it. “No… not yet.”
Tuck’s tone stayed gentle. “You need them to know, sooner than later. They’ll manage your side of this right if they’re looped in.”
