Changing Roles

He bent lower, his voice almost commanding. “Shelby. Open your eyes for me.”

We both watched anxiously and were rewarded with another flutter. Then another. I pressed my lips against her palm. “Shelby, baby—please.” My voice caught.

Slowly, so slowly I wasn’t sure it was happening, her eyes opened. Closed. Opened. Blinked. For a brief moment, they were unfocused and bleary. She blinked again, this time frowning as her head tilted toward Everett.

Her voice was quiet and rough, like a small fragment of an echo in the room. “Ev?”

His shoulders bowed in relief as he assured her, “I’m right here, Shelby.”

She stared at him for a minute, licking her dry lips. I grabbed the jug of water and ice chips they refilled constantly and pressed an ice chip into her parched mouth. “This will help,” I whispered, unable to make my voice any louder with the lump currently residing in my throat. She was awake. She was talking.

Shelby’s huge eyes regarded me as she sucked in the ice chip, her eyes falling shut as she sighed and smiled softly. “Good,” she breathed.

I kissed her hand, wishing it were her sweet mouth. “Do you want another one, Beaker?”

Her brow furrowed as she accepted the chip, and then she looked at Everett questioningly.

“What? What do you need?” he asked gently.

Her eyes moved back to me briefly before she spoke again, this time her voice a little louder. “Who is that? Why is he holding my hand and calling me Beaker?”

My heart plummeted. I met Everett’s wide gaze with panic.

She didn’t know me?

I struggled to remain calm.

“That’s Liam, Shelby.”

“Oh.” She looked at me again and then motioned for Everett to come closer. He bent down, and she whispered at him. “Is he your lover?”

He straightened up quickly, shock written all over his face. I looked around wildly.

What? Did she…

Then it happened.

The most endearing, tiny squeak of a noise.

She giggled.

I gaped at her.

She winked at me, her eyes closing again. “You’re not the only one who can act, Oscar.”

Her shaky hand slipped from mine, cupping my cheek, her fingers moving restlessly on my skin. Her eyes were warm when she reopened them and gazed at me, her love shining through her tired stare. And in the middle of one of the most poignant moments in my life, I started to laugh.

Joyfully.

Loudly.

My girl was back.23LiamThe room was quiet. Finally, everyone was gone. The doctors and nurses had checked and rechecked Shelby’s vitals and responses while Everett and I waited and paced anxiously. They were all pleased, but they warned us Shelby would need time to recuperate from her injuries, including any residual effects from her head trauma. Although she was doing amazingly well, we had to be cautious. Her body needed to recover and heal. Even though she had been unconscious, she was exhausted and needed a lot of rest. Her head was admittedly fuzzy, and a couple of times she had to stop and search for words, but the doctors were sure that would change and go away as she grew stronger.

Beyond grateful she was awake and doing better, I assured them and Everett I would make sure she had everything she required. More than anything I wanted to get her home, where she would be in familiar surroundings and I could care for her. I knew she’d respond well when she was comfortable. With my mum coming to help, I was confident Shelby would be in good hands.

Shelby insisted everyone go home and get some sleep. I encouraged it too, knowing full well I wouldn’t be going anywhere.

Until Shelby went home, I wasn’t leaving.

After kisses and hugs, we were, at last, alone. Shelby watched me with soft eyes as I dipped a cloth into a basin of warm water. “I’d rather have a shower,” she murmured.

“Tomorrow. The doctor said tomorrow,” I assured her, gently lifting the heavy plastered arm and wiping the warm cloth over the exposed skin, doing the same thing to her other arm. “You may get to go home tomorrow, and you can have a nice soak in the tub. Sound good?”

She nodded, watching me as I slowly, tenderly, wiped her clean. I smiled at the shaky sigh she emitted as I caressed her face and neck with the velvety cloth I’d had Cassidy pick up for me before she left. “If not, we’ll get you a shower. But this will have to do until then, my darling girl.”

“Okay,” she breathed.

“What did you do to your hand?” she asked, tracing her fingers over the bruises on my knuckles.

“Ah, I sort of introduced it to the wall,” I admitted sheepishly.

“Oscar,” she chided gently, shaking her head, which caused a small grimace of pain to cross her face.

“Do you need some pain medication?” I asked, already reaching for the call button.

She stilled my hand. “No. It’s fine. I’m fine.”