Riptide

me before Savich can
    find a church. What if you say no?"
    "You already sort of asked me when we were at your house. But
    I want the real words now. Ask me, Adam, and see what I say."
    "I hurt real bad but will you marry me? I love you, you know."
    "Yes, of course I will. I love you, too, more than even I can
    imagine. Now, Savich has already spoken to both your mother and
    your father. In fact, the last time I checked in, they were sitting on
    either side of him. Ah, I like them, Adam, very much. There are
    brothers and sisters and all sorts of second and third cousins coming
    in and out. They seem to be on some sort of rotation schedule.
    Oh yes, everyone is sticking his oar in about church locations and
    dates. I didn't know you had such a large family."
    "Too large. They refuse to mind their own business. Always underfoot."
    He coughed and it hurt his rib so badly he thought he'd
    expire on the spot. He couldn't control it any longer. The pain in
    his rib and in his arm was slicing right through him, pulling him
    down and down. He -was going to sink under and never come up.
    Then he heard the nurse say, "I'm going to give him some morphine.
    He'll be okay in just a moment. I guess he forgot it was
    there. Then he needs to rest." He hadn't forgotten, he just knew he
    wouldn't have been able even to push down the button because he
    was just too bloody weak. His arms were limp at his sides. He
    hated needles and there were two of them sticking out of his arms.
    Jesus, he was a mess but he'd be okay. Becca loved him. He said, his
    voice slurred, "I'm glad you love me. That makes two of us now."
    He thought he heard her laugh. He knew he felt her palm
    against his cheek.

    And then he drifted away, the pain pulling back, like a monster's

fangs pulling out of his flesh, and it felt blessedly wonderful. Then he
    was asleep again, deeply asleep, and it was black and dreamless and
    there was nothing there to hurt him and that was a very good thing.
    Becca slowly straightened over him.
    The nurse smiled at her from the other side of his bed. "He's doing
    great. Please don't worry, we're taking really good care of him.
    I hope he'll sleep now. He should, since the pain has lightened up.
    You need to get some rest, too, Ms. Matlock."
    Becca gave Adam one last long look, a last kiss on his mouth, then
    walked out of his room, down the corridor to the small sitting room
    with two windows looking onto the parking lot, pale yellow walls
    dotted with Impressionist prints. That small room was filled with the
    latest batch of relatives. There was Adam's mom, Georgia, playing
    with Sean, while Sherlock and Savich were laughing, taking turns
    announcing yet another church and yet another possible date for
    Becca and Adam's wedding, only to have a boo from one relative
    who had to go salmon fishing in Alaska, or another who had to go
    to Italy on business, or yet another who had an appointment with
    her lawyer to cut her husband out of her will. On and on it went.
    Becca said from the doorway, "I'm happy to announce that
    Adam asked me to marry him and I accepted. However, he was
    hurting a lot. Maybe he won't remember when he wakes up. If he
    doesn't, why, I'll just have to ask him."
    "My boy will remember," his father said, a man Adam resembled
    closely. He grinned at her. "One of the first things Adam told us
    when he could talk was that he is going to have that second bathroom
    on the top floor of his house redone so you wouldn't turn
    him down due to ugly green tile on the counters."
    "Well, that certainly shows commitment," she said. "Tell you
    what, I'll pick out the new tile and then we'll see how fast I can get
    him to the altar."

She left them laughing, a very nice sound, and now they could do it more easily since their son would be all right. They seemed to
    like her, which was a relief. His mom was something else. She
    owned a Volvo dealership in Alexandria and was an auctioneer on
    the side. His father, she'd been told by one of Adam's older brothers
    owned and operated a stud farm in Virginia.
    Well, her father was alive, but that was all he needed to be, thank
    you very much. Actually, she wasn't at all certain what he did for a
    living, but who cared? She thought briefly of his house, where her
    mother had spent time. Now it was gone, just a shell left. It didn't
    matter. Her father was alive.
    She took the elevator up to the sixth floor, to the ICU. She
    could make that trip in her sleep, she'd gone back and forth