Her Mistletoe Protector(35)

"Hey, I live out in the boondocks, so this is all new to me," the officer said with a wry grin. "We don't get this kind of big-city crime where I come from."

Her smile faded. "Be glad, Sean. Be very glad."

He slung his arm across her shoulder in a friendly hug. "Don't worry, this was enough excitement to last me quite a while."

After he left, she decided to take a shower before heading back to the hospital. She urged Joey to take one, too.

Freshly scrubbed and wearing clean clothing made her feel like a new person, although it was clear her son was still exhausted. She was tired, too, but she wanted to see Nick in the hospital, one more time, before they came home to sleep.

And even though she knew she could call a babysitter to stay home with Joey, she preferred to keep him with her, despite being certain the danger was finally over.

Besides, she figured Joey would feel better, knowing firsthand that Nick was going to be all right.

When they arrived at Chicago North Hospital, they found Nick was a patient in a regular room rather than being back in the ICU. They walked into his room just as a voice announced through the overhead speaker that visiting hours would be over in fifteen minutes.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked, crossing over to Nick's bed. Joey stood at the foot of Nick's bed, regarding him thoughtfully.

"My ears are blistered from having the doctors yell at me for fifteen minutes straight, but otherwise I'm good." His expression was more relaxed, and the brackets around his mouth had vanished, which she assumed meant he'd been given some pain medication.

"You look much better," she murmured. "And you deserve to have your ears blistered after that stunt you pulled."

"They wanted to transport me back to Madison General, but I guess the doctor there wasn't too interested in having me back." A hint of a smile played along the corner of his mouth. "Can't say that I blame him."

"How's the circulation in your arm?" she asked, glancing at the limb that was currently propped up on two pillows.

He moved his fingers and shrugged his right shoulder. "Pretty good, I guess. I can move my hand a bit more. No harm done, at least according to the surgeon here. I think that's one of the reasons he didn't push the issue of sending me back. Apparently, surgeons don't like to pick up other surgeon's leftovers."                       
       
           



       

She laughed, extremely relieved to hear that Nick wasn't any worse for wear.

"How long will you have to stay in the hospital, Nick?" Joey asked anxiously.

"Shouldn't be more than a day or two," Nick responded.

Joey's expression clouded. "But that means you'll be in here over Christmas."

"That's okay," Nick said quickly. "I don't mind."

There was another overhead announcement instructing all visitors to leave the building, so Rachel reached over and took Nick's good hand in hers, squeezing gently. "We'd better get home. I promised Joey that he would be able to sleep in his own bed tonight."

"All right." Nick's eyes were at half-mast and she suspected that he'd be asleep before they made it out the front door.

"See you tomorrow," she promised, releasing his hand. "Come on, Joey. Let's go home."

"Bye, Nick." Joey flashed a grin before following her out of the room.

As they left the hospital to flag down a cab, she decided that since Nick was going to be in the hospital for Christmas, they would need to bring Christmas to him.

* * *

Nick hated being stuck in the hospital. The only bright spot in his day was that his arm seemed to be doing better. The doctors had taken down the bulky dressing to examine the incision and hadn't put it back on, making him feel ten pounds lighter.

"Looks better than it should," the surgeon told him grudgingly. "Considering you went several hours without your blood-thinning medicine, you're extremely lucky."

"I'm blessed," Nick corrected with a grin. "Truly blessed." He'd slept on and off during the night, waking up between pain medication doses, but he'd had plenty of time to think about what had happened up at the cabin. How much he'd wanted to live, when he'd managed to convince himself that he'd be happy for God to call him home. After missing his wife and daughter for so long, he realized that God meant for him to move on with his life. He wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve a second chance, but he couldn't deny the way Rachel and Joey had wiggled their way into his heart.

Now, if he could only find a way to convince Rachel to take a chance on him.

Outside his window, he noticed snow was beginning to fall. He wondered if that change in the weather was part of the reason that Rachel and Joey hadn't come in to visit him yet.

He couldn't bear to think that maybe they wouldn't show at all. Rachel had said she'd see him tomorrow. Surely she wouldn't have said that if she hadn't meant it.

But when the lunch hour came and went he began to lose hope. He exercised his fingers the way he was supposed to and wondered if he could convince Jonah or someone from the precinct to bust him out of here again.

If she didn't show up soon, he'd have no choice but to go to her.

"Knock-knock," a voice said from the doorway. Relief flooded him when he realized that Rachel and Joey had arrived.

"Come in," he called, struggling to sit farther up in his bed. He was tired of looking and feeling like an invalid.

The first thing he saw was a small pine tree about three feet tall covering most of Joey's face. His smile widened when he saw Rachel coming in behind the boy, lugging a large bag.

"Merry Christmas," she said as Joey set the small pine tree on the bedside table.

"Merry Christmas," he responded, unable to suppress his broad grin. It was after all, Christmas Eve.

"Close your eyes," she said, as she plunked the bag down on the guest chair. "We'll tell you when you can open them again."

He'd rather have gazed at Rachel all day but did as she requested. He could hear Joey giggling amidst the sounds of paper rustling. With his eyes closed, he could smell the refreshing scent of pine from the small tree.

It seemed like forever, but finally the rustling and the giggling stopped. "You can open your eyes now, Nick," Joey said excitedly.

He opened his eyes and gasped in surprise at the way they'd transformed his room. Not only was the tiny tree decorated with miniature lights, but there was a small nativity scene set out on display along with several strands of garland strung festively around the whiteboard on the wall.                       
       
           



       

"Beautiful," he murmured, and he wasn't talking about the Christmas decorations.

Rachel looked lovely, no doubt in part because she'd finally gotten a decent night's sleep. Her smile was shy and it took him a minute to realize she had what looked to be a brand-new Bible in her hands.

"I hope you don't mind, but I thought we could read the Christmas story again tonight," she said. "Or we could read the Psalms since I know you mentioned they're your favorite. I read Psalm 23 this morning and I can certainly understand why you like them so much. I feel blessed to have found God. And I owe it all to you."

His throat was tight with pent up emotion and he had to clear it before he could speak. "I'd like that," he managed, keeping his gaze centered on her. "Very much."

"I, um, didn't know how to get in touch with your family, so they don't know that you've been injured...."

"Rachel, come here," he said, holding out his good hand.

She approached him and put her hand in his. He was conscious of Joey watching them curiously so he couldn't say exactly what he wanted, but she needed to know the truth. "I'm happy just having you and Joey here, and I don't need anyone else."

Her gaze was uncertain. "Are you sure? Christmas is a time for families."

"I'm sure." He lifted her hand and kissed it, wishing that Joey wasn't there so he could kiss her properly. "You and Joey are all the family I need."

She blushed but didn't pull her hand away. "I'm glad," she murmured.

And it wasn't until much later, when Joey had fallen asleep in the chair, that he was able to tell Rachel how he felt.

"I'm falling in love with you, Rachel," he said softly.

She sucked in a quick breath. "How can you be so sure?"

He tried to think of a way to put his feelings into words. "I thought I was happy, living my life alone, doing my best to put the bad guys behind bars. But when you and Joey came into my life, I realized that I never felt as alive as I did with the both of you."

Her eyes glistened with tears. "I've been so afraid to get involved with anyone after Anthony. I told myself that I was protecting Joey, but I think in reality, I was protecting myself."

He took her hand and drew her closer. "Rachel, give me a chance to show you how much I love you. There's no rush, you can take all the time you need, if you'll just give me a chance."

"All right," she whispered.