“Sure, right after I unplug the ventilator and strike a victory pose. Of course I’m not. I told him I’d help him keep it from happening; we didn’t exactly talk about what to do once it was already done.”

His hand lifted to my shoulder, but where mine had no doubt left bruises on his skin, his gently grasped mine. “Okay, let’s get in there.”

We stood side by side at the foot of Dad’s bed while Dr. Taylor filled us in. Dad still wasn’t breathing on his own, but they’d had success with hyperbaric chambers, so that was the next course of action.

They’d have a full team with him because of the ventilator, but complications were rare as long as they were careful, and the higher oxygen was his best shot.

He’d already had a chest X-ray and EKG, both of which were promising but not stellar. Blood work was on its way back from the lab, since it had been a few hours, and the pulse oxygen wasn’t as accurate this far out from the incident.

“Was this suicidal?” Dr. Taylor asked, looking between us. “I need to ask.”

“I don’t… No. It can’t be.” Xander shook his head.

“It’s not,” I answered. “I found the garage door dented. My guess is he tried to back out with the door shut and disengaged it. That’s why it wouldn’t open with the button.” I turned to Xander. “You found him by the steps to the house, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“And I’m guessing you had to hand lift that garage door?”

“I did,” he confirmed. “That makes sense.”

“Not suicidal, Doc. Just demented.” I gripped the base of Dad’s bed when I saw the soft restraints they’d Velcroed over his forearms, fastening them to the arm rails.

“He’s not going to hurt anyone,” Xander protested.

“They’re more for his personal safety than ours,” Dr. Taylor assured us. “We’ll bring him back soon.”

Xander and I sat in relative silence once they wheeled Dad out. We stared at each other for an awkward minute before he pulled his phone out and muttered that he had things he needed to check on.

I fired off a text message to Willow. It was less than she deserved but more than I’d thought I was capable of.

Cam: Sorry for running out. Dad has carbon monoxide poisoning. He’s in Salida in the ICU. Xander and I are with him.

Partly a lie, since running out was the most self-preservationist thing I could have done, but I’d left her stranded at my house. I tapped the side of my phone, waiting for the three dots to stop on her side and a message to appear.