Page 14 of Should the Sky Fall

“He didn’t,” Dawson says, not quite able to keep bitterness from his tone. “The hospital called Amanda, his PA. And she called Ellis.”

Because of course, Cal would want the company to be the first to know if he, God forbid, couldn’t make it to work the next day.

Kieran looks flabbergasted. “He put his PA as his emergency contact?” His confusion kind of pleases Dawson. It’s nice to know he’s not being unreasonable for finding it debasing that his husband wouldn’t even want him to know if something happened to him.

“The company is all he cares about, so…”

“What a dick,” Kieran says, and the no-nonsense tone makes Dawson laugh. “It’s true!”

“I know. But it was funny.”

Kieran huffs. “So, back to my question. Is this Ellis a lot like Cal?”

“Not really. I mean, they kind of hate each other.” Hard to say since he and Dawson have barely interacted.

Kieran looks dubious. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t jump on the first plane for someone I hate.”

Yeah, it had taken Dawson by surprise too. “Family is family, I guess. Cal runs the company because he’s older and he was the golden child, but the two of them have been at each other’s throats ever since their dad passed away and Cal took over.”

“Ah, sibling rivalry. How original.”

“Mr Reeves?”

They both stand up. “Yes?” Dawson says to the woman who must be a doctor if the scrubs are anything to go by.

“I’m Doctor Connelly.” She smiles, offering the hand not holding a clipboard for a shake. “You’ll be happy to hear your husband is out of surgery. All went well, considering. We just transferred him to the ICU.”

Dawson exhales. Something shifts inside him, but it doesn’t feel like relief. “Thank you.”

“We’re keeping him sedated for now to keep him comfortable. He had low blood oxygen due to a collapsed lung when he was brought in, and there’s bleeding in his chest. He’ll need a chest tube for a few days to drain any leakage and inflate his lung. We’ll run a few tests, check everything’s in order. ”

“Jesus,” Kieran breathes out. Dawson doesn’t speak.

“If you want to see him before we start on those tests, I can give you five minutes, but no more,” the doc says, even though Dawson didn’t ask to see Cal.

That’s because any normal person would want to see their spouse if they were hurt.

His stomach threatens to turn itself inside out, but he manages a nod.

Kieran must pick up on his lack of enthusiasm. “I’ll go with you.” To the doc, he says, “Is that okay?”

“Are you family?”

“A friend.”

She hesitates, but when she looks at Dawson, something in her expression shifts. He must look like a mess. “Five minutes.” She turns around, cocking her head.

They follow her to the ICU and she stops before she lets them in, speaking mostly to Dawson. “Just a fair warning; the machines and everything will look scary, but it’s a standard procedure. We had to intubate him because of the sedation. He has some cuts and bruises, but nothing serious.”

Dawson nods. It seems to be the only thing he’s able to do.

“When is he going to wake up?” Kieran asks.

“Depending on the test results, we'll take him off the sedation in a day or two. It’s mostly just to keep him from causing more damage to himself. The chest tube can be very painful.”

“Right.”

The doc gives them a strained smile and opens the door.