35

November sucks . The thought lingered in my mind, a dull echo in the void where time had lost all meaning. I struggled to surface from the depths of a black hole that had swallowed me whole. I was desperate to leave, to claw my way out, but my body felt impossibly heavy, like a weight was tied to me.

Voices, distant and muffled, filtered through the darkness. I strained to listen, catching fragments of sentences that slipped away too soon. Logan's voice was there; I was sure of it. His words were soothing, a lifeline thrown into the murky waters of my consciousness. But what had he said? The memory was elusive, slipping through my fingers like smoke.

Must wake up.

A sudden urge to move surged through me. My arms twitched, weak and uncoordinated. I grasped blindly, fingers closing around something warm—a hand. Clinging to it, I anchored myself to the sensation, fighting against the darkness with all my might.

My eyes flew open, and a barrage of light assaulted me. It burned my retinas, searing and unwelcome. I clamped my eyes shut again, a hiss escaping my parched lips.

When had I turned into a vampire? Would Logan mind sleeping with a vampire? I would only feed on his blood.

"Bloom, are you awake?"

The voice cut through the fog in my brain. I cracked my eyes open more cautiously this time, squinting against the soft light now adjusted to a bearable level. Sarge? Why was he here?

"You got shot. Of course, I'm gonna show up."

Had I spoken my thoughts out loud? I cleared my throat, the sound gravelly and foreign to my ears. "Shot? What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Everything's foggy." My voice was a raspy whisper, every word an effort that scratched at my throat.

"Shh, don't talk. Someone should be here any minute."

The door swung open, and Jamie hurried in, a big smile on his face. "Bloom, you're awake." He dropped his smile and switched into doctor mode. "How are you feeling? Any pain? Discomfort?"

"I feel like shit," I groaned.

"That'll happen when you take a bullet to the chest." Jamie had a small flashlight in his hand. "I'm going to do a quick neurological check to see how responsive you are. Just follow my instructions."

He shined the light briefly into each of my eyes. "Good, your pupils are reacting normally," he murmured, more to himself than to me. He held up his fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I squinted, trying to focus. "Three."

"Correct." He continued with a series of simple commands. "Can you squeeze my hand?" I felt his fingers in mine, and I gave a weak squeeze. "Good. Now, can you wiggle your toes for me?"

I concentrated on the action, feeling a slight twitch in my toes. "Yes," I whispered.

"Excellent." He gently pressed along my abdomen, his touch light but firm. "Any pain here?"

"A little," I admitted, grimacing at the dull ache.

"Okay, we'll keep an eye on that." Jamie turned to Sarge. "You can give him some of that water. Not too much and have him sip it slowly."

As Sarge helped me with the water, Jamie continued, "We're going to do a CT scan to check for any internal injuries or complications. It's important we ensure there's no internal bleeding or swelling."

Nodding was an effort, but I managed it. The cold water felt like heaven as it trickled down my throat, easing the dryness.

"We'll take it slow," Jamie said. "But I need you to tell us immediately if you feel worse or experience any new symptoms, okay?"

"Okay." Where was Logan? Why wasn't he here with me going through this procedure? Oh god, after everything, he hadn't gotten hurt, had he? "Logan—"

"—is fine," Jamie said. "He only left your side to attend a meeting and only because I convinced him it's imperative for him to be there." He clucked his tongue. "That man has gotten even more stubborn with you injured, but he should be back shortly. You gave us all a scare, Bloom. I'm glad you're a…okay."

I had a feeling he wanted to say alive. When he left to have the CT scan prepared, Sarge sat down beside me, his presence a steady comfort. "Why are you here? Where's everyone else?"

"They've come several times and left. They all took turns looking in on your man too to make sure he was taking care of himself."

"They did that?"

"Yeah. You gotta know we got your back."

I groaned. "What I really needed was someone standing in front of me."

Sarge laughed, which made me laugh, but razor-like pain cut through me, and I gasped for air.

"You can make jokes. That's good. You'll be fine."

"Did you come for me or for Chris?" I teased.

Sarge scowled. "For you, of course."

"Yeah, right. So you're not going to pick up where you left off over Christmas?"

"How-wha—" Sarge spluttered, his face red. "Nothing happened."

"You've always been a horrible liar, Sarge. That's why Bay always beat you at poker." I managed a weak smile. Maybe I shouldn't waste my energy. I was already so exhausted, and I hadn't seen Logan yet. Was he mad at me?

The door opened, and for a second, it felt like the bullet had hit my heart after all. Logan stood still in the door, glaring at Sarge.

"Who the hell let you in? This is a private room."

"Logan," I whispered.

Logan's stern expression melted into one of relief as he crossed the room quickly. Sarge got to his feet and left quietly.

"You're awake." Logan sank into the chair Sarge had just vacated. His fingers found mine, and he brought my hand up to his cheek. "You're fully awake."

"Yes, I am. Are you angry with me?"

He kissed the back of my hand, then shook his head. "No. No, I'm not angry with you. I've been terrified, anguished, and guilt-ridden, but not angry."

"Why guilt-ridden? None of it was your fault."

"It sure feels like it. I wish I'd anticipated what you would have done and stopped you." He took out a flashlight similar to Jamie's. "Now stay still. Let me check you over."

"Jamie already did it."

"Then I'll do it again."

I rolled my eyes but followed his instructions, which were just as thorough as Jamie's.

"Isn't Jamie your protégé? Don't you trust him?"

"I just have to know for myself."

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on the center of my forehead. "You're so amazing. Did I forget to mention that?"

"I'm glad you think so. I don't want to disappoint you."

"You can never disappoint me."

"Logan?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you think I was going to die?"

"Bloom…"

"Please."

"I didn't know what to think, and it scared me. Usually, I can stay impartial, work on a patient, and move on, but there was no moving on from you. There never will be. You have no idea how special you are, Bloom, but I swear I'll show you. I will spend the rest of my life showing you."

A knock sounded on the door. Ugh. It was good to be alive, but I wanted a moment alone with Logan. Jamie entered with an orderly wheeling a gurney inside. "Dr. Collier, I—"

"Why didn't you call me?" Logan asked. "I came here and found you gone and a strange man in his room. I thought you promised to keep an eye on him."

"Sarge is one of his brothers. When he came to visit, I figured it would be fine."

I glanced at Bloom for confirmation. "Is he?"

"Yeah."

"How come I don't know him?"

I smiled at the growl in his voice. He was so protective. Surely, it was worth getting shot to see him like this.

"He's a nomad biker," Jamie said. "We're going to take Bloom for a CT scan. As long as I am still here, I might as well be useful."

"I'm coming with you," Logan said.

"I don't think that's best," Jamie said. "We wouldn't want to break any more rules. Don't you trust me to take care of him? After everything we've been through?"

"I trust you, James," Logan said. "Just please… take care of him. He gave me himself, even when I didn't know how much I needed him. Now he's the most precious gift I've ever received."

The steady beeping of the machine became faster. The squiggly lines on the monitor danced in tandem with my heartbeat.

"Now look at what you caused." Jamie chuckled. "Calm down, Bloom. We don't want you to have a heart attack too. Logan, I promise I'll take good care of him. Relax a little. You're way too tense."

I was loaded onto the gurney with little jostling. Amid the flurry of activity, I caught Logan's gaze. He never left my side. Never stopped looking to ensure they were doing everything right. His brow was wrinkled into a frown, and his eyes were heavy with worry.

"I"ll be back before you know it," I promised him, grazing my fingers against his. The contact provided me with a sense of grounding.

As the orderly wheeled me from the room, Logan whispered, "I'll be waiting for you. I'll always wait for you."

And I knew—I knew he would be because if there was anyone I could count on to keep his word, it was Logan.

I love you.

But I was too exhausted to say the words out loud. I only hoped he knew what was in my heart. My body might feel like it'd been hit by a freight train, but seeing Logan's reaction to me being hurt made me warm and fuzzy on the inside. Or maybe it was the meds. Whatever it was, we would be even closer after this.

The epilogue that can be found after is a series of news feature about the hospital incident which plays a crucial part of Bloom Part 2 and uncovering Dr.