Page 94 of Her Braun
And she held his heart and his soul in her elegant hands.
As soon as Charles was loaded on the gurney with his wound stabilized for travel, Kay felt a hand grasp hers.
Looking down, she saw Charles staring up at her.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Kay." He gasped and winced at the pain it caused him. "I never thought he'd try to hurt you. I thought it was... it could have been an innocent crush."
Kay turned her hand until she was holding his hand in hers. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Charles. No one could have known what Chuck was going to do."
The look in Charles' eyes said that he knew she was placating him. And then his smile said that he was grateful.
What for, she didn't know, and it didn't matter.
She didn't blame Charles for anything.
He was a good man who'd done everything he could to provide for his son and pick up the pieces after he'd lost his wife.
He wasn't superman.
"Sir?" Harmony touched Charles' shoulder on the other side of the gurney. "We need to go."
"I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow, Charles."
Vega, Harmony's partner looked up at her in a bit of shock. "You're going to work tomorrow, Doctor?"
"I'm still standing, Vega. I'll be there."
Kay felt Gibson put his hands on her shoulders and she stepped back against his warmth.
Charles was wheeled out of the walk-in and the room suddenly felt a little empty. Which was an odd thing to say when she stood in a room full of whole sides of cow.
Ramsey and Raffe, the EMTs from Ambulance Sixty-five moved into the doorway. Ramsey spoke. "Doctor Hata. We have the gurney here if you'd like to come outside with us."
"I can walk, Ramsey."
She didn't mind when the blond man looked up at Gibson behind her, a curious question on his face.
"I'll walk beside her, Ramsey."
Kay felt the reassurance in his words and in his tone.
Ramsey stepped back from the door. "We'll see you outside, Doctor."
As he turned to leave, she saw Raffe, the younger of the two, nod at her. The light in the room reflected on the lenses of his glasses. "Glad you're still with us, Doctor."
"I'm glad, too."
She started to walk out of the freezer and reached back.
Gibson's hand grasped hers and gave it a squeeze.
He didn't say a word, but she got his message.
I got you.
They walked out through the back door and onto the cement walkway. She could see them loading the gurney into Harmony's ambulance and she let out a breath.
Gibson tightened his hold on her hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"
