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Other than filling out the paperwork for Cass, I didn’tat the doors, willing them to open with Cassidy’s doctor behind theht lights What on earth? I went to shield ed on the inside ofout and letin the hospital?! Looking to the other side, I saw Gage asleep on a chair, one hand lightly holding e" My voice came out barely above a whisper, but his eyes shot open "What’s going on?"

"Oh thank God" He stood and bent over the bed to cup my cheeks, and his hands trailed downand grabbing , and why am I in a hospital?"

"Cassidy," he breathed, and the nah "Darlin’, you’ve got to stop scaring the shit outta h trips to the ER this year, all right?"

I nodded; I’d forgotten about getting pneuic reaction to the scorpion sting Scared the hell out of me You passed out in the bathroo You only came to for a second before we ot here, but other than that you wouldn’t wake up and your heart rate was so slow--" He stopped and had to force down a s "Cass, it was like it wasn’t there at all Your chest wasn’t even "

I gasped softly as I watched the nightain

"When ere in the a ‘anaphylactic shock,’ and a part of me knew that couldn’t be it since you hadn’t seen a scorpion before then, but with how you’d been over those last twenty or thirtyto lose you if they didn’t do soe’s eyes, and I letthe into anaphylactic shock, you just had a really bad allergic reaction Your doctor said with already being weak and having a shot iic reaction that much worse for you and your body shut down to protect itself fro after you put e nodded and planted his forehead into the crook of h to say anything; I figured you wouldn’t"

"How long ago did this happen?"

He looked over at the clock for a few seconds before turning his face back toward o"

Oh my God I tried to s but my throat was really dry, and just as I was about to say I needed a drink, I felt Gage’s body shudder "Hey, it’s okay, I’m okay"

"You weren’t, Cassidy You weren’t I’ve--I’ve never been more scared in ; you don’t knohat that was like And half the ti a heartbeat" As he spoke, one of his hands came back up to my throat, then trailed down to my chest and ended at my wrist All of it was soft as a feather, and very practiced, and now ht you left ht you were--" He choked out a shaky breath and didn’t speak again

"I’h, but it sounded wrong I couldn’t ih, but I kneould kill me to see him the same way "I’m sorry," I whispered

"Sorry? Cass, I al to do with it, and I--I just laughed about the da I had no idea; none of us have ever had reactions to a sting God, Cass, I didn’t know All of this is e--" I tried to pull his head back so I could look at hi softly, almost as if to himself

"I never take care of you With the pneumonia, I should have called an ambulance as soon as I opened ht I should have been there when you woke up the first ti, and I shouldn’t have fallen back asleep after you did I should have been watching you"

"Stop, please--"