Jessica was crying. “Thank you. Thank you for giving us our son back. For showing him he can feel safe. For—”
“Thank you,” Dale interrupted. “For letting me… matter. In the end.”
Jessica heard about it through a nurse who knew she and Dale had bonded. She grabbed Emmett—who’d been asking for Dale non-stop since they got home—and drove to the hospital.
The ICU nurses tried to stop her. “Only family allowed when a patient is—”
“We ARE family,” Jessica said firmly. “Maybe not by blood. But that man in there saved my son. Let us say goodbye.”
Snake came out into the hallway and saw them. He understood immediately. “Let them in.”
Jessica carried Emmett into Dale’s room. The toddler saw Dale and whimpered. “Dale sleeping?”
“Yeah, buddy,” Jessica whispered. “Dale’s sleeping.”
She placed Emmett on the bed, right against Dale’s chest. The toddler’s ear went right over Dale’s heart, like it had so many times before.Continue reading…