A second later, Shane knelt beside a trembling, gasping man. Justin’s bewildered gaze drifted around the room, then fixed on Shane.
“Comeback?” Justin’s voice was startlingly strong and confident. It made an odd pang go through Shane. That was how his friend used to sound all the time. “You’re bleeding. Let me get my kit. Some of those will need sutures.”
“Sure,” Shane said, after an instant’s confused pause. “Get your kit, Red.”
Justin relaxed at Shane’s words. His eyes slid shut, and his breathing steadied.
“He’s right,” Catalina said, frowning at Shane. “You do need stitches. Dr. Bedford, can I borrow your supplies?”
“That cabinet.” The doctor pointed to it. To Shane, she said, “If you don’t mind...?”
Shane lifted Justin back on to the bed. As Dr. Bedford once again began to examine Justin, Shane reached down to re-check his pulse.
“Out of my way, please,” said the doctor.
“But—”
A small hand came down on his shoulder.
“You heard her. Sit down.” Catalina pushed him into a chair. “Doctor’s on duty. Let her do her thing, and let me do my thing.”
For the first time, Shane looked down at himself. He was bleeding from deep claw wounds on his arms and chest and thigh. Once he noticed them, they began to sting.
Catalina got the supplies from the cabinet and filled a syringe.
“No drugs.” Shane couldn’t afford to sleep when his mate might need him to defend her and his friend might need to be protected from himself.
“It’s just a local anesthetic, to numb the area,” she said. Then, with gentle irony, she added, “But I could stitch you up with nothing if you really want me to.”
His wounds instantly hurt more as he imagined that. “Sorry. It’s fine.”
Idiot, his panther remarked. Your mate isn’t going to drug you. She knows you wouldn’t want that. She knows because she’s your mate. When are you going to get that into that thick head of yours?
Stop being right all the time, Shane replied silently.
Catalina gave him several shots of local anesthetic, then cleaned and stitched his wounds. Her sutures were neat and small, better than his; he was used to working in combat conditions, focusing on saving lives and leaving anything that wasn’t immediately life-threatening for someone else to deal with later. She’d obviously had far more practice with minor injuries. Even if he hadn’t had shifter healing, she’d have ensured that he healed without scars.
Once she was done, he sat down in a chair by Justin’s bed. Catalina sat beside him with her arm around his shoulders.
“Look, he’s better already,” she remarked.
Shane glanced from his friend’s pale face to the monitors. Catalina was right; Justin was breathing more easily now, and his heart rate was down.
“So he can’t be sedated, huh?” Dr. Bedford asked. “I’ll keep him on a morphine drip. Hopefully he won’t panic if he’s not in pain. All the same... you’d better stay with him.”
“Don’t worry,” Shane said. “I won’t leave him.”
And he didn’t. Dr. Bedford moved another bed into the room so Shane and Catalina could take turns watching over Justin.
But Justin never again tried to transform or fight. When he woke, all Shane had to do was say, “You’re sick, Red. You’re in a hospital. I’m staying with you till you’re better.”
Often Justin would simply nod, then go back to sleep. Sometimes he asked about missions from years ago, or if his buddies were all right. Shane could usually assure him with perfect honesty that everyone was fine. He’d kept tabs on all the PJs he’d known. But once Justin asked about Mason. Shane had no idea if Justin meant the mission they’d been on when Apex had captured them, or some other mission, or if he thought they were all still at Apex. But Shane couldn’t lie about that.
“Mason didn’t make it,” Shane said. “I was there. It was quick. He didn’t suffer.”
“Oh,” Justin sighed, and Shane saw that on some level Justin had already known. But he turned his head away, hiding his face in the pillow. Shane kept a hand on his shoulder until he slept again.
If Justin woke when Catalina was watching, she’d point to Shane and say, “Shane’s right there. He’s fine; he’s just taking a nap. He’s here to take care of you.” That too seemed to satisfy him.