I NEED A HERO (𝓒𝓞𝓜𝓟𝓛𝓔𝓣𝓔)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Nemera sat leaning on the edge of the bed, watching Tau's face. He had been under for some time, following the microsurgery to stabilize his broken ribs, relieve the pneumothorax from his punctured lung and stem the internal bleeding. Dr. Kines assured her that Tau was tough and would heal swiftly, but she couldn't help but worry.

The entire S.W.A.T. unit had come up as soon as they had the thugs safely in custody and the scene was turned over to Crime Scene and Forensics.

Shapur Bayu was defiantly silent, although he had yet to find a lawyer to take his case. His thugs, on the other hand, were talking freely and Lod Dunnar was leading the pack. The Bureau was dismantling his empire piece by piece.

Her parents and Elian had been there during her own medical assessment and while Tau was in surgery. Her injuries were just minor bruises and scrapes and a bit of residual congestion from the kelaform. They had given her some mild analgesics and a shot of antibiotics to stave off any possible respiratory issues. After they had let her shower in the nurse's unit and she dressed in the clean clothes Chitraka had brought her she felt almost normal.

She had been waiting when they brought Tau out of surgery and took him into recovery. While technically the area was restricted to family only, no one tried to stop her from following or staying with him. She wondered if one of her parents had explained the situation to the staff. It made things easier - had they tried to evict her they would have had a serious fight on their hands.

She watched his face intently. Since coming into the room, there had been no movement, no expression at all. Now, she was certain she saw his nose twitch. Leaning down, she licked his forehead gently. There was a twitch in his cheek, she was sure of it.

"Tau?" She licked his cheek. "Tau, wake up."

"Promise," he murmured.

"Tau?" She leaned down and lay her cheek on his. "What do you want me to promise?"

"Promise you won't poke me in the chest next time I call you kitten. It's bound to happen."

"Zuberi, you kook." She pulled back and saw his eyes were open, but still unfocused from the anesthetic. "I promise that you can call me anything you want."

"That's a pretty wide promise, Cavanaugh." His gold eyes focused on her, his pupils flaring. "You might end up being called mate by some unemployed runt of a Roki cop."

"You think I'd complain?" She rested her forehead on his, looking deep into his eyes. "I love you, you unemployed runt Roki cop."

"I love you too, Nemera Cavanaugh," he said with a grin. "Both halves." He slowly reached and slid his hand a hand around the back of her neck to bring her closer for a kiss. It was by necessity careful and gentle, but no less fervent for that. When he finally, reluctantly stopped, he realized that they both were purring. "So how long are they keeping me here?"

"Well, that depends," said Nemera sitting up and taking hold of his hand. "Dr. Kines wants to make sure that your lung is healing properly, there's no respiratory infection and no unforeseen complications. It'll be a few days at least."

"Are you OK?" he asked softly. "Nobody else got hurt in the squad, did they?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just some bumps, bruises and scrapes. Nobody else got injured. It was actually pretty calm once S.W.A.T. got there. The goons inside didn't want to play hardball with cops in body armor."

"Wise decision." He squeezed her hand . "You should go home, get some sleep."

"You trying to get rid of me, Zuberi?" she asked with a glare.