by Becky McGraw
"Open your eyes, Gabe...don't go to sleep on me," she told him and changed lanes to move around a slow car that didn't yield to the sirens. He opened them and looked over at her pale face.
"You're doing great, baby...we're almost there," he reassured her and himself again, then gagged and swallowed, before he sucked in a deep breath.
Karlie took the pot-holed road leading to the hospital entrance almost on two wheels. She didn't slow down going over the bumps either, which caused his arm to jostle around and made him want to wail. Determined not to upset her, he held his arm to his chest and stifled it. She laid on the brakes hard under the canopy by the Emergency Room and skidded to a stop, slamming him against the seatbelt, then flew out of the car and inside. A minute later, two nurses ran out pushing a gurney and helped him out of the car and onto the stretcher.
He saw that Karlie was crying and his heart pinched and he told her, "I'm going to be fine, sugar...don't worry."
The nurses wheeled him inside and a doctor met them and examined his arm, then started spouting orders that included anti-venom, drips and other stuff that didn't really register in Gabe's dazed brain. They didn't bother helping him take off his t-shirt, they cut it from hem to collar, then yanked it off, before a nurse started sticking him with a needle in his right arm. The next thing Gabe knew he was fading off to sleep, with the image of Karlie's scared face and tears the last thing he saw.
Karlie couldn't watch them poke and prod Gabe, she was so damned worried he was going to die. People died from rattlesnake bites, and if the one that bit him was like the one he had in the trunk, it was a big one. Searching her pockets, Karlie couldn't find her cell, so she found some change and ran to the pay phone bank on the wall, then dialed Cole's house. She was sure he wasn't at the station. It took a few rings, but a sleepy Sabrina finally answered and Karlie blurted out, "Gabe's been bit by a rattlesnake, we're at the hospital in Henrietta!"
After a moment of silence, Sabrina repeated in a lethargic and slightly confused voice, "Bit by a rattlesnake? Cole said you guys were headed to the cabin."
"Jake put two snakes in the cabin, and one of them bit Gabe. He killed one, but the other one was in the closet and he didn't see it!"
"Okay, calm down Karlie...I'll get Cole. One second, he's sleeping..." she heard Sabrina lay the phone down.
A couple of minutes later, Cole answered the extension, "Karlie what's going on?"
"We're at the hospital in Henrietta...Gabe was bitten by a rattler."
"What the fuck!?!" Cole shouted incredulously into the phone and she heard covers rustle as he evidently sat up in the bed.
"There were truck tire tracks in the driveway, big knobby tires like Jake has on his truck. Jake put those snakes in the bedroom of the cabin. Gabe killed one, but there was another one in the closet he didn't see and it bit him."
"How's he doing?" Cole asked in a worried tone.
"Not too good, they just gave him pain medicine, and the doctor is trying to get anti-venom, I think. He was trying to hide it, but he was in pain and nauseated, and his arm was swelling fast."
"We're on our way..." Cole said then hung up the phone.
Karlie walked down the hall and back outside to the cruiser, and shut the door, then got in and cut off the sirens and lights. She put it in gear and found a parking spot, then just sat there and put her head on the steering wheel. Tears hot and steady poured down her cheeks, and pressure built in her chest.
When a tongue licked her shoulder, Karlie jumped and gasped then looked into Sarge's sad brown eyes. He had his paws on the back of the seat, but couldn't reach her, because of the grate between the seats. She felt awful, because she'd totally forgotten about him being back there in all the confusion.
"I'm sorry, Sarge. I seem to be letting everyone down these days," she said then got out of the car and opened the back door. Grabbing his leash off the seat, she clipped it on his collar and then took him to a grassy patch on the other side of the parking lot, so he could do his business.
After they got back to the car, she got his water bowl out then walked found a spigot on the side of the building and filled it up for him, then let him drink his fill. Wanting to get back inside to check on Gabe, Karlie picked him up then walk-ran back to the cruiser and put Sarge back in the car. Although she hated leaving him alone out here in the hot car, she didn't have much choice. She got back in the cruiser quickly and cracked the back windows to let in some air, then locked it up and ran back to the entrance.
When she got back inside, she found a nurse and asked about Gabe's condition. The woman wouldn't tell her anything, and she got pissed, then told her she was Gabe's fiancé, and that his sister would be here shortly. The woman finally told her they'd received anti-venom and had started him on it, and that he was 'resting comfortably'.
Yeah right, he'd been bitten by a snake, his arm looked like it was rotting off, he was in terrible pain, but he was resting comfortably. Some of the things these people said, made her wonder if they got their medical licenses in a Cracker Jack box.
Karlie went to the room where they had him, and saw him attached to all kinds of tubes and wires. With a sob, she walked over to the bed. Gabe was asleep, but she leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I love you, baby," she whispered near his ear, then squeezed his uninjured hand, before she went to sit in a plastic chair against the wall.
Karlie knew she must smell like a horse, she hadn't even had time to shower, and she was so exhausted she felt like she was floating. Easing her butt down in the chair, she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.
Maybe she could just nap a minute, she thought and dozed off. Sabrina woke her up a few minutes later, her eyes filled with tears and fear. Karlie vaulted up out of the chair and looked around and saw Gabe wasn't in the room. "Where's Gabe," she asked in a broken whisper.
"I don't know, we just got here..." Sabrina said with a sob, then grabbed Karlie in a tight hug.
"They were giving him anti-venom...maybe they took him for some other test or something," she mumbled into Sabrina's shoulder, then told her, "I'm sorry I fell asleep."
"Honey, you need to sleep...both of you were up all night,' Sabrina told her and put her arm around her waist, and told her, "Let's go ask the nurse where he is..." then led her out the door.
"Where's Cole?" Karlie asked looking around.
"He went outside to make some calls to try and get Jake Johnson picked up," Sabrina told her and Karlie breathed a relieved sigh, a little of the tension in her shoulder easing.
"Good, I hope they catch him...before someone else gets hurt," Karlie said quietly then dropped her chin, she couldn't look at Sabrina, as guilt surged through her.
Sabrina put a finger under her chin and lifted it to look in her eyes. "This is not your fault, Karlie. Repeat it--now," she commanded holding her gaze intensely.
Karlie shook her head, and refuted Sabrina's words, "It is my fault...I brought Jake Johnson and his meanness here.
"You came here to get away from him...he followed you...that is not your fault," Sabrina grated, then finished, "Stop fucking feeling sorry for yourself, Karlie, find your backbone and stand up to the bastard. Gabe needs you to do that."
Karlie didn't realize that's what she was doing, but maybe Sabrina was right. Her feeling guilty certainly wasn't helping Gabe...or anyone else, including herself. She remembered how she was before she met Jake Johnson, she had a backbone then and stood up for herself, and met the world head on. That certainly wasn't what she was doing now, and she did need to go back there and find that girl again, and stop her whining.
"I'm sorry..." she told Sabrina and she truly was. She was also embarrassed for acting so weak and pitiful.
"And I don't want to hear that phrase come out of your mouth again! Just stop it!" Sabrina put her fists on her hips, framing her baby belly. She looked like a little general, and it made Karlie want to laugh.
"Yes, ma'am..." Karlie drawled with a little smile.
"That's better...now let's go find my brother and make sure he didn't kill that snake with his meanness when it bit him!"
Sabrina led them to the nurse's station where she cornered a younger nurse and demanded to know how her brother was, and where they had taken him.
"They took him to another room, so a surgeon could evaluate the tissue damage from the snake bite, and then they're taking him up to ICU to monitor him," the nurse told her after Sabrina identified herself as his next of kin. The nurse looked at Karlie then and asked, "You're his fiancé aren't you? I was looking for you to give you an update."
"Um...yeah, what did the surgeon say?" Karlie took a step forward and asked, feeling blood rush up her throat to her face, as she felt Sabrina's gaze on her.
"You did good getting him here so fast, so it looks like there's only minimal tissue damage, and he won't need surgery. The anti-venom seems to be working well too, according to the doctor. It wasn't a dry bite, but the doctor thinks the envenomation was nominal."
"Oh thank, god..." Karlie said huffing out a relieved breath, her knees feeling week.
Sabrina grabbed her arm and said near her ear, "His fiancé? Something you want to tell me, sugar?"
Karlie felt her face get hotter, then held up her hands and shook her head. Sabrina tugged on her arm and dragged her down the hall to the elevator, and said with a chuckle, "Don't explain, let me bask in my euphoria for a few minutes, before you bust my bubble," she told her with a chuckle.
Oh, god, Karlie hoped Sabrina didn't say anything to Gabe...she didn't want him to think she expected him to propose or anything. They might have talked about her moving into his cabin with him, but nothing was decided, and that certainly didn't mean they were ready to get engaged. They'd been through a lot in the short time they'd known each other, which meant they got closer than 'normal', faster than usual, but they weren't ready for that step yet.
Karlie wasn't even a hundred percent certain she wanted to move in with him yet. She had just gotten out of living with someone, and even though Gabe was miles apart in temperament from Jake, moving in with him still meant giving up a certain amount of control...and she wasn't sure she wanted to do that just yet.
When she and Sabrina got off the elevator at the ICU floor, Karlie ran to the nurse's station and asked about Gabe. The woman told her they could only visit a few minutes, and one at a time. Sabrina shoved her to go ahead, and walked to the waiting room the nurse had pointed out to them.
With her heart in her throat, Karlie walked into the room and around the curtain, then walked up to the bed where Gabe was hooked to all kinds of monitors. He had a tube under his nose, that she supposed was for oxygen. Grabbing his right hand, she leaned by his ear and whispered, "I love you, Gabe."
She jumped back when he squeezed her hand right back and opened his eyes. He gave her a weak smile, and his eyes were hazy with pain and medication, but she still saw the love there. "Hey, darlin'..." he said in a low gravelly voice, then tried to swallow.
Emotion surged up into her throat, and she covered her trembling mouth with her hand, then said in a teary voice, "Oh, thank god...I've been so worried."
"I told you I'd be okay...they're fixing me up and I'll be good as new in a couple of days," he tried to reassure her.
"They said the anti-venom is working, and you have only minor tissue damage," she told him then took his hand again.
"Someone needs to go to the cabin and find that thing and kill it. I just flung it against the wall," Gabe said then tried to laugh.
It sounded more like a rough bark, and Karlie asked him, "You need some water? I'll go ask the nurse," she said then turned to go out.
"Wait, I'll push the call button," he told her then picked up the cylinder and pushed the top, and a nurse came in right away.
"You need something, Mr. Kelley?"
"Could I get some water, or ice chips please?" he asked nicely with a half-smile.
"Sure, you can...just give me a second. Do you feel like eating something? Jello or broth maybe?"
"How about a pureed t-bone?" he asked, then managed a chuckle. Karlie laughed too, because it was a great sign that his sense of humor was back.
"I'll see what I can find," the woman told him with a wink, then left the room. He was so damned cute the woman would probably actually get that for him, Karlie thought with a stab of jealousy.
"Sabrina and Cole are here...she's in the waiting room. I probably shouldn't hog up all your time, but I don't want to leave you."
"You better not leave me," he said with intense blue eyes, then told her, "I love you, sugar..."
Karlie leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips, "I love you too, Gabe, and I'm not going anywhere, or your sister would probably shoot me," she told him with a smile. "She told me to quit feeling sorry for myself and suck it up."
"Good for her...bout damned time somebody did," he told her then added firmly, "We're moving you into the cabin when I get out of here, no ifs ands or buts about it...after we've had a snake wrangler go through the place to make sure it's clean, that is."
Ignoring the moving in the cabin part of his statement, because she wasn't sure that's what she wanted yet, Karlie shivered and nodded. "Definitely worth the money having that done...I'm going get Sabrina, and I'll see you in a little bit," Karlie said then kissed him again, before she headed out the door to find his sister. She found Cole and Sabrina in the waiting room, holding hands and talking quietly.
Her heart sighed and she thought, if she had some assurance this is what domestic bliss would be like between her and Gabe, she might well consider his offer, but there were no guarantees, and she wasn't ready to take that risk. Karlie truly didn't want to ruin their budding love, by moving too quickly. If Gabe started looking at her like Jake had after a while, it would crush her. She'd never loved Jake, she'd just been lonely, but that was beside the point.
Karlie walked over to them and smiled widely, and they both stood up, Cole's hand automatically went to Sabrina's lower back and he pulled her close to him. "Gabe's awake and harassing the nurses for something to eat, so he must be on the mend," she announced with relief in her tone.
She saw the tension in Cole's shoulders ease and Sabrina huffed out a breath then said, "Thank, goodness...can I go see him now?"
"Yep, I told him I'd come and get you," Karlie told her then looked at Cole, "They'll only let one of us back at a time."
He looked down at Sabrina and told her, "You go ahead, sugar, I'll go next."
After Sabrina nodded then left, Karlie went and took a seat, then Cole sat beside her. She crossed her legs and then her arms under her breasts and said to him, "I'm sorry for causing all this trouble for you and Gabe..."
Cole hesitated a second then said earnestly, "I was joking with Gabe, I don't think any of this is your fault, sugar...I'm sorry you heard that and believed otherwise."
"Sometimes, there's truth in humor, Cole...if I hadn't come here, you guys wouldn't be getting hurt and having issues," she told him honestly.
"If you hadn't come here, Gabe would still be inside of his head about what happened with Kenny, and Sabrina would still be worried sick about him. He's getting better because of you, Karlie...he loves you."
"I love him too, but sometimes that's not enough is it? Sometimes outside things make it impossible for that to be enough." That's how she felt where Gabe was concerned.
"It can be enough if you let it, and quit using outside forces as an excuse to keep people at arm's length...to run, so you don't have to deal with things. I know someone else who did exactly the same thing, and when she stopped, she became my best friend's wife."
"Cassie?" she asked with a raised brow.
"Yep...because she ran off when things got out of control or she got confused, she wasted ten years of her life, and Luke's. You might want to talk to her," Cole suggested.
"I might just do that...and thanks," she said then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I've got to go check on Sarge, I left h
im in the car."
"We'll take him with us when we leave, so you don't have to worry about him," Cole offered and she nodded then got up and headed for the elevator.
Karlie's wheels were spinning about what Cole had told her about Cassie and Luke, one of the most intimate and in sync couples she knew. They made being in love and in a relationship look so easy, effortless, just like Sabrina and Cole. But they didn't have a crazy ex on their tails trying to kill them, they had peace, which allowed them to focus on each other. Karlie didn't have that luxury, yet...hopefully, one day she would get there. If they could put an end to Jake Johnson's bullying.
Walking out the front door of the hospital, Karlie went to the cruiser and unlocked the door, then opened the back and gave Sarge a scratch, before she clipped on his leash. She needed to find her cell phone and thought it might be in her purse in the trunk...with the dead snake in the pillow case. A wave of horror filled her, but she walked to the trunk anyway and opened it, then grabbed her purse.