Part 10: I Just Came Like This, I'm Already Black and Blue

Henry had taken the position to sit with Echo while they waited on her to wake up. When he walked into the room it felt like the air had been knocked from his lungs just seeing her this way. Her skin was still very pale, which made the bruises on her face seem almost black. They had her left arm in a sling, and the right had a large IV sticking out of it. He walked over and sat down beside the bed and easily took her right hand in his, then bowed his head to say a few words over her.

"Sunshine?" she grumbled, making Henry snap his head back up to look at her. "Oh, Standing Bear. Where am I?"

"You have just gotten out of surgery and in the recovery room, you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice." he said as he gave her hand a little squeeze, "Why did you call me Sunshine?"

Echo's eyes dropped down into her lap, and then it hit Henry who she had thought he was. "How about I step out and let the nurses know you're awake," Echo just nodded still staring down at her hands. "I'll also let Longmire and Mathias know that you're awake too." At the mention of his name, she turned her head to the side to look at the window.

Henry smiled to himself and walked from the room, after alerting the nurses about the news, he stepped to the side to make a call.

After a few rings, he answered. "Mathias."

"She's awake." there was silence on the other end of the line, which confused Henry.

"Well I'm glad to hear it, tell her I hope she feels better soon."

"She has asked for you, twice now." More silence. "Mathias, you walked up a mountain in the middle of a snow storm to make sure she lived, and now that she is awake, you don't want to see her for yourself?"

"I have to go, Standing Bear, there is a lot going on here at the Rez. Like I said, give her my best."

With that he hung up and left Henry standing there staring at his phone completely bewildered at Mathias reaction. He thought Mathias would be rushing here to see her, but not this. What in the world was going on? And now he had to go in there, and tell her he wasn't coming. Henry wasn't sure exactly what was going on between the two, but you had to be blind to not see that something was there. He shook his head and called Longmire to let him know, his reaction was better than Mathias, and said he was on his way.

Henry hung up the phone and walked back into the room, where Echo was standing beside the bed trying to pull pants on. "Ms. Aven, please get back into the bed! You've just had major surgery! Please!" the poor nurse looked like she was close to tears panicking.

"Echo, what are you doing?!"

She finally turned to face Henry as she finished pulling the pants on, "I'm going home."

The nurse turned her pleading eyes to Henry, "Echo, please get back into the bed. You have just gotten out of surgery, you are lucky to be alive. Please stop this."

"I said I'm going home, so I'm going the fuck home now. Remove these tubes from me, or I'll pull them out myself."

The nurse turned and ran from the room, so Henry started walking slowly around the bed towards Echo with his hands out. "Let us just sit and talk about this, Echo. You are being rash in wanting to leave the hospital so soon."

Echo had a crazy look in her eyes, almost as if there was a fire burning behind them. "I will not stay here a minute longer, Henry. I want to go home, right now."
Her hands were shaking by her side, and she looked almost as if she would jump out the window.

About that time Walt and the doctor came into the room, "Echo, what are you doing?"

"I'M GOING THE FUCK HOME! NOW!" she started ripping the gown off of her.

"Whoa whoa, let's take a breath. If you leave now, you have to sign a AMA form, but we don't want to do that. A lot of things could go wrong if you should leave the hospital now."

"I said I do not care, I want to go home, I want to get out of this hospital right now."

Walt turned and looked at the doctor, "Can we have a minute, please?"

The doctor stared back at Walt, then nodded. "I guess, but get her back in the bed before she hurts herself."

After the doctor left the room, Henry had finally made it around the bed and close to Echo. She was still shaking and tears had finally started to fall down her face, so she angrily wiped them off. "Echo, what is going on?"

"You once asked me if I have PTSD, Longmire. This, this place is what triggers it. Being in a hospital sends me back, and I cannot be here. I want to do this at home, not here. Please get me out of here, please." At this point Henry just wrapped his arms around her, where she collapsed into his arms and started crying.

Henry just looked at Walt and nodded his head, "I will take care of her. Let us take her home, Walt."

Walt nodded his head and walked out to speak to the doctor while Henry continued to try and calm her storm.

Mathias was sitting there at his desk holding his head in his hands. What the fuck was he doing? And why was he doing it? He didn't know. He was so confused about everything, his emotions, his thoughts. Why couldn't he stop thinking of her?

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts, so he pushed himself back from the desk and gruffly yelled for them to come in.

One of his youngest officers stepped into his office, "Mind if I sit?"

"Sure, what can I do for you, Harry?"

"Well you know my wife is a nurse at the hospital, Marisol?" Mathias nodded his head at him to continue. "Well she called to let me know that the Sheriffs Deputy they just rescued had a meltdown and they are sending her home."

"What do you mean a meltdown?" Mathias asked sitting forwards, giving his full attention to Harry without even realizing what he was doing.

"I guess she has PTSD about being in hospitals, so she panicked, ripped her IV's out and made them take her home."

"Why are you telling me this, Harry?" he said sitting back into his chair.

Harry stood to leave the room, "Because Marisol also told me who rescued her. So I just felt like you would want to know." and with that, he walked out of the room leaving Mathias sitting there fuming. Why would Henry or Longmire let her leave the hospital? He should've been there to help her, he should be with her right now. He stood and went to get his jacket before it hit him what he was doing. So then he just sat back down and rubbed his face. He needed to stay away from her, and he had done promised himself that he would.

Back at the cabin Henry was helping Echo into the house. Walt was busy cutting her some more wood and feeding her horses, she kept telling them she was fine, that they didn't need to do all this, but they just shushed her every time.

"But really, Henry, I'm fine. Thank you for bringing me home, but you don't have to stay here."

"I will not hear any more of this, I told the doctor I would be taking care of you, so I am. Now let me get you settled in so I can cook you something to eat, I know you must be starving."

"Fine, only because you are the best cook." Henry laughed as he helped her lay down on the couch and covered her up.

Walt came in a few minutes later with a load of wood in his arms. "I have plenty of wood in here, Longmire. You can go home now, I promise."

"Oh, there will be someone here with you at all times until we're sure you're not going to die. So get used to it."

"I'm telling you I'm perfectly fine to take care of myself."

Walt threw a log into the stove and turned to look at her, "I will take you back to the hospital. If you want to do this at home, you're going to do this my way. There will be someone here with you at all times, understood?"

Echo just sighed, her body felt like it had been put through a garbage disposal, so she decided not to push the issue any longer.

Walt walked into the kitchen and spoke with Henry a little bit, then came back into the living room where she was still laying on the couch with her eyes closed. "I'm leaving for the night, Henry is taking first shift watching you, and then will figure out who is next. Don't be stupid, get some rest, and heal so you can come back to work."

Echo chuckled as he then turned and walked out of the door. She wasn't sure what Henry was cooking, but it smelled heavenly and she started drooling as he carried the bowl into the room to her.

"Oh, Standing Bear, what would I ever do without you?"

"Oh I do believe you would starve."

Echo laughed as she started digging into the food, and then Henrys phone started ringing, he looked at the ID and then stepped out onto her front porch to answer.

"Yes, Mathias?"

"Why in the world is she home? She almost died, Standing Bear, why is she not still in the hospital? She just got out of major surgery, what are you guys thinking?!"

"Well, I could answer these questions for you, or you could just come see her for yourself."

Silence.

"Mathias, what is going on all of the sudden? We all know that there is something going on here between you two, and now that she could really use your support, you are not here."

"There is nothing, Standing Bear. I repaid a debt." with that, he ended the call.