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Her life was one giant cluster fuck.

John knew the moment Alyssa woke. He waited for her to move to say something, but instead he felt her panic immediately. She shuffled the bed sheets around and he listened to her tears as her heartache became his pain.

Sitting up, he reached for her hand. Bringing it to his mouth, his kissed the top of it. “Sweetheart, don’t cry. It’s okay. The baby is okay.”

Alyssa paused and looked in his eyes.

“The doctor said the baby is okay. He wasn’t hurt.”

That should’ve been happy news for Alyssa, but she only cried harder. He thought that would make her happy and didn’t understand why she was even more upset. She turned over onto her right, trying to curl into a fetal position. As she did, she gasped.

“Shit, that hurts.” She sputtered.

“Your ribs are fractured.”

“Figures,” her voice cracked. “Ben nailed me in the ribs.”

John quickly stood, kicking the chair back and his jaw locked. That son of a bitch was going to die. One way or another.

“I’ll kill him,” John mumbled lowly, but Alyssa heard it.

“Johnny …” she said, reaching for him. Her face was swollen, not only from Ben’s temperament, but from crying too. “He’s not worth it.”

“He’s not going to get away with what he did.”

Alyssa responded with sad eyes. “He won’t. I promise.” Alyssa squeezed his hand, and he reciprocated. “Johnny … what are you doing here? I thought you were training.”

John crouched down and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. His knuckles grazed her jaw and he gently said, “That’s not for you to worry about. All that matters is that I’m here.”

“But I don’t want you to be kicked out. Please tell me that’s not what happened.”

The fact that she was concerned about his placement moved him. “I didn’t. I took an emergency leave.”

Alyssa released a heavy breath and nodded. “Okay. Can you call a doctor in, please? I’d like to speak to him more about the baby.”

“Of course …” John paused, weighing out his words. “Alyssa, we have a lot to talk about.” He gave a resigned sigh. “We seem to always have a lot to talk about.”

She averted her gaze. “I know,” and plopped her head back onto the pillow. She needed John in more ways than one. “Wait. Is my mom here?” she asked hopefully.

John’s lips formed a thin, flat line. “No, honey, I’m sorry. She didn’t come.”

Her shoulders sagged and she nodded to herself. Was she such a disappointment?

John was back in a few short minutes with a man who looked way too young to be a doctor. His hair was slicked back, nearly black and his eyes were the deepest darkest brown. He was of medium height wearing green scrubs under a white lab coat.

“Hello, Ms. Winters,” he said, holding a bunch of folders to his chest. “I’m glad to see you’re awake and talking. I’m Dr. Cahill.”

“Hi.”

“We did an ultrasound the moment you came in and have monitored the heartbeat the entire time. You’re very lucky the baby is thriving considering the state you arrived in,” he dropped his chin to his chest, one brow rising.

Alyssa didn’t remember being transported to the hospital. She didn’t remember much at all. Tears rimmed her eyes as she said, “Thank you,” bringing her knees up.

Dr. Cahill nodded his head. “That being said, you have quite a few fractured ribs. There are contusions on your head and around

your body. Your recovery is going to take time and there will be some discoloration during the process. Other than that, you should heal just fine. I’m putting you on bed rest until your ribs are healed.”

Walking over, he placed the folders on the rolling table next to her, leaned over and examined her face. His fingers pressed on her temples and around her eyes. Between the light and pressure he was applying, it was causing a throb in the back of her head. “Lift your gown, please,” he requested.