Page 4 of Under Fire

“The orderly will be here soon to take her to her room.”

When Dr. Anderson left, Matt entered the exam room. Delilah reclined against a pillow, her eyes closed and skin pale. He stopped at her side and wrapped his hand around hers.

She stirred and opened her eyes. “Hi.”

“How do you feel?”

“Not that great,” Delilah admitted. “The headache is pretty bad.”

Matt released her and crossed the room to turn off the lights. “Better?”

“Much. Thanks.”

He returned to her side and was surprised when she clasped his hand. “Are you nauseated?”

“How did you know?”

“Common side effect of a concussion along with light sensitivity. Depending on how bad the concussion is, you could be plagued by headaches for a while.”

She winced. “Great. When can I get out of here?”

“Tomorrow morning. Dr. Anderson wants to make sure you don’t have any problems overnight.”

A light tap on the door had Matt swinging around, his hand resting on the grip of his Sig. He relaxed when his team leader, Trent, walked in.

“I hear you’re going to be a hospital guest.” Trent stopped at the end of the bed and patted Delilah’s foot. “Grace is working tonight. She’ll check on you during her breaks.”

“Gives me something to look forward to.” Delilah gave Bravo’s leader a wan smile.

A brisk knock on the door and the orderly pushed a wheelchair into the room. “Super express transport to the sixth floor,” the man said, a smile spreading on his face. “How you doing, Ms. Frost?”

“I’m okay, Carlos, considering. My injuries could have been a lot worse than a bump on the head. How is your wife?”

“Benita is great. She’s planning to stop by Wicks later in the week. Our Marisol is turning sixteen in a couple weeks. Benita wants special candles for the cake and tables.”

“If I don’t have what Benita wants, I’ll make the candles for her.”

Carlos beamed at her, his smile broad.

While the orderly locked the chair’s wheels, Matt helped Delilah sit up and shift to the edge of the bed. She groaned, hand pressed to her stomach.

Matt grabbed a plastic tub from the counter nearby. “Stay with her,” he told Trent. He went to the nurse’s station. “I need an ice pack for Ms. Frost.” A moment later, he returned to the exam room and placed the ice pack against the nape of her neck.

Delilah drew a shaky breath. “Thanks.”

“You’ll be more comfortable in your room. Hold the ice pack, Trent.” Matt lifted Delilah from the bed and placed her in the wheelchair, then took over holding the ice pack in place. “I’ll get you a second ice pack when you’re settled.”

“We need to go, Carlos.” Delilah’s voice was shaky as she clutched the plastic bin with a white-knuckled grip.

The orderly got them moving. “If you need to stop, let me know.”

Matt kept a close eye on Delilah. The trip to her assigned room left her paler than ever. Her face was beaded with sweat by the time he scooped her up and laid her in the bed with the covers draped over her. “Trent, go to the nurse’s station and ask for an ice pack and ginger ale. No substitutes on the soft drink. If they don’t have it, find a vending machine.”

While Trent was gone, Matt found a washcloth, doused it in cold water, and pressed the cloth to Delilah’s forehead. His teammate returned a few minutes later and handed over the cold pack and soft drink and straw.

“Turn off the overhead light.” He popped the tab on the ginger ale and dropped the straw in the opening. “Sip this,” he told Delilah. “The ginger will help settle your stomach.” If the soft drink and the ice packs didn’t help, Matt had a few more tricks he used to help his teammates when they were nauseated, including a patch for nausea if he couldn’t convince the nursing staff to provide one.

“Thanks.” Delilah settled back against the pillow.

---