The Tied Man (56 page)

‘That would be… well, that would be absolutely wonderful,’ I said, and pushed myself to the edge of the bed to give him some room.  It seemed to take an age to move cables and IV lines and find a position where we could be comfortable, but we were both up for the challenge, and eventually Finn had beaten enough pillows into submission to create a pretty impressive nest.

‘There.  Will this do?’  He asked, as he pulled a blanket over the pair of us.

‘Yeah.’  I kissed him as best I could, around the bloody plastic tubes covering my face.  ‘This’ll do.’

*****

I don’t know how long we’d been lying there when my nurse checked in on me and found us curled into each other, fingers entwined and foreheads touching.

I waited for her to reprimand us, or tell Finn to move, but she simply smiled.  ‘I’ll come back later,’ she whispered, and closed the door softly behind her. 

I eased my hand under Finn’s t-shirt and rested it on his chest.  Lulled by his steady heartbeat beneath my fingertips, I closed my eyes and slept.