“Yes. It’s been on the news for several hours. Someone she knows was bound to call her, so I had no choice. They were out of town, so they’re flying in. They’re arriving on the red-eye tonight and coming straight here. Now buck up, boy. That bandage is likely going to shave several minutes off the lecture. You might throw in a moan now and again while your mother is looking at it,” Harrison suggested, willing himself not to fixate on what might have happened. Mr. October had two broken legs. He really couldn’t complain that his grandson had only gotten side-swiped with a few boards when the burning floor gave out.
They both watched the nurse smile sweetly again at Walter before scurrying away.
“I was supposed to go to a party at Jim and Lauren’s tonight. When the call came from the station, I didn’t have time to let anyone know I had an emergency. Have you seen my phone? They took it from me in the ER.”
“No. But if you’re okay now, I’ll roll down there and try to find it. When they move you from room to room, everything gets lost. Last time I was in here, I ended up going home without underwear,” Harrison said in sympathy, patting Walter’s wrist. They had put in an IV just in case the concussion had turned out to be worse than it first seemed. It made him ill to look at it. Losing the boy was unthinkable.
“Thanks,” Walter said, closing his eyes, trying not to relive the crashing building for the hundredth time. It was always like that. You thought about the firefights you lost for days. He had a habit of replaying them until he was involved in one that turned out differently.
“Need anything else?” Harrison asked.
“Does Jane know?” Walter asked, his sigh filling the room. He dreaded Jane’s reaction too, but he dreaded her non-reaction more. Based on their last conversation, he had no idea how much concern for him she would allow herself to feel. It was the biggest worry he had about being in here.
“She probably knows by now. I sent word via Lydia,” Harrison replied.
Walter nodded, lifting his hand to his bandaged head. “Thanks. Tomorrow she was going to start helping with renovations at North Winds. Now I guess that’s all going to have to wait a couple days. I hope she’s not going to be too disappointed.”
“Walter. . .” Harrison paused in his lecture, wondering if he should warn his grandson that the last thing Jane was going to be worried about was work. In the end, he decided it was best to let the boy learn the hard way. The lesson would probably be more valuable.
“I’ll make sure they let Jane in when she gets here. They’re being persnickety about who they’re letting in because of the all the press about this.”
“Thanks, Harrison. I’m going to nap for a bit. They’re not going to let me sleep much tonight.”
Harrison nodded as he rolled the wheelchair out the door.
***
“Patient’s name,” the woman at the ER information desk asked.
“Walter Graham. He was one of the three injured firemen brought in earlier,” Jane said, trying to keep her bottom lip from quivering. “If you could just let me see him for a couple of minutes?”
“His information is still being protected. Orders are that only close relatives are being allowed to visit at the moment. Are you his mother?” the woman asked.
Jane bit her lip until it bled. “No. . . I mean. . .Yes. Yes, I’m his mother,” she said at last, the lie seeming to roll out on its own.
“Looks like he’s been moved from the ER to the fourth floor. He has a head injury and is being observed. Notes say he’s conscious and doing well, so I think everything is going to be just fine, Mrs. Graham.”
Jane nodded at the news. She felt herself weaving where she stood. “He’s okay then?”
“Well, head injuries have to be monitored, but yes. His records indicate he’s doing okay. If you follow the blue stripe down the floor to the elevators, you can ask the fourth floor nurse for his room number when you get there. Just tell them who you are. They’ll let you right in.”
Jane nodded again, thanked the woman, and then backed away.
He was okay. Walter was okay. A concussion wasn’t good, but he wasn’t dead.
She lifted her head and saw Harrison in his wheelchair. Her mouth opened to call him over, but nothing could get past the lump in her throat.
“Jane, I think you need to sit down a minute,” Harrison ordered, hitting the power button to get his chair over to Jane as fast as he could. “You look like you’re going to fall down. Walter was hard-headed enough to survive being hit. I’m not real sure about you.”
Jane closed her eyes, opened them again. “I don’t even remember driving here. I remember Lydia saying Walter had gotten hurt fighting a fire. . . ” Her voice trailed off, then her foggy mind prompted her to ask the important question. “
Is Walter really okay?
”
Harrison nodded. “Yes. Slight concussion. He’s more worried about not getting to work with you tomorrow than he is about being hurt. He caused quite a stir going to check on the others before he let the hospital treat him. One of the firefighters has two broken legs. Walter carried him out. All those muscles. . .he keeps them that way for a purpose, you know.”
Jane swallowed and stepped closer, bending to whisper in Harrison’s ear. “I told them I was his mother. It was the only way they would talk to me about him. Do you think I can talk my way into his room?”
“I think you could talk your way into his bed by just saying yes, darlin’. The boy is smitten with you. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” Harrison demanded in a similar whisper. When she straightened and stared at him in surprise, Harrison wheeled around, motioning for Jane to follow him as he headed to the elevators.
“I guess when his real mother gets here, that might be a problem for her. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she said.
“You still aren’t. Walter doesn’t think of you as his mother,” Harrison said firmly. “Short-sighted people are what they are, Jane. You don’t have to buy into their nonsense.”
Jane sighed. “It doesn’t matter what they think anyway. I don’t care. I’m not here to. . .I just wanted to make sure he’s okay, Harrison. I needed to see for myself that he was.”
“Right,” Harrison said, nodding vigorously as the doors closed. “Walter’s going to be happy to see you too.”
***
There was a crowd of giggling nurses huddled just outside the door of Walter’s room. They were peeking around corners and pointing inside. Jane watched Harrison power his wheelchair through the middle of them, forcing the women to step back and let him roll by. Unsure of what else to do, Jane followed closely behind him, until one of the women touched her arm.
“Are you his mother?” she asked.
Jane swallowed hard against having to lie again. “I’m. . .I’m. . .”
“
Jane, get in here. Walter heard your voice and is trying to get out of the damn bed
.”
She turned in the direction of Harrison’s yelling, only to be stopped by the same hand again.
“Can you tell me if he’s dating anyone?” the woman pleaded softly. “He’s so nice. . .and so good-looking. He carried his friend out when he got hurt. There aren’t many guys like him.”
“No. No there sure aren’t,” Jane said, stepping out of arm’s reach. “How are the other firemen doing?”
“Just fine, ma’am. Even the one with the broken legs. His wife is with him now,” the nurse said.
Nodding her gratitude for the information, Jane walked into the room then. Walter was sliding to the edge of the bed in his backless gown, the hand without the IV pressed to his head.
“
No. Stay in bed
,” she ordered, rushing over and around Harrison’s chair to get to Walter.
“Jane,” Walter said, pulling his oxygen mask off as he pulled her into his arms. Feeling her tremble against him told him what he wanted to know most. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was hoping you would come see me.”
She pressed her face into Walter’s wide shoulder, rubbing her eyes on his gown in hopes he wouldn’t see her trickling tears. “That’s because you use your size to get your way with everyone else. I’m a lot smarter than that. Now back in bed, Mr. Hero.”
“Hey,” Walter said. He lifted her face with his hand and saw her distress full on. “Look at me—I’m okay. I swear. There have been plenty of times way worse than this.”
“Honesty is not what a woman needs to hear when she’s crying over you,” Harrison said through clenched teeth.
Walter turned his head to glare at his smart-ass family member, but had to grab it as the room spun. “Damn it, Harrison. You’re worse for my headache than the concussion.”
Jane swallowed at the pain in Walter’s eyes. It made her want to cry again, and it made her ill. She patted Walter’s shoulder with one palm while pushing him back into bed with the other. “Forget about Harrison. Lie back down now. If you want to glare full on at him, I’ll push his chair to the bottom of the bed and lock the brakes so he can’t get away.”
Walter reluctantly let Jane tuck him in, but reached out a hand when she would have moved away. He tugged her to the bed, forcing her to lean on it and stay close to him.
“Clinton went through the floor first. Eric and I landed on the boards that fell on him. Usually we get out before that shit happens. This wasn’t one of those times.”
“Okay,” Jane said. “I hear what you’re saying. What happened to you was an accident.”
“Yes it was. But the important thing is that I thought of you,” Walter said. “My head hurt like hell, but I picked Clinton up to make sure we both got back out. He’s got a wife, Jane. But I came out for you. In those moments where you have to decide to keep on fighting, having someone to come out for pushes you through the smoke.”
“I told them I was your mother so they would let me see you,” Jane said tightly, blinking rapidly as the tears streamed again. “Don’t you get that our differences are noticeable? Don’t you get that liking me too much is not normal?”
“I don’t care what lies you tell others about us, just don’t keep telling that one to yourself,” Walter insisted. “Now kiss me. It will make us both feel much better.”
Jane shook her head no, but let Walter pull her even closer anyway. When his lips touched hers gently, the emotions she had been holding back broke through. Throwing her arms around his neck, she slid up onto the edge of the bed and hid her face in his shoulder. And then she wept because Walter was so full of life. He was young and perfect and. . . it just wouldn’t have been fair if he had died before really living.
Eventually, she felt one of Walter’s large hands in her hair and heard his deep voice shushing her in her ear. His heart beat hard against her breasts and that simple fact was more important to her than she wanted to admit to anyone. Her caring for the man in her arms had no place to go, but smelling the smoke on him was also a reality check. So was the fact that if Walter had died, part of her would have died too.
Jane pulled away, sniffed, and took the handful of tissue Harrison brought to the bed. “This is a wad of toilet paper, isn’t it?” she asked, mopping her wet eyes and blowing her nose after. It turned the teary tissue wad into even more of a soggy mess.
“Yep. Best tp in Falls Church. I know that because it costs twelve dollars a roll. They put it on your bill with every stay,” Harrison said.
Jane snickered and then laughed. It hurt to laugh because she hurt all over. “You made that up, Harrison. This hospital does not charge patients for toilet paper.”
“It’s hidden in the bed pan charge, which makes sense if you think about it,” Harrison said, rolling back to the bathroom for more.
Jane groaned and straightened away from Walter. “Sorry for the meltdown. I don’t know why. . .” But Walter’s stroking finger against her lips stopped the rest.
“Shush. We both know why,” he said.
Before Jane could offer a more stern denial, another nurse walked into the room.
“Mrs. Graham? I hope you don’t mind, but we need to check your son’s head bandage. His forehead wound required a few stitches and we don’t want him to get an infection.”
Walter looked at Jane’s startled expression, and then at the nurse. She didn’t look
that
damn old. Time for the bullshit to end, he decided. “There seems to be some misunderstanding. This is not my mother. This is my girlfriend. My mother is arriving later tonight.”
Jane sighed as the younger woman’s eyes widened in shock. The woman’s hasty apology did not make her feel one iota better. When the woman had finished her task and rushed away—no doubt to spread the word—Jane swung an exasperated glare Walter’s way. “Why did you do that? Having every female in Falls Church vying for your attention wasn’t enough boost for your ego? There was no harm in letting her believe I was your mother.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It was only a matter of time before the nurse saw what was happening under my gown while I was holding you. I’d rather her know the truth about who was causing my condition. It sure as hell wasn’t her or any of the others who keep peeking in here,” Walter declared, lifting a hand in the direction of the door.
Jane crossed her arms, her hands curling into fists to keep from reaching for Walter again as she slid from the bed. “This is what the limelight feels like, Walter. I thought you’d be better able to handle it with the notorious family you have.”
“Hey now,” Harrison interrupted, “there may be a few monkeys in our tree, but none of us are swingers.”
“What in the world is that supposed to mean?” Jane demanded.
But instead of remaining stern, she ended up fighting not to laugh. Harrison pried open one of her closed fists to shove what had to be a half roll’s worth of toilet paper into her palm.
“It means Walter has a concussion and you two should save this fight for later,” Harrison said calmly.
Her arms uncrossed immediately as she shifted her attention back to a now grinning Walter. “And just why are you smiling?”
Walter held out a hand, his smile growing when she took it. “Give me a couple days to get back to normal, then we can argue all you want. Right now I just want to hold you, so we both know I’m still alive.”
“Damn it, Walter—don’t remind me,” Jane said.
“Listen to that. She swears when she’s stressed,” Harrison said sadly, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in mock shame. “Maybe you should keep on looking, Walter. Jane’s not as perfect as I thought.”