Page 8 of Brax (Voodoo Guardians #36)

“Alright, young lady,” smiled Gabi. “You are officially discharged to return to your cottage, but I have a few rules.”

“Our cottage,” smiled Brax. Gabi laughed at him, nodding her head.

“Right, sorry. Your cottage, together. No sudden movements, no jostling, no alcohol, no physical activity of any kind right now. Including sex.”

“It’s okay, Gabi. That can wait,” smiled Brax.

“Says you,” smirked Stephanie. They both chuckled, and Brax kissed her sweetly.

“If you get any headaches, sudden neck or back pain, call us immediately. Bleeding from anywhere, blood in your urine or stool, we need to know about it.”

“I get it,” nodded Stephanie. “Basically, sit still until told otherwise.”

“Exactly. You can take short walks either early in the morning or later in the evening when it’s cooler, but preferably with a partner, just in case.”

“I can do that,” she smiled. “I’m just ready to get out of here. Not that I haven’t appreciated all of your amazing care and, of course, the delightfully handsome nursing staff, but I’m ready. Should I visit the pond?”

“You definitely can,” said Gabi. “You don’t have any glaring injuries that it will heal, but it could help with the dizziness.”

“Wait, can we return to the delightfully handsome nursing staff?” frowned Braxton.

“Oh, come on,” giggled Stephanie. “You’re telling me that you’ve never noticed that Doc, Wilson, and Cruz look like the new Vegas show of naughty nurses?”

“Alright,” he said, tossing up his hands. “I do not want to hear about anyone thinking of those three as ‘naughty nurses,’ let alone handsome. I get it. They’re all nice-looking men. But they’re all old enough to be your grandfather.”

“Relax,” smiled Stephanie. “I didn’t say I wanted to date them. Just look at them.”

“I agree,” smiled Gabi. “We all joke about it around here, but we have the best-looking nursing staff, male and female, of any hospital I’ve ever been a part of.”

“See,” smiled Stephanie. “Even the doctor agrees.”

“Agrees with what?” asked Doc.

“They’re talking about you, Wilson, and Cruz being the best-looking male nursing staff around,” frowned Brax. Doc smirked, nodding his head.

“Well, while we all appreciate the compliments, we sincerely hope that you appreciated the great care, not the great-looking care.”

“Obviously,” smiled Stephanie. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“You didn’t embarrass me, honey. We’ve been dealing with women for a long, long time, and we can all tell stories of the very handsy experiences with female patients. In fairness, so can Riley, Gabi, Kennedy, Ajei, Lena, and Kelsey. Hell, even Virginia, Lucinda, and Khloe. I thought Irish was gonna lose his shit the other day when a concussion patient tried to kiss her.”

“Oh, nooo,” said Brax with emphasis.

“Oh, yes. We had to call security for help with him. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he was an oilfield worker. Big, strong, and, unfortunately for her, covered in oil. It’s a hazard of the job. Usually, the patients listen when we say stop, and thanks to our big, handsome, strong husbands and male nursing staff, we’ve learned a few moves that put them in their places.”

“This is why I love this place and don’t ever want to leave,” said Stephanie.

“Good. Then don’t ever leave again. I don’t like seeing you hurt or sick,” said Brax, kissing her temple. She frowned, sitting up straighter, and looked at Gabi.

“What’s wrong, honey?” she asked.

“Gabi, what if this person is sick and needs me? What if they’re connected to my donor original and needs something that only I can provide?”

“If she is, she should have asked for help nicely, not tried to kill you,” said Brax.

“I guess you’re right. I’m just thinking that we really don’t know all the details of what they did to us. Once I’m feeling better, I think I want to ask Regan about all those files he absorbed. I know it was twenty years ago or more, but there could be something in there that’s connected to the school in Maine.”

“Let’s not worry about that right now,” said Brax, helping her to get off the table. “All I want to do is get you home.”

“Then let’s go,” smiled Stephanie. “But if you don’t mind, can we go to the cottage I was using? I really liked being near the water.”

“We can do that, honey. I’ll get you settled and start moving my things over. With the help of my brother and a few others, we should be good.”

Brax wasn’t surprised that Stephanie fell asleep on the sofa almost as quickly as he tucked her in. With the help of Pax, Mav, Saint, and a few of the other men, they had all his things moved into the cottage by the water before she even woke. It wasn’t like he had closets full of clothing.

His uniforms were carefully packed in garment bags, but other than that, he possessed one suit, one tuxedo, a few pairs of jeans, military-style utility pants, and the rest were shorts and t-shirts.

“You seriously need to consider upgrading your wardrobe, brother,” laughed Pax.

“Yeah, I’m looking at it and thinking the same thing. Although, in fairness, Steph doesn’t seem obsessed with clothing or makeup right now, either. Maybe she will the more she’s around the others.”

“Maybe,” nodded Saint.

They all stepped onto the front porch, and Brax gently closed the door behind him. He handed the guys some drinks, and they sat down, enjoying the late afternoon sun and light breeze.

“Hey, Steph said something earlier that has me thinking. She asked if it was possible that if this shooter, or someone connected to the shooter, was a clone like her or a clone from her original, might need something from a medical standpoint.”

“That’s an interesting thought,” said Mav, “but why not just ask for the help? The others are able to communicate. They’ve sort of always been able to communicate. Why not try to find us in the right way?”

“I have to agree with that,” said Saint. “If you want our help, don’t try to kill someone we love.”

“I’m not sure,” said Brax. “But I can tell you this. They won’t come near her again.”