P arker didn’t say much as headed toward the Lost and Found offices, and Sam appreciated the quiet .
“She was cute,” the former SEAL told him .
Sam grimaced, knowing he couldn’t stay quiet the entire way back to the office. Parker was a reserved guy, but not that reserved. “Yeah, she was .”
Parker was waiting for more, but Sam propped his aching head on his hand against the window and closed his eyes. Parker apparently took the hint and stayed quiet as they drove .
The Lost and Found offices were cavernously quiet. It was after five-thirty on the Friday before Christmas and everyone else had gone home. Parker, being one of the low guys on the totem pole, got to work the odd office hours, filling holes wherever needed. He was a good sort, for a SEAL. Sam knew that he’d been held prisoner by the Taliban for the better part of two days before his team had rescued him, barely hanging on to life. Scuttlebutt in the office said that every limb had had some type of trauma, his legs broken in multiple places. He’d been beaten so bad that his eye socket had caved in, giving him vision issues on the right side. It wasn’t completely destroyed, but Sam knew he wore glasses to conceal the imperfections. There was no hiding the limp, though. It reminded him of Duncan Wilde before he’d had his hip replaced .
Duncan, his boss, came out of the office like he’d heard his name spoken aloud. Sam was surprised to see him. Parker hadn’t said anything .
Not like you gave the man a chance to .
“Willet, are you all right?” his boss asked. “Parker let me know when you called for a ride .”
Ah, ok. He understood now. That was why Parker had given him the ride and not a taxi. “Yes, sir. I’m fine. Just a little banged up .”
He related what had happened, but left out the bit about the baby. No need to come off as cocky or showboating .
Duncan looked him up and down. “You’d better go take a shower. I don’t blame you for getting out of the hospital, but you need to be safe about it. No drinking tonight. And I wouldn’t go to sleep for several hours .”
Sam nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ve had concussions before. I know what to do and what not to do .”
Duncan gave him a nod. “I’ll leave you to it then. And Willet, I’m not kicking you out but you need to think about going home to chill for a couple of days. I think you know as well as I do that the day after a crash is usually the most painful .”
“Yes, sir,” he said truthfully. “I’ll send you a message to let you know for sure tomorrow .”
Duncan’s eyes were kind as he nodded. “Just let me know .”
Sam headed to the massive exercise-slash-crash room they had at the back of the office. It was kind of an everything room. You could play video games, exercise on the dozen machines available or shower in the adjoining locker room. There were a couple of bunks in one corner. Sam had never seen any other room like it other than when he’d been in the Marines. It was almost a communal living type space .
He headed through the back door and into the locker room, stripping off his clothes as he went, which he pitched into the trashcan. Nothing was salvageable. Even his heavy-duty jeans were ripped and had blood on them. There were clothes in his locker, he knew that. He just hoped there was something a little more dressy there than a t-shirt .
Heading into the first shower stall, he cranked the hot water to full blast, waited a moment for it to warm, then stepped under. Oh, damn that felt good. Then it hit the multitude of abrasions he had on his body and he realized how beat up he really was. There were small shaving mirrors mounted on the walls in the stalls. Checking his mirror he gingerly peeled off the bandage on his forehead. There was still a lot of blood in his hair and down his neck that needed scrubbed off. He tried not to wet the stitches, but it was hard not to .
Once he got the chunks off he just basked in the heat, cooking his skin. It was almost as good as taking a power nap to him. It gave him a moment to remember the stunning feeling of seeing color for the first time again .
After he’d gotten the TBI, he’d thought that losing a chunk of his ear was the worst part because it was so visible and people would talk, but it actually wasn’t. His entire world had faded, literally. That was the worst part of his injury. The gray-hued landscape was so depressing. Doctors couldn’t tell him exactly why he’d lost the ability to see color. The part of his brain injured in the IED attack was not the same part of the brain that allowed him to see color. It affected some vision perceptions, but not color itself, so the doctors had no explanation for why he couldn’t see anything other than the washed out landscape .
Was there some emotional explanation for the miracle ?
He paused, mid-scrub. This really was a miracle .
Sparrow was a miracle .
Swallowing away the lump in his throat, he shook his head at himself. Damn, that sounded ridiculous. And stalker-ish from her perspective, probably. He’d have to mind his words when he was with her. Not freak her out .
His heart began to race when he thought about seeing her again. Literally, it had been less than an hour since he’d left her, but there was a desperation in his gut that was a little shocking. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman, but it didn’t feel like that was exactly it. Sparrow. It was just Sparrow .
Some part of his brain didn’t believe that the color would stay. He glanced around the shower room, but this wasn’t a good place to test to see if he could see other purple things .
Sam shut off the water and grabbed a towel from the stack. As he scrubbed himself dry he was once again aware of all the little cuts and scrapes he couldn’t see. Duncan was right. He’d be sore tomorrow .
Shit. He needed to call his insurance company and arrange for a rental. After he got dressed .
Luckily he had a decent pair of jeans, underwear, a t-shirt and quarter zip he could pull over everything since he’d pitched his burnt coat. Hopefully it would keep him warm enough because he didn’t have time to run back to his apartment for anything else .
When he walked out into the rec room, Parker was sitting on a bench lifting thirty-pound bar bells. Not seriously working out, just doing something to waste time. These odd shifts were filled with not a lot of anything, so you had to keep yourself busy somehow. When the field investigators were working, the base operators had to stay available in case they needed anything. Sam himself had worked this shift many times .
“Is there anything purple in here?” he asked the other man .
Parker looked up, frowning. “Purple?” His pale eyes scanned the room. Then he pointed at a mat. “That’s a pinkish purple .”
Sam looked at it, hard, but it was just gray. A shade darker than the carpet it laid upon but lighter than the equipment on top of it. “Anything else ?”
Parker limped across the room and grabbed a video game case from a rack, holding it up. Sam shook his head. Gray .
Turning, Parker scanned the room, eventually turning back with a shrug. “Nothing else purple, buddy. What’s up with purple ?”
“I could see that woman’s hair, Parker. I haven’t seen color for four years. Why all of the sudden would I see purple on her ?”
Parker’s eyes widened, and he crossed his heavy arms over his chest. “Her hair was very colorful. And you saw that ?”
Sam nodded, running his hand through his wet hair. “Her eyes are a shade of violet, too. I about had a heart-attack when I saw her. I mean, I had passed out and I woke up on a gurney, with her leaning over me .”
“Damn! That’s totally incredible.” Parker grinned, his normally forbidding face open. “I’d be tracking her down, if I were you .”
Sam shook his head, grinning a little. “I’m meeting her for her department Christmas party in a while .”
Parker grinned and reached out to smack Sam on the shoulder. It hurt. “Easy, Quinn. Damn !”
“Sorry, buddy. I’m just excited for you. Maybe this girl can break you out of the funk you’ve been in .”
“Me? I’m not the only one that needs a purple-haired miracle .”
Parker’s expression dimmed a little, and Sam felt bad about pointing out his solitary life. They all tended to be solitary, but Parker was different. It was almost like he was punishing himself by staying alone. It had taken months after the guy had joined LNF before he started talking to people, and interacting .
Sam had seen it a lot in the time he’d been here. The need for a place to fit in ached so bad in your soul that it was hard to believe that a place like that existed for them. He’d been at LNF for a few years now and he loved everything about it. The people, the shifts, the regimentation and most especially the acceptance. When he’d been discharged from the Marines it had been so hard acclimating to civilian life. One of his old teammates had told him about the company and he’d applied, but hadn’t expected to be hired. Apparently he was fucked up enough to be a part of them because they’d called him within a week, he thought with an internal laugh .
There was definitely a transition phase to fitting in here, and Parker seemed to be there now .
“So, what’s the girl’s name?” the other man asked .
“Sparrow.”
Parker smiled slightly. “Sam and Sparrow has a nice ring to it .”
Sam shook his head. “You’re thinking way ahead of me. She’s just … I don’t know. I’m a little fascinated .”
Parker shrugged. “It’s Christmas. Why not wish for the stars ?”
Hm. Good point .
“You should get her a gift, or something,” Parker continued. “If it’s a department party you may think about taking a tray of cookies or something too .”
Damn it. Sam scowled, looking around. “I don’t have my truck. Damn it, I still have to call insurance. I better do that now while I’m thinking about it .”
Sam called Denver PD first and got a report number for the crash, then called his insurance company. They were very understanding and promised to have a rental delivered to the LNF offices the next morning. When Sam hung up, Parker was there, holding out his key ring .
“Go ahead and take my ride for now. There’s a company vehicle here if I need to do anything. I have a feeling I’ll be sitting here playing video games while you’re making a life connection with your purple angel .”
Sam grinned and took the keys. “Thanks, buddy. Now what the heck do I get her ?”
In desperation Sam called Shannon to ask her where he thought he should shop for a woman he’d known for less than thirty minutes, but he felt like was going to change his life forever. She laughed, taken aback at the question. “Are you serious ?”
Sam related what had happened and she sighed on the other end of the line. “Oh, Sam, that’s so romantic! I’m so happy for you! This feels like it’s meant to be .”
Sam didn’t dare even think about it. Literally, there was a long ways to go until he felt anything of the sort .
“Food is easy. Call B-Dub’s and have them do a wing platter. Firemen love hot stuff, or you can do a mix. Order it now and you can pick it up on the way. As for a gift…” her voice trailed off as she thought about it. “You don’t want to be too intimate, but you want her to know that you put some thought into this. Maybe a pretty necklace from Kohl’s or something? Oh, or a massage! I bet she has some incredibly tough days. A hot stone massage after a long weekend might be really nice. And they’re not too expensive .”
“That’s not a bad idea,” he said slowly .
“I’ll text you the name of the place that Willow has taken me to. They should still be open if you call now .”
“Thank you, Shannon. I really appreciate the ideas .”
“No problem, dear. I wish you luck tonight .”
Yeah, he was going to need it .