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Mark
Mark closed his eyes as he was lifted out of the ambulance. He’d been wheeled in on a stretcher before, and it had been a disorienting experience. He could hear Darby behind him, trying to keep up with the EMT who was wheeling him into the ER.
His head hurt.
A lot.
But he remembered the crash, remembered flipping the car at least one whole time before blacking out. That was a good sign.
He also remembered the argument with Darby. The look on her face on the ride to the hospital told him a lot. She’d been panicked she’d lose him. Or maybe he sensed it from her? He couldn’t quite tell. Something was up on that front, something he couldn’t put his finger on.
“The doctor’s on his way,” the EMT said as he pulled Mark into a bay and whipped the curtain closed. “A nurse will be in momentarily to get your vitals. Detective Shaw, will you come with me?”
“No. I’m staying right here.”
“Someone needs to sedate that woman,” he said under his breath.
Mark tried not to laugh. It would make his head hurt worse.
When the EMT had gone, Darby took his hand.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
“You had a cut on your forehead. It’s nearly healed up now,” she said quietly, brushing his hair from his face. “Can you feel any extra sensations when I’m touching you? It could clue us in about our injuries.”
He thought about it. “My head. Maybe my leg.”
“Maybe?”
“Yeah, my leg. Don’t think it’s busted or anything, but maybe bruised. It’s pretty dull compared to my head.”
She moved her face in what she probably meant to be a nod. With the brace on her neck, it was hard to tell. She did, however, squeeze his hand more tightly. “What happened back there?”
He blew out a breath. “I don’t know. Everything was fine, then it wasn’t. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that happening with an airlift system. I thought they were safe.”
“Hopefully they’ll figure out what went wrong.”
“Do you think it could be related to what we’re working on?”
“Anything’s possible. It’d be a bold move to try to take out two cops. It’s more likely a systems failure,” she said.
“The nav system went too. I’ve looked at the wiring schematics before. The two are not related, they don’t even cross paths until they go through the comp.” He closed his eyes and lifted his free hand to his head.
She paused for a minute. “Yeah, I know. Hoping it’s a systems failure, I guess.”
She squeezed his hand again.
He winced. “I probably have a concussion.”
“You were out for a while. I’m not sure how long, at least a few minutes.”
He opened his eyes. “Your lipstick is smudged again.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have to fix it.”
A few minutes later, the nurse came in, followed by the doctor and Lieutenant Douglass.
As the nurse and doctor looked him over, Douglass took Darby away. Pretty easy to notice when the electrical energy stopped.
Neither woman returned for a long while, and when Darby finally did, she was free of the neck brace.
“Bonk on the head, tiny laceration they wouldn’t put a stitch in,” she informed.
“Also a laceration without stitches, and a bruised tibia.” He pushed up on an elbow.
She frowned. “No concussion?”
He shook his head slowly. “Funny thing was they said that it looked like there had been at some point. But my medical records showed no priors.”
Darby clicked her tongue and glanced away. “That worked way faster than I thought.”
“Good thing, too.” He dropped his voice. “Or I’d be on the bench for the foreseeable future.”
She nodded but didn’t respond. Somehow, he knew she was thinking about the argument before the crash. He couldn’t figure out why he knew it, but he did.
He cleared his throat, about to bring it up when she shifted.
Darby blew out a breath. “We’re going to have to call it a day. It’s nearly five.”
“Any word on our car?”
She shook her head. “Nothing, but Douglass said they were going to work on it through the night. She wants to know as badly as we do.”
He grunted and leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes. “Okay.”
Someone came in the room. Mark opened his eyes and saw Will Young.
“I hope I’m not intruding. The nurse said you were here, Darby.”
She got up, her lips pressed together tightly for a moment. She glanced quickly between Mark and Will.
“No, not at all.” Her voice was higher and thinner than Mark was used to.
Will took her hands in his. “I was in sessions all afternoon. Are you okay?”
Darby tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, placing her hand back in his grasp. “Banged and bruised, but not in too bad of shape.”
“Good. It would be a shame. Are you still feeling up to going to the meeting tonight?”
Mark thought for sure she’d say no. After the day they’d had, the accident, it shouldn’t even be an option. She’d been hurt, so had he, and they both needed to recover.
Young put his hand on her shoulder.
She flinched, glanced back at Mark briefly, then returned all her focus to Will. “I think so. If I have something to change into. I may have a spare set of clothes at HQ.”
Seriously? She was going to go to an SHS meeting—which she hated—after their wreck?
She turned back to Mark. “You don’t mind, do you, Mark?”
What was he supposed to do? Play the jealous never-boyfriend? He licked his lips. “Who’s going to take me home?”
“Melinda’s coming. I’ll have Will take me to HQ, and I’ll get my car from there, and come back after the meeting.”
“You’re not going to try to ditch me tonight?”
“Not after what happened,” she said softly.
“Then it’s settled,” Young said. “I’ll take good care of her, Detective.”
“Can you give us a minute?” he asked.
Darby considered Young. “I’ll meet you outside.”
Mark waited until Young had left. “You’re really planning to come back?”
“You likely had a concussion,” she whispered. “Someone needs to keep an eye on you.”
He raised an eyebrow. She didn’t want him caring for her, but when the shoe was on the other foot...
He nodded. “All right. You’d better not be handing me a line. Be back by ten.”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Mark? I’m a grown woman.”
He reached for her. “Darb, we don’t know what happened today. Or yesterday. Someone may be out for you. I’d feel a lot better if I didn’t have to worry about you.”
“I didn’t ask you to worry.”
“That’s what happens when you’ve been partners for as long as we have. It happens.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “We never got to talk to Ian or Richard.”
“I know.” She was quiet for a minute. “What if that’s why our vehicle went kablooie? To keep us away from one of them?”
“I hope you’re not right.” He squeezed her hand. And, to show he was the bigger man, he added, “Try to...try to enjoy yourself tonight. If Pierce is there, don’t treat him like a cop.”
She snorted. “If he’s there, I’ll give him the third degree.”
“Don’t. Keep it professional. You can call him in tomorrow, talk to him in interrogation.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” He opened his eyes in time to see her lean in.
She pressed her lips to his forehead. The spot sizzled intensely, sending waves of both pain and relief to his still aching brain.
He wished she’d moved down about four inches to meet his lips, but he’d make do.
She pulled back.
“You’d better not have left lipstick on me. How am I supposed to go out chasing skirts tonight if I’m marked?”
She laughed, but grabbed a rough, hospital-issued tissue and wiped at his face. “All better.”
“You sure?”
She looked him over closely. “Have Melinda check. But I think so.” She knit her fingers between his. “Please get some rest. I’ll call if I’m going to be later than ten.”
“You promise?”
She nodded.
“I wish you wouldn’t go. You were in the car too.”
She sighed heavily. “Let’s chalk it up to me being strong. Show whoever destroyed my flat and possibly nearly killed us today that it takes more than destruction and a bonk on the head to stop us.”
Mark lifted his chin. She sure had a strong will, he’d give her that. He shook his head. “Bad ass cop.”
She squeezed his fingers. “Bad ass cop.”