Page 41 of A Touch of Murder (Touched #1)

"He's going to be fine. He was in a lot of pain when they brought him in, and we've given him something for it.

He's not handling it as well as some. By that, I mean he's a little loopy, but his vital signs are good and other than a small bump on his head and skinned knees from when he fell, he is fine.

" Dr. Lang smiled. "I can let you back to see him, if you like. "

"Yes, please." Becky's grip on Adam's arm tightened.

"Just remember, the pain medication has him a bit confused, but it's the medication causing that, not the injury," the doctor explained.

Becky laughed. "Barret has never handled that stuff well. When he got his wisdom teeth out, he was so funny. You know, like you see in some of those videos." Becky waved her hand. "I want to see him."

"Follow me." The doctor led them through a door and back into the emergency rooms. They passed several doors before turning in to one of them.

Adam's chest tightened at the sight of Barret lying in the hospital bed.

He had something connected to a finger on his left hand, and a blood pressure cuff on his upper arm.

There was an I.V. in the back of his hand.

Barret was pale and appeared to be asleep.

His right arm was bandaged, and Adam saw blood splattered across the skin of his lower arm.

"You can stay with him until they decide if they will operate soon or wait. It will be up to the surgeon. Let the nurses know if you need anything while you wait." The doctor slipped from the room.

"He's so pale," Becky whispered.

"It's the hospital lighting. It always makes people look that way." Adam moved closer to the bed with Becky. He tried to judge how badly Barret was hurt but couldn't tell because of the bandages.

"God, I was so scared." Becky started to cry again.

Adam wanted to know what happened. He needed to know.

Now that he knew Barret would be okay, he wanted to know exactly what was wrong.

What had happened out there behind Chubby's?

Why had Barret been hit? He glanced at Becky, then back at Barret, debating about what he wanted to do and if he should.

Without a word, he slowly pulled off one of his gloves.

"Adam, what are you…" Becky's voice trailed off as she watched Adam gently lay his hand on Barret's bared lower arm.

He barely touched him, scared of causing him pain, but Adam didn't need a strong touch.

Even a gentle one would hopefully tell him what he needed to know.

He closed his eyes and let the visions come.

The fact he was touching the part of Barret that had recently been injured had Adam hoping he wouldn't have to weed through a ton of old memories and would get the most recent.

He didn't speak out loud, not wanting to let Becky know if things were bad.

He saw red paint and a black truck. A pregnant woman at a desk.

None of this made sense. He let the images keep playing through his mind.

The one time he wanted a certain memory, and he couldn't get it.

Finally, he saw Chubby's, a dumpster, a bullet hitting the ground, and then a bullet hitting Barret's elbow.

Adam nearly jerked his own arm away and the vibrational force of the hit as if it was hitting his own elbow, but he managed to stay where he was.

Barret was fine. A little bit of blood, but not bleeding badly.

More bullets, Barret reaching for his gun with his injured arm.

More pain, then he saw Barret stand, wobble a bit, fall to his knees, then forward, slamming his injured elbow into the pavement.

More pain, then darkness. The next vision was of Barret in the ambulance, pain etched on his face, anger in his eyes.

Then the hospital, an I.V. being put in, then darkness.

Adam let out a heavy breath as he moved his finger from Barret's arm.

"What? What did you see?" Becky asked.

"Hey, Sister." Barret's eyes were open. "Adam too? Must be worse than I thought." Barret laughed.

"What happened?" Becky was at her brother's side, grabbing his good arm in a tight grasp.

"I did it to myself. I made it worse. Was fine until I…" Barret laughed again. "Ask him. You saw, didn't you?" Barret looked at Adam.

"I saw. You fool. Thank God it wasn't worse." Adam shook his head.

"What did you see?" Becky asked Adam. "Don't censor it for me either. I want the truth."

Adam smiled. "He was shot in the elbow, which caused a lot of pain, but it was barely bleeding.

It wasn't until he tried to use his right arm that he caused more damage and more pain, then he must have gotten dizzy because he reached out to brace his hand on the dumpster he was hiding behind with his right hand again.

He did even more damage and passed out from the pain, falling to hit his elbow on the ground. "

"He's really going to be okay?" Becky asked.

"I'm fine. Just messed up my elbow. They said it shattered. Guess that was why it hurt like a mo-fo." Barret sighed. "Now got to have surgery."

Adam slid his glove back on, then brushed a stand of hair back from Barret's forehead. Barret was definitely more messed up from the pain killers than the injury itself, though that was bad enough. "You said you wanted some time off," Adam teased.

"Not when I can't do anything. Why did it have to be my right arm?" Barret closed his eyes and seemed to drift back off.

"He's going to be fine, Beck. It's just his elbow.

I'm betting it's messed up pretty badly, but it's nothing life threatening.

" Adam handed her a box of tissues from the bedside table.

"He was fine through the whole shooting.

It wasn't until after that he passed out, and I think he brought that on himself by trying to use his arm. "

Becky wiped her eyes. "Thank God. I can't lose him. He's all I have." She rested her head on Barret's shoulder. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

Barret slept through everything she said.

"Hey, you guys beat me here." Vance walked into the room. "He okay?'

"Drugged up, but fine," Adam told him. "What happened?"

Vance walked over and sat down, looking exhausted.

He told them a bit about what had gone down at Chubby's, but Adam was sure he was holding some of it back.

He wasn't sure if that was because it was part of a case or to protect Becky.

Either way, Adam had seen all he'd needed to. The men who killed Trina were dead.

A knock on the door had them all looking up. "I'm Doctor Walters. I'm the orthopedic surgeon on call." He was an older man in his fifties or sixties with a full head of gray hair. "Are you family?"

"I'm his sister, Becky," Becky told him. "This is his boyfriend, Adam, and his partner, Officer Lou Vance." Becky pointed at each of them as she gave their name.

To his credit, Vance didn't react to Adam being called Barret's boyfriend. He wondered how long it would take to have that information get around town.

"I've had a chance to look at the x-ray, and I've ordered a few more scans, but I'm confident the elbow is shattered." The doctor walked over to Barret's side. "Mr. Whitestone, are you awake?"

Barret's eyes opened and he grinned. "Hey, Doc."

"I hear you're enjoying the pain medication." The doctor grinned.

"It works. Doesn't hurt anymore." Barret tried to move his arm, but the doctor held it in place and shook his head.

"Let's not move it and cause any more damage. I was just telling your friends—" Doctor Walter's started.

"Oh. Hey, Vance." Barret grinned at his partner.

"Let the doctor talk, Barret." Becky glared at him. "I want to know what the plan is."

"They're gonna fix my elbow." Barret smiled. "Right, Doc?"

"Right, and I will know more once I get a good look at it.

I'm hoping the joint wasn't damaged badly enough to need a full replacement, but it's possible.

Once I get the other scans back, I'll know more.

The surgery will take around two to three hours, and we can get it done today.

If everything goes well, he could go home as soon as tomorrow, but he will be out of work for at least six weeks.

" Doctor Walters spoke to Becky since Barret's eyes were drifting shut off and on.

"Six weeks?" Barret shook his head. "Too much time sitting around."

"We'll find stuff to keep you busy so you don't get bored." Adam rested his gloved hand on Barret's blanket covered foot.

They talked to the doctor a bit longer. When he left, Vance moved to stand beside Barret. "You scared me, partner."

"Yeah, scared me too. My fault. Should have pulled my arm back faster." Barret grinned.

"Don't ever do that again. I thought he'd shot you again when you went down." Vance closed his eyes.

"Hey, it was my fault. I caused it. Reached out with my injured arm. Pain was too much." Barret lifted his left hand to his lip. "Am I drooling?"

"No." Becky laughed. "But you are messed up. No more pain meds for you. You can suffer through it."

"Hey." Barret's eyes went wide.

Adam laughed, relieved that everything was going to be okay. He wanted to hug Barret and let him know he was glad he was alive. They had a lot to experience together, and Adam was looking forward to all of it.

He sat back and let the others talk as he watched a very intoxicated Barret try to keep up with the conversation.

The good news was that Trina's killers were dead, and now Barret could take the time to heal.

He'd be by Barret's side through it all, no matter how long it took, because Barret did one thing for Adam that no one else ever had, he let him see everything, and that meant everything to Adam.