Two weeks later, Nathan lay staring at the ceiling once more. He was positive he had memorized every detail of their bedroom ceiling. Fidgeting slightly, he tried to find a more comfortable position. It wasn't working.
Elizabeth walked into the room with a tray holding soup and bread. Nathan looked at her, a pleading look in his eyes. "Can we eat in the living room today? Please?"
She must have seen the desperation in his eyes, because she smiled tenderly. "Of course, sweetheart. Let me go put this down, and then I'll help you."
"Thank you," Nathan called after her as she went to place the tray on their living room coffee table. She was back within seconds, and she carefully helped him sit up. "Gently," she told him.
He smiled wryly. "Elizabeth, you tell me that every time I get out of bed. I'll be careful."
"I know," she said. "But the nurse in me can't help it."
He chuckled, kissing her cheek as she helped him to stand. "I love you, sweetheart. You know that?"
"Mmhmm," she said half-distractedly, making sure he was well supported before helping him walk to the living room. Nathan smiled, letting it go for now. He'd tell her again as they sat together on the couch.
Once he was situated, Elizabeth sat next to him and handed him a bowl of soup. "Beef barley," she said. "It's a new recipe. I hope you like it."
Nathan took a bite and nodded. "I like it. This is delicious, Elizabeth. Thank you."
"You're welcome." They ate quietly for a bit, and Nathan shifted his weight slightly. He didn't care to admit it, but he was more comfortable laying down than he was sitting up. The pain grew a bit when he was sitting, but he was so tired of lying on his back, he figured he could deal with some pain for short periods of time.
He knew Elizabeth noticed. She always gave him the side eye when he was sitting, especially when he involuntarily winced. Like right now.
"You're in pain again," she stated.
Nathan knew better than to deny it. "Yes."
"And you're sure you want to be sitting up?"
"Yes," he said again. "I need this, Elizabeth. I can't take twenty-four hours a day flat on my back. The living room feels like a total change of scenery, and I love being out here." He smiled, trailing a hand down her arm. "Especially since I get to sit next to you, my lovely wife. Have I mentioned how much I love you?"
She raised a brow. "You're trying to distract me."
He laughed. "No, ma'am, that was pure truth." He tugged her toward him, pressing a kiss to her lips. She pulled back after a few seconds, a hand to his chest. "Nathan…"
"I know, I know," he said with a sigh. "Not a good idea." He frowned. "But I miss kissing you. Really kissing you."
A soft look entered her eyes. "I miss it too," she said, pressing a hand to his cheek. "But this is only temporary, my love. We can get through this."
He ached to hold her, but still couldn't even do that. "I want to hold you more than anything," he said, his voice barely over a whisper.
Elizabeth's eyes teared, and he saw that she wanted that too. "Soon," she said softly. "Within two more weeks we should be able to hug again without worrying about hurting you." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard, Nathan. But we'll be stronger for it when all is said and done."
"You're right." He took as deep a breath as he could without hurting himself. "So, what are we going to do this evening? Movie night?"
She nodded. "A movie sounds good. But first…" She smiled sympathetically. "We have to get those wounds cleaned."
Nathan sighed. "I know. But I really don't like this part of the day, for the record."
Elizabeth stood. "I know, sweetheart. But it's necessary for your recovery." She helped him to lay down, then walked to the bathroom to gather what she needed. Coming back, she carefully lifted his shirt to expose the bandages. She took them off, and Nathan looked down to see his wounds. They were still red and jagged, but they were healing. She pressed the peroxide-soaked cotton to his skin, and Nathan sucked in his breath at the initial sting. Elizabeth quickly and efficiently cleaned and rebandaged him, then slid his shirt back in place. "All done," she said with a smile. "Now, about that movie…"
A knock sounded at the door. Elizabeth went to answer it, finding Lee standing on the doorstep. "Hey, Elizabeth," Lee said, coming into the room. "Hi, Nathan."
"Hi, Lee," Nathan said. "Good to see you. What brings you over?"
"I'm here to kick Elizabeth out for a bit," Lee said with a grin. "Rosemary informed me she hasn't had much in the way of a break for a couple days since Colleen wasn't feeling well. So I'm here to keep you company while she does something for herself."
"Oh, that's not necessary," Elizabeth protested. "We were just about to watch a movie together…"
"There's no use protesting," Lee said with an eyebrow raise. "Carson informed me that if you refused, he would call every couple of minutes until you decided to follow orders. We don't need you burning out."
"Oh, fine," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "I'll go visit with Faith at Coffee and Books."
"For a minimum of an hour," Lee instructed, taking a seat next to Nathan. "Preferably longer."
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at him, then bent down to give Nathan a kiss. "I'll be back soon."
"But not too soon!" Lee said, pointing at her. "If you're back within an hour, I'm kicking you right back out that door again."
Elizabeth laughed and waved, closing the door behind her. Lee turned to face Nathan. "So how are you doing? Over two weeks on bed rest...I don't know how you're doing it!"
"Me neither," Nathan said with a grunt. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done. And I'm not even doing anything. Literally!"
Lee smiled. "It must be difficult. Hopefully I can help take your mind off things. What do you want to talk about?"
"How about work?" Nathan suggested. "I haven't heard of anything that's going on lately. Anything interesting?"
Lee shook his head. "We processed everything that happened with Wyatt and his accomplice. The accomplice is sitting in jail, waiting for his trial, which should happen soon. Other than that, things have been pretty quiet. Thankfully."
Nathan could tell there was something Lee wasn't telling him. "What is it?"
"What is what?" Lee asked, trying to look innocent.
Nathan gave him a look that said he wasn't fooled. "Out with it, Coulter. We both know you're a terrible liar."
Lee sighed. "Fine. I was temporarily promoted to detective to fill in while you're gone."
Nathan processed that, and felt a happiness for Lee that made him smile. "That's great! Why wouldn't you want to tell me?"
"I wasn't sure how you would take it," Lee admitted. "It's only temporary, until you're well enough to come back."
Nathan was quiet for several long moments. "You know, I've never understood why I'm the only detective on the force. You work just as hard as I do, and you're clever and tough." He pursed his lips, nodding. "I think I'm going to ask Bill to let your promotion be permanent. Then you and I could officially be partners, and if one of us is out, there's still a working detective on the force."
Lee's mouth fell open. "You really mean that?"
"Of course I do. I think it's brilliant," Nathan said, grinning. "You deserve it Lee. And I know Bill will agree. He'll probably be grumpy that he didn't think of it first."
Lee chuckled, then turned serious. "Nathan, I truly appreciate your support. It means the world to me."
Nathan clapped him on the shoulder. "Anything for you, my friend." He leaned back, careful to avoid moving too quickly. "How's the rebuild of your house coming? I can hear the construction workers, but haven't seen anything."
"They're almost done with the framing," Lee said. "It's coming along well. We're having them rebuild it in almost the exact same way as before, except this time we're adding another bedroom. Rosie wanted a guest room in case anyone needs to stay with us, and since we adopted Lucas we didn't have a free room. Now we will."
"That's great. So what's your move-in timetable?"
Lee shrugged. "If all goes according to plan, we should be able to move back in within two months. I must say, I'm looking forward to it. The house the insurance company put us in is fine, but it's not home. It'll be nice to have our own house back again. Even if it is slightly different."
"I'm happy for you guys," Nathan said. "It must have been so hard losing your home."
Lee nodded. "That was rough. But compared to what Faith went through, and what you and Elizabeth went through, I feel blessed that we only lost our house. Homes can be rebuilt." He was quiet for a moment. "The rest of you were physically and emotionally scarred."
Nathan looked him in the eye. "You almost died, Lee. Rosemary was terrified that she was going to lose you. That kind of thing leaves an emotional scar as well." He sighed. "We've all suffered some kind of trauma over the last several weeks. Thankfully we're all starting to heal."
"I worry about Faith sometimes," Lee admitted. "Most of the time she seems fine, but her sparkle is gone."
Nathan felt a lump in his throat. Faith had suffered a lot. "She's been meeting with Fr. Frank for counseling in the past couple weeks," he said. "Hopefully that will help."
"Good," Lee said. "I hope she's able to heal fully."
"Me too," Nathan said. They sat silently for a few minutes, each lost in thought of all that had been lost in less than two months. Finally, Nathan shook himself out of it. "I think we might need a distraction. How about a game of cards?"
Lee grinned. "Perfect."
A few days later, Elizabeth was once again kicked out of her home, this time by Colleen. "Go on," her sister-in-law said. "You have three hours, and I expect you to have some fun."
Elizabeth slung her hiking backpack over her shoulders. She was wearing her bathing suit under her hiking clothes, intending to go for a swim after her hike. "You're sure that's not too long?" she asked. "Nathan is napping right now, so you should have some time to yourself as well."
"Don't worry about me," Colleen said, placing her laptop on the table. "I'm going to be working. But don't worry, I'll make sure Nathan has everything he needs. I even brought some books to read to him if he's feeling particularly bored."
Elizabeth chuckled. "Thanks, Colleen. I'll see you in a bit."
"Have fun!" Colleen said with a wave.
Elizabeth walked to her favorite hiking trail and spent the next hour walking the various paths. She smiled at everyone she met along the way, and even pet a few dogs who came bounding up to her with their tails wagging. She felt reinvigorated as she got in her favorite form of exercise. Being outside in the sun and feeling the wind on her face reminded her how much she had missed being outdoors. Once Nathan was better, they would have to start hiking regularly.
After her hike, she jogged to the beach. Leaving her backpack under a bush, she ran for the water, splashing into the waves and diving under them headfirst. She came back up to the surface, laughter bubbling up inside. It felt heavenly being in the water again. She took some time to simply float on her back, then started swimming the length of the small beach. By the time she was done, she felt happy and carefree. She was glad people kept insisting she get out of the house. Having time to herself ultimately meant she was better able to care for Nathan.
She walked back to her bag and looked at her watch. There was still another hour for her to use up before she was allowed back at her house. She dried off, then slipped a sundress over her bathing suit. She towel dried her hair and tied it loosely in a braid. Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, she decided to visit the cafe for a scone and a chat with Faith. When she got to her destination, the barista told her that Faith hadn't come in today. Elizabeth frowned. That was unlike her friend.
"Did she give a reason?" Elizabeth asked, noting that the young woman's name was Penny.
The girl shook her head. "She just said she couldn't make it today."
"Hmm. Okay," Elizabeth said, making a mental note to call her friend before going back home. "I'll take a coffee and scone to go, please."
Penny handed her the items, and Elizabeth thanked her. She munched on the scone and drank the coffee as she wandered through town. Catching sight of Sacred Heart, she decided to stop by to pray for a bit. Throwing her trash in the trash can outside the church, she pulled open the doors and blinked for a few moments, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. She entered the sanctuary and paused, seeing someone else sitting in her normal pew. She squinted, realizing it was Faith. She smiled and walked down the aisle, sitting next to her friend. Elizabeth intended to kneel, but as she glanced at Faith, she stopped cold.
Faith's face was pale and tear streaked, her eyes vacant. Elizabeth felt fear for her friend jolt through her, and she wrapped an arm around Faith's shoulders. "Faith! What's wrong?" she asked. "Did something happen?"
Nodding, more tears slipped down Faith's cheeks. She gripped the hand Elizabeth held out to her hard. "What am I going to do?" she whispered, the tears coming faster.
"About what?" Elizabeth asked. "You can talk to me, Faith. What's going on?"
Faith finally turned to look at Elizabeth. Her eyes were red and she sniffled as she tried to stop the tears. Her words sent waves of shock coursing through Elizabeth.
"I'm pregnant."
