Page 88 of Keeping Amanda
Obi-Wan reached over and grabbed Buck’s hand, holding on to it with an iron grip.
“She’s strong,” his friend said firmly. “She’s going to pull through. I know it.”
Buck didn’t feel embarrassed about holding Obi-Wan’s hand. He felt as if his friend was the only thing keeping him from splintering into a million pieces right now. His anchor. Just as the man had been at his side through some of the most harrowing missions of their lives, he was there now, in his absolute darkest moment. It felt right.
Obi-Wan gave him the strength to keep breathing.
When they got to the hospital, Obi-Wan didn’t park, he pulled right up to the entrance and said, “Go. I’ll be in there in a few moments to join you.”
As soon as he let go of his copilot’s hand, Buck felt adrift again. Lost.
He walked into the emergency room in a daze. Then stopped and blinked at what he saw once the automatic doors to the waiting room opened.
Pyro, Chaos, and Edge were all there. But it was Laryn who was the first to reach him, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him over to the corner the others had apparently claimed as their own in the waiting area. Soon, Buck was surrounded by the people he wanted around him most right now.
“Casper will be here soon. He’s on the phone with Tex.”
Buck nodded. But it didn’t matter anymore. Blair was found. Tex could move on to other cases. Help find other missing people. Track down info for others.
He didn’t feel as if Tex had failed him, exactly, because it was more than obvious Blair had been living on the streets. But he couldn’t help his feelings of…hurt? Frustration? Anger?…that Tex hadn’t come through when he’d needed him most.
Buck had no idea how Blair had gotten to the Norfolk area, or how she’d found him and Mandy, or followed them to the bar…but it really didn’t matter anymore.
All that mattered was that she’d done what she’d set out to do—hurt the woman he loved.
“You don’t look so good. Have you been seen? Are you hurt?” Pyro asked.
Buck could only stare at him blankly.
“Come on, let’s get you taken care of so you can be at your best when you see Mandy.”
See Mandy. Yes, that’s what he needed to do. He docilely followed Pyro toward the intake desk.
Buck had no concept of time passing. But he was aware that he was brought into a room behind the emergency doors, and a doctor looked him over. Then his arm was put into a sling so his bruised shoulder could heal, and he’d beengiven some painkillers, which he refused to take. He wanted to be coherent and awake when he was allowed to see Mandy.
But instead of being led to a room to see her, he was brought back out to the waiting area.
“Where’s Mandy?” he asked, noticing that Casper had arrived in his absence.
“They took her back to surgery,” Chaos said quietly. “She had bleeding on the brain and they need to reduce the pressure in her head.”
Buck closed his eyes and swayed hard on his feet.
“He’s going down!”
“Get him in a chair!”
“Push his head down!”
Buck felt himself being forced to sit, but everything felt like a blur. Surgery? A brain bleed? This was a nightmare he wanted to wake up from.
Then something else occurred to him.
“Rain!” he said urgently, lifting his head and trying to stand.
But Edge and Pyro, one on either side of him, pushed him back into the seat. “We’ll get him. We’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is be here for Mandy.”
Looking up, Buck stared into Casper’s eyes. His team leader was crouched in front of him, meeting his gaze head on. If anyone knew what he was feeling right now, it was Casper. He’d almost lost Laryn. He knew how desperate Buck felt.
