Chapter 26

"Shh, Tara, it's okay. Everything must be so confusing for you right now," Myles moved closer to her, using his voice and his touch to soothe her. "I know you have questions and I'll answer them all," he pleaded quietly, attempting to ease her confusion. "It's all over and you're going to be fine, but, sweetheart, I need you to relax."

Her wide, frightened eyes locked with his and she focused on his voice and the solid feel of him beside her. In desperation, she clung to his hand, as he was the one constant for her in the last couple of days.

"It's all over and everyone is safe," Myles spoke quietly, keeping his voice even. "Annie, Craig, and Danni are all fine," he tried to reassure her.

Gradually, Myles thought he could hear the beeping of the machines begin to slow, or at least the tempo changed. However, with the alarms still going off, he did not want to risk looking up at the monitors in case he was wrong.

"I know it must be hard but I know you can do it," he chuckled ruefully as her eyes grew wider with disbelief. "Hey, you did take out Webster. All I did was let him keep slapping me around," he smiled, hoping to remind her of the inner strength he knew she had. "Just concentrate on my voice, baby. You're going to be fine."

Vaguely, Myles heard someone enter the room, telling the others to wait in the hall. However, he never let his eyes leave hers as he murmured words of encouragement, until he felt her give up the panic that had threatened to overtake her.

"That's it, sweetheart. Good girl," he praised her, stroking her face gently. "You're doing great. Just hang in there a little bit longer," he smiled cheerfully, and it grew when he saw the corners of her mouth lift as she tried to smile back.

"Ms. Williams, Mr. Leland." They looked over to see a woman in a white lab coat standing next to the bed.

"I'm Dr. Kayla Stevens," she introduced herself, impressed with the caring nature she had just witnessed. "It looks like we need to see about taking out that tube and getting you a bit more comfortable."

"Dr. Stevens, I think that is probably the best thing we could have heard right now," Myles sighed in relief, smiling down at Tara when he felt her squeeze his hand in agreement.

"I wish I could go ahead and do it now," she smiled apologetically. "We need to get some blood to check your blood gases to make sure they are within normal limits," the doctor explained, holding up the needle and syringe. "It will take a few minutes, but I'll make sure we put a rush on it, okay?" she waited for Tara's short nod of her head before prepping her arm.

Because of the sling on her one arm, the doctor was limited to taking the blood from the arm on the side where Myles sat. He tried to stay out of the way without letting go of Tara's hand.

Attempting to distract her as they waited for the blood analysis, Myles entertained Tara with information about the last few days. Impressed with how she got Danni's help, he told her of his surprise and admiration when the two of them showed up like the Calvary in an old western.

He let her know that Webster and his crony had been turned over to the state police and would be spending quite a while behind bars. Not counting their previous misdeeds, which Danni, Craig, and Annie had agreed to testify about, the two men made the fatal mistake of threatening the lives of two federal agents.

Though it was only minutes, it seemed like an eternity to Tara, but she concentrated on his voice, trying to block out everything else. Knowing that it was almost over gave her the extra boost she needed to help her get through this painfully drawn out wait.

Finally, Dr. Stevens returned with a smile. Beginning by telling her that her pH, oxygen, and carbon dioxide levels were perfect, she then explained the procedure.

As they listened, Myles began wishing he could wait outside with the others. However, he knew that he could not leave her now even though he felt a little unsettled. It's not even you, Leland, get a grip, he scolded himself harshly as Tara nodded her readiness to the doctor.

With a short pause for her to catch her breath after enduring having her trachea and mouth suctioned, Tara exhaled forcefully as Dr. Stevens pulled the tube quickly and smoothly out. Myles clung to her ignoring the pain in his arm as she gagged and wheezed fitfully until she was finally able to breathe without coughing.

Tara sank back into her pillow still somewhat out of breath. Her chest felt like it was on fire, but she was just glad to have that tube out of her throat.

Myles gripped her hand tightly as Dr. Stevens listened to her lungs and fitted Tara with a nasal cannula dispensing oxygen through two soft prongs at her nose. After injecting medication into her IV to help ease her obvious discomfort, Dr. Stevens finally left them alone again.

"Are you okay?" Myles whispered as he gently brushed away the tears that had slipped from her hazel eyes.

"Yes," Tara croaked, her voice brittle and scratchy. She was surprised by the abrasive quality to her voice.

Reaching for a water glass, Myles winced in empathy as he saw how painful it was for her to swallow. Braving another sip that went down smoother, Tara sighed as the cool liquid soothed her scorched throat.

"Th-th…" she tried to whisper. Finally giving up, Tara lifted her unfettered hand to sign, THANK-YOU.

The past hour had left her utterly exhausted and worn out. Tara struggled to keep her eyes open, especially after the pain medication she had just received.

"Sleep, my dear," Myles whispered brushing her forehead with a kiss. "I'll be here when you wake up," he promised.

With a sigh, Tara allowed the sweet darkness to engulf her. Myles stroked her hand as he felt he could finally relax. Myles closed his eyes as he listened to her soft breathing finally knowing Tara was going to be just fine.

When he was sure that she was comfortable, Myles pushed away from the bed. While everything was finally right in here, he needed to clear up some things with Jack and Bobby about the events of the last few days.