I can't believe I passed out!

If the guys find out about it, I'll never hear the end of it. They will call me Sir Faintsalot, Knight of the Round... mattress... or something equally stupid.

The nurse said stuff about adrenaline spikes and shock and hell knows what. I was out for only a few seconds, but I wish I'd been out longer so she could stitch my arm without me being awake to experience it.

Suffering the torture of getting my wounds sorted - I swear, getting the injuries was faster and less painful - is made worse by the wait to see Kira again. I won't be able to get rid of the tension suffocating me until I see with my own eyes that she is smiling and happy again.

We were looking forward to the festival, and now...

Mom sits beside me and tries to distract me by talking about Lord of the Rings, the movies we've watched together multiple times. All I can think is that my 'precious' is out there somewhere in the examination rooms getting scans and being poked and prodded, and I don't know what they're going to find. Unlike Frodo Baggins, I just have to lie here and get stitches, I cannot go on a journey to Mount Doom in Mordor to...

What?! I don't want to chuck Kira in the fires of Mount Doom! That was a very bad analogy! Very bad!

I've been thrown into the fires of Mount Doom. All my wounds are burning because of the disinfectants and from the nurse -Theresa, a cheeky redhead I've been treated by before - digging around in them to get the splinters out. Getting stitches is no fun either, and I would really like to be done now. I'm feeling light-headed again, close to going on another journey as Sir Faintsalot. 

"Where's Dad," I ask my mom. I really need to speak to him some more and make sure he really said what I thought he did and that it wasn't just one of the fantasy elements in the tale of Sir Faintsalot.

I'm starting to like the idea of a knight who faints a lot and goes on missions with his horse called Mattress. I should call Dex and ask him to write it. He's always open to fresh ideas.

"He's calling Uncle Joe," Mom tells me, and my stomach spasms into an anxious ball. He is going to be so upset. I need to be on my feet to be with him when he gets here. Mom lays a gentle hand on my shoulder when I become agitated, causing Theresa to click her tongue at me to lie still. "It's going to be fine, Ethe. Dad will be there for Joe. Besides, Kira is going to be fine."

How can she be so sure?

"Did you hear what Dad said to me?" I ask her, nervous that she's going to burst my bubble by not knowing what I'm talking about. She was right there; she must've heard. If she didn't, then it never happened.

"Right before you fainted?" she smiles, and I snort derisively. Fainted. That is such an uncool term. I'm a man! I don't faint; I pass out... unless I'm Sir Faintsalot because Sir Passoutalot sounds stupid.

Besides, I didn't faint. I walked to the bed - okay, my dad basically half-carried me - and lay down and... uhm... I did something other than faint. I don't faint. I've never fainted before. I've been out plenty of times, but not because I fainted.

Fainting is something women used to do when they wore corsets that crushed their ribs and made it hard to breathe, so when something exciting happened, they fainted. That's torture. Maybe Sir Faintsalot wears a tight corset.

No, wait. Women didn't faint either back then. They swooned... Yeah, I think that's the word they used. Swoon... friggin' stupid word. So, who fainted then if everybody was swooning all over the place? Oh! Hell no! I didn't swoon! If someone says I swooned, I'm punching them into a swoon orbit.

"I didn't swoon," I tell my mom.

"Swoon?" she chuckles, squeezing my hand. She obviously doesn't get the whole corset and Sir Faintsalot thing. Did I tell her?

"Yeah, I didn't," I assure her anyway. "I just went away for a bit. I'm back now."

"Well, I'm really glad you came back quickly, honey," she smiles, and I know that my (not) fainting must've really freaked her out. She's already so worried about Kira. Mom is being very brave, sitting on a chair on one side of the bed, while Theresa is on the other side, stitching up the deep gash in my arm.

Mom hates anything medical-related when it involves someone she loves being hurt. She is clenching her teeth, trying very hard not to look at what Theresa is doing to my arm while she holds onto my other hand as if she's afraid I'll go away again if she lets go. 

One would think that she would be used to this by now. I often end up at the clinic in Egret's to get stitches, and when it's not me, it's Lurch or Jet. She's usually there then too, especially when it's Jet because he doesn't have anybody to hold his hand. Not since their old housekeeper retired and went to live with her children in New Zealand. The new one is too young to hold his hand without it getting weird. 

Jet likes making everything weird.

"Yes, I heard what he said," Mom finally answers, and this time, her smile is brighter when it comes out again.

"He won't change his mind when he's no longer in shock, right?"

"No," she assures me, flicking the fingers of her free hand through my hair. "The shock just knocked the things he really felt from the bottom of his heart to the top and out of his mouth, that's all."

"Wow, that's brutal."

My mother laughs, slipping her fingers from my hair to stroke them down the side of my face. "Never doubt how much that man loves you, Ethe," she says. "He only wants what he thinks is best for you. Sometimes, he's right; sometimes, he's wrong, but he always, always has your very best interests at heart. He loves you, and he always will."

I knew that already, but I probably have to hear it again. My mom has been saying the same thing for months now, and I guess I finally believe her. I saw it clearly in his eyes when he told me I should stay and that he was not ready to let me go yet.

"Didn't I tell you that he would not be able to let you go? That he would realise it sooner or later?"

She did! I smile, acknowledging her superior wisdom.

"All done," Theresa tells me, and I glance at the fat padding she'd stuck over the stitches in my forearm. "Try not to score weird tries, using your girlfriend again, okay?"

I laugh at hearing that, but my heart is skipping many happy beats. My girlfriend. I like hearing that; I hope I never get used to it.

"Yeah, I'll do more cuddly and kissy things with my girlfriend instead," I assure her, and then I see the look on my mother's face and laugh again.

"Ethe?"

"Can I go now?" I ask Theresa, sitting up and dodging my mom's look, but I freeze when the world tilts alarmingly, and I have to grab my mother's shoulder to remain upright.

"Yes," Theresa says, "but finish the juice your sister brought you, or I'm putting you on a glucose drip."

Hell no! I've been tortured enough today! 

Grinning at the nurse, I grab the juice box I'd put on the cabinet beside the bed and hurry to slurp it down. I was feeling too nauseous to drink it earlier, but this time, it goes down smoothly.

"Good boy," Theresa grins, taking the empty box from me. "You're pretty bruised and banged up, but I can see that not all of those happened today. You don't have any serious injuries except for the stitches. Just keep them dry and clean and try to take it easy for five minutes."

"Thanks."

Delia leaps to her feet, leaving Simon sitting on a couch while she hurries over to give me a hug when Mom and I leave the treatment station and enter the waiting area.

"They've readied a room for Kira; we can go there now that you're here," she tells me, frowning at my bandaged arm.

"It's nothing," I assure her, but she doesn't seem convinced while she links her arm with my other arm and calls Simon to join us.

"I'll wait for your dad," Mom says, and I wonder where he went. He is not in the waiting area.

The room is small and depressing. It looks like a hospital room. It has an empty space for a bed, a cabinet, a table, some chairs, benches, and a window. I hope Kicks doesn't have to stay in here for long. The wait to see her is starting to drive me out of my mind. I keep on thinking of all the possible bad things they might've found while doing scans and tests to see if she's okay. When did I become such a pessimist?

I hate this.

 "Ethe," I turn away from the window where I'm standing to see Uncle Joe marching into the room with my parents close behind him. His eyes are wide with tension, but he doesn't look like he's on the verge of breaking down the way he did when Aunt Trudy died. I'm sure he spoke to a doctor the moment he arrived. He would definitely have gone straight to Kira. His calmness and lack of tears are making me hopeful... I think.

"I'm sorry Kira got hurt," I tell him when he reaches me, but I don't get another word out because he is wrapping me in a killer bear hug, and I can feel him shivering slightly.

"Thank you for looking out for her, just like you said you would," he says, loosening his grip to look at me, his eyes running over all my scrapes and bandages and he winces, looking into my eyes. "I heard what you did... thank you, buddy, but... You matter too, you know?" he smiles, placing his hand on the back of my neck and softly bumping his forehead against mine.

"Yeah," I say hoarsely, but I have no idea what he means. What else was I supposed to do? Walk up the bleachers calmly until she landed at my feet? If I had to do it all over again, I would run up faster and dive sooner, so she hit fewer steps.

Hell, I hope I never have to do it all over again. I've been doing it over and over in my mind since the moment it happened, and I cannot hit the stop button until I see her smile again.

"I have to go sign some forms," he says, guiding me to a chair and pushing me down in it.

Deli, Simon and I wait alone when my parents leave the room with Uncle Joe, and the looks my sister is giving me are starting to freak me out.

"I didn't swoon!" I snap at her, and now she seems confused. Confused is so much better than looking worried or upset. She's about to say something when our attention is drawn to the door, where an orderly is wheeling in a bed, followed by a nurse I've never met before. Kira is lounging propped up in the bed, and we all hurry to help get the bed in position.

Kira is awake, and aside from a couple of visible scrapes and bruises, she looks fine. The tightness in my chest dissolves, and I'm finally no longer wearing a corset, crushing my ribs and stopping me from breathing. I won't (not) swoon again.

When her bed is in place, the nurse - Yvonne, according to her badge - injects something into the IV line, still attached to Kira's arm. "It's for the pain," she tells Kira when she sees her watching her actions with wide eyes. "You're going to be sleepy soon. Just go with it."

"She hit her head. Isn't she supposed to stay awake?" Delia asks, clearly not liking strangers injecting stuff into Kira any more than I do.

"Doctor prescribed it," the nurse explains patiently. I think she's used to people being stressed and concerned for their loved ones and is taking Delia's aggression in her stride. I'm glad because I know Deli didn't mean to sound like she was about to pounce on her. "That means that he is happy for her to sleep off her headache."

"Mind if I come in?"

Officer Paul Armstrong is at the door, and when Delia nearly breaks her neck trying to see all of him and giggles a happy 'yes', he steps into the room and crosses to the bed. 

My sister and every other female in Summerfields County all go gaga when they see this guy. All I see is a suntanned man with thick black hair and muscles, which makes me a bit envious. I see Simon give Delia a startled look, and I don't blame him for looking like he's shrinking into himself. Simon is a fragile reed in comparison to Paul.

I hastily check to see if my girlfriend is also unashamedly drooling all over the place, but my Kicks just looks confused to see a police officer in her room. Knowing her, she's probably afraid that he is going to fine her for causing a disturbance and bothering the EMTs.

Shit! Am I going to be fined?! I did a lot of disturbing too!

"Hello, Delia, Simon, Ethan," the officer says, his smile faltering for a second when Delia giggles as if a love bug had bitten her. It could also be that seeing Kira so small and hurt sitting in that big bed is making him feel less gung-ho because his smile softens when he moves even closer to the bed. "Hello, Kira."

I think Kira might be swooning, and I hope it is over Officer Armstrong, like my sister, who is currently getting dirty looks from Simon. If it's not about him, then it might mean something is wrong with her. She's very pale, the scrapes on her face standing out harshly in contrast, and she's closing her eyes.

"Kicks, are you okay?" I ask, leaning over her from one side of the bed while Officer Armstrong is doing the same from the other side, asking the same question.

""Yes," Kira whispers, and I'm relieved when she opens her eyes and looks from me to the policeman and back. Her colour is improving, her cheeks turning a pretty red and I'm not sure if her slightly mischievous smile is meant for me or Officer Armstrong.

It had better be for me!

"I won't drag this out," Officer Armstrong says gently, smiling at her. I straighten up, taking Kira's hand in mine, to make sure the dude knows not to make my girlfriend all warm and fuzzy inside the way he is clearly doing with my sister and the nurse who was on her way out but cannot seem to make it through the door. It's probably because she cannot stop looking at the policeman.

"I'll soon let you get some rest. Could you just tell me very shortly what happened to you?" he asks, and feeling Kira's fingers tense around mine, I squeeze her hand to encourage her.

"I was looking at how pretty Ethan's smile was and how sparkling his hair looked in the sunshine," I hear Kira say, but the only word registering with me is my name, and I want to smack myself in the head. Why did I call her and distract her?! What was I thinking?! Was I even thinking at all? "I lost track of the bag with the ribbons and stuff, and I tripped."

"I caused you to fall?" I exclaim in horror, and when Kira releases my hand to wipe at the hair getting into her eyes, I take a few steps back. The cop's question set the replaying scene in motion, and I'm feeling nauseous again. Hearing that it was me distracting her, that made her fall is more than I can handle. I stop at the window to gaze out at the blue sky and the world that seems to be getting on with life just fine out there despite the fact that I almost caused the death of the girl I love.

"No," Kira says firmly, which surprises me into turning to face her again. She still looks small and hurt, but her eyes don't falter when they look into mine. "I was listening to Amber's garbage instead of watching my feet."

"Amber?" Officer Armstrong prompts and he is no longer grinning affibly.

"Yes, she was being a bitch as usual." That was surprising, coming from Kicks' lips. She is normally very polite.

"So, she..."

"I really thought her nails would be sharper," she says, and I think the meds the nurse gave her might be starting to work because she's slurring her speech and talking in slow motion. Still, it helps to make what she's saying very clear. "Didn't even break the skin except for a couple of small places. If they were as sharp as is expected from a harpy, they would've dug in deeper when she grabbed me."

"She grabbed you?" Paul repeats, clearly surprised to hear this.

"Yes, when she saw that I was falling, she grabbed me."

"She didn't push you?" I try to confirm that she did mean to say what she said. Relief is making me light-headed. The thought that Amber pushed Kira was hanging like a dark cloud over me this whole time. It made me question every interaction I've ever had with the girl that would lead her to do something that horrible to Kira. I know Kicks would not have provoked such a vicious attack.

"No, she just said mean things," Kira assures me. "She's the emotional injury kind, not the physical injury kind." That is true. Amber is good at scoring emotional hits.

"So, she tried to save you?" Delia asks, also trying to make sure that Kira knows what she's saying. Delia has been plotting Amber's demise every time I heard her speak since our arrival at the hospital. I'm glad that my sister might not have to resort to murder after all.

"Yes," Kicks says, sticking out her bottom lip in that cute way that always makes me want to kiss her. I don't have kissing on my mind at all for once, though. I'm just so glad to see that look on her face, even if she's very out of character at the moment. I hope it's just the meds talking and that the fall didn't change her personality. I loved the old Kicks, but I'll love the new one too. "Isn't that depressing? She gets to be the hero. Well, I'm grateful, I guess."

"She might've contributed, but the real hero is the one with the pretty smile and the sparkling hair," Officer Armstrong assures her with a grin, and when I frown at him, wondering why he suddenly thinks I have a pretty smile and sparkling hair, he winks at me. Did Kicsk say something like that or...

Is he flirting with me?! 

If he liked guys, it would be such a bummer for Delia and the nurse still sneaking looks from the door. Many women will be crying into their pillows. I've heard my sister... and my mom - and she's supposed to be married to the love of her life! According to their talk, all the single ladies line up with their ring fingers sticking out for easy access when the guy walks past.

He's nice enough, good at his job and all that, but I really don't get the hype. Probably because I'm not a single lady. I'm taken. Oh! I'm also not a lady. The only love I'll ever have is sitting over there in the bed, gazing at me across the room with a slight smile on her lips, making my heart break. She doesn't look completely conscious anymore. She needs to rest. 

"You arrested her?" Kira asks when she hears Officer Armstrong giving instructions over his radio for Amber to be released.

"No," he chuckles. "We didn't want to cause a massive scene without having all the facts, so we just kept her in the first aid tent until now. Thank you for clearing it up, Kira. I'll get out of your way now. Rest up. I hope you're back to normal soon."

I leave the window to go back to Kira's side when Officer Armstrong says goodbye to each of us. If he'd been flirting with me before because he likes my smile and hair, he seems to be over it now. He just shakes my hand, says goodbye to everybody and leaves with Yvonne hurrying out of the room after him.

"You have a boyfriend," I hear Kira tell Delia, and she laughs when my sister sticks her tongue out at her before hurriedly wrapping her arms around Simon to show him that he is still number one in her heart.

My mind is racing, and I'm suddenly exhausted. I could do with a bed right now too. I feel relieved, sad, happy, and so friggin' confused! I'm not sure why. I might actually swoon now and mean it!

"What did she say to you?" I ask Kira, sitting down next to Delia and Simon on the bench beside her bed. I take her hand, clenching my jaw, trying to control my rampant emotions.

"Who?" Kira whispers, looking at me with eyes that are clearly not focusing very well.

"Amber."

"Doesn't matter," she mutters with a lopsided smile. "She was talking garbage. You're not dating me because you're afraid of next year and clinging to what you know and feel safe with. You're dating me because we have a deal. The joke's on her..."

Shit! She still thinks that?!

I thought she'd caught on by now that I'm dating her because I really love her. She and Amber are both wrong about my motives.

"Kicks-."

"Why are you injured?" she asks, looking sad and worried. She turns the hand I'm holding so she can trace an abrasion on its back with a fingertip of her other hand.

"He tackled you," Delia explains. "Some of your bruises might be his fault... just think of them as love bruises."

"Shush," I snort, rubbing the knuckles of my free hand on her head. I don't want to know that I might've caused some of the bruises I'm seeing on Kira's arms.

"Seriously, it was spectacular," Delia says and she is looking at me again in that strange way she'd been looking at me since we got here. It's like she's seeing me for the first time. I wonder if she fell too and hit her head and cannot remember who I am.

Hell! I hope not!

She doesn't look injured; she just smiles and wraps her arms around my arm, laying her head against my bicep.

"When you fell, you landed somewhere between the step you were on and the one below and just bounced and fell to the next one, and the next one," she continues her story, straightening to look at Kira. "I was still trying to get to my feet and run to you when this guy came charging up the benches, diving for the next one on your path. He half caught you and half trapped you with his body. It was stunning!" 

She lifts her head to look up at me, and I can see unshed tears glittering in her eyes. "I never want to see that again. Not ever!" she says, swallowing not to cry. She suddenly leans over, past me, to run her fingers over Kira's forehead. I know this whole ordeal was as hard on her as it was on me. Seeing Kicks roll down the bleachers scared the life out of both of us.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Ethy..." Kira says, gazing at me with a gentle expression on her sweet face.

"What?" I croak, putting my arm around Deli when she leans into my side again.

We all turn our attention to the door where Doctor Grant - a well-loved and respected doctor on the cusp of retirement - walks into the room with my parents and Uncle Joe.

"Well, Kira, good news," he says. "You have no broken bones, no skull fractures of any kind, no internal bleeding or fluid build-ups anywhere, and you do not seem to have a full-blown concussion either, despite hitting your head pretty hard. You're a tough young lady."

"I'm a dung beetle," Kira assures him, and just like that, the bubble of tension pops inside me, and I blow out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Sending out a silent prayer of thanks, I lie forward, pressing my forehead into the back of Kira's hand, clutching mine on the bedspread.

This is the second set of great news I got in the span of only a couple of hours and I am really grateful.

♂♀