Chapter Seventeen
I'm sorry to all those who are following this story that I haven't updated in such a long time, especially after ending the last chapter the way I did. I hope everyone liked it. So here is the next part – Enjoy!
Steve felt like an eighteen-wheeler had run over his chest.
He felt numb and disoriented when he opened his eyes to a sterile white room, the smell that could only be attributed to a hospital, assaulted his senses, making him cringe.
The bright light, which could only be morning sunlight, flooded his eyes and made him squint as he looked around the room. His narrowed gaze landed on a small table near his bed, with a jug of water and a covered dish on top of it. He looked at the numerous machines around, one to monitor his heart, the other to monitor the morphine that he was being fed. No wonder he didn't feel any pain, he was totally stoned to the gills! Not to mention the number of IV's in his arm.
He heard a rustling to his left side, so he made himself turn. The sight of another hospital bed immediately greeted him, much like his own, just with not so many machines hooked into the person lying in it.
He smiled as he spotted the familiar body, even though her face was turned away from him and she was shrouded in the covers. He knew exactly who was sharing his room.
His bed was close enough that he could reach across and touch her hand, the one that was tapped with an IV needle in it. It almost looked obscene the way the needle had bruised her delicate skin.
Steve lightly touched her soft hand, careful not to disturb the needle. His gaze followed her arm and the numerous shallow cuts and deeper ones that had been bandaged along her arm.
His head started to hurt as the images of Naomi on the yacht flooded in his mind. It was just before the chaos had broken out. He knew that he had reacted badly and completely out of character. Simply put, he had lost control. And it was completely unacceptable for him to do that. As a SEAL.
But as a man who watched the result of his girlfriend's torture by a sadistic bastard, he had reacted the way he needed to.
He did not regret anything. Including getting shot. It was a hazy memory, but he knew what he had done. It had been a gut reaction to push Naomi out of the way. And he would do it again, if she ever were in danger in the future.
Naomi stirred as he caressed her hand. She turned around to face him, his breath stopped in his lungs when he saw the fading bruises and cuts on her face and what was exposed of her neck. Her face was pale and she looked like she had lost weight. He had no idea how long they had been in the hospital.
Steve moved his hand to caress her cheek, a butterfly bandage on her cheekbone. She opened her deep green eyes and blinked at him across the small space between their beds. He could feel his side stretching as he awkwardly tried to stay in physical contact with her. But any amount of pain was worth looking at the expression of surprise and happiness in her beautiful eyes.
"You woke up? Or am I just dreaming?" she whispered almost to herself. She levered onto her arms and turned to him, flinching as the skin of her hand pinched around the IV needle.
She reached over and touched his face, bending her head and kissing his lips. It was a chaste, lingering and sweet kiss that made his trampled chest tighten.
"Yeah I'm up and I would love some water, please" his rusty voice was hoarse and unused.
"Let me get the nurse" she said as she reached for the calling button on his bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked as they waited for someone to come.
"Like a truck ran over me" he smiled slightly.
Naomi only frowned, "You lost a lot of blood and you were unconscious for so long that we were all worried".
Before he could say anything, a nurse dressed in blue scrubs entered the room, "Good morning Commander. Its nice to see you awake". She cheerfully started to ask him questions about how he was feeling, making him describe in detail. "Your vitals look good and your talking, that's always a good sign" she smiled as she looked at Naomi, "Now maybe you will rest easy". The nurse left after she told him that the doctor would be around in a little while.
"What did she mean by you resting easy?" he asked Naomi, who had propped herself by raising the bed.
She averted her eyes, "I couldn't sleep easily that's all".
Steve reached for her hand again, "Were you worried about me?"
Naomi turned back to him and gave him an incredible look, "Well, duh"
He laughed at that slightly, "Just tell me where we are?"
"We're in Bethesda Naval Hospital, and we've been here for a week" she told him.
"I've been out for a week?" he asked surprised. Because he didn't feel as bad as he thought he should.
"Yes you have. And worried everyone around you" she brushed a hand across his brow in a soothing motion. Steve closed his eyes. "Everyone is staying close at my fathers house, because no one wants to go back while you're still in hospital".
"You mean the entire 5.0 team is on leave?" he asked with a laugh. He was pleasantly surprised by his teams loyalty, never expecting them to leave their lives so they could be close to him.
"Well they did have some words with the Governor, but papa spoke with her. Besides, they plainly refused to go back" Naomi reached for the glass of water with the straw in it. She helped him with the straw so he could drink.
"Would I be able to eat anything? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" he commented as he felt his stomach hollow.
"I think we should wait for the doctor before you ask Danny to get you some food. I can't picture you eating this horrible hospital food, although I don't mind the chocolate moose" she babbled.
"You son of a bitch, you woke up" Steve turned to watch his partner Danny walk into the room, dressed casually in jeans and a white t – shirt.
"Thanks for being so worried about me" Steve said with a smile.
Danny came over, "You scared the shit out of all of us" he carefully placed his hand on Steve's arm, "How're you feeling?"
"You know how it feels to be shot. What do you think?" he said as Danny flinched.
"Probably a hundred times worse than I did" Danny sat himself on the chair nearby, "Its really great to see your eyes open, buddy. The last few days we've been in and out, you lying there as still as a…" he trailed away carefully looking Naomi's way.
Steve followed his eyes and observed silent tears slipping out of her lovely green eyes, "Baby, its okay" he tried to soothe her by taking her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth. He really wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, but he couldn't move without dislodging some tube or the other from his body. Not to mention the pain that was starting to creep up on him.
He must have made a sound because Naomi said, "I think your morphine hasn't kicked in yet".
He grunted as he shifted and tried to make himself more comfortable. "Naomi told me that you guys defied the Governor's orders and remained here".
"Yeah well we needed a vacation after the hell you two put all of us through" Danny smiled slightly. "Honestly, how could you imagine that we would leave you here and work as if nothing had changed? Especially when no one knew what your condition was".
"You guys have to know that I really appreciate that" Steve flinched again, but was pleasantly brought out of his pain when Chin and Kono walked in.
"Even battered, bruised and shot, you still look good boss" Kono commented as she came toward him and kissed him on his stubbly cheek.
"I second that. Welcome back, brah" Chin clasped his hand on Steve's forearm, "You had all of us worried".
"So I heard. But I'm glad I wasn't out for too long".
"A week was long enough" Naomi said from his side, her small hand trembled slightly.
"Alright everyone, good to see the commotion is because you are awake Commander, but I need everyone out while I check you out" a tall man dressed in Naval khaki's and a doctor's white coat interrupted them. He was imposing and managed to shoo all of them out in a space of seconds. Maybe Steve should learn how to do that.
The doctor turned his attention back to Steve, "Good morning Commander, I'm your doctor Captain Gelfand. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot"
"He's very funny" the doctor smiled gently at Naomi. As the doctor checked Steve's wound, he gripped Naomi's small hand harder. "You don't have any infection in the wound, and although you have been unconscious, it was more of a deep sleep than a coma. And we have been monitoring your brain activity and other vitals".
"So that means I can leave soon" Steve asked hopefully.
"What you need to do is relax in this bed, move only if you have to because you have a gaping hole in your chest" Naomi said to him.
The doctor laughed at that, "You need to listen to your lady. If it weren't for her you wouldn't have made it".
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just had to give you mouth to mouth" Naomi said before the doctor could even open his mouth.
"I would be more comfortable if we could keep you for another week or so. But you will have to refrain from any strenuous activities such as… travel back to Hawaii for a while. Just till we can make sure everything is progressing properly".
"I'll make sure he behaves, Captain" Naomi assured him.
Once the doctor left and they were alone again, Steve turned to her, "So you're going to take care of me" he said with a smile.
She smiled back, "Some one has to".
"I'll let you only if I can return the favor" he told her, threading his fingers through hers.
She sighed at that, "Sure but I am not as badly hurt as you".
"You know that's not what I am talking about" he said quietly.
"Then what are you talking about".
This time Steve shifted enough so he could face her properly, "I mean that I made a mistake when I decided to let you go the way I did. I was in love with you and I behaved like an asshole".
"You don't have to feel guilty about anything. And you don't have to tell me that you are in love with me" she sighed again, then with a small smile, "Although I completely agree with the whole behaving like and asshole bit".
All of a sudden Steve felt weary and it must have shown on his face because Naomi spoke again, "I think your morphine is kicking in and you need to sleep. That is the only thing that will help with the healing".
"Alright my little doctor. Kiss me before I blackout again" he heard himself slurring. And just before he lost consciousness once again he felt her kiss his lips just like he felt when he woke up.
When he woke up again, Naomi was still asleep but Danny and Chin were also in the room, talking quietly.
"Hey" he groaned out.
"Your up" Danny came closer, "How are you feeling?"
"I already told you" Steve said, his voice still hoarse.
"I was just trying to be nice" Danny said equally grumpy.
"You two can not let even a minute go by before you start bickering" Chin interjected with a laugh. Then Chin looked at Naomi's bed and said, "She was amazing just after you got shot".
Steve asked, "What do you mean?"
This time Danny spoke, "She realized that your lung had collapsed since you weren't breathing. Then she did one of those procedures with the cutting and shoving in some pipe or some such thing" he trailed off, his hands trying to show him what he was talking about.
Steve's eyes widened, "You have got to be kidding me. Where did she learn to do that?"
"Apparently she read it in a book" Chin said with a laugh.
"Wow" Steve breathed. He had never thought his fragile Naomi doing a procedure that he had performed in an emergency many a time when he had been in the field. In fact the first time he had done it, he had thrown up afterward.
"Yeah. Wow" Danny repeated. "You should have seen her. She was the first one in the water, then I jumped in".
"You mean you actually swam?" Steve teased him.
Danny huffed, "Yeah, you ass. I did swim so I could help Naomi pull you out of the water" he swallowed as he remembered, "But she never stopped working on you till you started breathing again"
"Seriously guys, thanks for everything. For following me on this mission and doing what you did" Steve said as he realized the extent to which his team had trusted his judgment. "You didn't have to".
"Yeah, but you would have done the same for any of us in the same situation" Chin spoke.
"Is Sam here?" Steve asked.
Danny let out a breath, "He stayed for a couple of days, but he was called back to L.A".
Steve nodded and reminded himself to call his friend to thank him for everything.
He would have gone after James alone if he had to. But he was lucky to be working with people who he knew he could trust with his life.
He squeezed Naomi's hand as he felt himself slipping into a morphine induced sleep.
-X-
Naomi relaxed next to Kono on the lounger on her father's porch. They both sipped on iced tea and read Cosmopolitan. The boys were inside playing a game of poker, which her father was demonstrating his superiority in. Perhaps it was the only time when he could best any of them, although judging from Danno's happy voice, he was not doing too badly.
They had all been here for two weeks. Steve had been discharged from hospital earlier than the week that the doctor had predicted. But soon Chin, Kono and Danny would be leaving. In fact they were due to leave tomorrow morning, with Steve and herself following in a week's time.
"I really need to get back to the waves. I can feel the flab of sitting around not doing anything" Kono spoke as she noisily finished her tea.
"Oh please, you look great"
Kono patted her non-existent belly, "I am not accustomed to gourmet meals everyday. You father has spoilt all of us for a normal, working class life. Why the hell would you want to leave this?"
"I just did not find peace here. Only when I relocated to Hawaii did I feel like I was moving forward with my life".
Kono put down her glass then asked, "Are you still interested in coming back?"
Naomi sighed, "No matter what happens now, Hawaii is my home. I have to finish school and I think I'm going to stay on".
"Good, coz God knows I need some female company around".
Naomi laughed at that.
"What are you two girls giggling about?" Steve walked slowly onto the porch. He wore a pair of sweats and his Naval Academy t – shirt, his feet bare. He looked tired and in pain, but he still managed to make her heart race.
"I was just making sure Naomi was coming back to Hawaii" Kono spoke as she got up, "I have to finish packing" she said quickly leaving the porch.
Steve stood there watching her with a look that was unreadable. Rather it was a look that Naomi did not want to read into, fearing she may read it wrong again.
"Have you taken your meds?" she asked him as she stood and moved toward him.
He didn't answer, just pulled her close to him. He looked into her eyes for a long time before he bent his head and claimed her mouth in a kiss that was steamy and reminded her of the times when Steve would kiss her just before they would made love.
He speared his fingers into her hair to hold her head in place as he deepened the kiss. He slipped his tongue in, caressing her, enticing her to come out and play.
Forgetting herself, she pressed closer to his hard body. But she must have pressed too hard because Steve groaned in pain against her mouth.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Steve" she pulled away, only to be stopped by Steve's powerful arm caging her in.
"Baby stay. It feels so good to kiss you like that" he licked her plump bottom lip. "How long has it been?" he asked.
"Its been a while" her breath was choppy like it always got when he was close to her like this.
Steve sighed and leaned his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes, "And it's all my fault".
Naomi could not bring herself to placate him, because she was well aware that Steve was to blame for their separation. "I didn't expect anything from you when I told you that I loved you. I was just letting you know how I felt".
"And I behaved like an asshole" Steve cupped her face between his big hands, "Sweetheart, please give me another chance. I don't ever want to be without you again". He kissed her hard, "I missed you every single day".
"Then why didn't you call me even once?" she asked as she tried to keep her tears in check.
"Because I was an idiot" he smiled at her, "Why…?" he left whatever he was going to say unsaid.
"What were you going to ask?"
"I was going to ask why you never called me. But I guess that would make me even more of an idiot".
"You guessed right" she smiled up at him, "I don't understand how a man who was in Naval Intelligence, is a top SEAL can be such an idiot when it comes to women".
"Babe that's more of a guy thing than just me" he defended himself, looking serious. "I've been thinking".
"What have you been thinking?" she asked him as he gathered her closer.
Steve nuzzled her hair and ear, whispering "When we get back, you should move in with me".
Naomi stiffened and pulled back to look at his face, "Are you serious?"
"I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't serious".
She hesitated before giving him an answer. She needed to know if he was actually serious, that he wouldn't freak out again. "I will only do this if you are completely sure that this is what you want, Steve".
Steve looked directly at her, "Naomi, I love you. I know that in the past I have let you down, but I also know what I want. And I want you in my life".
He looked so sincere and adorable that she could not help but believe him. She had to take a chance with this relationship, because she had tried to be without him and although she had survived and she knew she could again, she had still missed him terribly.
But most of all, she knew that Steve would do anything for her. He had risked his life for her, not once but twice now. And she knew with absolute certainty that he would do it again. She also knew that if he were ever in danger she would do anything in her power to help him.
Steve watched her face as she was going through her inner thoughts, "Don't keep me waiting sweetheart. Put me out of my misery" he groaned.
Naomi smiled at him, "Well, I have been quite miserable without you. And I nearly died when you got shot because of me and would not wake up" She put her arms around his neck and tipped her face up to his, "So, I have decided that I will move in with you".
Steve laughed, "You really had me sweating there".
"Oh sailor you are irresistible to me" she kissed and laughed against his lips when he squeezed her tightly to him.