Mary and Halley (sequel to When Mary Met Halley)

twelve

We made it to the house in a blur and I called Leif on the way so he was waiting on the porch. He helped get the kids unbuckled, his own face grave when he saw mine. "You okay to drive?" he asked me, setting Hank down. "You guys go inside with Ruby and Gwen, your aunties and I will be back soon."

"I'm fine," I lied, trembling with the need to get to the hospital, relieved that he was going to come with me. "It was so awful," I told him, more tears coming as he slammed his door and put his seat belt on.

"She'll be okay," he said definitely, handing me half a Xanax, which I automatically washed down using the mostly empty water bottle in the center console. Dusk was falling. "Go. I know you want to drive but do it carefully, for fuck's sake."

After encountering too many red lights, three of which were ran by drivers crossing our path, we arrived and miraculously found a parking space right in front of the ER. When I hesitated at the hydraulic doors whooshing open before me, he pulled me in and to one of the windows.

A child cried continuously on a woman's lap as she patted his back, and a homeless man sat hunched over in the corner, nearly camouflaged amongst all of his shabby belongings.

The woman let us go back right away, buzzing us through the heavy door. A feeling that was more fear than anxiety gripped me, despite the tranquilizing pill already starting to take effect. Claustrophobia crept in as the doors clunked shut behind us, a reminder of the weeks I'd been an unwilling prisoner here.

Leif knew and put his arm around me as we walked, an attempt at sheltering or bracing me. An orderly directed us to a tiny area hidden by the ratty blue curtain and I peeked behind it, not wanting to startle her. She was lying on the railed cot, a stained gray blanket pulled up to her chest, her eyes closed.

But she heard the jangling of the curtain and they opened, her poor puffy face breaking into a smile when she saw me. "Hey," she said in a raspy voice, her hair tangled all over the pillow. She reached out her good hand, which had an IV in the back with a butterfly bandage holding it in.

I moved to take it, kissing the back of it, kissing her lips, a lump in my throat. "Hi," I whispered around it. Loud beeping and pain surrounded us, suffocating in their intensity. I tried to block it out. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm breathing, so that's good," she joked, pulling me for another kiss.

Leif cleared his throat exaggeratedly. "I'm just gonna . . ." he said, pointing back the way we'd come. "Glad you're alive, Rapunzel. Your chariot awaits when you're ready." He saluted and slipped away. "Why hello, gorgeous," we heard him say. "I need to smoke, but get my number from my comrades. We'll do each other, I mean lunch."

A resident took his place; a very gay, very cute guy who was blushing. "Oh good, looks like I found my people. You're well enough to move upstairs, love," he said with an unexpected English accent. "Let's leave this 'room' behind you."

Another guy joined him, also in blue scrubs, and they hustled us into the nearby elevator. I held her hand and tried to ignore the wailing of a baby, the cries of a brokenhearted mother or sister or wife, the doctor being paged repeatedly in a monotone voice over the crackling loudspeakers.

The room was on the same floor Caleb and I had been on, and I had to force myself to step out of the elevator and accompany them. Luckily they wheeled her into the nearest room and I stood aside while they transferred her to the bed and arranged her IV stand. The second guy left while the cute one quickly checked her vitals. "You're all set then, love," he said when he was done, but he didn't leave.

I knew why. I'd jotted Leif's number on a receipt from my purse and I handed it to him with half a smile.

He reddened again. "Thanks. We'll have to keep your wifey overnight to watch for a biphasic reaction, but chances are good no one will bother you if you want to stay. Just be sneaky about it," he suggested, winking at me as he pocketed Leif's number. "You take care of this angel, now," he teased.