Page 36 of Born To Be My Baby

The nurse chuckled and shook her head. "I'm sorry. All this policy and procedure, but we have to do it."

The nurse slowly went over all of her discharge information. She could take pain relievers if her headaches came back. She should try and get a lot of rest, drink a lot of fluids, get some food in her stomach as she could tolerate, and certainly call the hospital if she had any digression.

Gloria signed everything she needed to sign, and to be honest, looking at the paperwork, the words started looking blurry. She refused to say anything, though. She just wanted to get out of there. She wanted a shower. She felt gross. And she wanted to change her clothes. Not that the gift shop sweatsuit wasn't nice, and it was sweet of Sean to buy it for her, but it wasn't her usual attire.

And then again, what was her usual attire?

Typically, she would be in leggings and a long sweater or blouse, something comfortable, as she studied the scripts for the next week, looked up stars to interview, who was doing what in the country scene, who did she need to be focusing on for the next interview?

Those were things she did. While she didn't like to do a lot of investigating before she conducted an interview, she did want to know who was the latest and greatest in the country scene so that she could interview them.

Finally, the nurse declared her ready to go, but she had to ride down in a wheelchair. Hospital policy.

Sean held out his hands for her to steady herself as she slid slowly off the bed. She tried not holding her breath, and if she were honest, the pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier today. Moving around did that, though.

She settled herself in the wheelchair. Sean handed her the bag of her bloody clothing from yesterday. And he wheeled her down the hallway and to the parking lot.

Her brows furrowed. "How are we getting to your house?"

"Tony's here to pick us up. Our band manager. Mina's car is at my house. As soon as we're healed enough to go shopping, I'll need to buy another car."

He stopped her wheelchair and stepped on the brakes. He pulled out his phone and texted someone. She assumed Tony.

He nodded, "He's here."

Sean undid the brakes and pushed her to the sidewalk under the awning at the hospital's front entrance. There were valets running back and forth, bringing vehicles in, and driving them away. One of them stopped near them. "Have you been helped?"

Sean nodded. "Just waiting for a friend."

The valet nodded and grinned. "You're Sammy Fender, aren't you?"

Sean smiled, and she watched the joy on his face. He reached out and shook the valet's hand. "Yes. It's nice to meet you."

The valet smiled from ear to ear. "Oh man, it's so awesome to meet you. I've seen you in concert several times."

"Thank you for coming and supporting us."

The valet looked at her for a moment. She didn't offer an introduction because she wasn't sure how to introduce herself. Then she heard Sean’s voice. He called her his girlfriend. "My girlfriend and my daughter."

She watched his face as the valet asked if he'd sign an envelope. "It's all I have. Sorry."

Sean smiled and shook his head. "It's alright." He breezily signed his name, and she smiled. They used to joke about that back in the day. "Someday people will run up to you and ask for your autograph," She'd said.

He grinned. "I guess then I'll feel like I've made it."

The valet walked away, tucking the envelope into his back pocket, and Sean looked down into her eyes. She smiled, "You've made it."

His smile was beautiful, despite the bruises on his face. An SUV pulled up and Sean locked the wheels of her chair. "Your chariot, madam."

He held his arm out firmly for her to stand. Tony ran around the back of the SUV and stopped in front of them. "Oh man." He glanced between them. "I'm sorry, you two."

Sean leaned forward slightly, and she held on tightly to his arm. He wrapped an arm around Tony, who then turned to her. Sean nodded to her. "Tony, this is Violet Slyk." She was surprised to hear her entertainment name, but remembered they were in public.

Tony held his hand out to her. "It's nice to meet you, Violet. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances."

"Thank you, Tony. It's nice to meet you too."

Tony turned and opened the back door, and Gloria hesitated. How was she going to step up into the vehicle? Sean must have sensed it too and whispered. "Let me help you."

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