The ICU was a cathedral of shadows and blue electronic light. The only sound was the rhythmic, artificial sigh of the ventilator and the steady ping of the vitals monitor—a sound that had become the soundtrack to Jay's life for the past ten days.
The "Savage Queen" was barely recognizable. I sat in a hard plastic chair I hadn't left for seventy-two hours. My hair was a knotted mess, my eyes were sunken and rimmed with red, and I was still wearing the same wrinkled scrubs from the final surgery.
I was holding his hand. His skin was finally warm again, but he was so still. Keifer, the man who moved like a predator, was anchored to the bed by a forest of tubes and wires.
POV: Jay (The Queen's Vigil)
I traced the line of his knuckles with my thumb. "You've been sleeping for ten days, hubby," I whispered, my voice cracking from disuse. "The board is panicking. Percy accidentally broke a vase in the foyer and is too scared to tell you. Alexander hasn't let go of his wooden sword once. And Astraea... she keeps looking for you behind the office door."
I leaned my forehead against the side of the mattress, my tears hitting the white sheets.
"I'm tired of being 'Savage,' Keifer. I just want to be your wifey again. Please. I've fixed your heart, I've fixed your lungs, I've fixed your blood. The rest is up to you."
I felt a tiny, almost imperceptible twitch in his palm.
I froze. I didn't breathe. I didn't move.
Then, his fingers slowly curled, tightening around mine with the strength of a man coming back from the dead.
POV: Keifer (The Awakening)
The first thing I feel is the weight. It's like I'm buried under a mountain of wet sand. Then, the smell—bleach and jasmine.
Jay.
I fight the lead in my eyelids. It takes everything I have. Every ounce of the "Monster" in me screams to wake up. I pull against the darkness, dragging myself toward the sound of her jagged breathing.
My eyes flicker open. The light is blinding, but through the haze, I see her.
She looks terrible. She's pale, exhausted, and she's crying. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
I try to speak, but the tube in my throat chokes me. I panic for a split second, my heart rate spiking on the monitor. Beep-beep-beep-beep!
"Keifer!" Jay is standing over me in an instant, her hands hovering over my face, her eyes wide with a mixture of terror and pure, blinding joy. "Don't fight it. Breathe with the machine. I'm right here. I've got you."
I look at her, trying to tell her a thousand things with just my eyes. I'm sorry. I'm back. I love you.
The Silent Communication
Jay moved with clinical speed, calling Ci n and the nursing staff. Within minutes, the ventilator was being adjusted, and the terrifying silence of the room was replaced by the frantic energy of a miracle.
An hour later, the tube was out. My throat felt like I'd swallowed hot coals, but I didn't care.
Jay was sitting on the edge of the bed now, her hand resting on my chest, right over the bandage that covered my heart. Her touch was the only thing keeping me grounded.
"Wifey," I managed to croak out, the word barely a whisper.
Jay let out a sob, a raw, broken sound, and buried her face in the crook of my neck. She wasn't the surgeon anymore. She was just my Jay.
"You're a jerk," she wept into my skin, her shoulders shaking. "You're an absolute, arrogant, terrifying jerk for making me wait this long."
"I... promised... three days," I whispered, my hand shaking as I reached up to touch her hair. "Sorry... I'm late."
"Don't you ever leave me again," she threatened, pulling back to look at me, her "Savage" fire finally returning through the tears. "If you ever crash a plane again, Mark Keifer Watson, I will let you stay dead next time. Do you hear me?"
I managed a weak, pained smirk. "Liar. You'd... follow me... to hell... just to yell at me."
"You're damn right I would." She leaned down, her lips brushing against mine in a kiss that tasted of salt and survival. It was soft, hesitant, as if she was afraid I might break.
"I'm not going anywhere," I promised, my eyes closing as I felt the warmth of her body. "The Monster... stays with his Queen."
The Family Reunion
The door to the ICU creaked open. Ci n stood there, holding a wide-eyed Astraea, with Alexander clutching his hand.
Alexander saw me and froze. He didn't run. He walked slowly to the bed, his lip trembling. "Dad?"
"Hey... Little Ninja," I whispered, reaching out my arm.
Alexander climbed onto the edge of the bed and tucked himself into my side, careful of the wires. Astraea, seeing me, let out a loud, happy "Pa-pa!" and reached out her chubby arms, her eyes crinkling in that perfect Mariano way.
Jay sat there, surrounded by her husband and her children, the "Black Box" finally at peace.
"See?" Jay whispered, wiping a tear from Alexander's cheek. "I told you Monsters don't lose to airplanes."
I looked at my family—my world—and for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like a Monster. I felt like the luckiest man in the world.