Mordecai entered the room first and Ryker took a few seconds to compose himself. Seeing his Order was going to be hard. He didn’t have anything to offer them yet – had nothing left to give. He was still a shell of a man. But he was now a walking, talking one, and he figured it was a start.
“Wow. No new bruises today? Was he passed-out or something?” The voice belonged to Diana.
Mordecai grunted, “I don’t get hit every time I visit him.”
Snickers and good-natured ribbing followed, and Ryker closed his eyes, leaning against the wall as he took in the familiar sounds. He felt a lump form in his throat because he knew one voice was missing. He was trying to find a way to push past the sudden flare of pain in his chest, when he heard Cali groan and gasp.
“This sucks!”
Ryker recognised the voice as the human doctor Max had conveniently forgotten to tell him about. He was sure he hadn’t made the best first impression on the woman. What with all the yelling and the smashing of furniture and beating on his family and stuff. In fact, the outrageously beautiful, African American woman had been so terrified of his antics, she had stabbed a giant needle filled with elephant tranquilisers into his butt. Well, to be fair they were probably human sedatives rather than elephant ones. But all he knew, was that shit had knocked him out for twenty solid hours. And after that? The woman who was a strange mix of timid and terrifying had refused to give him more.
“Ryker.”
Ryker opened his eyes to find Darius, Axel, Lark, Beyden, and Ivy standing in front of him. Beyden was on crutches and looked drawn and ill, but he was standing. Suddenly remembering how badly his fellow knights had been injured he quickly looked them all over in more detail. Beyden was by far the worst, and Ryker was scared to ask what the white bandages around his foot and lower leg were hiding. Darius looked thinner and not as tanned as usual but otherwise okay. Ryker knew at least those two had suffered through chade poisoning for days after the battle, just as he had. He figured the only difference was that he had hoped the toxin would kill him, but they had fought to survive. Axel, Lark, and Ivy appeared unharmed, but then again, they may have had injuries which had already healed. Ryker still had no idea how long he had been out of it.
“How long?” he asked, his voice sounding rusty to his own ears.
“Four weeks, three days,” Axel offered.
Ryker simply nodded his head. What else was there to say. But as he saw the four men move as a unit as if to embrace him, he held up a hand. “Don’t,” he warned. “I’m not back.”
They stared at him in silence for a moment. Axel finally saying, “But you’re here. It’s a start.”
Ryker nodded, the only reply he could articulate.
Ivy looked positively horrified, “Fuck no!” she shouted back. “I am not your push-partner!”
“Yes, you are!” Cali’s response was impossibly louder.
Ivy looked around frantically for a moment before her dark gaze landed on him, “Ryker’s out here!” she yelled.
“What the fuck, Ivy?” He gaped at her.
The ranger shrugged, “Every man for himself, Ry.”
“Ryker’s out there? Ryker! Ryyykeeer!” Cali bellowed.
Darius yanked him away from the wall, “Gut-up,” was his sage advice, before he pushed Ry bodily into the room.
Ryker was no expert, but Cali looked absolutely terrible. Her sweaty hair was plastered to her face, which was flushed and red-looking. She breathed in pants and was clutching at her considerably rounder tummy like she wanted to claw it open with her bare hands. Dex appeared about as useful as tits on a bull as he hovered next to the bed, arms flapping and breathing stupidly. About thirty seconds later, Cali seemed able to breathe normally again and she spotted him standing inside the doorway.
“Ryker,” Cali sobbed. He rushed over to her, and grabbed her hand. “You came.”
He couldn’t smile, but he did squeeze her hand, “I wouldn’t miss it.” He looked up and saw Diana looking at him, a little misty-eyed. He nodded to her, receiving a nod in return.
Ryker turned slowly, “Doctor Ross,” he murmured, hoping the respectful title might thaw the middle-aged woman toward him a little.
Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed for a moment before she looked away, studying the notes in her hand. “You can stay. But if you go postal again, I’m injecting you with gonorrhoea.” She looked up, suddenly making eye contact, “Your dick will shrivel up and die. For real.”
Dex stifled a laugh with his hand while Ryker tried to think of an appropriate response. In the end, he figured there wasn’t really one, so he settled for a nod. He stayed for another ten minutes, just long enough for Cali to squeeze his hand so hard he thought he felt his bones crush into dust. But when he started to hear words like crowning he hightailed it out of there to join the rest of the team in the hallway. Twenty minutes – and much screaming – later, a thin cry echoed from the room. Ryker stood up straight, feeling himself begin to sweat; there was a baby in that room. It was another thirty minutes before they were all invited back in, and Ryker stayed in the background as everyone crowded around Dex and the tiny bundle he held in his arms.
“Ryker? Come and hold him,” Cali said, gently.
“Oh, no. Hell no,” he added and then wondered if he should be saying words like hell around a baby. Could they understand swear words so young? He had no fucking idea.
“Ryker, come and hold your nephew,” Cali’s voice had gone from to gentle to drill sergeant.
Despite the trepidation pounding through his body, Ryker moved forward slowly, his family parting and granting him access to Dex and his son. Dex smiled, the sight blinding with love and pride, as he carefully handed the baby over to Ryker. Ryker felt like a giant holding an ant. The little guy was tiny and felt like he weighed nothing. But then, he was five weeks early. Jazz had assured everyone he was perfectly healthy and that his lungs were mature, but that she would keep him in the humidicrib until he put on some weight and could regulate his body temperature better.
Taking a deep breath, Ryker peeled back the layers of swaddling and stared in awe at the tiny creature gazing up at him with complete trust. He had a head full of black hair like his father, but his eyes were as blue as a summer sky like his mother’s. Ryker ran a finger over his cheek and marvelled at how soft it was. “What did you call him?” he asked, looking up.
The new parents looked at each other and he saw Dex squeeze Cali’s hand. Cali cleared her throat. “Maxwell. We called him Maxwell. Max for short.”
The whole room seemed to hold its breath as they waited for his reaction. “It suits him,” he promised, and saw Cali relax.
Dex reached over and wiped the lone tear escaping down Cali’s cheek. She nodded, “It does. See how strong he is already?”
The baby chose that moment to grip Ryker’s finger, and he felt himself smile; “He’s very strong. Max will love you,” he promised the babe.
The four words brought pain but not devastation. Max had said she would come back to him – to them. Max never broke her word. He had to trust her. He had to have faith.
His love, his beating heart, his soulmate, would return to him.
She had to.