Finally, his phone rang—it was Geoffrey. At first, it was impossible to understand her, but she finally explained that there had been a fight and that Catherine was headed toward the hospital with Sophia and Linda. He raced out of his office to his car, jumped in, and sped toward the hospital, ignoring red lights and traffic. As he drove, he called her number over and over again on the car phone. Finally, she answered.

"Sean?" she asked, sounding dazed.

​​

"Where are you?" he barked.

"I'm at the hospital," she said. "I thought Geoffrey told you."

"I'm on my way," he said. "Don't leave."

"I won't," she said quietly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

There was a deep sigh on her end of the line. Finally, she said, "No, but I'm not hurt."

He sped toward the hospital, secretly grateful that she wasn't injured but furious she'd run away again.

***

A tall figure in a dark suit burst through the door and raced across the emergency room. Immediately, Sean's eyes locked onto hers, and she found herself incapable of looking away. He ran towards her and grabbed her shoulders with his large hands as his eyes scanned her body.

"I told you I'm not hurt," she said.

"The blood?" he asked.

"Not mine," she quickly answered.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Sophia and her mom had an emergency," she answered.

"Have you forgotten that I'm your husband?" he asked, his voice filled with an emotion she didn't recognize.

She stared at him in confusion, "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"You can ask me for help with anything," he said. "I could have helped you."

She looked at him. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes burned with intensity.

"I didn't think of that," she finally admitted. "It was an emergency, and you were in a meeting or something—I didn't have time to look for you."

"Call me," he answered. "I will never ignore your call—no matter what I'm doing."

She nodded quietly but said, "I did call Geoffrey."

"I'm glad of that," he said. "But next time, call me too."

"I hope there has not the next time," she said quickly.

He gave her a long look, "With you, Honey, I worry. Trouble has a way of finding you."

She sighed, wondering if he was right. He released her shoulders but continued watching her as if he didn't fully believe that she was fine.

"Can I ask for your help with something now?" she said.

"Anything," he replied, his eyes fierce.

"I need Linda to get the best care possible," she said. "I don't know anything about medicine, but she needs to have the best brain specialist and care team in the country. Can you help me find them?"

"Consider it done," he said, reaching for his phone.

He strode away with his phone already pressed to his ear. She watched him go and then turned her attention back to Sophia.

"Please stay," Sophia begged.

"Of course," Catherine answered. "I'll stay as long as you need.

"I will too," Maria added. "Linda will be okay."

Sean returned a few minutes later, and she gave him a questioning look.

"It's done," he said. "As soon as the doctors here say she's fit to be moved, we'll transport her by helicopter to the best hospital in the city. She'll have the best care there."

"See, she's sure to get better," Maria said, hugging Sophia again.

"Brain injuries aren't so easy," Sean said. "She's going to have the best care and the best team, but that's still no guarantee. Head injuries are complicated, and comas are even more complicated. Some people wake up in a day, some people wake up in ten years, and others never—"

Catherine glared at him, and he fell quiet. A long and tense silence descended over the group. Catherine shifted from foot to foot, Samuel scuffed his sneakers against the floor, and Maria held Sophia.

"Well, let's go talk to the nurses, Sophia," Maria finally said. "Maybe they have news for us."

They headed toward the information desk, leaving Catherine alone with Sean. She looked at him warily.

"Let's go home," he said finally.

"What?" she asked. "And leave Sophia here alone?"

"She's not alone," Sean pointed out. "She has Maria and Samuel."

Catherine stared at him, shocked that he could be so unfeeling.

"I want to stay with her," she said. "Until Linda wakes up."

He sighed and took her hand in his. "There's no guarantee that will happen," he said quietly.

"At least until the surgery ends," she said.

He nodded and pressed her hand between both of his. His palms felt warm and reassuring, and she let him hold her hand like that for a while.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're crying," he said quietly.

"No, I'm not," she objected.

He let go of her hand and brushed a fingertip across her cheek. When he pulled it away, it was covered in several beads of water.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Did that bastard hurt you?"

"No," she said. "I mean, he tried but—"

"He what?" Sean roared.

"Never mind," she whispered, suddenly exhausted.

Sean's nostrils flared, and he took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just the thought of that scum even laying his hands on you—never mind—tell me what's wrong."

"I just have a really bad feeling about Linda," she said.

"We're going to get her the best care possible," he said.

"I know," she sighed. "But still."

He pulled her close to him, holding her gently in his arms. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady, reassuring thud of his heartbeat, breathing in his scent. He stood still, gently stroking her back until footsteps startled her. She jumped away from him and saw that Maria, Samuel, and Sophia had returned.

"Any news?" she asked.

They shook their heads, and they all settled into the hard plastic chairs to wait. They barely spoke, instead of staring at the TV playing a muted soap opera in the corner or nervously checking their phones. Finally, a doctor burst through the doors and headed towards them.

"Is it over?" Catherine asked. "What happened?"

"How is my mum?" Sophia asked.

"She's still in critical condition, but she's stable for now," the doctor said. "We tried to stop the internal bleeding, but it's hard with the tumor there."

"What?" Sophia shouted.

The doctor's face paled, and he said, "The patient has a brain tumor."

"No, that's impossible," Sophia said. "My mum doesn't have a brain tumor."

"Is it malignant?" Sean finally asked.

The doctor looked almost relieved by the question, "At this point, we don't know. We'd have to do a biopsy to find out, but it's risky with the patient in such critical condition."