-Sage-
I woke up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat. I felt absolutely awful. "Babe?" I said, nudging Shane. He stirred a bit before opening his eyes. When he did, he looked at me concerned.
"Sage! Baby, are you okay?" he asked, sitting up and turning on the light on the bedside table.
"I don't feel well," I said, feeling another wave of nausea pass over me.
"Do I need to take you to the hospital?" he asked, ready to throw on his clothes and take me wherever he needed to.
"I'm not sure... bucket," I said, covering my mouth with my hand. He jumped up and brought me the small trashcan from our bathroom. I vomited inside of it and laid back in the bed. I closed my eyes as sweat poured from my forehead.
"I'm taking you to the hospital," he said, standing up and walking to the closet to get dressed.
"No, Shane... I think I'll be fine," I said, patting the bed next to me but he didn't budge.
"You don't look good, Love. Let me at least get you a cool rag for your forehead," he pleaded until I nodded my head.
"I'll be right back," he said, worry covering his handsome face. He came back with a wet rag with ice in it. He placed it on my hot forehead causing me to sigh in relief. It felt like heaven...
-Shane-
I didn't like the way she looked. I wanted to take her to the hospital to get her checked out but she refused. I stayed up most of the night, dabbing her forehead and emptying the trashcan for her. She never stopped vomiting, doing so between two and three times an hour. It scared me.
By ten o'clock the following morning, she looked like hell and seemed weak. "That's it, Sage. I'm taking you to the hospital," I said, soaping up a towel to clean her up and get her dressed. She was too weak to argue. After we both were clean and dressed, I picked her up and loaded her into the car.
-Sage-
I squinted at the sun's brightness. I was fading in and out of consciousness as I looked out of my window. "Sage? Sage!" Shane shouted when I faded out again. I knew I was dehydrated. That much vomiting with no fluid intake, that was exactly what was wrong but why?
I looked at his concerned face to let him know I was still here. I had never seen him so afraid of anything before. If I wasn't feeling so bad, I would have felt special.
Within five minutes, we were pulling up to St. Sweeny Medical Center. It was an okay hospital but not as good as Jefferson Memorial. This one was closer anyway. He parked the car and picked me up into his arms and carried me into the Emergency Department and checked me in with the receptionist.
"Her name?" the woman asked.
"Sage. Sage Austin," Shane replied.
He handed her my driver's license, my insurance card (that was through his company), and our marriage license to justify the different last names.
"Right this way," the woman said, passing us off to a nurse.
She did my vitals and put us into out room. From check-in to our room, I vomited three times... the frequency was increasing. After being in the room for about fifteen minutes, the nurse came in and drew some blood. She also did a cath on me because I was too weak to go to the bathroom on my own. The blood draw confirmed the dehydration and after giving me a dose of Zofran, started IV fluids. Thirty minutes into the infusion and I already was beginning to feel better.
Before long, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Shane said and continued to hold my hand. God, I loved that man. When the door opened, a police officer came in.
"Mr. Austin, is it okay if I have a word with Mrs. Austin... alone?" the officer asked. Shane looked at me and I nodded. He got to his feet and walked outside the room.
"Sage? Sage Cooper?" the officer asked, walking closer to the bed. His name badge read 'Greene'.
"Cooper's my maiden name, yes," I confirmed. I was determined to play it cool.
"Mrs. Austin, I'll cut to the chase. You were reported missing over six months ago. We have been on the case for awhile now. Were you taken from the parking garage against your will?" he asked, taking out his notepad.
"No, Sir. I just picked up and left, met Shane and married him soon after," I lied. I lied so well that even I believed it.
"So you were not abducted or in any danger at any time?" he reiterated, scribbling in his notepad.
"No, Sir. I just got fed up with life and left to start a new one," I said, shrugging, "Is that a crime, Officer?"
"No, Ma'am. I'm gonna close this case and inform the people of your past," he said, shutting the notepad and putting it away.
"Thank you, Sir," I said, smiling.
"Sure thing," he said, leaving the room. Shane walked in as soon as he left. He knew what I did. He smiled at me and kissed my forehead.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, concerned.
