Corpsman and the Nerd (34 page)

“
I’m certain I’ll find out.”
Vanessa sighed.

“
He’s good. I know he
introduced himself to everyone when he arrived. I’m sure I shook
his hand, even. But you know, I had vomit down my front, that
wasn’t mine, and various other bodily fluids, and next to no
nurses, because they were run ragged.”

Vanessa stared at her with mouth open
and eyes nearly bugged. “Oh, no!”

“
Yeah, but he was really
understanding. It could have been worse.”

“
How?” Vanessa asked
suspiciously.

“
I don’t know,” KC crowed,
sort of giddy from relief at the entire affair now being
over.

“
Thanks, pal,” Vanessa mock
growled.

“
Sure. Anytime. I get to go
home and see my son and
—
”

“
And your husband, I know,
please don’t rub it in.” Vanessa sniffed and she collapsed on her
cot. Her face crumpled.

KC leapt to her side and enfolded the
woman in her arms. “Hey, I’m sorry.”

“‘
Skay, I just am really
missing my family.”

“
You will and you should.
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you this is going to be easy,
because it’s not. Being away from your loved ones is...
so hard
. But you get
through it.”

“
How?” Tears poured off
Vanessa’s face, and KC felt for her.

“
You crawl out of bed each
day and do what you’re supposed to. There will be days when you
don’t think about your loved ones as much because you’re so blasted
busy you forget your own name. Then there are times you’re driven
to your knees because you miss them so badly.”

“
You just live each
day?”

“
Yes. That’s all you can
do.”

Vanessa nodded and her tears dried. “I
brought a computer, so I can e-mail them. And I have my cell
phone.”

KC shook her head. “I have a cell
phone too, but we agreed not to use them.”

Her head rearing up, Vanessa stared at
her, aghast. Then she closed her eyes in sorrow. “The equipment,”
she moaned.

“
Yes. We were fearful to use
them. But many of us, when we could, and always do so at least in
pairs, would pile into a Humvee and go into the desert. You have to
be careful of reception too. There are plenty of places where you
won’t get any.”

“
This doesn’t sound easy.”
Vanessa sighed a weary sigh.

“
It isn’t. Being here is
about the worst possible place on earth,” KC declared emphatically.
“Depending on internet speeds, you might be able to Skype them.”
She hadn’t had time during these last two months, but with the
workload easing, Vanessa might get it working.

“
That’s a thought. This
already stinks.” Her new friend’s lips curled into a wry smile.
“I’ve only been here,” Vanessa checked her watch, “just under
fourteen hours and I’m so ready to go home.”

“
Welcome to Camp
Misery.”

“
Thanks.” Vanessa’s voice
was dry.

“
KC, your Humvee leaves in
five,” one of the nurses declared, poking her head around the
door.

“
Oh, wonderful,” KC
exclaimed and jumped to her feet to finish packing. She had little
left to do. Soon, she would be in Max’s arms, holding Ryan. Life
was good.

*****

Max opened his email and his heart
pounded.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: I’m coming
home!

My loves, Max and
Ryan,

I’M COMING HOME! I should
arrive on May 1st or 2nd at the same airport you dropped me off at.
I believe I’ll have a stopover in Virginia. (I’m not certain.) But
should wind up at home soon after.

I would prefer just the
two of you to meet me. I’ve been combating some nasty ailments and
will probably just want to go home and sleep. (There’s a good
possibility I’ll get sick, just to warn you.) Right now, dealing
with all the family would be overwhelming.

Please, I beseech you, just
the two of you until I get my land legs back.

Or, at least get out of military
and doctor mode. Let me go back into Mom, civilian, and partner
mode first, okay? Like I said, I intend to sleep, a lot, the next
few days.

I’m so excited! I’m coming
home. Finally! This has been a nightmare. While it’s been a very
enlightening experience, if I never want to see Kuwait again, I’ll
be most happy and relieved. And no, I probably won’t give up the
military, although perhaps with some sweet talk, I’ll consider
it.

(Max, your offer will have
to be better than theirs...)


What in the world did she
mean by that
? Max thought, his heart
beating faster. Because his brain certainly worked through some
really interesting possibilities. Like motherhood and wifehood?
Would that be a better offer than the military?

I need to finish packing
and then I’m ready. I’ll see you two VERY soon! (I plan to squeeze
the stuffing out of you, so be forewarned. And I might not let go
after I have hold of you.)

With all my
love,

And great
relief,

I’ll be seeing you
soon!

KC

Chapter 42

KC finally exited the plane, so tired
she had to actually think about putting one foot in front of the
other. Her body so weary, she couldn’t imagine a time she had been
this drained. Not even when Ryan was a baby.

If her estimation was right, she
hadn’t slept for close to thirty-eight hours. All that time had
been spent traveling and waiting in airports or Navy depots. And
severe jetlag encroached. Going to Kuwait hadn’t been this
hard.

Her body wouldn’t remain awake much
longer. She could probably fall asleep standing up. Didn’t horses
do that? Her silly thoughts amused her, but she was too exhausted
to laugh.

“
KC!
”

“
Mommy!
”

Those shouts lifted her spirits as
nothing else could have. She stumbled when she turned, but her lips
stretched into a grin and her heart tripped a few extra beats.
These males certainly owned that heart.

Max and Ryan cleared the distance to
her weaving form and Max’s strong arms wrapped around her middle.
Ryan’s wrapped around her legs and if she wasn’t so tired, KC would
have normally burst into tears of utter exhaustion and joy. As it
was, she didn’t have the energy, or enough liquid in her dehydrated
body to cry.

She put a hand to each of them and
heard Max’s sigh. His arms folded her closer when he tightened them
and she echoed his sigh. This was where she had wanted to be for so
long. And now she was. In Max’s arms. Holding Ryan. This was where
she belonged.

“
We’re not doing this
again,” Max murmured into her hair.

KC let out a shaky laugh. “I concur.”
She had never been so thankful for anything in her life as she was
to be in Max’s arms, with Ryan close.

“
Mommy!” Ryan bounced around
their legs, and KC thought Max received as many hugs as she, since
their son seemed pretty random in his hugging. She bent and folded
him close, squeezing him tightly. He allowed her embrace for
several heartbeats before he wriggled away.

She went back to Max’s arms, her heart
lighter and freer now that she was here. In his arms. The safest
place in the world.

KC savored the feeling of both Ryan’s
spindly, little boy arms and Max’s strong, masculine ones right
before she passed out.

“
I’d say exhaustion and
dehydration. She needs sleep, liquids, and lots of tender loving
care,” a voice said over her. KC couldn’t open her eyelids. They
were too heavy. A needle pricked her arm and she figured they were
hooking up an IV line. That’s what she would have done.

“
Why would the military
allow their doctors’ work to this state?” She identified that angry
voice as Max’s. She’d never heard him sound so livid before. What
had upset him?

“
I hear they had a couple of
viruses pass through the camps, which means everyone is strung out.
A buddy of mine is married to a nurse who was over there. She
arrived in the same condition as Dr. Gilmore, here.”

“
She collapsed too?” Max
still sounded mad.

“
Yes. The medical profession
is like this. We tend to give one hundred and ten percent and then
wonder why we burn out.” The voice was kindly, but firm. KC
couldn’t place it. Too tired to care, she sank back into her own
little restful world.

*****

“
Daddy, why did Mommy do
that?” Max, with a guilty start, glanced in the rearview mirror at
Ryan. Of course the little guy would be worried about his mother.
And as a kid... Max was having trouble dealing with an unconscious
KC and he was an adult.

“
She’s really tired, Ryan.
She hasn’t been sleeping enough. Dr. Latimore thought she’d been
awake for more than a day, plus she hasn’t slept much before that,
so she needs to sleep.”

“
Why?”

“
Because she’s been
traveling to get home to us.”

“
Oh. She’s hewe now. Why
doesn’t she wake up and play with us?”

“
Ryan, she’s not going to be
able to play for a while. Your mom needs to sleep for a few days,
okay?” Max didn’t want to sound so stern, that’s just how his
statement had come out. But he knew Ryan, so maybe sounding stern
wasn’t so bad.

“
She can’t play?” Ryan’s
voice was small.

“
No. Not right away. We’re
going to let her sleep.” Max darted a look at the passenger seat.
KC lay there in a slumber so deep she looked dead. But he told her
he would take her in whatever condition she arrived. So she
resembled the living dead, but she was home.

“
Okay,” Ryan said, sounding
disappointed.

Changing tactics, Max said, “Ryan we
need to take care of your mom.”

“
We do?” Max was grateful
for the interest he heard in Ryan’s voice.

“
Yes. It’s our job to make
sure she sleeps and eats.”

“
Okay,” Ryan agreed and
swung his legs. “How will we?”

“
We’re smart guys, we’ll
figure it out.” Max hoped, as he glanced at KC’s inert form
again.

Swinging KC out of the car and into
his arms was one of the most satisfying tasks Max had ever done.
The solid, warm feel of her, right where he wanted her. He thought
she might have lost weight, which wasn’t a surprise. He and Ryan
would feed her back to her normal weight.

He brushed his lips against her hair
and sniffed. She’d been traveling, after living in the desert, so
she didn’t smell nearly as nice as the last time, but Max didn’t
care. Too thankful for her scent and the fact she lay in his arms.
Right where she needed to be. Where she should be. Max figured he
wouldn’t let her out of them for at least the next fifty years.
After that, he might be willing to negotiate.

“
Max?” she murmured, and her
brow furrowed.

“
I’m here,” he murmured,
grateful she asked for him. Even in her semi-unconscious
state.

“
Home?” Her voice was little
more than a sigh.

“
Yeah, baby, we’re
home.”

“‘
Kay.” Her easy acceptance
of his house being home nearly brought tears to his eyes. But this
was her home. No matter the convincing he had to do. Provided he
found the guts to try.

Looking down at her sleeping face, Max
realized he couldn’t let this woman go. Couldn’t allow her to slip
out of his life. He needed her too much. And heaven help him if she
didn’t need him.

Chapter 43

KC fought her way back to
consciousness, wondering where she was. She felt cool air around
her, but she snuggled under enough covers to dissipate the cold.
Cold? Kuwait was chilly at night. Nighttime in Kuwait? But the air
smelled fresh and sweet, just like home.

With a jolt, KC realized that’s where
she was. In her bed in Max’s house. Déjà vu. She’d had a similar
experience to this after she and Ryan first moved here. But this
was so much better, because now she was here to stay.
Hopefully.

She had no desire to leave Max’s
house. Instead, she wanted to move in permanently. How to convince
him of that was the question, however. Did he want her to stay? Or
was he looking forward to revisiting his bachelor days, carefree
and kid-free?

While she couldn’t imagine Max wanting
to be liberated of Ryan, there was still the possibility. These
past eight months might have changed his mind about Ryan’s place in
his life.

She frowned at the dark, wondering
about the quiet. Then her thoughts wandered to Max’s wants, needs,
and desires. Already having established her own, now she needed to
figure out his, if at all possible.