Breaking Free

Just listening to Brett’s voice as he spoke to Hawk and Doc had Zoe’s throat closing together. Her emotions seesawed between joy and fear.

  The feeding tube remained in place, just in case. But Brett seemed completely fine. Though he was weak, he could move his arms and legs. His memory for people and faces appeared unaffected. He didn’t recall what had happened that had put him in the hospital, but his recollection of the days preceding the accident seemed to be intact.

  “Have you called your mom, Zoe?” Doc asked as they stood together next to Brett’s bed.

  “Yes. I held the phone so Brett could talk to her.” She swallowed against the knot of reaction that rose in her throat. “She’s going to come out on the first available flight, but has to go back to my sister’s for a few more weeks.”

  Doc looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot. “Are you all right?” she asked. “We haven’t seen you since the night you guys finished the sheetrock in Hawk’s rec room.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Now that Cutter’s awake maybe the team can get back in sync. We’ve been out of rhythm without him and Hawk. How did the parasailing thing go?”

  “It was great.”

  “Good, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Looks as though you’re getting a tan and your hair’s sun streaked.”

  Zoe nodded. “We’ve been grilling out a lot, and I catch a few rays while Hawk’s burning whatever meat we’re having.”

  Doc laughed.

  “I heard that remark,” Hawk said from where he stood at Cutter’s bedside. “You’re not going to let me live that down are you?”

  “I don’t have anything else to razz you about. You do everything else so well.”

  Brett’s gaze traveled from Hawk to her, and she could read the question in his face. Zoe stepped to the bed. She cupped his cheek, and brushed the hollow of his cheek with her thumb. “Mom and I were staying at Hawk’s house when Sharon’s baby came, and she had to leave and go back to Lexington.”

  “What about my apartment?” he asked.

  “We’ve been by to check on it and air it out. Hawk thought it would be a bit cramped for me and Mom so he offered us a place to stay.”

  Brett’s attention shifted to Hawk. ”Thanks, man.”

  Hawk laid a hand on his shoulder. ”No problem.”

  “You said you hurt your knee.” Brett stopped to rest between sentences. “When are you going back on active duty?”

  “Well, actually I start back Monday. The paperwork is piling up, and I’m starting another language class.”

  Zoe’s stomach dropped at the news and she pressed her hand to her midriff. She knew it was coming. She just hadn’t expected it so quickly.

  Hawk continued, “I can’t do any running until the doc signs off on me, but I’ve already been doing some light weight lifting. Instead of running, I’m doing the exercise bike to see how my knee stands up. Another two weeks and I should be back to normal.”

  “Good, I’m glad,” Cutter said. “No one’s told me what happened.”

  Hawk and Doc looked at one another.

  “There’s time to talk about it later, Cutter,” Hawk said.

  Angela, Brett’s nurse, came into the room. “I know you’re all excited about Ensign Weaver being awake, but you don’t want to tire him too much. You need to give him some time to rest. You can come back for visiting hours at seven.”

  Reluctantly Zoe nodded and moved to the bed to embrace Brett.

  If he went to sleep again, would he be able to wake up? What if as soon as they had weaned him from the medication, he just dropped off and never awoke again?

  “I’m afraid to leave him,” Zoe said, as they stepped out in the hall. Hawk reached for her, and she buried her face against his chest. The harder she tried not to cry, the faster the tears streamed down her face to wet his t-shirt. All the stress and grief she’d suppressed for weeks seemed to rise up inside her. Hawk guided her down the hall away from Brett’s door to the nurse’s station. She’d never needed his comfort and support as much as she did right now.

  Moments passed before she regained control. When she finally drew back, Doc offered her some tissue and an awkward pat on the back.

  Angela exited Brett’s room and started toward them. She looked at Zoe and came directly to her. “He’s going to be fine. He’s even flirting with me, already.”

  “He won’t go back to sleep and--”

  “We’re keeping him on the meds for a while to be certain, but the chances are very, very slim. Whatever injury his brain sustained, it’s obviously healed itself. His EEG’s look good. His blood work is normal. You’ve already heard what the doctor said when he did his neurological exam. We’re going to do another CAT Scan and a few other tests, and we’ll have the results tomorrow.”

  They couldn’t ask for any more than that. Everything else was up to Brett.

  “Come back at seven after you’ve had a chance to regroup. You need that as much as he does.”

  Zoe nodded and wiped her eyes then dragged a smile to her lips. “Thank you, Angela.”

  The woman grasped her forearm and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll keep a close eye on him, and I’ll call you if I think he needs you.”

  Zoe drew a bracing breath, feeling a little calmer. “All right.”