“What about your old dad?” Clive grumbled.

“Sorry, Dad. You’re on the hospital diet for now.” As for any future prescribed diet, she’d leave that for Gloria to wrangle.

Catie had long ago given up the job of looking after Clive, but Gloria seemed to be okay with it. Each to their own, she supposed, and exited the room. She walked around a bit, found the cafeteria, grabbed the hot drinks as well as food for Gloria, then headed back up.

Clive and Gloria were making goo-goo eyes at each other and whispering sweet nothings when she entered. They sprang guiltily apart, Gloria’s cheeks a charming red.

Laughing, she left the food and waved off their offers for her to stay.

“But Gloria, you need more sleep,” she pointed out. “How about you hang out with Dad for a bit more, then I’ll keep him company while you go get that rest?”

Heavy-eyed, Gloria nodded. “Okay, yes, you’re right. Now that I know my sweet man is okay, I’ll be able to sleep.”

Leaving the two for now, Catie took her own coffee out into the hallway and took a seat on one of the hard plastic chairs that seemed to come standard issue at hospitals. And when she looked up and saw a familiar man walking down the hall, a duffel bag in hand, she wasn’t surprised in the least.

Abandoning her coffee on another chair, she got up and moved to him as fast as her regular prosthetic legs would allow.

Danny wrapped her up in his arms and lifted her off the ground… as she finally gave in to the fear-tears that had been trapped inside her since the moment she’d received the call. He just held her tight, kissing her hair and cheek and stroking her back until she could breathe again.

“He’s all right,” she managed to get out past the last of her sniffles. “I just—”

“Hey.” He wiped away a tear. “I know you, remember? No explanations necessary.”

Reaching up, she kissed him—then mock punched him in the chest. “Why didn’t you message me that you were coming?”

He winced, rubbed his chest. “I didn’t know if I’d get a flight—just turned up at the airport and hoped. Ran onto a plane right as they were literally shutting the boarding gate; then the flight attendant hurried me into a seat. By the time I got the seat belt fastened, she was back to tell me to turn off my phone.”

Danny had thought about disobeying because he knew how much contact meant to Catie. But he hadn’t wanted to risk being kicked off the flight. “I figured I’d message you using the onboard wi-fi, but turned out it was glitchy. I just couldn’t connect. Sorry, princess. I know you must’ve worried.”