Tanner
They rode nearly an hour away from town, to a small emergency room Blade knew about. Clearly, this wasn't his first rodeo when it came to getting patched up out of sight from the cops.
“Pull up here,” Blade shouted in Tanner's ear as they got into the parking lot.
Tanner shut off his bike and helped the older man through the automatic sliding doors. This was his first chance to see the damage the explosion had done, and the sight wasn't a pretty one.
Blade had lost a big patch of his long hair, which had been singed off by the fire that had caught on the back of his vest. Instead of the Blood Warriors symbol and Blade's patch, there was a large, blackened crater. His upper back would be a mess, Tanner knew, and maybe one of his shoulder blades. But, he was a tough old bird and would be able to handle the pain.
His right hand, though, looked worse. The skin was blistered horribly, and covered in dead purple and red skin, like he'd stuck his hand into the fire, rather than just tried to protect his face.
“Get out of here,” Blade whispered. “I can handle this.”
“Hell you can,” Tanner said. “Unless you went southpaw on me during the ride over.”
“Fuck you,” Blade mumbled, clearly resentful of the need for help. “But, thanks.”
They shuffled up to the admittance counter and got the nurse's attention, a big red-headed woman who looked like she'd seen it all. She sucked in a breath, though, when they showed her Blade's hand.
“Second and third degree, it looks like,” she muttered as her eyes flickered back and forth between the two bikers. “Can your father fill out his admission paperwork?” she asked Tanner.
He shook his head. “Nah. And he ain't my dad, neither.”
She shrugged. She clearly didn't care one way or another, but just handed over a clipboard with a stack of paper on it.
“Now, we've got a wait, but not too bad of one. We'll get you in soon as we can.”
Tanner led him over to an empty seat in the waiting area. She was right, the number of people ahead of them wasn't too heavy.
They sat down and started to go over Blade's information, with Tanner filling out the forms in his chicken scratch. Aside from inventory, this was probably the most writing he'd done since high school.
“What are you going to tell them happened?” Tanner asked when they'd finished.
“Late night grilling gone wrong,” Blade replied with a wince as he tried to move his hand.
“Hell of an accident, you ask me.”
“Well, you try grilling steaks in the dark,” Blade said with a pained grin.
“Stop fucking moving it, old man. You ain't making it any better.”
Blade sighed and dropped his hand to his lap so he could cradle his burn protectively. “I know, I know. Just hard to sit here and do nothing. Especially since I know it didn't work.”
“Well, steak doesn't always come out the way you want it,” Tanner mumbled.
Blade chuckled, hissing as the laugh jostled his hand. “Don't I know it? Life ain't always exactly what we want.”
“Yeah,” Tanner agreed.
“Speaking of which, how're things with you and your ol' lady? Or whatever the hell you're calling her these days?”
He debated whether or not to tell his old mentor the truth. Finally, honesty and a need for advice won out. “Did a pregnancy test today.”
“And?”
“She's pregnant.”
Blade nodded, then shook his head as he chuckled. “And you still came out with us?”
“Yeah, of course I did. It's my fight with these guys, not just the club's. Whoever that guy is, I think he's got it out for me.”
“Sometimes, Tanner-boy,” Blade said, “you gotta know when you have a good thing. I've seen the way that young lady looks at you, and now you're gonna be a daddy on top of it all?”
Tanner chewed on the end of the pen, not even thinking about which hands had previously held it, or how sick they may have been.
“Don't get me wrong, though. That's good news, boy,” the old man said, bumping into Tanner's shoulder with his own. “Isn't it?”
The news was good, Tanner admitted to himself. In fact, finding out about Star being pregnant had been the best thing he'd heard in years. “Yeah,” he said. “It's good.”
“Decided what you're gonna name it?”
“Probably after my dad,” Tanner said, without even thinking first. The answer had just popped into his brain. “Logan's a good name.”
“What about a girl?”
“Haven't thought about it, really. Hadn't even thought about a boy's name, either, till you asked.” Tanner said with shrug “Just feels like a boy to me, I guess.”
“Well, you'll be a fine Daddy. Just like yours was.”
The big red-headed nurse called out for them. They had a room ready.
Tanner went with the old man back to the examination area.
“Listen,” Blade said, “you go ahead and get out of here. Head on home, alright? I gotta girl out here that still likes to see my ugly mug every now and then, and I think I can lay up at her place for a couple weeks till I heal and things blow over.”
“You sure?”
“Would I be telling you if I weren't?” He clapped his good hand onto Tanner's shoulder. “You're a good man, Tanner. You'll do what's right for the club, and your family, and that baby on its way. Or I'll kick your ass up and down the county.”
Tanner grinned and clasped his hand to Blade's. “Yeah. Get in touch when you're better.”
“Will do,” the old man said with a nod, then ushered him out.
Tanner stepped out into the emergency room examination area, then let himself back out the way he'd come.
He was bone-tired. He knew he should just go home, but he was worried the nightmares would just return like before. The nightmares about that big bruiser of a Wolf, standing over him with that murderous look in his eyes.
Instead, as he hopped on his bike, he decided he'd return to Star's. She might have been pissed at him still, but that didn't matter. He needed her, and her comforting presence, by his side if he was going to get any rest tonight.
# # #
Star
“Can I come in?” Tanner asked. He stood there, framed by her front doorway, just as sexy as when he had left. In fact, he was positively smoldering. The smell of smoke wafted off him, even after his long bike ride.
Star stood there in just panties and an over-sized pajama top. She'd been just about ready to turn in for the night.
“Do I want to know?” Star asked. But, after one look up and down his sooty clothing, she didn't need him to tell her that he didn't. Instead, she just stepped aside and ushered him into her apartment.
“Want me to answer that?” he replied as he walked past her.
She shook her head. “You're right. I was just about to go to bed,” she said as she shut the door behind him. “Today's been . . . a day.”
He smiled that sexy smile of his, with those deliciously full lips. This time, though, she could see the hint of exhaustion and bone-deep weariness.
Their earlier argument about their relationship, about what would happen with the baby, about his putting himself in too much danger, seemed to melt. The memory of their shouts all evaporated as she looked into those icy blue eyes of his. The worries about the future, about whether there was even a future for them -- she forgot them.
She reached down and grabbed his hand. “Come on,” she said. “Let's go to bed.” She led him back into her already-dark bedroom and climbed beneath the covers.
He stripped down to his boxer briefs and crawled into bed next to her.
She curled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Some night, huh?” she whispered.
He nodded. “You have no idea.”
“Why'd you come here instead of your place?” she asked.
His hand went down to her belly and began to gently caress her abdomen. “I sleep better with you next to me,” he murmured.
“Same here,” she whispered back, a smile on her lips.
A moment passed as she just listened to the sound of his breathing. The steady inhale-exhale was soothing, comforting, like the tick-tock of a human clock.
“I didn't want this baby, you know,” he said after a while, his voice already groggy and heavy with sleepiness.
“I know.”
“But, I care about it.” He paused and licked his lips. “I dunno why.”
“Well, maybe it's not that oil is thicker than blood.” she asked, thinking back to the big Blood Warriors flag he had hanging in his bedroom at home. “Maybe, they're just about the same.”
“Maybe,” he whispered back.
After a few moments of silence, she realized that he was out like a light. Star smiled, leaned up, kissed his cheek. Soon, she too was drifting off.