Page 86 of More Than Anything

“Yeah. Good friend. My head hurts,” he whined again.

“You need some sleep. Come on, Danette, let’s let him go back to sleep,” Lydia told Danette.

“No! I want you to stay,” Avery told Lydia, grabbing for her hand with his splinted fingers.

“I knew he was going to say that,” Danette laughed. “I’ll go sit with Jason and tell him you’re still alive. He’ll be relieved.” Danette was still laughing when she headed down the hallway.

Lydia pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, and Avery felt better immediately. “Baby,” he started, “I’m so sorry for everything. I had no…”

“No, babe, it’ll be fine. Frank will take care of it all, the state will prosecute her, and everything will be okay.”

“I had a dream while I was out,” Avery said, wincing at the pain in his arms and hands.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You were in it, and me too.”

“Well, that’s good,” Lydia giggled.

“And a little baby.”

There was silence until Lydia said, “Our baby?” Avery nodded, then wished he hadn’t as pain raced through his skull. “We had a baby?”

“Yup. A little bitty baby. In a pink blanket.” He felt woozy and heavy, and he knew the pain meds were sending him back to sleep. “And I kissed it and it smelled like baby powder,” he said, forcing his lips to make the words.

“Go back to sleep. We can talk about it later,” she said, kissing his cheek again.

“I love you, Lydia, more than anything.”

“I love you too. More than anything in the whole world.”

“Marry me, Lydia,” he mumbled.

He was just lucid enough to hear her say, “Anytime you want, AveryAidan Holcomb?anytime you want.”

* * *

“I have to do this.”Avery was trying to stand, but he wasn’t doing a very good job. Every time he managed, he just dropped back down onto the side of the bed, and his casted forearms and splinted hands weren’t of much use.

“You should let me wheel you down there,” Lydia scolded.

“No. I don’t want you to ever have to see her again. I don’t really want to, but I want to see her there in cuffs. That’ll make me okay with everything.”

“Well, okay. Let me get Jason. He’ll wheel you down there.” She disappeared and, in seconds, Jason reappeared with a wheelchair.

Lydia and Jason helped him transfer to the chair and he let Jason wheel him down the hallway. When they got to the door, a police officer sitting there in a chair perked up. “Who are you?”

“I’m the poor sumbitch she tried to kill,” Avery told him straight up.

“And I’m guessing you want to go in and gloat.”

Avery nodded. “I’d really like to.”

The officer snickered. “Be my guest. No love lost here. She’s a piece of work.”

Avery nodded. “You have no idea.” Turning to Jason, he said, “Wait for me?”

“You know it. I’ll be right here,” he said, dropping down onto the floor next to the police officer’s chair.