I couldn't do it either. I couldn't leave it hanging. I thought I could. Ah well. This will still leave me room to explore the relationship, which is good enough for now.
Chapter 1
"You must be Colby Granger," a soft, gentle voice brought his thoughts back to the present.
Colby looked up and flinched. The resemblance was remarkable. "Anneliese?" his voice hoarse from the shouting. And the tears. "You look..."
Anneliese smiled gently, "Yes, there's a strong family resemblance."
"Please, have a seat. You can't be comfortable standing."
She laughed a little. "I'm pregnant, not weak." She sobered, "How is she?"
"Hannah's lost a lot of blood. Luckily, we have a lot of universal donor blood types in our circle. There's been no shortage of blood donations. It's still touch and go. Or so the doctor says."
"What do you think?" She said softly, glancing at him.
"She's a fighter," was Colby's terse reply.
Anneliese nodded. Hannah had always been a fighter.
"You must have got on the next flight out," Colby said quietly.
"She's my sister."
He nodded. "You should check into a hotel or something. Get some rest."
She took a closer look at him, this man her sister loved. He was still in the bloody shirt. Oh God, that was Hannah's blood. Anneliese swallowed hard. He had been there all day, if he was still in that shirt. Over 12 hours in that shirt, keeping vigil by her side. A lump rose in her throat, watching this big, muscular man, gently tending to Hannah, cradling her slender hand in his larger, stronger hand. Seeing the helpless pain, stark on his white face.
"You should get some rest. I'll sit here with her for a while. Rick's parking the car, he'll stay here with me." She saw a ghost of a smile on his face.
"Your husband?"
Anneliese raised her eyebrows. Then laughed. "I take it Hannah never mentioned Rick."
"She did. Just never mentioned his name." It was a real smile now. "Said they didn't get along."
"We don't." A dry voice spoke from the doorway.
Colby looked up and acknowledged him, "Stephanson."
"Granger, I assume. Can't say I understand your taste in women, but I certainly understand the sentiment." Rick paused, feeling for him. He knew how he would feel if it had been Anneliese. "Why don't you take my wife's excellent advice and get some rest. Change out of that shirt. She's always right, you know. Hannah's a pain in the rear end, but even she's not likely to bounce up anytime soon."
Colby sighed, "Any other day and I'd beat the crap out of you for talking about her like that."
There was silence.
"I guess you're right," Colby gave in. Then he said quietly, "Perhaps you should stay at Hannah's..." His voice broke, and he stopped to swallow a lump in his throat before continuing, "Instead of going to a hotel." He hesitated, "I'm not sure where her personal effects are, but I have a key."
Rick looked at Anneliese. "Colby, do you need a ride home?" She asked gently.
He shook his head, "I'll call David. My car is at Hannah's."
"Why don't you let Rick drive you to Hannah's. This way we'll know where it is, and you can get your car."
Colby was gently caressing Hannah's hand again. He seemed a million miles away. Just when Anneliese thought he wouldn't answer, he replied quietly, "That'll work just fine, Anneliese. Thanks." Another few minutes passed before he got up and pressed a kiss on Hannah's lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart," he murmured, before he left with Rick not far behind him.
Anneliese blew her husband a kiss, laughing a little at how quickly Colby took off when he finally made the decision to leave. Rick was a tall man and fit, but Colby was in a world of his own, and Rick had to jog to keep up.
"This man of yours is a keeper, Sis," Anneliese murmured to Hannah, settling in the armchair next to the bed. She hadn't been comfortable in several months but the armchairs at the hospital had to be the worst she'd ever sat in. She held Hannah's hand, and took some time to admire the bracelet. "Oh my. Yep, he's a keeper."
Colby gave Rick directions in a quiet monotone. He was still struggling to get it together.
Rick couldn't think of what to say to him, he hadn't known his sister-in-law well. Their acrimonious relationship had seen to that.
Colby seemed to sense that, he roused himself out of the daze he'd been in. "Why don't you and Hannah get along?"
Rick looked surprised, somehow he hadn't expected that. He had to think about it for a minute. He and Hannah had been arguing and fighting for so long that he wasn't sure he even remembered. "She compared me to their father," Rick said slowly. He glanced over at Colby who was now looking at him with curiosity. "And I loathe the son of a bitch," he finished with a wry glance at Colby.
That startled a laugh out of Colby. "Hannah and I got into a huge fight once, when she thought I was acting like her dad." He was quiet for a moment, thinking about that fight. "The only real fight we had."
"Well, let me tell you, that's quite unusual for her. I think if I said the sky was blue, she'd say it was red, just to pick a fight."
Colby smiled faintly at that. "So does she call you Stephanson all the time?"
"When she acknowledges me at all? Dick, if she's in a good mood. Prick, if she isn't." Rick shrugged.
Colby chuckled, he couldn't help it. Rick looked resigned to it.
"Thanks for this," Colby said quietly.
Rick nodded, "I hope I never have to find out, but I would hope to be in as good a shape if..." He couldn't complete the sentence.
Colby understood. It wasn't something you ever wanted to have to deal with. Even in your thoughts. Perhaps if he'd thought about it some more, Hannah wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed. He sighed.
"I can't imagine that it would be your fault," Rick said softly.
"Reading minds now?" Colby gave him a half smile.
Rick shrugged, "Consultant. Hazards of the job. You have to be able to read people well."
"Travel a lot?"
"Not as much as I used to. Why do you ask?" Rick was curious now.
Colby shook his head, "That's probably why Hannah thought you were like her father."
Rick was stunned into silence, and glanced at Colby with interest. Even while he was in and out of a fog of grief, he was sharp.
"Here we are. Pull up next to the Mustang."
"That's your car?" Rick let out a low whistle. "Nice car. Did you restore it?"
Another faint smile from Colby. "Yes. 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500."
"You let her drive it?"
Colby laughed again. "Occasionally."
Rick grinned, he knew how that was. Sometimes a man got an offer he couldn't refuse.
Colby was quiet again. "I'm going to take a shower and change clothes here."
"I understand."
Rick looked around the apartment with curiosity. It was becoming obvious to him that Colby spent a lot of time here. He saw Colby pick up things that unmistakably belonged to him, as he moved through the apartment. Rick's eyebrows shot up at Hannah's sketch of Colby in the nude. He hadn't realized how good an artist Hannah had become.
"Hey, Rick! Hannah's got some more sheets in that closet over there. Could you pull those out? I'll change the sheets when I get out of the shower."
"Uh, okay." Rick looked around a little helplessly. He was still looking for the sheets when Colby came out of the shower, hair still damp.
Colby had to laugh. "That would be one of the reasons why Hannah's got a problem with you. Anneliese does all that for you, doesn't she?"
Rick glared at him. "And you're all Suzy Homemaker?"
"Courtesy of the US Army," was the dry reply. Colby made short work of changing the sheets. He stopped suddenly, a stricken look on his face, when he pulled out a silk scarf that had fallen out of view. Slowly, gently, he rolled the scarf up and slipped it into the pocket of his jeans. "You, uh, you going to be able to find your way back to the hospital?"
"Yes, I'll be fine. You should go home, get some rest." Rick's voice was gentle now. He didn't understand the significance of the scarf, but it had obviously brought some memories back for Colby.
"I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow."