Binkie and I made it to the hospital in record time and parked in an abnormally close spot. Rangeman parking luck at its finest. We walked into the Emergency Room entrance and met Bobby who was standing in front of the nursing station going through the normal paperwork.
"Bobby!" I called out. He turned, shock flittering over his face, and motioned for us to follow him. He strolled into the family waiting room that Rangeman usually procured when there.
"What happened? Are they okay? When can I see them? Where are they?" I rambled out when I reached Bobby. He tucked me into his arms for a hug.
"Bomber, relax. They are okay." He whispered, kissing the top of my head and rubbing my back. "They were both wearing vests and full gear."
"Where are they?" I sniffed back tears and looked up at him. I saw Binkie slide into the room and close the door; taking up a position behind me.
"Lester is being stitched up. Laceration to his thigh and burns on his arms and hands." Bobby continued rubbing my back as he talked. "Cal is being prepped for surgery. He fractured his pelvis and has a complex break on his femur. He'll be fine once they set the bone and put pins in."
I took a ragged breath, my face still planted in Bobby's chest. My mind had created worse injuries and while I was glad they aren't seriously injured I worried about Cal. Breaking his pelvis and leg meant that he would probably have some long term effects.
"What about the rest of the guys?" I asked softly. "Injuries?"
"Nothing big. Mostly bruises and scrapes. Band-Aids and kisses and they will be fine." I felt his chest rumble with silent laughter. "It went good."
"Can I go see Les?" I looked up and wiped the tears off my face. I wished that I could see Cal, but I knew that would have to wait until after his surgery.
"Yeah." Bobby stepped back and set the paperwork down on the table behind him and motioned for Binkie to finish up what he could. "Let's go see Sexy Pants."
I giggled as he took my hand and led me out of the room toward the treatment bays. Our presence in the emergency room was never questioned, thankfully, and we were able to head straight back to Les. He was sprawled out on a gurney his hands and arms wrapped in thick white gauze. His shirt had been cut off and his pants were cut up to his hip on his left leg. There was a huge gash that ran the length of his thigh. He had one bandaged arm crossed over his face as the nurse prepped his leg for stitching.
"How's he doing, Claire?" Bobby asked, releasing my hand and leaning over Les' leg. The nurse, Claire, smiled up at him and nodded towards me in greeting.
"Usual." She smiled, looking up at Les who had shifted his arm slightly. He looked at me and smiled. "Whining and complaining and being a pussy."
"It fucking hurts." Les mumbled as Bobby and Claire laughed. Les went to reach out for me, but stopped when he remembered how bandaged he was. "Beautiful."
I walked to his side and reached out for him, not sure where to touch him. His chest was red and raw like he had bad sunburn. His shoulders were red as well and I knew that the burns on his hands would have to be pretty bad for him to be here for them. I bit my bottom lip, went up on my tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. He smiled and sighed.
"How you feeling, Les?" I ran my fingers through his hair, picking out pieces of dirt and god knows what else.
"It is what it is." He sighed again, lifting his hands up. "This shit hurts like a bitch though."
"What happened?" I watched him wince and glanced down at his leg. Bobby and Claire had begun stitching him up.
"I don't know exactly." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Cal, Ram and I were clearing a section when a fireball shot through the air and hit me in the chest."
I gasped and looked down at his chest again, wondering how it wasn't as burned.
"Kevlar." He smiled. "Thankfully, I had my vest and gear on. It protected the good bits, but I had raised my arms to shield my face. They got the most of it."
"I'm glad you are okay." I smiled down at him, my fingers absent mindedly curling around his hair. "You're lucky it didn't get your face. Being it's your money maker and all."
He laughed and curled his bandaged hand around the back of my head, pulling me down to him. He kissed my forehead.
"Beautiful, ain't that the truth." He winked and wiggled his eyebrows in true Santos fashion.
"Thanks for keeping your promise." I whispered, pressing my forehead against his lightly.
"You knew I would."
He sucked air between his teeth and flinched.
"Sorry." Claire whimpered. "Sorry. I slipped."
"Jesus fucking Christ." Les whispered, squeezing his eyes tight and letting out a breath. "I'm getting to old for this shit."
"Nah man." Bobby tapped his good leg. "You're not too old. You are just getting started."
We all laughed knowing that it was probably true. I couldn't imagine doing the things that the guys did, even with their training. They seem to have unimaginable luck. Claire finished stitching up his leg and we all sat in silence. When she was done, she checked over his vitals and tipped her head to Bobby.
"See you guys next time." She smiled and strolled out of the room.
"I think she likes you." I winked at Bobby and tipped my head towards the door. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at the closed door shaking his head.
"Dude, she totally wants you." Lester laughed and tapped him with his foot. "You should ask her out."
"I dunno." Bobby fidgeted with the edge of the bed and sighed. "I mean, I wouldn't mind it. She's cute and really sweet but…"
"But nothing." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Ask her out, Bobby. You deserve to have someone in your life."
He sighed and nodded before standing up. Before I could say anything his phone rang.
"Brown." He turned and looked at Les and me waiting for info. After a moment he responded. "Roger that."
"Who do you think is on the phone?" I asked Les who was resuming the position that he was in when Bobby and I had arrived. He shrugged, his arm draped over his face.
"She's here." Bobby smiled when I looked up at him. "See you in ten."
He hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. I looked at him waiting for him to divulge information.
"Ranger is coming."
I couldn't help the smile that crept over my face.
"How long is Cal going to be in surgery?" I picked off a piece of debris from Les' cargos.
"A couple hours." He reached down and picked up Les' boots off the floor, setting them on the end of the bed. "Les, as soon as we get your meds we can head out. I need to go see if we can get some more silvadeen from the pharmacy as well. Our stock is dwindling fast." He winked at me and turned walking out of the room.
Les pulled himself into a sitting position and reached down to get his boots, stopping when his mitted hands were about to touch them.
"Well, shit." He chuckled and looked up at me. I smiled and moved to the end of the bed to put on his boots. "Thanks Beautiful."
"You guy should get slippers." I smiled, loosening the laces so I could slide them over his foot. He winced as I shifted his leg. "Sorry…jeeze. Okay, I can do this."
I pulled the laces even looser, creating a larger space for his foot to go through. When his foot was in place I began tightening the laces. He watched as I pulled and straightened, then stopped. I looked at his cargoes, which were cut from ankle to hip and frowned.
"Wait." I thought, grabbing my purse and fishing out a couple of large safety pins. I looked up at Les who had one eyebrow cocked questioningly. "Don't worry I won't stab you." I pulled the cut sides together a couple inches above the cut and secured it with the pin. Then, taking the second pin I closed the area right above his knee and another half way down his shin. I tucked the ends into the boot and tied it, tucking the bow and ends back into the top of the boot.
"Huh." He smiled, and watched as I went to the other foot; slipping on his boot and tying them. I tucked his cargoes into his boot as well as the laces and then stood back with my hands on my hips. "That will work."
"That way you won't have giant flaps when you walk." I patted his good leg. "And you don't have to worry about the women ogling your leg." I winked and he laughed.
Bobby came in carrying a large paper bag, stopping and smiling when he saw Les' pants.
"Pretty smart, Bomber." Bobby placed a kiss on the top of my head as he curled his arm over my shoulder. "Let's get this guy home."
"What about Cal?" I asked, watching Bobby help Les to his feet.
"Tank and Binkie are going to wait with him until I get back. Ranger is waiting in the family room for you. He is going to take us back to Rangeman so I can get Les set up then I will come back."
I nodded and tucked myself under Les' shoulder, wrapping my arm around his waist. I am sure that he didn't need my help to walk, but I wanted to support him. He pulled me into his side and placed a kiss on my temple.
"Thanks." He whispered and we all headed back towards the family room, and Ranger.