Beautifully Knight (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #5)

Anesthesia and Additions

-LIA-

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...

The incessant sound of beeping seemed to keep perfect time with the non-stop rhythmic thump pounding in my skull.

It was a dull pain, but I gladly welcomed it as some distant memory of my best friend teasingly shouting "no pain, no gain" at me during my last visit to the gym she owned with her husband played through my mind and slowly, I remembered.

I remembered teasing her back that we needed to keep our energy up—we were going to have a shared grandbaby any day now. I remembered my husband whistling as he walked up behind me and asked me if I was sure about that—I didn't look anywhere close to being a grandma to him. With a laugh, I'd told him it was his fault, he was the one who'd given me the four children who'd made me a grandma and a gorgeous smile had filled his face as he'd pulled me into his arms and kissed me breathless while shamelessly grabbing my butt.

I remembered the pure happiness and excitement of being in his embrace—the butterflies that still stirred in my stomach from time to time when Jordan dolled out his affection to me in unexpected ways. But most of all, I remembered that feeling of honest, unwavering love that filled my heart and made me whisper a silent prayer that my life could stay just the way it was forever.

It hadn't been a serious prayer at the time—just a fleeting thought in the moment, but now as I felt the thump slowly transform into a pounding, I was grateful that I'd said the prayer and even more grateful that I was in pain.

For once in my life, pain was a good thing. It was a human, mortal response that let me know that I still had more of forever left.

I tried my best to flutter my heavy eyelashes open and convince my frozen body to cooperate with my brain, but that was easier said than done. My body wasn't just frozen in the sense that I felt like I couldn't move, it was also freezing. Every inch of me was icy cold and I shivered uncontrollably.

I slowly turned my heavy head to my left and felt tears prick my eyes as my gaze landed on my husband. His eyes were focused on something he held in his hands, but I could still make out the worry lines across his forehead.

It had probably only been a few hours since we'd last been together, but it felt like forever and even in the midst of my pain, I couldn't stop myself from weakly reaching for him and squeaking out his name.

"J-J-J—"

My voice was hardly above a cracked whisper, but it caught his attention nonetheless and he brought his gorgeous brown eyes up to meet mine in what felt like a half-second. That half-second was more than enough for my heart to warm again, though, despite my frigid outside and I desperately wanted to hold him.

"Welcome back, beautiful," he breathed as his eyes danced around my face as if he was double-checking that he wasn't dreaming before he gave me his hundred-watt smile and clasped his hands around mine. He placed a kiss on each of my knuckles and I melted on the inside. "Oh, poor baby, you're freezing, hold on, I've got a blanket for you right here," he stood up from his seat and grabbed it from the bottom of the bed. "The nurse said that you might have the chills for a little bit and it's completely normal, you're just recovering from the anesthesia. She said the blankets they gave you would be enough, but I didn't think so, so I got her to bring another one. I'm glad I did. Don't worry, I'll get you nice and comfy right away." he spread out the blankets and tucked me in with a tenderness that made my heart skip a beat. "I asked her if she could bring you something warm to drink too, but she said you can only have water for now. Are you thirsty?"

"A l-little," I managed as I touched my sore throat.

"Does your throat hurt? You don't have to answer me. You can just nod and shake your head," he said as he poured water into the little plastic cup before he held the straw in place and gently placed it at my lips.