I slept straight through until the evening. When I woke up, Grant was still in the room beside me. "I'm sorry for making such a big production over getting my dressings changed", I said.

Grant smiled. "I know that it was incredibly painful. First of all, you are one of the strongest people that I have ever met and if you say it was painful, it likely would have felled another person. And I also know that burns are painful and then there is an infection on top. You didn't make a big production. I was actually amazed at the strength that you showed."

"Strength! I cried like a baby."

Grant smiled. "Most people would have passed out."

I looked at him and thought about that for a moment. "That would have been good." Grant laughed. "It's a bad infection, isn't it?" I said quietly.

"Yes. However, I gave you one of the strongest antibiotics that there is. I honestly do expect that the infection will be a lot better tomorrow."

"Will it be as painful tonight to do the dressings change?"

Grant looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry", he said.

I sighed. "Can we do it after the kids go to bed and are asleep? They don't usually take long to go to sleep. If we did that, Ranger could be here with me."

"I know, and we can absolutely do that. How is your stomach?"

"Threatening to come up again."

"Okay. I'm going to give you another medication right now, so that hopefully you'll be able to swallow some soup. Ranger is making you cream of carrot soup for dinner. He said that it's one of your favorites. I've never heard of it before. I mean, it doesn't come condensed in a can."

I smiled. "It is one of my favorites, but most things that Ranger makes are my favorites. He's an incredible chef."

"Then I'm glad I accepted the dinner invitation. I'm not that great a chef myself."

I smiled. "When I was single, my food either came from doggy bags from my mother, one of the various delivery options, or periodically the frozen section at the grocery store. When I told Ranger's parents that I didn't know how to cook, his parents had a level of pity in their eyes as if I had told them that I had a terminal disease and only had two days left to live. They own a restaurant and they frequently tell Ranger that, if the security business doesn't work out for him, they could use another hand in the kitchen." Grant laughed. "Ranger has kept his success quiet, and his parents are no exception to that. However, Ranger loves to cook, uses it as a method of self-soothing, and we get the kids involved in the process so that it becomes a family-togetherness time. We talk about our days and all help out. Because of Ranger's ability to make learning fun and to require everyone to help, I can actually cook a few simple meals now. It's been a long time since I had a peanut butter and olive sandwich for dinner."

"A peanut butter and olive sandwich? Luckily, I can cook a bit better than that."

I smiled. "Don't knock it until you try it. I only ate them when I felt like something gourmet for dinner. The other thing I would eat if I wanted something gourmet was a frozen lasagne with extra cheese added to it."

"Hunh. My gourmet meal is boxed macaroni and cheese with slices of hot dogs and frozen peas cooked into it. I've been eating that since I was a child. It was the first meal that I ever learned to make myself."

"Oh boy. Don't tell Ranger that, or you'll be getting cooking lessons. First, he is a purist and thinks boxed macaroni and cheese is blasphemous. He doesn't believe the cheese is anything other than chemicals. Then, hot dogs. He doesn't think there is real meat in a hot dog. He says that it is ground fat in a casing and despite the fact that I like hot dogs and the kids adore hot dogs, he has steadfastly refused to make them for me. He didn't even know that the kids liked them until I told him. He had been boasting of the kids' exceptional taste when I told him that the kids had eaten them and liked them and, in fact, when he isn't there for dinner, hot dogs were what I made. He was horrified. The kids have now realized that he hates hot dogs, so when we go to a restaurant, they order them and when they are eating them, they moan in appreciation just to see the expression on his face. Tia especially does that. She will also ask him if he would like a bite, and her eyes will just be glistening with mirth. It's all he can do to stay at the table and not gag."

"What would he prefer for you to eat instead?"

"Chicken, beef, pork, fish – real food. He uses a lot of real ingredients, doesn't take a lot of shortcuts, and he cooks a lot of vegetables to go with the meal. Usually at dinner a quarter of our plate will be a protein, a quarter will be a starch, a quarter will be a green vegetable and a quarter will be a yellow or orange or red vegetable. We will often have a salad with it as well. Do you know what you are having with the carrot soup?"

"Green Goddess sandwiches and a salad? I think that's what he said."

"One of Ranger's personal comfort foods. You're going to love it. The filling is made from tuna and mayo and herbs with a hint of lemon, and topped with cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, and green pepper, and is served on toasted whole wheat English muffins that have been brushed with melted butter before toasting. It is so good I don't think you can technically call it a sandwich. I can guarantee that you'll rave over it, but make sure that you comment on how good the salad is. The girls will probably make the salad themselves, and they will be very proud of their addition to the dinner."

Grant smiled. "Will you want to try a sandwich?"

I could feel my face turn white. "I'll be lucky to keep a few mouthfuls of the soup down."

"What's your pain level?"

"Ten for my left leg, an eight, maybe, for my right, a six for my abdominal tear, and a one for my lungs."

"Is that ten less of a ten from earlier? Or is it as painful?"

"Maybe a little less? I'm not sure if it really is a little less, or whether it is just my imagination wanting to see an improvement that isn't really there."

"Fair enough. Eduardo is on the way over now, and he is picking up IV supplies on the way. We are going to insert an IV so that we don't have to worry about you getting dehydrated, and so that it's easier to insert painkillers when you are sleeping. In the meantime, would you like some ice?"

I smiled, and he left the room for the kitchen. I closed my eyes and meditated, and he was soon back with the ice. "Ranger wanted to know if you'd like your soup now so that you can take a painkiller sooner."

I smiled. "Taking a painkiller sooner seems like a very good idea."

Grant handed me the mug full of ice and left the room, and minutes later returned with a travel mug of soup. He helped prop me up with pillows so that I could drink the liquid. As I got comfortable, Kai came in. "Hey, Steph", he said. "I heard you had a rough day."

"It wasn't one that I'd want to repeat."

Kai smiled, but when I looked at him he looked a little worried. He took my temperature. "One hundred and three", he said to Grant.

"That's a degree less than at eleven this morning."

I looked from Kai's worried face to Grant's worried face. "This is bad, isn't it?" I said quietly.

"Yes", said Kai. "However, the fight has just started and no one is giving up yet."

"What's the worst-case scenario?" Kai looked at me and assessed me, and I could tell that he didn't want to tell me. I sighed. "Losing my legs?"

"It's an option", said Kai. "However, we are too soon into this to think that way. The fact of the matter is that we caught the infection, we are using a sledgehammer of an antibiotic to deal with it. It will increase your nausea but is incredibly effective at ridding the body of bacterial infections. Grant has been dosing you with two antinauseants today to try to help you keep your stomach down. It may not feel like it, but we are. Additionally, Eduardo will be here soon with an IV stand and some tubing so that we can hook you up to saline and not have to worry about you becoming dehydrated."

"If it goes septic, could I die?"

"We caught this early on, and it is unlikely to go septic."

"That wasn't what I said. If it goes septic, could I die?"

"You would definitely be hospitalized and yes, there would be a chance that you could die."

I thought about that for a moment. "Well, damn."

"Steph, it hasn't gone septic yet. We are hammering it with an incredibly strong antibiotic. The chances of it going septic are slight. Your fever is coming down and that is a great sign. I look forward to your dressings change and seeing Grant assess if there has been any difference."

I drank as much of the soup as I thought that I could keep down, which wasn't more than a few mouthfuls. As I finished, Eduardo walked in with an IV stand and a few bags of supplies. "Hey", he said with a smile. "I was wondering if I could take a few minutes to do a check-in with you."

I smiled. "That probably is a good idea. I heard that you and Grant found an incredible place to live."

Eduardo grinned. "He gave me the entire third floor. It has a large bathroom, a large walk-in closet, and an enormous bedroom and sitting room, and it has a little balcony that overlooks the river. It's even nicer than my apartment here. I went out and bought a gun safe for Grant and another for myself today, and installed them, and I picked up a handful of paint chips in the colors that Grant had suggested that he liked, as well as the colors that I liked. One of the nice things that is in my apartment is a piece of furniture that looks custom-made. In it is a mini fridge that I can keep water cold, and a Keurig coffee machine on top that will allow me to have a coffee while I get ready for work without having to run up and down the stairs. The place is absolutely stunning."

"I am so happy for you."

Eduardo grinned. "I'm happy for me, too. First of all, it's the nicest place that I have ever seen and I never thought that I would live in such a nice place. Then, added in, I am living with one of my best friends, and just four houses down the street from another one of my best friends. It's fucking awesome."

I laughed.

"How are you doing?"

Kai finished inserting the IV and hooked me up to a bag of saline. "Okay."

Kai squeezed my shoulder and he and Grant left the room.

"Okay?" said Eduardo. "Explain."

I thought for a moment. "I'm scared", I said.

"Talk to me."

"Grant said to Ranger that the infection was bad. Ranger is now making his comfort food for dinner. I didn't hear everything that Grant said because I fell asleep, but when he was washing my legs with antiseptic cleaner, I had never felt pain like that before. It broke through my painkiller and, if that is what it felt like with painkiller in my system, I can only be glad that Grant used such a strong painkiller on me."

"How bad is bad?"

"I made an agreement with Kai and Grant when we were in Scotland that they wouldn't hide anything from me. I could tell that they didn't want to honor that agreement today, but they did because they promised. They said that, if the infection gets worse, it could become septic and I could die. Alternatively, if the infection doesn't turn worse but also doesn't clear, I might lose my legs. And if it gets better, I will be restricted to two hours of work a day for the foreseeable future. I don't know which of those is the worst option."

Eduardo smiled at my attempt at humor. "Are you happy to know?"

"Yes. I hate not knowing - especially when everyone else knows and looks worried. It makes me feel like I am about to kick the bucket, and that there is little hope."

"Do you think there is little hope?"

I snorted. "No. One of my favorite sayings was said by Yogi Berra - 'it ain't over 'til it's over'. I've got a lot of fight in me, Eduardo, and there is always hope. It's not over yet."

Eduardo smiled. "And that attitude? That's why you're going to beat it. Steph, you've had a history of beating the odds, and this time is no different. Yes, you might have to sleep a little more than you want. You might have to take heavy-duty painkillers more than you want. You might have to work a little less than you want. But I have no doubt that you are going to kick this.

"And that's you. Kai and Grant are gearing down and are ready to fight for you. Ranger has always been ready to fight for you. All your friends are here, and they too are ready to fight for you. We will all fight for you to do whatever you need to do to get through this. You have a lot of people surrounding you with love, and that is going to help."

I smiled. "Do you believe in the power of positive thinking?"

"Absolutely. I also believe that having a lot of people send positive energy your way will help give you the energy to fight."

I smiled. "I do as well. Healing energy."

Eduardo smiled. "That's right, and you have a lot of healing energy coming your way."

"Eduardo? Can you do me a favor and talk to Ranger as well? I'm worried about him. He's really struggling."

"How can you tell?"

"It's in all the little things. He looks incredibly worried. The tension around his eyes. I can hear the anxiety in his voice. He is making his own personal comfort food for dinner. I think I even heard him crying this afternoon. I could be making that last one up though, as I was whacked out on painkillers at the time."

"We'll take care of him", said Eduardo. "Ranger worked from his home office for a while this afternoon. However, he also spent part of the afternoon in your room and talked to Grant, and Grant left the room so that Ranger could cry for a while. You probably did hear him. He said that you woke up at one point, cupped his cheek with your hand, and told him not to worry, that you were a goddamned SEAL and SEALs don't give up. And then you went to sleep again."

I smiled. I hoped that I made Ranger laugh with that comment.

"So Ranger got out your Medal of Hooyah that the staff made you, and he put it on your nightstand to remind you that you are a goddamned Navy SEAL, and Navy SEALs never give up."

I smiled again. "Hooyah", I said.

Eduardo laughed. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"Pain levels?"

"Tens, pretty well across the board, just because I am exhausted and having trouble coping because of it. They were less a bit ago, but I'm getting too tired to fight."

"Okay. How about I ask Grant to come in here and give your next painkiller and after it has had a chance to work for a while, he and Kai can change your dressings."

"Oh boy."

Eduardo smiled. "Hopefully the painkiller will work better this time. Grant was planning on using an even stronger one."

"Thank God."

Eduardo smiled sympathetically, rubbed my arm, and got up and walked out of my room. Minutes later, Grant and Kai walked in. "Hey, Steph", said Kai. "Ranger is eating dinner with the girls and after we administer the medication, we are going back to finish our meal and Ranger is going to come in to say goodnight."

"Okay. Judging by what happened this morning, he'll get another chance to say goodnight to me when you are changing the dressings."

Grant smiled. "We are going to use an even stronger painkiller than we used this morning. Kai prescribed it this afternoon, and Eduardo picked it up from the pharmacy. There should not be any breakthrough of pain like there was this morning, despite us needing to go through the same steps."

"Thank you."

"Ranger is going to sleep beside you in the bed tonight, but I'm going to sleep in your spare room. With Kai working during the day, he doesn't have as much ability to get up at night. However, I will be getting up every hour or so to check on you. If you wake up and need me, wake Ranger and get him to retrieve me, okay?"

"Thank you."

Grant held my hand and massaged the skin on the back of it. "Steph? We'll get through this together and, although it looks bad right now, I have utter confidence that this will work out okay."

I looked at him and smiled slowly. "Of course it will. I'm not going to give my sister a chance to gloat."

Kai snorted out a laugh. "That's the spirit", he said.