The doctor left, annoyed and muttering under his breath. But I felt cherished. Especially when Drake and Jesse gently squeezed me between the two of them in a hug. “I was so scared.” Jesse whispered against my hair. “Jesus Em! You should have seen a doctor before now.”

I clutched him tighter. “It’s nothing. I’m fine now.”

“It isn’t nothing!”

My head shot up at the vehemence in Nik’s tone. He was normally the calm one. The one that kept his cool when the other three were ready to tear things apart. But as I watched he shoved the doctor’s chair so hard it slid the length of the room and crashed to its side when it hit the wall. His fingers raked through his thick sandy brown hair and pulled on the ends like a demented person. “Axton said you were unconscious when he first got you here! Unconscious Emmie! Do you not understand how serious this fucking is? Has it slipped your attention that people die from dehydration?!” He turned away from us and actually punched the wall.

My heart shattered a little at how upset he was. For several minutes we were all quiet, while Nik leaned against the wall he had just punched, breathing hard. Drake tried to keep me calm, soothingly running his fingers through the ends of my hair, rubbing my back. Jesse just stood there, holding my hand. Shane paced, his usual go to when he was stressed.

“Nik…” I whispered his name, unable to handle the distance between us now. I couldn’t go to him, the IV and heart monitor had me trapped in the bed. But I needed him to hold me more than anyone else.

He blew out a long drawn out sigh and turned to face me. His hands scrubbed across his cheeks, telling me that he had been crying. That’s when I saw the blood on his knuckles. They were scrapped. “Nik.” I pulled away from Jesse and Drake and held my arms out for him, silently begging him to come to me.

Drake moved out of the way as Nik crossed to me. He sat on the edge of the bed and I wrapped myself around him. My arms wrapped around his neck and pulled his head down to my chest. “I’m okay.” I whispered against his ear and he trembled. “I’m here.”

Strong arms tightened around me almost painfully. “I’m sorry Emmie. I’m so sorry.” I didn’t say anything, just rocked him against me while he cried.

Chapter 7

Dull light was filtered through the window by plastic blinds. I groaned at the disturbance to my sleep and turned on my side away from the window, wanting nothing but to go back to sleep.

The pain in my arm as I moved made me open my eyes again. I couldn’t turn on my arm because my IV line wouldn’t allow it. The events of the evening before came flooding back into my sleep fogged mind and without thinking my hand covered my lower stomach. My baby girl was in there.

Deep snores around the room made me raise my head. The nursing staff had been both aggravated and thrilled at my posse when I was put in my private room the night before. Some of them were Demon’s Wings fans; others were just in awe at having the rockers in the same building as them.

Chairs were brought without having to be asked for, along with pillows and blankets. Now my guys were spread around the room sleeping like the dead. With a happy smile on my lips I reached for the hand that was laying so close to my own on the bed. Jesse actually jerked awake when I touched him. “Emmie?”

“I’m still here.” I assured him.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need coffee.”

“You and me both.” Nik muttered from his chair to my right. He twisted his neck right and left, trying to get the tension out of them. “I’ll go find us some.” He stood and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Need anything, baby girl?”

“Something cold and lemony?” My mouth felt gooey.

“You got it.” He promised and kissed me again.

I was unable to take my eyes off of him until he was out of sight. Jesse shook his head. “Idiots.” He muttered under his breath.

“Shut up, Jess.” Damn him for seeing everything!

“Just stating the obvious, Em.” He stood, cracking his neck and back until he was able to move around with ease. “Wow, you look better. I haven’t seen color in your cheeks in weeks.”

Drake and Shane were up by the time Nik returned with coffee and a soft drink for me. The lemon lime flavor of the soda was like heaven for my taste buds and I gulped half of it before having to stop and belch. My guys laughed at me because I could belch with the best of them.

A nurse with short gray hair walked in without knocking. A clip board in one hand and a little machine pulled along behind her with the other. She shook her head at my guys, and weaved her way through them to get to me. “Looks like you get to go home, Miss Jameson.”

I let out a relieved sigh. “Thank the gods.”

“Let me get your blood pressure and temperature, dear.” She put a cuff on my arm without the IV and a thermometer under my tongue. While she waited for the vitals to register she glanced around her. “You boys okay with the sight of blood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jesse assured the woman. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“I have to take out the IV in Miss Jameson’s arm. If you can’t handle the sight of blood then I suggest you fellows get out until she’s all bandaged up.”

I shot Shane a quick look. “Maybe you should go get some more coffee.” I suggested. He didn’t have to be told twice. The guy can look at his own blood all day long, but anyone else’s and he tended to lose it.

The nurse laughed as she pulled the cuff from my arm, wrote a few things on her clip board and then reached for my arm with the IV. The thing was taped up nice and tight and I couldn’t help but whimper as the nurse pulled the tape off. Then she was easing the needle from my arm and patching me up with a small bandage.

“Okay dear, these are the doctor’s instructions. Follow up with your personal doctor in the next week. Come back if you start feeling faint, unable to keep liquids down, or develop a high fever.” She tore off the top sheet of paper and handed it over along with a smaller piece of paper. “And a prescription for vitamins. My suggestion is take them at bed time because they tend to upset the stomach.”

“Vitamins?” Jesse frowned. “That’s it? Just vitamins?”

“There isn’t much that we can give her.” The nurse told him as she turned to him.

“Why the fuck not?” Drake demanded, standing beside of the drummer. “She’s very sick!”