Even In Darkness (Between) (18 page)

Chapter 20

The gentle snoring to my left made me reach out a hand to touch Aiden, but I connected with a hard, c
old strip of metal instead. Pushing through a haze of sleep, I blinked and squinted at the unfamiliar object under my fingers. Only it wasn’t unfamiliar at all. It was the railing of my hospital bed, pulled up high to keep me from rolling out and landing on the floor. For the second Christmas in a row, I’d awakened in a hospital bed. With a groan, I closed my eyes and did a quick mental check of my body, shifting and tensing to see what hurt, but nothing registered. Either they had me on some serious painkillers or I was completely fine. Something warm, solid and round was in my other hand. I opened my eyes to see, but I already knew what it was.

Willie’s pocket watch.

Soft, shuffling sounds joined the beeping monitors and rhythmic snores of the other patient in the room. I turned to see the smiling face of a young nurse with bright red hair like a Disney princess. I quickly hid the pocket watch under the covers.

“Ah, you’re awake,” she said in a light Scottish accent, reminding me that we were not at home in Oregon but still in Scotland.
Of course we are
, I mentally berated myself.
We went over the cliff in Scotland.
My brain was still catching up to the present when I realized the nurse was still talking.

“What?” I said, sitting up in my bed.

“I asked how you’re feeling, but if you can sit up, that’s a good sign.”

“I’m good. Nothing hurts. Do you have me on mega drugs or something?”

Shaking her head, she moved around to my side of the bed and noted the level of my IV on the clipboard she carried. She fiddled with some knobs, then turned back to me. “No, we were waiting until you woke to assess your pain, though we have you hooked up to fluids so we can administer medication swiftly if needed. You’ve no pain at all?”

“No
. Does that mean I can take this off?” I waved my hand where the IV needle was taped to my skin.

“We’ll need to have the doctor come in and check you over first.” With a puzzled look, she flipped a page on her clipboard and stared at it like it was written in Sanskrit. “Your chart says you were hit by a taser gun and fell off a cliff, that a small ledge jutting out the side of the mountain broke your fall.” She looked up at me and shook her head in wonder. “And after all that, you have no broken bones, no bruises, and no
pain. You have angels looking out for you, to be sure.” Her face radiated a sweet peace that sucked me in and made the corners of my lips turn up, but her next words wiped the smile from my face altogether.

“Looking out for
both of you, I suppose. You and the baby.”

If my life had a soundtrack, there would have been tires screeching to a halt as the world
stopped. “The what?”

“The babe.
Your blood work shows you’re with child. Did you not know?”

No, I didn’t know!
I wanted to scream, but no sound came out of my gaping mouth. The monitor to my right started beeping wildly as my pulse skyrocketed. Her eyes snapped to the machine and when she turned back to me, her smile had faded. “Is this not good news?”

Good news? I couldn’t even process what she had told me, let alone decide how I felt about it.
“How long?” I finally croaked out. She plucked a cup of water from a nearby tray and pressed it into my hands. I sucked greedily through the straw and tried to calm my racing heart that felt like it might jump out of my chest and flop around on the floor.

“When did you last have your period?”
she asked, her voice quieter and a little sad. I stared at her blankly, trying desperately to remember, but nothing was coming to mind. “You were recently married, is that right?” she asked. I nodded and she continued. “Were you on your monthlies during the ceremony?” I shook my head, thinking back. I’d never been exactly regular in my cycle, but I had looked at the calendar before the wedding to see if I couldn’t figure out when Aunt Flo was going to come and ruin everything. And then I’d promptly forgotten about it. A memory came back to me suddenly and I latched onto it.

“Oh, I know! It was the day after the St. Andrew’s Feast with Ian and Sarah.
I thought it was the haggis, but it turned out to be cramps. So that would make it…um, November 29th.”

“Wow, so you’re not far along at all, then.
I’m surprised the blood test even caught it. Usually it takes a bit. Here, let me…” She pulled a flat, paper disk from her pocket and spun one edge. “That would make you due next September 7
th
.” She gave my hand a light squeeze. “Congratulations, Mum.” I stared at her, torn between joy and pure terror, tears swelling painfully behind my eyes.

A mom.
I was going to be a mom.

Aiden.
I had to find Aiden and tell him. Joy emerged the victor in my mental tug of war, since I knew he’d be ecstatic. We’d already talked about having kids someday, but had decided to wait until after I was finished with college. Now that was shot to hell. But before I had the chance to ask her about Aiden, a couple of familiar, hushed voices entered the room.

“Anything new?” my mom whispered to the nurse from the other side of the curtain.

“Yeah, she’s up,” replied the grumpy patient who shared the room with me, but who I could not see. “Liked her better when she was quiet and I could sleep,” the woman’s voice ground out before her bed squeaked in protest with her shifting body. There was a beat where I was sure my mom was going to give the lady a piece of her mind, but my dad’s voice cut in.

“Elizabeth. Lindsey’s awake.”

The nurse said to me, “I’ll let the doctor know,” before she let my parents through and went to check on the other patient.

Mom’s smile beamed as bright as a spotlight when she reached my bedside.
“Oh, sweetie. My baby.” She cradled me against her chest and pressed little kisses to my forehead before pulling back and giving me a mock frown. “Why do you insist on spending Christmas in the hospital?”

“It’s the IV drip. I just can’t get enough,” I said, waving my taped-up hand as proof of my addiction. Mom’s bottom lip quivered at the sight and I caught a glimpse of the fear that she was trying so hard to hide. “
It’s okay, Mom. I’m okay.”

She swiped a tear from her cheek.
“You sure?” Even though I assured her that nothing hurt and that the doctor was going to come unhook me any second, she seemed to collapse in on herself like a fallen soufflé. “It’s just that… we’ve been so worried.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed so hard, I had to fight back a wince. “We already thought we’d lost you once and then… We were standing at the edge of that cliff and couldn’t see you anywhere. We thought you’d drowned.” A choked sob found its way out of her throat and, to my surprise, my dad put his arm around her and she curled into his embrace. He stroked her back and made shushing noises, then kissed her temple. “But…but…” she whimpered into his chest.

“I know, honey. She’s okay, though. Lindsey’s all right,” he whispered, holding her close. Hope sprang up sharp and hot inside me at the sight of them together. I
swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in my throat. After a moment, Mom sniffled and straightened. Dad released her, but didn’t let go completely, sliding his fingers into hers. My eyes locked on their linked hands.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said, earning a watery smile from her. I noticed she was wearing new diamond earrings and that Dad was sporting the plaid wool scarf she’d bought for him. At one end, it had a
n embroidered Scottish flag and said “I love being oot and aboot with you.”

“Can we make this the last Christmas in the hospital, pumpkin?” Dad joked and I nodded with a stupid grin plastered on my face. “I’d like to have grandkids to bounce on my knee someday, you know.”

The woman on the other side of the curtain gave a thick, gravelly laugh and my heart jumped into my throat. I wasn’t ready to tell them. I needed to talk to Aiden first.

“Where’s Aiden?” I wasn’t ready for the look of sadness that crossed their faces. “What’s wrong? Where is he?” My monitor started going berserk again and Mom rushed to calm my fears.

“He’s here, just down the hall. They didn’t have two beds in the same room, so we had to split you up. He’s…” I strained forward, ready to rip off my IV and go find him, come hell or high water. “He’s not awake, honey. We don’t know when he’ll wake up.”

Relief flooded me and I slumped back against my pillows to catch my breath. “He’s awake.” When Mom shook her head, I pressed her. “When did you last see him?”

“Half an hour ago, maybe?”

“He’s awake now. And I have to go to him.” I swung my head from side to side, looking for the call button. Finding it at last, I pressed on it repeatedly until an agitated nurse’s voice came on the loudspeaker by my head.

“Yes?”

“The doctor is supposed to be coming to unhook me. I’m giving him three more minutes and if he’s not here, I’m doing it myself.” Mom let out an unintelligible squeak of horror, but I ignored her. “Dad, go tell Aiden I’m coming, that I’ll be right there. He shouldn’t be alone.”

“He’s not alone, sweetheart. The MacKinnons are there.”

“Call them, then.” I considered asking to speak to Aiden on the phone myself, but I needed to see him, to hold him. A phone call wasn’t enough. I needed the hell out of this bed.
Now.

Dad’s expression told me he was humoring me, but he pulled out his phone and made the call. “Hello, Ian. It’s Gary, Lindsey’s father. I was calling to—” He stopped and listened, his eyes widening slightly. “I see. Well, that is good news. She is as well and is eager to see him. She’ll be down as soon she can.” He ended the call and
stared at me suspiciously. “He’s awake.”

I resisted the urge
to tell him I told him so. There was no way I wanted to get into a discussion about how I knew. If only I could still talk to him in my—

Hold up. I’d been on the freaking boat so long that I’d completely forgotten.

Aiden, are you there?
I held my breath and waited for his response. I didn’t know what I’d do if he didn’t respond. Not being able to communicate telepathically with him in Between felt like a limb had been cut off and if I was brought back to life only to lose—

Aye, I’m here, love. Are ye hurt?

I couldn’t suppress the delirious giggle of joy at hearing his voice in my head once again. Eagan never spoke to me that way except in the beginning and the end, and both times it had been in his own voice. I hadn’t heard Aiden’s voice in my mind since we’d gone plummeting off that icy ledge and I’d grasped for him in the dark. I assured him I was fine and coming to see him as soon as the stupid doctor arrived. His answering chuckle spread over my body like warm honey. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, reveling in the way only Aiden could touch me.

Finally, the doctor came in, looking none too pleased with me, but I couldn’t care less. He asked me a bunch of questions and I answered them impatiently. A nurse appeared at his side and removed my catheter while he unhooked me from the IV.

“I’d like to keep you overnight for observation,” he said. “I understand you’re feeling well, but head injuries are not to be trifled with. Problems can sometimes take a while to manifest but they can be deadly if not treated immediately.”

I heaved a dramatic sigh, but
Mom cut me a sharp look that said Knock-It-Off-Right-Now-Lindsey-Marie.

“Of course, doctor,” she said with a saccharine smile. “That will be no problem. Thank you for your help.
You’ve been very gracious.” Her words seemed to thaw his icy demeanor a bit and he nodded.

“Right, then.
You’re free to walk about, but I’d recommend you not overdo it and return to your bed as soon as possible.”

Once he and the nurse were gone, I practically bounded out of bed.
I felt amazing. Not even my ankle pained me anymore. “Which room is he in?” I asked while Mom helped me on with my bathrobe. I slipped Willie’s watch into one of the pockets without her noticing.

“I’ll take you,” Dad replied and held out his arm to me as if I were injured. I didn’t need it, but I took it anyway, just to make him happy. As we walked
down the hall toward Aiden’s room, I reached up on tiptoe to plant a kiss on Dad’s cheek. He smiled and patted my hand. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

Two men rounded the corner at the end of the hall, making their way toward us and I pulled up short at the sight of the officers who had originally come to the castle to take
Aiden but had ended up sending us over the cliff. The skinny one who’d grabbed my breast—Campbell, I thought, extracting his name from some foggy corner of my brain—looked anything but smug now. In fact, as the larger man reached up and smacked him on the back of the head, he shrunk into himself like a whipped puppy. Twisting his hat in his hands, he kept his gaze on the floor as the older man berated him in a whispered hiss.

“Free to wander the country, no questions asked, and damned if the force doesn’t end up picking up the tab for their medical bills, too, ye sot.”