That night Eric staid by her side and she slept most of it without too many problems. Eric left early in the morning to head home and shower before going into the base. He had kissed her on the forehead and told her he'd come back at the end of the day. If everything went well, she would be released in a little more than 24 hours. Exhausted, she had fallen back asleep within minutes of him leaving the room.
Emily took in the blows and kicks as she begged the guy to stop.
"Emily?"
"No. Please stop. Stop!"
"Emily, you're safe."
She felt a warm hand over hers and she slowly made her way back to the surface as she opened her eyes slowly. She was heaving and she could feel her heart racing. She blinked a couple of times as she looked at Naima standing next to her bed who had her hand gently over hers and checking her vitals on the monitor.
"You were agitated, and your heart was racing quite a bit. You think you can try to calm down a bit for me? I'd rather not give you any meds."
Emily looked at her and swallowed. She inhaled and exhaled. "They could have killed me. I've been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and faced some pretty bad people and I couldn't handle those three guys."
"Sweetie, what you went through is awful, but you can't compare that to war, and you know it. Those guys were cowards and they sure as hell didn't fight fair. You're here and you're safe. Try not to think too much about it. OK?"
Naima looked again at the monitors, they were still high, and she really needed to calm down.
"I think I have something that will be able to help you settle down."
"Naima, I don't want any meds, I'm already sleeping most of the time," said Emily as she watched Naima headed for the door.
Naima opened the door and disappeared for a few seconds before she reentered the room, behind her Sonny.
She looked at Sonny as she stepped aside. "You've got thirty minutes, after that, it's rounds, and you shouldn't be here. Try to help settle her down."
"Yes Ma'am," replied Sonny as he stared at Emily's monitors.
Emily looked at Naima. "I thought you were going to get meds?"
Naima smiled at her. "I did. Love is still the best natural remedy of all times. I'll leave you two."
Sonny hugged Naima briefly, and walked over to
When she had left the room, he walked over to her and took her in his arms. With his arms around her, she felt safe, she felt that the world could come crashing down and she'd still be safe. This was where she belonged.
"You saved my life," she whispered in his ear.
He pulled away just enough so that he still held her in his arms, but their faces were forehead to forehead. "It was about time you let me do the lifesaving, don't you think?"
"I wouldn't mind if we didn't need to do that for the rest of our lives."
"I hear you," he answered, "even if it is the case, I'll always have your six."
She smiled. "I know and I'll always have yours."
Naima watched through the window of the door as they talked and kissed. It brought warmth to her heart and it was obvious that they were truly in love.
Sonny settled down next to Emily in the bed and pulled her into him.
"I think you should take medical leave until the end of your notice period," he said casually.
"There's only a couple of months left, and the doctor says that as long as I don't overdo it physically that I should get back on my feet sooner rather than later. It's part of the post-op care."
"So, no active duty?"
She looked at him. "No, active duty. I promise. For the time being it's walking and TAC."
He gave her a sexy look. "What?! No sex on that post-op care list?"
"I don't know. I didn't think of asking in front of Eric," she said jokingly.
"Good point. Maybe we can ask Naima?"
Emily laughed. "What? No. We'll just take it easy. One day at a time. OK Cowboy?"
"I can be extremely gentle, and I promise to do all the hard work."
"Well, aren't I lucky."
Her eyes got lost in his. "I love you, Sonny. I love you more than I've ever loved any other man in my life."
"I love you too," he answered as he kissed her.
