Shit! Everything hurts!

Even the act of opening my eyes was a challenge because, as I learned after a few minutes of trying, they were bandaged.

I felt a hand on top of mine, the familiar softness of Vanessa’s long fingers warming my skin. “Shh, Martin. Don’t move.”

“What the…?” I sat up as best I could and tore at the hoses and wires attached to me.

“I said don’t move.” Vanessa pushed me back down onto the bed, her tone less forgiving.

“What’s going on?” I allowed myself to be laid back down in the bed.

“You were shot. Jumping in front of me!” With that one, she slapped me on the arm.

“Are you OK? How’s the—” Vanessa shoved a finger over my mouth before the last word could make it out.

“Sshh.”

Marco’s voice chimed in from behind Vanessa’s. “Thank you, Martin. You put yourself in harm’s way to save my baby girl. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” The man took my hand, still in Vanessa’s, and squeezed. Ah, no wonder she shut me up.

“Just doing my job, sir. I made a promise.” I tried to open my eyes again. “Can we get this crap off me?” I tugged at the bandage.

“Daddy, can you go get the nurse?” Vanessa asked. I heard the man’s heels clicking across the room, then out the door.

“How’s the baby?” I asked, whispering just in case.

“She’s fine.” Vanessa kissed me on top of my bandaged head.

“She?”

“Well, let’s hope! I don’t know what I’d do with two stubborn, reckless, Martin men!”

“So I guess I’m gonna live if you’re giving me such a hard time.” I smiled at where I thought she was standing.

“Yeah.” Her voice sounded hesitant. “It was touch and go for a while. You had me so worried.”

“A while?” I sat back up. “What’s a while?”

“They had you sedated for a week. You’re pretty beat up. There’s… stuff, with the surgery. Just wait for the nurse.”

I heard the door open and Marco’s heels. “Mr. Martin,” an older woman’s voice filled the room, and hands tugged at the bandages covering my head, “I’ll remove these bandages, but you have to stay in bed. You’ve got some packing in your wound.”

That didn’t sound good. The nurse unwound the bandage that covered my eyes, and the room came into slow focus. Vanessa stood over me, in the nurse’s way, with her face screwed into a permanent frown. Marco hovered not far behind her, wringing his hands. Noticeably absent… Cruz.

“Where is he?” I tossed aside the white sheets that were thrown across my body. “Where’s Cruz?” As I turned to get out of the bed, a sharp pain tore across my abdomen. I looked down at the offending side and fell back into the bed.

It became suddenly clear what ‘packed’ meant. My entire right side was open and exposed. Blood-stained gauze packed the wound and jutted out like a macabre pocket square. The air rushed out of me.

The nurse covered me again with the white sheet. “Not as bad as it looks, dear. You’re through the worst of it.”

“Cruz?” I croaked.

“Yeah?” a wonderful, cheerful voice came from the doorway. Cruz wheeled himself in, smiling like an idiot. His glassy eyes met mine. “I’m gonna get a DUI on this thing, man.” He slapped the wheel of his chair and rolled himself to my bedside, opposite where the poor nurse was trying to get her work done.

“Heard your lazy butt was finally gonna wake up today.” He beamed as he offered an outstretched arm for a half-hug. “I only got to sleep for one day. Guess that’s the difference between Lieutenant and Ensign treatment.” Cruz burst into uncontrolled laughter.

I stared at him for a moment, wondering how deep my induced coma had been. Was I still dreaming?

The nurse checked my packing and said, “Mr. Cruz might need his dosage adjusted.” She smiled warmly at him, then at me. “This is gonna hurt.”

No sooner had she finished the last word than she ripped the packing gauze out of my gaping wound and replaced it with wet cloth. Then she ran a length of tape across the area and removed her gloves. The entire process took less than a minute, which I was dearly thankful for.

To distract myself, I turned my head toward Cruz. “What you in for?”

In his current state, he thought that was the funniest question he’d ever heard. It took him a moment to recover. “Just a little flesh wound. We match, see?” He pulled up his gown. Sure enough, our wounds were in roughly the same spot. His, however, was closed and neatly stitched. I was glad that I’d gotten the worst of it. If something had happened to him…

“You shoulda seen the shot you got off, though,” Cruz continued, getting a bit animated and waving his arms around. “Right between the eyes! I told Commander Phillips we needed to save the security footage. Martin’s highlight reel!”

“I’m sure he loved that.” I played off the compliment, but made a mental note to check out that footage.

“Come along, Mr. Cruz. Let’s let Mr. Martin rest.” The nurse took Cruz’s handles and pushed him toward the door. “Ms. Genovese, while I have time, let’s get you on the schedule for your follow-up ultrasound.”

I gasped, unable to stop the sound from escaping. Vanessa and I shot looks at each other, then at her father. Marco opened his mouth to question the need for medical intervention on Vanessa.

“Just a precaution,” Vanessa said in my direction, but for Marco’s benefit. “You, big lug, fell right on top of me. Just making sure you didn’t do any damage with that giant head of yours.” She smiled and quickly left.

Coulda done without the giant head part. But the ruse worked, and Marco smiled at the little jab.

“It’s worth it, though,” he said. “I’m glad you have a giant, hard head.” Marco shook my hand and didn’t let go. “Thank you, Martin. Thank you.”

“All in a day’s work.”