Page 80 of Taming Hawke

“I… I just feel a little dizzy, that’s all.”

“I’m gonna go get the doctor.” Hawke moves to leave, and that’s when a doctor comes walking into my room. He’s tall, quite thin, with black hair and kind blue eyes.

“Glad you could join us,” he says jokingly as he checks my pupils. “I’m Dr. Salvator, how do you feel, Luisa? You have been in a coma for ten days,” he explains as he sits down on the bed beside me.

My eyes widen. “Ten days?”

“That’s right. We operated on you right away. You lost a lot of blood from the gunshot, but luckily it didn’t do more damage, other than hitting an artery that is, which we were successful in fixing.”

Gunshot? I remember being shot. The memories come flooding back. A man was holding a gun to my head, when suddenly Hawke shot him… and then the man standing behind Hawke shot me, and that’s all I remember. The pain, and Hawke hovering over me before I blacked out.

“I’m… ah… feeling a little dizzy,” I admit as I touch my forehead again.

“That’s normal, Luisa. Your body has been through a lot, it will pass. What you do need is plenty of rest. Now, how is your pain on a scale from one to ten?”

I think about his question. “Seven.”

“Hmm, I’ll organise for a nurse to bring you some pain relief.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“The pleasure is all mine, I’m just glad to see you’re awake. Now, rest up, you need to get your strength back.” I nod at him as he gets up off the bed, Hawke immediately moving into the space where Dr. Salvator was only seconds ago.

“I meant what I said, Reece, she needs rest. Don’t stay too long,” the doctor says sternly.

Hawke turns to face him and growls. ”I’m staying here, just like the other ten nights. I’m not leaving her.”

Dr. Salvator looks over to me.

“It’s okay,” I assure him.

“I’ll give you some privacy then.”

Jasmine and Quill wave goodbye as well. “We’ll leave you guys alone.”

A nurse walks in with my pain relief, and I swallow it with no hesitation. She checks the machines attached to me once more before leaving again.

Once everyone has left the room, Hawke looks down at me. “Alone at last,” he says, his smile taking my breath away. He reaches and swipes his thumb across my bottom lip. “You scared the shit out of me, Lu.” I swallow hard trying to clear the lump in my throat. I could have died, never seen his face again. Tears threaten to fall, and one does escape. Hawke immediately wipes it away with his thumb. He leans in and whispers, “I love you, don’t you ever leave me again.” He kisses my lips briefly, then pulls back. “You rest. We have a lot to talk about, but right now, you need to get some sleep.”

He starts to get up from the bed, and I shoot my hand out to his. “Please, don’t leave me, stay with me,” I beg.

His eyes soften and he cups my cheek. “I won’t ever leave you.” He makes himself comfortable on the bed beside me, and rolls on his side. He tucks his arm under my head and rests his chin there. “Sleep now, babe. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Feeling his warmth, my eyes start to flutter closed.

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