I normally would be out running chores now but the chickens tried to kill me yesterday so I am laid up. Hence, I have time to post chapters…
The warm hand caressing his cheek helped him come to after an eternity spent asleep, the third time of waking up becoming progressively harder as his body tired from the prolonged exposure to the elements.
Steve's mind had grown sluggish, unable to form a comprehensive thought beyond the point that he was hurting and sitting outside for one reason or another.
Several voices spoke to him, too many to be able to discern a single question he was being asked, a futile effort regardless considering that he couldn't muster speaking right now.
His body had become too cold, his arms and legs unmoving, the lukewarm blood pumping through his veins doing little to ease the overwhelming grogginess threatening to pull him away from the arms of consciousness.
Comforted by the warm hand on his cheek, he leaned into the touch, feeling another hand appear, this time on his shoulder, the little bit of heat radiating through the thin fabric of his dress shirt reaching all the way to his core.
Next to his ear, he could hear Mike's gentle voice, giving soothing commands he could barely understand beneath the fog that clouded his brain.
More hands appeared all over his body, sterile fingers that pressed here and prodded there. It was enough of a commotion to cause Steve to slowly open up his eyes, blinking against the daylight that was painting the region in a bright orange hue, gently warming his cold core from the outside.
The outline of Mike's face appeared next to him, strained eyes meeting his, trying to hide the deep worry that was so obvious to those who knew the empathetic Lieutenant.
"I told you I was coming back for you. And just look at the crew I brought with me…"
The trembling in Mike's voice reverberated through his hands, communicating his innermost fears with the sole person he felt comfortable sharing it with.
Using all the strength at his disposal, Steve nodded gently, then glanced around the perimeter, seeing too many figures to count, too blurry to recognize.
"His pulse is still low…", a voice to his left said, accompanied by a gloved hand that undid the top few buttons of his dress shirt, before sliding the cold diaphragm of a stethoscope across his chest and upper back, "Respirations are shallow. I'd like to see his heartrate go up to at least 50bpm before attempting to move him. Hopefully the pain meds will help. Lieutenant, is he allergic to morphine?"
Following the commotion like a curious bystander, Steve glanced back at Mike who shook his head slowly.
"Not that I am aware of."
"Ok…very good.", the other voice said and trailed off for a moment, before returning, "Inspector, I am going to give you a shot for the pain. It should take effect pretty quickly and make you feel a bit more comfortable. We'll wait until you feel the meds kick in before attempting to splint your leg for transport. You will feel just a tiny poke in your thigh here in a second…"
The words were meaningless at the moment, not making the least bit of sense. The only thing that did was Mike's presence by his side, the Lieutenant's caring voice helping to put him into a calmer frame of mind, not feeling quite as lost and lonely and scared as he did earlier.
Steve never felt the shot, or being moved for that matter.
When he glanced back up, he was lying flat on his back, the world above him moving at the cadence of synchronized steps through uneven terrain, the tree tops floating by ever so slowly, the rocking motion lulling him to sleep in no time at all.
That was, until the loud banging of car doors being shut woke him back up and Steve found himself staring at the overhead lights of an ambulance, the sound of tires beginning to roll across gravel filling the tense silence within.
And yet, throughout all these confusing images and sensations, one thing remained the same.
It was Mike's warm hand never leaving his shoulder.