Chapter Forty Five – Catching Falling Stars

Ben clicked his pen closed and turned his attention from his notes to his boss. The meeting had been going on for an hour already, and he seriously hoped they were at least halfway through. Sure the information was important, but he could still use a cup of coffee or a larger version of a break. It was a lot to take in all at one time, as always. The meeting continued when suddenly Ben's cell buzzed in his pocket. It caught him completely off guard. Usually if someone needed something while he was at work he received a text message. They came in silently, and he would check his phone on breaks. Actual phone calls were typically for emergencies only. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, keeping it carefully hidden under the table, and checked the caller ID. Olivia.

"Ben," his boss called out. "Care to focus?"

Ben's head snapped up.

"I'm sorry, sir. May I take this call? It's important."

"Go. Be quick."

Ben nodded in thanks and slipped out of the room, thumbing the answer button in the process. Hopefully he was right and this call really was as important as he figured it was.

"Hey, Liv. I'm in a meeting right now."

Before he'd even finished his sentence Olivia had choked out his name. He could hear how close to tears she was in that one word. Something was definitely wrong. Olivia never got emotional.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Suvi."

Ben's heart nearly dropped out of his chest. Suvi was her rock, her constant in the uncertainty of her condition. No wonder she was breaking down.

"He was attacked at the dog park. I couldn't see anything and I don't know what happened, but he was bleeding. It's bad, but I got him to the vet. They separated us so it has to be even worse than I thought."

She was talking so fast that her words were running together. Ben could barely understand what she was saying. It didn't help that she was basically rambling either. The only way he was going to get anywhere near a clear picture of what had happened was if he could calm her down. Panicking wasn't going to help her.

"Liv. Liv, I need you to breathe, okay? I can't understand what you're saying. Are you at the vet?"

"Yes."

"Okay. How bad is Suvi hurt? Do you know?"

"I don't know. His leg is a mess. He can't put any weight on it, and he's crying, Ben. Anytime someone touches it he yelps and shakes," she choked out around restrained sobs.

"Just his leg?"

"The vet is worried about internal injuries too. Ben, I don't…" She paused and sucked in a shaky breath. "I don't know what to do. If I lose him…"

Ben was afraid Olivia was going to start hyperventilating. There was no way he could let her do this alone. Until Suvi was confirmed to be alright and was back at her side she was going to need help and support.

"I'm going to meet you there. Just hold on until I get there, okay? Everything is going to be alright."

"Okay."

"Hang tight."

He hung up and jogged back to the conference room. His boss was not going to like this, but there wasn't anything he could do. Olivia needed him with her.

"Charlie," he called out as he poked his head back into the room. "I have to go. Family emergency."

So it wasn't a normal family emergency, but the term still qualified in his mind. Liv was close enough to be family, and this was definitely and emergency. Besides, he doubted his boss would understand the whole "my girlfriend's service dog was attacked" thing. It didn't exactly have the same ring of importance as a family emergency. For Olivia however, Suvi being attacked was equivalent to a sibling being hit by a car and in the hospital with unknown injuries. This was important, and he had no idea what he would do if his boss denied him. In the end he didn't need to worry about it. His boss gave him a quick wave toward the door. Ben ran down to his office to grab his coat and raced out the door. He took the quickest way to where Olivia was, jogging whenever he could.

Ben entered the waiting room and found Olivia hunched over her clenched hands. He didn't need to see her face to know she was terrified. It was like the world had fallen out from under her feet, and in many ways it actually had.

"Olivia."

Her head shot up, and she stood to face him.

"Ben."

He was already moving toward her and reached out to cup her face when he reached her. The mark of an old tear track was visible on one cheek, and Ben gently brushed at hit with his thumb. Since it was already mostly dry his attempt did nothing though Olivia did lean into his touch. Ben was like a salve to burnt skin for her. Olivia rested one hand on his chest and wrapped her other arm around him so she could cling to the back of his coat.

"What if I lose him?"

Tears choked her voice and threatened to fall even more than they had when she'd been on the phone with him.

"You won't."

"But what if I do? What if he's hurt too badly?"

"Olivia, Olivia," Ben soothed as he gripped her hand tightly and stroked softly at her face. "He's going to be alright. You got him here, and they're going to take good care of him. Okay?"

"Ben…"

"Okay?" he repeated as a few tears trickled down her face.

Olivia nodded jerkily and buried her face into his neck. When Ben's arms wrapped around her she shuddered and gripped him just as tightly. Her fear filled imagination didn't run quite as rampant with him there. Plus she knew her fear was clouding some of her rationality. Ben would likely be a much better judge of how serious the situation actually was. She took a few more moments in Ben's arms to restrain some of her terror and still her churning stomach. When she finally pulled away from him she was still more worried than she'd ever been in her life, but at least she was a little more in control. With two more deep breaths she felt steady enough to focus on the fact that Ben had left work to be with her. She managed a tiny smile for him.

"Thank you for coming."

Her voice still didn't sound like it usually did, but it was better than the soul shattering sadness he'd heard before.

"For something like this? How could I leave you alone?"

Olivia offered him another smile, this one slightly larger than the last, and reached out to take his hand again. Together they sat down to wait for news. Not once did she release his hand. Even when Dr. Sparn walked out Olivia continued her vice grip of Ben's fingers. In fact, the minute she saw the vet she squeezed her boyfriend's hand even tighter. They rose, and Olivia looked at the vet with wide, frantic eyes.

"Suvi?" she whispered.

"He's doing well, Olivia. We stitched up the puncture wounds and gave him antibiotics to prevent infection. There's a lot of tenderness on his side and belly though."

"But he's okay?"

"He's okay. I know he's your service dog, Olivia, but will you be alright without him for the night? I'd like to keep him overnight for observation just to make sure he doesn't have internal injuries."

Olivia drew in a sharp breath and looked down. Both Ben and Dr. Sparn were watching her closely, but Olivia was oblivious. She was too focused on the question she'd been asked and how to answer it. Technically she could survive without him for a night easily enough. It would be an incredibly unsettling time, but she would manage if she needed to. The problem was she didn't want to be without him even if this was best for him and she knew he was okay.

"You have to keep him?"

"I would like to, Olivia."

"I'll stay with you tonight," Ben promised as he rubbed her back soothingly. "It'll be alright."

Olivia took a deep breath and tried to settle herself. She had to tell herself a few times that it would be alright if he stayed, but it was incredibly hard to actually accept that fact. It was even harder to say the words and give permission for him to leave her for the night.

"Okay, but can I see him first?"

"Of course. Follow me."

Olivia squeezed Ben's hand and smiled weakly before following after Dr. Sparn. She was brought back to the kennels where she found Suvi lying on his side on a blanket. Most of his leg and a good portion of his side and stomach were shaved bare. All four bite marks were extremely obvious as were the numerous other areas where contact had been made without puncturing skin. Suvi's eyes were half closed and he looked out of it, but Olivia knelt down beside him anyway. The sight of him brought tears to her eyes even though it wasn't as bad as when they'd left the park. She stroked his head and began speaking lovingly and reassuringly to him.

"Hey, buddy. Everything is going to be okay now, but you're going to have to stay here tonight. It's just one night, and I'll be back here with you tomorrow. We'll go home together then. I promise."

She ran her hand down the length of his body one last time and then stood. It was going to be a long night.