Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (37 page)

Beck was used to stealth and he moved faster when it was just him, so he scooped Cadee into his arms and made a break for Blakesley’s room at his father’s direction.  Even though the rooms had glass walls, Beck made sure to position Cadee in front of him so no one looking in could see her. He took her right up to the bed where Blakesley was taking a nap.

She was without the big oxygen mask on her face and only a nasal canula.  Instead of multiple I.V.’s, there was only one.  Someone had washed her hair and braided it, because Beck could see that the braid draping over her shoulder was still damp. Her face was still bruised but it looked much better than it had the day before. She looked like she was quickly healing. Beck set Cadee down carefully next to the bed, leaning over to kiss Blakesley on the cheek.

“Baby,” he whispered.  “Wake up. I brought you a surprise.”

Blakesley sighed heavily, coming out of a light nap.  She opened her eyes, blinking the sleep from them, and the first thing she saw was Cadee’s face looking back at her. Startled, she blinked here eyes again as if to regain her focus.

“Cadee?” she said hesitantly.

“Hi, Mommy,” Cadee burst into tears as she tried to hug her mother.

Beck lifted the little girl onto the bed. Blakesley was bruised and extremely sore, but that didn’t stop her from throwing her arms around her daughter.  Cadee wept as Blakesley pulled her down against her, snuggling her close.

“Hi, baby,” Blakesley rocked her. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Mommy, I miss you,” Cadee sobbed. “Are you okay? Are you going to come home soon?”

They were making some noise. Beck Sr. slithered into the room and shut the door, but he wasn’t fast enough. Gabrielle had heard the crying, too, and was making her way to Blakesley’s room with Marshall on her tail. Beck Sr. hissed at his son that the nurse was coming so Beck flipped up the blanket on the side of the bed and covered Cadee up. Beck. Sr. tucked her feet into the cover just as Gabrielle came into the room.

Both Becks were lined up against the bed, blocking most of the view.  Gabrielle looked at them suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow as she strained to get a look around them.  Then, she crossed over to the other side of the bed as Marshall followed and tried to block her view.  But Gabrielle was on to them.  She began checking the oxygen flow and the various monitors that Blakesley was hooked up to.   She pretended to be all business-like.

“We’re going to move Miss Blakesley into a regular room this afternoon,” she said casually. “She’ll be able to see more visitors there.  I’m going to start unhooking her from the monitors so we should be able to move her by lunch. “

Beck knew the woman wasn’t stupid but, to her credit, she didn’t call them out.  “That’s great,” he said, obviously relieved.  “When do you think we can take her home?”

Gabrielle shrugged.  Then she leaned over Blakesley and flipped back the blanket that was covering Cadee’s face.  When she spoke, she spoke to the little girl.

“She should be able to go home in the day after tomorrow if she eats well and continues to improve,” she said. “Do you want to push your mama in a wheel chair and take her outside?”

Cadee’s big bluish-green eyes gazed back at the woman. “Yes.”

“Then I’ll go get one.”

Gabrielle flipped back the blanket so it covered the girl up again and made her way out of the room.  Marshall shrugged apologetically as she walked past.

“Sorry,” he said feebly. “Cadee’s had a hard time with her mom being gone and….”

Gabrielle wagged a finger at him. “Don’t think you’re so smart, Marshall Thorne,” she snapped without force. “I fell for your charm, I admit it, but it’s going to cost you dinner at a restaurant of my choice.”

Marshall, a truly handsome and distinguished older man, grinned. “Any place you want, honey.”

Gabrielle winked at him and left the room to go get the wheelchair.  Marshall turned around to see both Becks and his daughter busting up with laughter.   He pretended to scowl.

“See what I do for you?” he said to Blakesley. “I had to sell my soul to the devil.”

Blakesley just laughed. “Stop pretending that you don’t like it,” she snorted, then she groaned and grabbed her belly. “Oh, God, it hurts to laugh. But it’s worth it.”

“Glad I could help.”

As Marshall left the room, presumably to go find Gabrielle again, Beck leaned over Blakesley and Cadee, watching them cuddle, feeling a good deal of optimism and relief.  Gabrielle came back in with the wheel chair and began carefully disengaging the monitors, keeping an eye on Blakesley to make sure she was handing the movement well.   She even had Cadee help her take the blanket off of her mother and Cadee felt included, as if she was helping. It made the little girl feel much better.

Blakesley did so well with her move that the doctor cleared her to go home on the afternoon of the next day.  She was under instructions to rest for the next month because of the major surgery and she couldn’t drive a car for six weeks, but all in all, she was doing extremely well and well on her way to a complete recovery.  

On a bright and sunny California afternoon, Beck took his wife home where she belonged.

***

“You’re not going to believe this.”

Beck was standing in the doorway of the master bedroom, looking at his wife with some amusement.  Blakesley was in bed like a good girl, the television on and books spread out around her.  The dog was even lying beside the bed, lonely, because the girls had started school the day before and he didn’t have anyone to play with. Blakesley looked at Beck with curiosity.

“Believe what?”

Beck’s grin broke through as he came to the bed and lay down next to her. “I was just at the base talking to Davis.”

“I know.”

He let out a noise that sounded like feigned laughter as he stretched out and put his big arms behind his head.

“It seems that Davis, my captain, has a date tonight.”

Blakesley looked at him, smiling. “Really?” she said. “That’s great. Anyone we know?”

“Sophia.”

Blakesley’s smile vanished. “What?” she hissed. “My Sophia?”

“Your Sophia.”

Blakesley’s eyes widened. “She called him!”

Beck nodded. “She did,” he replied. “Davis gave her his business card at our wedding, remember?  It seems that they’re going out to dinner tonight.”

Blakesley’s smile returned. “Good,” she said firmly. “Her boyfriend was such a jerk to her. Even though he was a big-wig doctor, he couldn’t keep it in his pants.  I’m so glad she finally broke it off with him.”

Beck reached out to stroke her arm, somewhat tenderly. “Speaking of keeping it in his pants….”

Her grin broadened. “Are you hinting?”

“I’ll spell it out if I have to.”

She laughed softly. “So you’ve dropped the girls off at school and the house is empty, and now you want to have some fun?”

“I think I deserve it.”

“Do tell.”

“Well,” he cocked his head. “I did what the doctors said; I left you alone for an entire month.

“Twenty-seven days.”

“I took care of you, took care of the girls, made sure everything was handled. “

“You’re Superman.  I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“So I’m going to plead my case that I should get to have relations with my wife because I deserve it.”

She just grinned, shaking her head at him reproachfully.  Beck smiled back, hopefully, thinking of her soft, supple body and inevitably reliving the past few weeks when he thought might lose her.  Then he started thinking of the baby they had lost. 

Blakesley didn’t remember that part of it; in fact, the accident had wiped out her memory for three days prior to the accident.   She didn’t remember the baby or anything else from that time period, so the doctor advised Beck not to tell her. There was no point.  Beck happened to be speaking with Sophia one day, who mentioned the baby, and Beck had to head her off from saying anything to Blakesley about it.  He didn’t want his wife weeping over something that had been out of her control.

For the past twenty seven days, Beck had taken care of Blakesley with the attentiveness and compassion of a mother, making sure she was comfortable, cared-for and well, tending the girls to make sure they were happy, and just generally being a house-husband, which he loved.  He’d never had the opportunity before and he took to it quickly.

Blakesley was back to her usual gorgeous self and he was thrilled. She was a little thin from her time in the hospital and the spleen removal had left a couple of small scars on her belly, but he couldn’t have cared less.  She was still perfect as far as she was concerned, getting better every day to the point where she would get up and wander around the house, trying to do dishes or laundry until he chased her back to bed. She was still a little weak, and she slept a lot, but those were the only residual clues to the accident.  He didn’t see any reason why they couldn’t start practicing for another baby.

As the dog snored softly beside the bed in the mid-morning sunshine, Blakesley pulled the books off the bed and neatly stacked them on the bedside stand.  Slowly, as she still couldn’t move her torso or left shoulder very well, she lay down beside Beck and wrapped her right arm around his neck.

“You’re going to have to do all the work,“ she said softly, closing her eyes when he kissed her cheek. “I still can’t move around much.”

He wrapped her up in his big arms very carefully, very tenderly. “I’ll do all the work,” he whispered.  “Tell me if I hurt you, okay?”

She simply nodded, giving in to his strength and passion. Between heated kisses and tender touches, Beck carefully undressed them both.  He suckled her nipples, his fingers probing into intimate places as she parted her legs for him, inviting him in.  He had never been so aroused or so emotional in his life, wanting to take his time with her but unable to restrain himself.

He kissed her tender belly and the little scars from the laparoscopic surgery to remove her spleen.  He dragged his mouth over the left side of her torso, blotched with faded green bruises, and tears sprang to his eyes.  He had come so close to losing her that a lump formed in his throat at the thought of never experiencing her again.  He lifted himself up to kiss her deeply on the mouth and the tears in his eyes fell onto her face.  Her eyes opened in a flash.

“Beck?” she had her hands on his face, concerned. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Nothing,” he said huskily.  He refused to look at her or even open his eyes; his mouth slanted over hers hungrily.  “Everything is fine.”

He made love to her slowly, with great feeling, careful not to lower his weight on her too much as he thrust.  He was able to bring her to a climax twice before releasing himself.  He lay with her, all cuddled up against him, before resuming again once he caught his breath.  That went on four times that morning until he had to pick Charlotte up from preschool, and even then it had been difficult to tear himself away from her.  He never wanted it to end.

When he returned with Charlotte and Spike Aguirre, who was in the same school as Charlotte because Gina had gotten a day job, he found Blakesley still asleep in the bedroom with the blinds pulled.   He shut the door and tried to keep the kids, and the dog, quiet as Blakesley slept on into the afternoon.

As Captain Davis and Sophia had prime rib and Lobster at an exclusive Coronado restaurant, Beck made Macaroni and Cheese for Cadee, Crosby, Charlotte, Spike and Lizzie, who was into her first week at high school at Coronado High School. Gina came by to pick up Spike and she ended up staying the evening, keeping Beck company in a house full of kids and a sick wife.  Gina had never seen Beck so happy and they talked most of the evening about Butch and what he would say to all of it. The consensus was mutual; after making fun of Beck, Butch would have eaten all of the Macaroni and Cheese before letting the kids jump all over him.  That was the kind of guy he was. Beck tried not to miss him too much.

Blakesley slept through all of it, awakening only when her husband finally roused her around ten o’clock at night when he came to bed.  He kissed her and tried to get amorous with her again, but she ended up falling back asleep on him.  With a grin, Beck just turned out the light. 

It was good to have her home.

Chapter Twenty

“Your four months with the FMLA leave is up, Beck,” Davis wasn’t sure what more he could do. “First it was three weeks, then three months, then an extra month. I can’t give you any more time off.”

Beck was in his captain’s office on an unseasonably warm early December day.  He’d come in because, technically, he started back to work today, but he was clearly unhappy about being on base and not at home with his family.  Dressed in his standard issue gray tee shirt, black combat pants and big black boots, he slouched angrily in the captain’s guest chair.

“I told you I didn’t want to actively participate with the Teams anymore,” he told him. “You were supposed to be working on that.”

Davis nodded. “I am,” he insisted. “Do you think this is going to be easy on me or the men to lose you? We’ve lost Butch, and now you? That’s like cutting both arms off of a healthy body.  It’s going to take time to re-learn how to function but until I can officially replace you, you’re still on duty.”

Beck’s jaw ticked furiously. “You mentioned that you were going to try to get me transferred to Basic Underwater Demolition and S.E.A.L. training,” he said. “Have you heard anything on that?”

Davis snorted. “Captain Bucklew can’t wait to get his hands on you,” he said. “He wants you badly, but they’re fully staffed. They’re trying to work some angles in order to make a slot for you, but until then, you’re still a part of S.E.A.L. Team 3 as one of my three commanders in charge.”

Beck scratched his head irritably. “Any timeline on the transfer?”

“They’re hoping by the first of the year,” Davis replied, his gaze lingering on Beck. “They want to put you in charge of Advanced Phase 3 Training because of your record and your real-world experience.  You’d get the boys who are almost graduated, right before they do their airborne phase.  I told the commander I think you’d be great at training them in all of the hard-core elements of the job. There’s no one better than you.”