The call came in late. He hadn’t been asleep, not quite. Dozing really. Waiting for Marley. He’d gotten her text and he’d told himself he could hold out until she got home, always liked to be awake when she rolled through that door, but the rain was doing a number on him. Nothing said go to sleep like a nice, pattering rainfall on the windows. He was laying on the bed, on top of the covers, employing the somewhat flawed logic that if he was above the covers at least he wouldn’t be comfortable enough to really go to sleep. And if he dozed, the door opening would wake him. Right? Of course it would.
In reality, it was the phone that woke him. He fumbled for it in sleepy confusion and blinked blearily at the screen. Marley’s phone. Why was she calling. He clicked on and answered with a sleepy “You almost home?” already slipping back towards sleep.
An unfamiliar voice answered and that, all by itself, had him sitting up, confusing and worry chasing away the grogginess. Within minutes he was up and out of bed, shaking his head to clear it as he pulled on shoes. He didn’t even bother to change into proper clothes, he’d be going in flannels and a t-shirt and that was just how it was. He tried to get as much information from the kind EMT on the other end of the line, but there wasn’t much to get. An accident. She was going to be okay. But she was pretty banged up.
By the time he got to the hospital, he’d managed to work up quite a head of panic. Would they even let him see her? He wasn’t family, weren’t family members the only ones who could go in? His brain was half filled with claims that she was his sister. His cousin. His anything. But what he told the nurse at the station, when he finally arrived, was that he was there to see his wife. She didn’t question him, instead him she was just coming out of the ER, and pointing him in a direction. She looked tired, and he was glad for her distraction.
By the time the orderlies finally wheeled her through, on her way to a room, her leg bound up the gurney trailing an IV bag of god only knew what, Caleb was nearly to the point of tears. He rushed to the bedside, heedless of the orderlies in his way, and gripped her hand tight as they continued to the room. “I’m here, baby,” he muttered and gave her hand a little squeeze.