“We’ve got your daughter’s heart rate back to a safe range.” The doctor poked his head out of the room and held the door open. “Do you want to come in?”
Jade jumped to her feet.
“I’ll wait out here,” Ben said. “I’ve got some calls to make anyway.”
Jade rushed past the doctor as he explained, “She’ll be groggy for a while, but she’s going to be fine.”
Jade hurried to the bedside and grasped Dez’s hand. “You hear me, baby? Mama’s here.”
Dez’s eyes fluttered open. “Mama?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
“Mama, I want to tell you something.”
“What’s that, baby?”
Dez took in a breath that sounded far too labored for a healthy child her age. Jade glanced at the nurses to see if any of them looked concerned. Who would have done this to her baby? Who would have dared?
She squeezed her daughter’s hand, praising God for the warmth and life she felt. “You’re hurting me,” Dez complained.
Jade forced herself to loosen her hold. Dez was lucky there were still so many other people around. Even with the crowd, Jade was half tempted to crawl into bed and smother her daughter in kisses. “What did you want to tell me, baby? I’m right here. The doctors have given you really good medicine, and your heart’s going to be just fine and healthy, and everything is under control. You’re safe now. So you can tell me anything. What did you want to say?”
Dez opened her eyes wide enough for Jade to see her rolling them dramatically. “I wanted to say that I think you should ask Officer Ben on a date. That’s all.”