Chapter 18

Pain. Immense pain. It reverberated through her every pore and she groaned.

"Lizzie?"

She tried to open her eyes--bright, too bright. It seared at her retinas before someone turned down the lights. Jackson's face peered down at her. "Lizzie." His eyes softened. "You're awake."

Ethan, she mouthed, unable to get the words past her bone-dry throat.

"He's here." Jackson said. "He's sleeping."

She tried moving her fingers, but sharp tingles shot up her arm, like she'd let her arm fall asleep. Her brother noticed her wince and called for Haven, the infirmary's main nurse.

"We had to air-lift you back to the palace once you were safe for movement." He gave her a pointed look. "We cut it real close."

Haven pushed aside the thin white curtain that closed off Chloe's bed and shot her a polite, yet relieved smile. "Good to see you awake. Lady Chloe, you gave us all quite a scare there."

Jackson brought her a glass of water and tilted it back for her to drink. The water was room temperature, which was perfect on her aching throat.

Haven set a delicate hand on Chloe's arm and closed her eyes. Last year, after the fiasco with Frank Leighton, Chloe'd had the chance to witness Haven's unique ability to sense others body conditions and seeing her use it again now was as cool as it was the first time. "Your vitals look good, all things considered, and your metabolism is the same. A bit of dehydration, but that can be fixed." She opened her eyes. "Lots of pain though." In response to that she reached into a drawer on the side table and pulled a needle from a sealed bag. Chloe watched as she stuck the needle into the IV tube next to her. "That should settle you for now, though it will make you tired. Call me when you start to feel the pain again."

Once Haven left, Chloe looked at her brother. "How bad?"

Jackson rubbed at his temples and laughed humorlessly. "Pretty bad. Your stomach is a mess--one of the bullets went through Ethan's intestines and--" He cut himself off and took a deep breath before continuing. "We rushed you straight into surgery."

She'd never seen her brother so...unhinged. He tried to hide it behind the laid back position he was in--leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees--yet he couldn't keep it from his voice.

"Jack, I'll be okay." She said softly.

The words broke him apart. He ran a hand over his face, his eyes glistening. "God, Lizzie, I thought we would lose you, and I couldn't do anything. This wasn't some monster I could fight. This was you. How am I supposed to battle something internal?"

"You don't." She said. "This one's my fight...now come here and hug me."

When Jackson pulled back, she asked, "How long have I been out?"

"A day." He replied as he sat down at the edge of the bed. Her hand grasped his tightly and she couldn't get herself to let go. "I sent Dad and everyone else to get some sleep and eat."

Her eyes traced the bags under his eyes. "And you? When's the last time you ate?"

"Half an hour ago." A new voice broke in. "I made him eat a bowl of soup." Avery placed a gentle hand on the Commander's shoulder. "Had to threaten the man for not letting me do my job, but..."

"Help me make sure he gets some sleep tonight?"

"I'm already on it," Avery grinned. "Got Haven to set up an extra cot next door." Because the only way Jackson would get some sleep was if he knew he could be close by.

"Avery, you're amazing."

"I know." She turned to go. "Commander, you have two hours, then you better be sleeping."

Chloe grinned as Avery left. "She's awesome."

"Yeah, yeah." Her brother grumbled.

"How long has Ethan been sleeping?" As she asked the question, she could feel the pain medication kicking in. Her limbs felt heavier, but slowly the aching in her stomach dulled, numbed.

"Most of the day." Jackson ran his thumb over her knuckles. "The healing took a quite a bit out of him too. Haven says once he wakes up, he should be good to go--maybe a bit sore, but good to go. Thanks to you."

"I had to." Chloe's eyes felt heavier and heavier. The dream would called to her. "He was dying. I couldn't let that happen."

"I know. And as much as I hate the pain you're in, I'm glad. You're both here--it's the better outcome. But damn it, Lizzie, don't you dare do that again."

She laughed, despite the pain it brought to her stomach. "I promise."

"Good." He got up, and kissed her on the top of her hair. "Now get some sleep."

She did.

****

The next time Chloe woke, stormy grey eyes stared back at her. His expression blazed, burning off the relieved smile on her face.

"Ethan."

"Are you insane?" He burst out. "You must be. You must have a death wish for doing what you did--"

"For saving my mate?" She spluttered, "Yes, Ethan, I obviously wanted to die, not save the wonderfully handsome man in front of me. Darn, I'll have to try again." She rolled her eyes.

Ethan let out a breath and curled his fingers through hers. Despite her irritation, warmth spread through her. He was okay. Ethan was here and he was okay. And eventually, she would be too. "Don't you dare do that again." He said, though his tone wasn't quite angry or threatening. He placed his forehead to hers. "God, Elizabeth, I thought I'd never see you again."

His natural clean smell worked over her, washing away her anger. "I wasn't the one who decided to confront a psychotic stalker, which, remind me to have you run into my fist later for that one."

"I'm sorry." He said. "I couldn't let someone take you from me. Not again."

"I understand. I'm not happy about it, but I understand." If it were Ethan being taken, she wasn't too sure that she wouldn't have run after them too. "Promise me this won't happen again."

Ethan chuckled softly. "I promise not to confront any more psychotic stalkers."

"Good."

"And I also promise to stay by your side for every second of every day."

She winced at that. "I'm not sure about that one. I think we're bound to get sick of each other after a while."

"I could never get sick of you." He said, but pulled back and sat next to her. "However, I see your point. Guess I'll just have to settle for the two weeks you'll be stuck in the infirmary."

"Two weeks?" She couldn't believe it. "I'll lose my mind!"

"It's purely precautionary. We want to make sure the healing and recovery goes well, but also watch for any residual aftereffects of your ability."

"Two weeks though? They don't even keep heart surgery patients in the hospital that long."

"I just want to be sure." His hand cupped hers, reassuring.

Chloe opened her mouth to fight the decision but then thought better of it. If it were Ethan with the healing ability and he'd somehow absorbed the damage and had been on the brink of death, she'd want him to rest as much as possible. And her stomach hurt pretty bad--resting sounded like a good idea. "Okay."

Ethan got up and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I have to go grab a few things from our room. I'll be back."

She caught his hand. "Wait. How are you feeling?"

He glanced down at his free hand and curled his fingers open and closed, as if he expected some type of soreness. "Surprisingly, I feel great. I slept a lot--Haven said my body needed to replenish its energy--but I feel good. Probably the best I've felt in a long time."

She smiled affectionately. "Good."

"But never again." He warned, pointing a finger at her.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Trust me. I'd much rather not do that again either."

***

After two weeks, they finally let Chloe out. The last two days had been a literal nightmare. Four days in, she'd slowly started getting up and walking, just little bits each day. Once she got back on her feet, she didn't quite understand why she had to stay in the infirmary instead of her room. Ethan insisted though, and she tried to quiet down about it when she saw the hints of fear and worry on his face. If he felt better having her stay near Haven and all the medical supplies for two weeks, then she could do it.

She did get very restless though.

Ethan had gotten back to work a week after, and had made a point to call her whenever he got the chance. She got a lot of visits during that time as well--Cleo and Nick stopped by a lot, as well as Ian, Eli, her father, and Avery. Jackson had been by her side constantly the two days directly after while one of his team cleaned up Lyle's mess and made sure he was well and truly taken care of. When the two days were up and the coast was clear, he had to get back into the office, but he sent Avery in every time he could to check up on her.

Speaking of Jackson and Avery... she was very happy about the two of them.

One night a couple days before when she'd been "asleep", Avery sat in the room to keep her company (God forbid she be alone at any point in the day) and sang softly to herself while she did paperwork. Chloe liked the soothing, somewhat raspy voice Avery had and let it start to drift her off to sleep when she heard the curtain open.

Having been used to people making their way in and out, Chloe kept her eyes closed and ignored it.

"Avery." A deep voice whispered. She recognized Jackson's voice easily, but what caught her off guard was the surprise in his tone. "Do that again."

"Commander?" Avery clicked her tongue and then whispered back, "You're supposed to be sleeping. It's almost midnight."

Jackson only repeated his order. "Do that again."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sing." Jackson moved quietly about the room. Chloe would've had no idea that he'd moved at all if she didn't feel the air that blew toward her when he walked past and smelled his sharp cologne.

"I'm not going to--"

"Avery."

Dead silence. Then, Avery began to sing a somewhat shaky rendition of a love ballad that came out years ago. She didn't get too far past the first two lines before she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Commander--"

"It's Jackson." A shoe scuffed against the floor, and then silence reigned down once more.

Chloe just barely peaked through her eyes to see Jackson and Avery at the foot of her bed. Jackson had Avery pulled tight to his chest, his face pressed to her shoulder. Avery's arms wrapped around her brother's shoulders, and there, right past her wrist, on the back of Jackson's neck, his double infinity mark glowed.

Chloe's smile didn't disappear until she tumbled back into sleep.

***

No one knew about the incident. She'd subtly pressed Cleo and Ian for information, to see if Jackson had let anyone in on his discovery, but to her dismay he hadn't. Apparently Jackson decided he wanted to be tight lipped about it. Which was fine, however, Chloe was done keeping secrets.

"Ethan, do you mind if we stop by Jack's office first?" She pulled her head back to look up at her mate. Unfortunately, much like a hospital, Haven had recommended that Chloe be brought back to her room in a wheelchair. Ethan, overly protective and wildly enthusiastic about her health, agreed wholeheartedly, which meant she had the joy of seeing the palace and passing all the staff in a wheelchair.

"That's fine." Ethan guided her chair over to the west wing off of the infirmary to the elevator and together the two of them rode it up to the second floor.

Jackson's office door was closed when they got there. Whenever Jackson was in, he made a point to leave the door open--a door easily became a nuisance when one had to get somewhere quick. So him keeping the door closed mid-morning was strange.

She smiled quietly to herself. "We can just go right in." Chloe lied, "Jackson's expecting me."

To Chloe's surprise and growing joy, behind the door, Jackson had a hand on Avery's waist, his head bent down as he caught Avery's lips in a kiss.

Ethan coughed awkwardly.

Jackson and Avery flew apart, Avery's face immediately turning red. Chloe couldn't help but let out a chiming laugh. "By all means, don't stop on our account."

Her brother drew a hand through his hair, and parked himself on his desk, as if using it for stability. "Lizzie," he growled, "the door is closed for a reason."

She smirked. "I know. Just wanted to check up on two of my favorite people."

Ethan began to drag her chair backward. "Well, you've checked up on them. I think it's time we...let them be."

That was fine. She'd already accomplished her self-proclaimed mission: slowly get the word out about Jackson's newest discovery. The second Ethan took in the scene, the bells and whistles went off as she became victorious.

"Yeah, you're right." She said, "besides, I could use some food."

Before Ethan maneuvered her out the door, she looked back. "Hey Avery?"

"Yes?"

Chloe's eyes glittered. "Welcome to the family."

***

Later that night, when the two of them were safely tucked into bed, Ethan turned on his side, his face close to hers. She liked seeing him this close, liked gazing at the slight curve in his nose and the angle of his jaw, liked seeing his blue-grey eyes soften.

Chloe reached over to trace the dark stubble along his cheek with her fingertips. The roughness tickled her fingers. "We did it." She whispered.

Ethan's cheek moved under her fingertips as he replied. "Let's not endanger ourselves again, okay?"

She laughed, "I won't if you won't."

"Deal."

Chloe was content. Moments like these reminded her of how blessed she was. She had a family that loved each other with a strength unlike any she'd seen. Friends who supported her even throughout her bad decisions. A mate willing to walk into the line of fire, willing to throw his life away for her. A mate she adored with a fierceness that continued to surprise her. And she had the opportunity to show that love for years and years to come.

"Ethan?"

He moved closer, touching his forehead to hers, his breath warming her cheeks. "Elizabeth."

She closed her eyes, basking in the comfort and content he brought to her. "I love you."

"I will always love you too, Liz."

She resisted the urge to playfully punch him. "Way to one up me, Prince."

He only laughed. "I have so many years to catch up on. You better get used to it."

They'd just settled in to sleep, her head carefully placed on his chest, his arm around her shoulder, when her phone buzzed on the nightstand beside her.

The two of them froze.

Chloe reached over, blindly grabbed the device, and chucked it across the room. Hearing it crash into the wall gave her a bit of satisfaction. She settled back into Ethan. "I don't need a phone." She mumbled.

Underneath her, the tension gradually drained out of Ethan. "I always liked communicating through carrier pigeon anyway."

She buried her face deeper into Ethan as mirth wracked her whole frame.

God, she loved her mate.