The Dangerous Storm

Twelve

Hours had passed since Antonio sat beside Erin's bedside, with her being awake and waiting for him to wake up. He continually checked the time, letting out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

'You know Erin, if you sleep for too long, you'll grow old,' Antonio said, chuckling to himself. He imagined she would have smacked him on the chest and then laughed.

Antonio's thoughts drifted to the team, wondering if they had found Yates or whoever was working with him. His sigh was interrupted by a nurse entering the room to check on Erin's progress. Antonio scrutinized the nurse, noting that it was a male instead of a female.

However, he refrained from commenting on the hospital's choice of staff, even though he preferred a female nurse to be treating Erin, particularly given what she had been through.

"Perhaps you should consider taking a brief walk to stretch your legs," suggested the nurse as he monitored Erin's vital signs to ensure her stability.

"I will wait another hour for her to regain consciousness, but it may take a day or two, depending on how Miss. Lindsay is feeling."

Antonio listened to the nurse's advice and, although he had no intention of going for a walk, he decided to remain by Erin's side in case she woke up. "No, thank you, I am fine," he replied in a casual tone, holding onto Erin's hand.

The nurse, puzzled by Antonio's prolonged presence, simply stated, "Visiting hours are almost over. While I understand you are a detective, I am unable to extend your visit beyond another hour," before exiting the room.

Antonio refrained from speaking his mind about the nurse's behavior, choosing instead to acknowledge the time limit and planning to address the issue with the staff later on.

Antonio whispered to Erin, indicating that someone was attempting to remove him from the hospital, but reassured her that he was not going anywhere as he gently held her hand with a smirk on his face.

Antonio had lost track of time, watching the machines' lines go back and forth until the same nurse returned to check if he was still there. 'What are you still doing here?' he asked Antonio with a stern look.

Despite the man being a nurse, Antonio was determined to stay by Erin's side. 'I'll stay, thank you,' he stated firmly, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed and his leg propped on his knee.

'I'm not going to say this again, detective. You should leave, as visiting hours are over. Nothing will happen to Miss Lindsay while she's here,' the nurse said, his face contorted in a sneer.

"Antonio expressed his uncertainty about trusting Erin with you and suggested having a female nurse take over if he is to leave," Antonio stated with a stern look.

The detective indicated his lack of trust in the nurse and emphasized his typically strong intuition regarding trust, particularly concerning his friends and family.

The nurse scoffed, stating, "Are you really playing that card? I'm just a nurse; it's not like I would do anything," as he glared at Antonio, adding, "But I will inform the doctor and seek his opinion."

Antonio nodded and observed the nurse's name tag as he remarked, "You may proceed, Mr. Mitchell," with his arms folded, stating, "I will wait." Antonio watched as Mitchell exited the room to summon the doctor, who arrived promptly upon being called in.

"Is there an issue? Is something amiss with Detective Lindsay?" inquired an older man with graying hair, addressing Mitchell and Antonio, who both responded with a shrug.

Antonio raised an eyebrow at Mitchell, signaling for him to begin speaking as he wanted to emphasize the importance of his extended stay beyond visiting hours."Yes, Dr. Jackson, this detective is not leaving," Mitchell stated with a smug expression, directing a glare towards the detective. "It is well past visiting hours, and yet he refuses to depart," he continued.