I just wanted to thank everyone who stuck with me. During November, I got some content written for book 3 (Shawn's story), but not as much as I was hoping. November was a bit hectic. We got a new puppy (blame my husband. lol.), and with all the holidays and everything, it's just been crazy. I hope to spend some more time writing this month to make up for it, but we'll see how that goes. 

Anyways, enjoy! Don't forget to let me know what y'all think. :)

Shawn:

I held on to the 'oh shit' handle as Dom slammed on the breaks in his parking spot while holding Ely close to my body with my other hand. "Dom, grab everything you can that needs to go up to our place. Jordan, I'll talk to the nurse on my way up to let her know to come to look at your side. I'll carry Ely inside, since her shoes are probably still soaked."

The others quickly did as they were told, and I couldn't help the small smile that appeared on my lips. I was pretty happy with my team, and for the most part, they took orders well. I hefted Ely up in my arms as I got out of the car and used my foot to shut the door.

Dom tossed a bag over his shoulder from the trunk, and slammed the trunk shut. Jordan got out of the car, still holding on to his side. "Did you bleed through the bandage?" I asked quietly. I didn't want to wake Ely completely up because it was easier to carry her like this. I knew as soon as she woke up, she'd be mortified at being carried across campus wearing nothing but a large shirt.

Jordan took his fingers away from his side and glanced down, "Yeah, but not badly. The bleeding had slowed quite a bit by the time we got to the car, I think." I nodded in agreement as we walked the rest of the way in silence.

We were halfway across campus when I said, "Head up to the room. I'll go notify one of the nurses and be up soon. Once you're patched up, we'll go over notes to figure out exactly what happened."

Jordan gave a small grunt and nodded as he walked away. I was a little worried about him, but I knew he'd be fine.

I stepped into the brick med building, using the automatic doors and walked up to the front desk. The receptionist jumped, looking slightly startled. I frowned slightly. I didn't remember having seen this woman before. She was thin with dark eyes and her dark hair was pulled into a tight ponytail at the back of her head. She used the tip of her forefinger to slide her oversized glasses down her nose to look at me. "Can I help you?"

I blinked. Her voice was a bit nasally, and she sounded impatient. "Yeah... I need a nurse to come check out someone from my team."

"And what's wrong with him or her?" She asked. She licked her finger before grabbing a medical form off the top of a stack of paper. She grabbed a pen and looked at me expectantly.

"He's been stabbed. It's not fatal, but it is urgent." I replied.

She quickly jotted down the information on her form, "And which team is this for?"

I sighed. I hated when they got new people because they always asked more questions. "Eirhart." I replied. My voice was a bit clipped and Ely shifted her weight in my arms before settling against my shoulder again.

I took a deep breath to control my impatience and the woman nodded. "I'll send someone up right away." She slid her glasses back up and grabbed the phone. She dialed an extension number and someone must have picked up right away, because she immediately said, "I need to have a nurse head up to the Eirhart room as soon as they can. Uh huh. Thanks." She glanced back at me, "We'll send someone up as soon as we possibly can." I nodded my thanks and headed out the door and up to the apartment.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Jordan:

Fuck this shit! My ribs felt like they were on fire every time I inhaled, but at least most of the bleeding had slowed down. I couldn't wait until I could at least wash the blood off my hands, and as much as I wanted to pace while waiting for Shawn and Ely to come back upstairs, I sat on the coffee table to avoid getting blood on anything.

Dom stepped out of his room a few minutes later, "How's your side?" He asked as he plopped heavily onto the couch across from me. He was shoving his arms through the sleeves of a red, button up shirt, just as the front door opened.

I felt a small surge of jealousy when Shawn walked by with Ely. Dominic's shirt was almost a dress on her... Damnit! She was mine! I hated that she was wearing someone else's clothes.

I took a deep breath and winced as pain radiated around my wound. Dom gave me a concerned look and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a loud knock sounded on the door and he got up to answer it.

A loud, masculine voice could be heard from the doorway, "I was told someone wanted to see me here?" I heard Dom mutter an agreement as he led the way to the living room.

"Jordan is your patient." Dominic announced as he dropped down in the recliner.

"Jordan? My name is Terry. I'll be taking care of you today." The man said as he knelt down in front of me. His bald head gleamed in the artificial lighting as his cheerful gaze ran over me. I hoped he was only assessing my injuries and nothing further.

Ely:

My brain was still a bit foggy from just waking up, and I just wanted to curl up in front of a cozy fire with some hot cocoa, but I knew we had other things to do today.

Once I was in a pair of dry jeans and an equally dry bra and t-shirt, I took my hair down from its ponytail and grabbed my brush from the bathroom counter. I brushed out my still damp hair as I stepped into the hallway.

Shawn stepped away from the wall as I stepped out of my room. "Warmer now?" He asked softly as he guided me into the living room.

"Yeah." I mumbled as I stepped past him. I was a bit worried about Jordan and wanted to see how he was doing.

Shawn followed me down the hallway and into the living room. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket as I sat down on the couch. "I've got to run for a meeting. Keep me in the loop about how you're doing, J. I'll be back shortly."

Jordan gave a short nod and sucked in a breath as the nurse poked at his ribs, looking at it carefully. The bandage had been unwrapped and I'm assuming someone had tossed it, since it what nowhere to be seen. "Hmm, they didn't hit any vital organs. Four or five stitches and you should be good to go." Jordan nodded with a look of resignation when the nurse added, "I'll also need to recommend you get taken off active duty for a couple of weeks while it heals. I don't want to have to repeat the process of stitching you up simply because you didn't have the common sense to let it heal a bit before going back to your strenuous activities."

Jordan sighed, "Awesome. That's always what I wanted to hear."

The Nurse smiled sympathetically, "Yeah... This won't feel good, but I'll make sure it's numb before I start stitching." He grabs a needle from his bag and holds it up. "You'll just feel a little pinch, but the area should be numb shortly after that." He explained. I admit that I was curious about this entire procedure, but when I finally looked up at Jordan's face, I noticed a light sheen of sweat that was dripping into his eyes. He didn't seem to notice as he swallowed hard and nodded once.

The nurse prodded at Jordan's side briefly, and then seemed to find what he wanted as he stuck the needle into Jordan's skin and squeezed down on the syringe. Jordan sucked in a small breath and I moved to sit down next to him. I gently took his hand in my own and squeezed it lightly, encouraging him to squeeze my hand when it hurt.

He sent me a tight smile and released a small sigh. I could only assume his side was numb enough now that it was a relief.

I moved off the coffee table when the nurse had him lie down and move his arm out of the way. "How exactly did you avoid puncturing a lung?" He asked.

I cringed as he started gently shoving the needle in his skin. It was clear that his question was more of a distraction than an actual desire to know the answer, but Jordan faintly replied, "I twisted as he stabbed me and the knife was fairly small. I doubt it would have done much damage, even if I hadn't prevented it from going deeper."

I shuddered slightly and made a mental note to remember to thank him for saving me when we were alone.

My phone vibrated once in my pocket, alerting me to a text. I glanced up and saw Dominic reaching for his phone as well, so I assumed it was Shawn sending out a mass message to our team. A quick glance at the screen proved that I was correct.

I'm running to the main office, and I'll be there shortly. How's J? I glanced up at Dom to see if he was responding to the text.

I pocketed my phone when he spoke up, "I've got it, Kit."

My phone vibrated again, but I knew it was just Dom's response going through.

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