SOLACE: Behind The Shield (Beauty 0f Life Book 2)

by Laura Acton

  Escape Through Misty Dreams

  10

  December 2

  Mercy Hospital – Room 864 – 6:00 a.m.

  Pauline started the vitals check of her difficult patient. Several times in the past two days Mr. Broderick attempted to get out of bed, dress, and leave. She did not enjoy babysitting this grown man who remained uncooperative in all things, including eating. He refused to eat the hospital food. She lost count of the numerous trays removed untouched. He put her pickiest pediatric patient to shame. Can’t he stay put and eat like he is told?

  She lowered the oxygen output level per the doctor’s orders to wean him gradually as his saturation level improved. The fever was now gone, as was the IV. He ripped the line out in his latest attempt to depart last night. Dr. Compton ordered a sedative added to his medication because Broderick became belligerent after he was caught sneaking down the hall yesterday and ended up doubling over in a coughing fit and almost passing out. Pauline didn’t understand his desire to leave. He isn’t in any shape to go.

  Finishing her notes, she stopped to gaze at the handsome man peacefully sleeping in his own t-shirt and shorts a teammate brought for him. She smirked recalling the confrontation two days ago. His striking blue eyes held ice as he stated, ‘my clothes or nothing’ as he tossed his gown on the floor. He’s the most problematic patient in my thirty years of nursing. My life will be infinitely easier when he is well enough to go home. She sighed recalling the scars littering his torso. But will yours?

  The thought brought out her motherly tendencies, and Pauline adjusted the covers tucking him in. A pain in the ass or not, she cared for him to the best of her ability. Sighing again, she pondered how to entice him to eat because he couldn’t afford to lose more weight. “Hospital food isn’t so bad. I promise we aren’t trying to poison you. To regain your strength, you must eat.”

  Smiling in spite of herself, Pauline whispered, “Handsome and a handful. Isn’t that always the case?” Exiting the room, she wondered when he awoke, if he would try to run off again. Probably. She closed his door deliberating if she should hang a cowbell to alert her to his next attempt to escape.

  Adrift in a sea of blue-green mist, Dan’s world remained foggy. He turned this way and that straining to figure out where he was to no avail. Nothing seemed familiar to him.

  After several minutes, or eons, he couldn’t tell, he sat down, unsure what to do. A little girl’s cry filtered in, and Dan stood and searched, uncertain from which direction the sound came. It bounced around, surrounding him, making him disoriented. The cry sounded so familiar. One which pulled at his heartstrings.

  Dan spun, again and again, searching to pinpoint the source. He needed to find her. He must find Sara. Sara’s crying. Desperate to locate her, he froze when a well-known voice began singing. Brody?

  Brody’s melodious voice sang ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ replaced the crying. No, not replaced … quieted. Sara’s weeping became soft sobs instead of loud bawling.

  He began running in one direction as Brody’s voice increased. The blue-green, hazy fog swirled obscuring his view, but he sensed he was getting closer. As he continued to run, his breathing became labored. He stopped to cough. Dan hacked with such force he could hardly catch a breath in-between. He collapsed to the ground as he frantically, but breathlessly called out, “Brody, … help me … Brody, … I … can’t … breathe.”

  The fog snaked around him, constricting his lungs like a python. The edges of his vision started to fade as he coughed and gasped for air. About to fadeout, Brody’s face appeared inches from his.

  “In, hold, two three four, release. In, hold, two three four, release. That’s it, Danny. In, hold, two three four, release. Relax.” Brody counted out sniper breathing for Dan as he cradled his chosen brother in his arms.

  His barking lessened as he followed Brody’s guidance. Air began to move easier and the vice grip on his chest loosened. Dan kept his sapphire blue eyes riveted on Brody’s jade eyes, and as his panic receded so did the encroaching gray, clearing his sight, only to be replaced by tears. Brody is here for me. I can touch him. Oh God, it has been far too long.

  A soft hand tentatively stroked his cheek. He tore his eyes away from Brody and flicked them to his left. Sara?

  “My Danny, … oh, please breathe, please. It’s going to be okay. Just breathe.” Sara wiped the tears from her big brother’s cheek.

  Gazing at the emerald eyes of his seven-year-old little sister through his tears, Dan didn’t believe his ears or the vision before him. “Sara?”

  Sara smiled. “Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cry.”

  “But … You’re crying. Are you hurt?” Dan scanned her worriedly.

  “I was sad because you’re sick. It makes me sad when you’re hurt. But Brody said you’ll be alright now. He says you’ll be happy soon.”

  His eyes switched back to Brody. “Am I dead?”

  Brody laughed. “Not that I’m aware of. No, Danny boy, you are still quite alive, but you came close, too close for my liking. You don’t make my job easy.”

  “Your job?” Dan’s eyes moved between Sara and Brody, everything feeling surreal and disjointed.

  Sara chimed in, “Brody’s your Guardian Angel.”

  Dan’s expression became more confused. “Guardian what?”

  “You heard her. I received excellent training on earth. Guardian Unit to Guardian Angel. Perfect fit for me, don’t ya think?” Brody beamed.

  Breathing became easier the longer Brody held him. He turned to Sara. “Where are we?”

  Sara took hold of Danny’s hand. “In your dreams, silly. Wanna play? We can climb trees.”

  His breathing returned to normal, unrestricted, as he sat with Brody assistance. The whirling fog lifted and the area transformed into a lush green field in the middle of a forest of tall pines. The sky became a brilliant blue, and the sun shone brightly.

  Sara bounced lively to her feet. She grinned as she said, “I’ll race you to the trees.” She took off running.

  Confused and surprised, Dan glanced at Brody.

  Brody grinned broadly. “You better get going or she’ll beat you. She runs like a little rabbit.”

  Dan rose to his feet and raced after Sara. Her joyful laughter was music to his ears and lightened his heart. As he caught up to Sara, he scooped her up and swung her around and around as her giggles and squeals of delight rained down on him.

  Stretching his magnificent, white wings, Brody stood and began to sing ‘I Can See Clearly’ again as he strolled towards the siblings who climbed up a tree with great abandon—just like children.

  Happiness surged through him making him glow. Dan is smiling. Brody would be forever grateful for Sara’s rare connection to Dan which allowed her to tap into her brother’s dream state. Even though Dan never remembered these dreams, they gave him respite from all the misery in his life. Sara helped Dan hang on.

  Brody understood that if Dan could persevere, he would eventually find the beauty of life and be able to do more than only exist. Brody wanted that more than anything for Danny. He wanted him to be joyful and live a long life. Brody sighed and smiled as he spied Dan and Sara settling near the top of the pine tree.

  Dan climbed high up in the tree, straddled a branch, and gazed out at the treetops and down at flowing river. Sara sat in front of him, and he pulled her close. His heart filled with warmth having Sara near.

  Sara pointed to the river. “That little boy is gonna fall in and get soaked. Watch.”

  Dan observed as a boy with short auburn hair, wearing jeans and a red shirt, tried to catch frogs at the water’s edge. The boy lost his footing, slipped and splashed down. The annoyed boy rose, drenched from head to toe.

  “How’d you know that would happen?” Dan asked Sara.

  Sara turned and smiled up at her brother. “You told me.”

  “I told you?”

  “Yeah, you described it so well.”

  “When?”

  “When
you were six and came home from your camping trip. You were so sick then, too. Mommy and Daddy were so scared you were gonna die. Daddy stayed home for longer than ever to take care of you. After you got better, you and Scott would tell me stories about the trip and this boy was one.”

  Sara smiled like she was hiding a secret. “The auburn-hair boy will help you. You only need to be patient,” Sara snickered.

  Dan stared at her confused. Sara is definitely hiding something from me. “Sara, why are you snickering? What aren’t you telling—”

  Mercy Hospital – Room 864 – 10:00 a.m.

  Dan groggily became aware of his surroundings, slowly blinking his heavy eyelids, trying to climb up from the deep well of drug-induced sleep. His fuzzy brain wondered why he shook. Comprehension became impeded when a harsh coughing fit racked his body. A vise-like tightness in his chest burned as he drew in labored breaths between coughs.

  An insistent, high-pitched, female voice became distinct from sounds of constant regular beeping. “Mr. Broderick, time for your breathing treatment. Wake up, Dan.”

  When the bout of hacking ended, his two-ton eyelids finally lifted enough for his bleary vision to recognize he lay in a hospital bed. The voice belonged to a nurse at his bedside who shook his shoulder vigorously. A fleeting thought crossed his mind. Lucky I’m so drugged, or else she would’ve learned the hard way not to shake me awake. Could’ve been bad for both of us. Startling me typically results in someone getting hurt, that someone isn’t usually me.

  As his world came into more focus, Dan a sense of loss enveloped him—like he been someplace he desired to be as opposed to being in a dreaded hospital room. Dan’s fuzzy mind struggled to recreate the images of where he been. He wanted to return, something was important. It was impossible to do as the fragments dissipated into thin air like wisps of fog, but strangely a seed of hope sprouted.

  Dan sluggishly turned his head towards the nurse who repeatedly called his name and saw she held a nebulizer. He had grown to hate the breathing treatments, but he did breathe easier after taking them. He blew out a short, unsteady breath. “I’m awake.”

  Pauline responded, “My goodness, that sedative really knocked you out. I’ve been trying to wake you for a long time. You’re overdue for your treatment. I need you to sit up.”

  She pressed the button on his bed to raise his head. Dan adjusted into a more upright position with her help. Pauline handed him the nebulizer, and he put it in his mouth as she turned on the machine. He inhaled the misty vapor as deeply as he could to infuse the medication into his lungs.

  As the whitish mist swirled out with each exhale, it vaguely reminded him of something, but exactly what remained elusive and out of his mental grasp. The only thing he distinguished for sure was the mist was the wrong color, it should be blue-green. A calmness settled over him, a rarity ever since he killed Brody, and he leaned back and closed his eyes.

  Mood and Food

  11

  December 2

  Mercy Hospital – Room 864 – 6:00 p.m.

  Commander Walter Gambrill paced just inside the closed door of Dan’s room. Glaring occasionally at his truant godson, who now lay in bed where he belonged. Beyond upset, almost livid, Walter understood Dan’s dislike of hospitals, but he wouldn’t allow the kid’s darned pigheaded and single-minded attitude to cause him further harm.

  Unfortunately, Dan inherited that particular trait from William. Father and son were much more alike than either of them would ever acknowledge. Though he mused, if Yvonne desired something, nothing stood in her way either. No wonder Dan remained persistent, he received a double dose of stubbornness.

  Dan eyed his godfather as the man patrolled his door. Damn his timing. I almost succeeded in my escape. He refused to spend another night here after the damned doctor drugged him into oblivion last night. He would not allow that to happen again under any circumstance. Nothing good ever happened to him in hospitals and the food sucked. He would recover faster on his own, and he wouldn’t be starving.

  However, no one would bring him the papers to sign out against medical advice, so he planned another attempt to slip out. Nurse Pauline had been distracted by another patient. He finished his breathing treatment and made it out to the hallway and halfway to the stairs.

  Gambrill’s untimely and unexpected visit foiled his attempt. They agreed the commander would treat him the same as any other constable under his command and keep their relationship private. He doubted Gambrill visited other constables who were ill. His well-meaning but meddling godfather broke his agreement by being here and which only added to Dan’s foul mood.

  Mercy Hospital – Hallway Near Room 864 – 6:05 p.m.

  Bram and Ray slowed as they approached Dan’s room. Working the noon to midnight shift, they were on their dinner break, so dropped by for a short visit. The closed door indicated to them a doctor or nurse might be in with Dan. Not wanting to intrude, they milled around outside waiting.

  Ray leaned up against the opposite wall to wait as he held a bag from Fire Stick Grill. He was glad for his turn to visit Dan. The team rotated stopping by so they didn’t overwhelm Dan with visitors, and he got the sleep he sorely needed.

  Jon allowed Loki and Boss miss workout today so they could drop in on Dan before shift. What they discovered concerned them. Dan pushed his food around the plate with a disgusted expression, and it became apparent Dan hated the taste of the food. Boss found out only thing Dan had eaten since waking four days ago was the chicken soup Loki’s mom sent and some green jello.

  With this knowledge, the team decided to bring him food from outside. At the suggestion of Boss, he and Bram stopped by the Fire Stick Grill to pick up dinner for Dan. Ray hoped Dan would enjoy the meal because his teammate needed to rebuild his strength and return to the team. “Do you think he’ll like what we brought him?”

  Bram grinned. “Jarmal said he would.”

  Ray nodded thinking he might have to try the Five Alarm Burger. A connoisseur of spicy food, the description of the burger sounded delicious to him. Commander Gambrill’s stern voice coming from Dan’s room startled him. He glanced at Bram to check if he heard too. Bram’s eyes flicking to Dan’s door gave him the answer.

  Mercy Hospital – Room 864 – 6:05 p.m.

  Walter stopped pacing and glared angrily at Dan. His voice came out hard and raised. “You will remain in this hospital until such time as the doctor deems you are healthy enough and ready for discharge.”

  “I’ll be damned if I allow him to drug me again. I’m well enough now,” Dan retorted as he stifled a cough which would contradict his statement.

  Cringing inside at the being drugged comment but standing firm, Walter pelted out, “You still require oxygen. You aren’t well … not by anyone’s standards!”

  Walter strode to the bed and his expression one of frustration. “Dammit, Daniel, you’ve given me more grey hairs than all my children combined. You wouldn’t be in here if you bought a damned vehicle. You have the money, so that isn’t the reason. Did you give any thought to how those who care about you would feel if you died of stupidity and stubbornness? Did you?”

  Not cowed by the rebuke in the least. Dan experienced many reprimands from the Master of dress-downs. So harsh tones to elicited no emotional response. The general’s way with words cut deep, and Gambrill was a neophyte in comparison. Besides, no one cared about him, so his argument carried little weight. Dan held his godfather’s gaze steadily as he continued to be admonished.

  Walter could tell he made no impact as Dan stared emotionlessly at him. He needed to be specific to break through Dan’s shield. Walter hoped he was not pulling a William as his voice went up another notch and he hit below the belt. “Does your mother deserve to bury another child? Your godmother broke out in tears when she learned about this hospital stay. And, God forbid, if I informed the Grand Dame. She would send Wilson after me, and my head would be served up to her on a silver platter.”

  Dan flinched inwardly a
t the mention of his mother and Bella for different reasons. He failed his mother, and she lost beautiful Sara, and she wouldn’t care if he died. Though, his godfather struck a chord with reference to Bella. She would be angry with him for sure. Having nobody who cared was not quite right—Bella cared. His tone held a note of trepidation, as he said, “You didn’t call Bella, did you?”

  Hearing the unease in Dan’s voice, Walter recognized his words hit home. He blew out a breath, but before he could respond, the door opened, and he spun to discover who entered. Walter assumed his Commander persona when Constables De Haven and Palomo strode in. He grimaced, wondering if they overheard him. Christ, if they did … well … I broke my word to William and Dan. There will be hell to pay for my breach of trust.

  Bram entered, concerned about the commander yelling at Dan. The rookie didn’t need anyone haranguing him. Bram’s protectiveness rose. “Everything okay in here?”

  Ray followed Bram wondering why Commander Gambrill was here and at some of his comments. Gambrill must know Dan better than he let on, especially making comments about buying a vehicle and other personal things.

  What struck him most was the comment about Dan giving Gambrill more grey hairs than all his children combined. Is Dan related to Gambrill? Perhaps an adopted son? No that couldn’t be … Dan’s father is General Broderick. Loki showed him a picture of the general, and they appeared to share many physical qualities.

  Walter recovered swiftly and turned back to Dan. “I am giving you a direct order. You’re not to leave this room until Dr. Compton gives his permission. I don’t wish to be contacted by the doctor again telling me one of my constables is being belligerent and disrespectful. I expect each of my officers to conduct themselves properly because it is a reflection on all of us.