Page 31 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)

Broken but Unbowed

M onday Night - Tuesday Morning

As the skiff approached the dock, Alex pointed ahead, leaning over the side as he gazed forward. “The ambulance is there! I see the lights!”

“Alex!” Colin called from his place on the stretcher. “Sit down! I don’t want to have to call another one for you !”

Joshua leaned over him, shaking his head in soft laughter. “You just never stop, do you.”

Colin caressed his cheek, then laced his fingers with Joshua’s. “God, baby, I’m so sorry.”

“For what? For being a hero? Again ?”

A sharp pain pierced Colin’s side, leaving him momentarily breathless. He gripped Joshua’s hand and clenched his jaw, refusing to let a groan escape. “ Hero ,” he spat out finally. “I’m really starting to hate that fucking word.”

Trent eased the skiff close to the dock and shut down the engine.

The ambulance lights reflected off the water, painting streaks of red and blue across the rippling surface.

The hum of the engine vibrated through the air as the EMTs moved with practiced urgency, preparing a stretcher, their voices clipped and efficient.

Trent glanced back as they leaped onto the skiff and knelt next to Colin, with Nate one step behind them.

“Colin!” Nate cried, falling to his knees beside the stretcher, his bright blue eyes filled with tears. He bent over and pressed his forehead to Colin’s shoulder, and Colin reached out to embrace him. “I’m fine, buddy. I’m totally fine.”

“Sir, we need to move him,” one of the EMTs murmured, easing Nate to one side while his partner positioned their stretcher next to Colin. “Who did this?” he asked, indicating the splint.

“I did,” Trent told them. “I’m his physical therapist.”

“Great job, man.”

“Alex!” Colin called, then reached to touch the arm of the EMT kneeling beside him. “Hang on a second.”

Alex knelt beside him, and Colin reached to take his hand.

“You saved me, Alex. I knew you had it in you. I knew I could count on you.” Alex’s face flushed, his eyes widening.

He’d never heard words like that before, and hearing them now stung his eyes with grateful tears.

His shoulders squared, a spark of confidence igniting in his gaze as he stepped back, allowing the EMTs to take over.

The medics lifted Colin and placed the foldable stretcher on top of their own, and tightened the straps around him. Within seconds, they were loading him into the ambulance, with Joshua clambering in after him.

“Trent!” Colin yelled, then smiled as his friend stuck his head into the vehicle. “Aren’t you coming?”

“You don’t need me,” Trent told him.

“The fuck I don’t! Get in here!”

“No room. I’ll follow in my van.”

“You damn well better !” Colin warned as the door slammed shut.

Joshua situated himself in a seat near Colin’s head, his fingers trembling as they tangled in Colin’s mud-encrusted hair. His lips twitched into a smile, but his eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “You,” his voice caught, “need a shower.”

Colin scoffed out a laugh. “I need a lot more than that.” He grabbed the medic’s arm. “Listen, pal. Make sure they know: No narcotics!”

“Do you have an addiction?” the EMT asked.

“No. I’m just not an idiot.”

The medic laughed. “No worries. I’ll make sure they know.” He leaned over Colin’s head and slid oxygen tubes around his neck and into his nose.

“Why are you doing that?” Joshua asked.

“Your physical therapist told us he had a cracked rib. The O2 is just a precaution.”

“What’s next?” Colin muttered. “A plastic bubble?”

The medic snorted. “You’re pretty damned feisty for a guy with a broken ankle and cracked rib.”

Joshua breathed out a laugh. “You don’t know the half of it.” He caressed Colin’s hair, his fingers gentle as they tangled in the sandy locks.

The medic slid Colin’s arm onto a board and started an IV, then secured a pulse oximeter to his finger. He turned to Joshua and tilted his head toward the device. “Monitors his blood oxygen stats.”

It was well past 11 p.m. when they finally reached the hospital, and Colin’s emergency treatment kept them there through a long and distressing night.

His ankle was confirmed to be a clean break, mercifully avoiding the need for surgery.

Emergency room physicians injected a local anesthetic, set the bone, and encased it in a sturdy cast, leaving Colin scowling but accepting the temporary immobilization.

His cracked rib, while painful, required no special intervention beyond a list of breathing exercises meant to keep his lungs clear.

Trent stayed long enough at the hospital to confer with Colin’s doctor about the physical therapy he would require after returning home. Then, he headed back to Camp Pride to update everyone there on Colin’s condition.

The following morning, Colin and Joshua met with his doctor to discuss his aftercare.

“That’s all my cracked rib needs? Just … breathing exercises?”

“Colin, it’s a cracked rib, not a broken leg. The best medicine is pain management and those exercises.”

Colin grumbled, wincing as he crossed his arms over his chest. Joshua placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do the exercises, like it or not.”

Colin shot him a rebellious look, but Joshua’s eyes were steely. “Yeah, OK,” he muttered. “Whatever you say, Doctor Bossy Boots!”

Joshua’s lips pressed into a firm, tight line. “Goddamn right!”

But the real battle began when the doctor—armed with medical authority and Joshua’s unwavering support—tried to convince Colin to employ some common-sense aftercare by taking narcotics for his pain.

His resistance was as unyielding as the cast on his ankle, and it was clear that it would take more than medical advice to break through his stubborn opposition.

The doctor folded his arms, his eyes fixed on his patient. “Look, I get it. You’re a tough guy. But by refusing pain meds, you’re only going to make things harder on yourself. And on everyone around you.”

Colin’s jaw tightened, his eyes hard. “I don’t need narcotics,” he snapped, defiant.

Joshua stepped closer, eyes blazing. “This isn’t about toughness—it’s about rest and healing. I took them when Lukas Page put me in the hospital. Was I weak?”

Colin sighed deeply, shoulders slumping. “You just had to play the ‘Lukas Page’ card.”

Joshua gave a small shrug. “I’ll play whatever card will work!”

The doctor stepped forward, his voice low but insistent. “I prescribed a low dose. Just enough to help you sleep and take the edge off the pain.” He handed a small bag to Joshua. “I gave you enough for the next week or so. You can see your own physician when you need more.”

Colin’s shoulders slumped, his eyes flicking to Joshua’s. “All right. Just for a few days until I can get back on my feet.” He gave a comical grimace. “ Foot !”

Joshua blew out a relieved breath. “That’s all I’m asking.” He leaned in, his lips close to Colin’s ear. “Hey …” he whispered, “ I need you, too .”

His words hung in the air, raw and vulnerable, and Colin’s chest tightened. He turned his face until their lips met. “I’ll be there for you, mo chroí .”

A half-hour later, Trent arrived to drive them back to camp. He entered the emergency room where Colin and Joshua were waiting, pushing a knee scooter. “Brought your ride,” he crowed, indicating the device with an elaborate flourish.

For the briefest of seconds, Colin stiffened, a rush of defiant pride coursing through his veins. Then he looked at his friend, whose face was creased with a knowing grin.

“Don’t even think it,” Trent warned, shoving the device closer to where Colin stood.

Colin nodded in surrender and lifted his knee to the scooter’s pad.

“It even has a basket to carry things in,” Trent told him with a grin. He laid a hand on Colin’s shoulder, and the two men exchanged a glance. “Suck it up and cope,” Trent growled out. “We need you mobile, and this will do it.” He turned to Joshua. “Is his doctor around? I want a quick word.”

“He was just at the desk,” Joshua said, then hugged Trent with one arm. “Thanks, buddy.”

Trent nodded. “Van’s out front. I’ll be right there.” He patted Joshua’s back and strode to the nurse’s station.

When Trent returned to his van, Colin was already stretched across the back seat with Joshua up front. “I talked to your doctor. Your physical therapy routine is all set,” Trent said, grinning as he peered over the seat at his patient. “You lucky thing.”

“Well, I figured that much,” Colin muttered, then winced and adjusted his position.

Trent shot him a glance. “Much pain?”

“Well, not at the moment. Joshua and that doctor bullied me into taking a narcotic, so the pain isn’t too horrible.”

“Good for them! You need it, for a few days anyway.”

“Grrr.” The sound rumbled from Colin’s throat, earning a soft laugh from Joshua.

“Just so you know,” Trent said. “The kids are preparing a welcome home ceremony for you … so be prepared.”

“We need to get them out on the baseball diamond. We’ve got a game in three days.”

“With Nate in charge of welcoming you back, you’re lucky the United States Marine Corps Band isn’t showing up.”

Joshua chuckled while Colin rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Don’t pick on him, Colin,” Trent advised. “He was really upset when you were hurt.”

“I won’t.”

“And my bridegroom is in a white-hot panic that you won’t be able to officiate on Saturday.”

“Nothing on earth will keep me from officiating at that wedding. Even if I’m forced to do it from that knee scooter …”

Joshua shot him a glance that had ‘warning’ written all over it.

Colin snickered and patted his arm. “Relax, generalissimo. I’ll use the scooter.”