Chapter 34 - The Werelion Blood
Trey stayed by Cat's side the entire night. She had a few scares when her heart rate got so low that the medical staff had to bring it back up quickly.
A couple of nurses tried to tell him he needed to leave, but he refused. Trey told them that Cat had been kidnapped and almost killed. She was under police protection, so he was staying as long as she did. They left him alone after that.
Two nurses came in the early morning to give Cat a blood transfusion. Atlas perked up when he smelled the blood and told Trey that it was their blood they were giving her. Trey felt a glimmer of hope that it would help speed up her recovery.
When the nurses left, Trey looked closely at Cat to see if he could see any changes. She was still barely recognizable because the bruises on her face were in various shades of purple, black, and yellow. Both eyes were swollen, and her lip was split open.
Trey was constantly holding her hand or stroking her hair. He talked to her every few minutes, telling himself she could hear him. He had cried off and on through the night when he thought of the pain Cat endured from that bastard Caleb. The good news was when they did a rape kit, it came back clean, so Trey was thankful for that.
Roger texted him, saying he and Ellie had left, but if he needed anything, to call or text. Trey didn't respond because he didn't know what to say. All he needed was Cat; nothing else mattered.
About three hours after her transfusion, Trey was holding her hand when he noticed some of the bruising looked a little lighter. He looked at Cat's face and thought maybe he imagined it, but her bruising there was lighter as well. Her eyes didn't look so puffy, and her split lip looked like it was healing.
Trey knew it was most likely his blood that was making the changes. He hoped that if it was working on the outside, it was working on the inside. When the nurse came in to check on Cat, Trey didn't say anything. He wanted to see if she noticed the changes in her appearance.
"That can't be right. How is it possible?" The nurse was talking under her breath, but Trey heard her.
"What are you talking about?" He asked her expectantly.
"Do her bruises look like they have lightened up to you, or am I going crazy?" Trey smiled at her.
"Thank you. I thought I imagined it, so I didn't say anything when you came in." Trey and Atlas were secretly cheering because they knew their blood was working.
"I'm going to go and get a doctor to look her over. I've never seen anything like this before. Today, her bruises should look worse, not better. I'll be back." The middle-aged nurse ran out of the room, and Trey felt like dancing. Now he needed the doctor to say that her internal injuries were improving, too.
When the nurse came back, she had another nurse and two doctors all wanting to see the changes. Trey could tell they didn't believe her until they saw Cat for themselves.
"Diane, you're right. Her bruises look better. Let's get some scans done. I want to check on the rest of her before we make any conclusions." Diane looked at Trey and winked at him.
Everyone left the room, and the doctors put the orders in for the scans they wanted to be done. Trey sat back down next to Cat and held her hand. He felt the first piece of happiness since Cat went missing. He squeezed her hand and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"You're going to be okay. I can't wait to hear your sweet voice and see your beautiful smile. I never want to see a frown on your pretty face again. I love you, Cat." Diane had come to the door and overheard what Trey had said. She had tears in her eyes at the love he had for the young woman.
"Excuse me. We're ready to take her down to imaging. You can walk with us or stay here." Diane knew he wouldn't leave Cat's side even before she said anything.
"I'll go with you." Trey meant what he said when he told Cat she was never leaving his sight. She would probably get tired of him hovering, but he didn't care. There was no way anyone was going to get to his mate again.
Diane nodded at him with a smile. Oh, to be young and in love again. She had never seen a man more devoted to their girlfriend than the young detective.
Trey held Cat's hand the entire way down the hall to imaging while Diane and another nurse steered the bed. He stood on the other side of the window and watched as they manipulated Cat to get images. They did X-rays, then a CT scan and an MRI. Diane told him that Dr. Fields wanted everything.
When they were finally done and heading back to Cat's room, Trey noticed that her bruises had gotten even better. Her eyes were no longer swollen, and her broken nose wasn't crooked. He felt a tear run down his face as he squeezed her hand.
Trey let the nurses get Cat situated back in the room, and everything plugged back in while he watched. Diane put her hand on his shoulder before she left and smiled.
"I'll let you know the results as soon as we have them."
"Thank you, Diane." Trey returned her smile while thinking there should be more people in the world like her.
As he waited, he got a text from Roger that Leo had been busy online. It looked like he was freaking out because he couldn't get a hold of Caleb, and he didn't know where Cat was. Roger said they have hundreds of texts between Leo and Caleb that would help convict both of them.
Trey was glad for the update, but if he ever got his hands on Caleb or Leo, they would be dead, and he would make sure their bodies would never be found. They were the cause of Cat's pain, and he'd had enough of them running her life. It was time for Cat to live the life she never thought possible, and Trey was going to help her.
It had been about an hour since Cat had the images done when he heard a knock on the door. When he turned around, it was Dr. Fields, and he was looking at Cat, perplexed.
"Detective, I have to say, in my thirty years of practice, I have never seen anything like this before. Caterina's images came back, and the broken bones are almost completely healed. Her bruised organs look healed, from what we can tell. Even her facial bones are practically healed. I don't understand, but if she keeps this up, she may be walking out of here in a few days. From how she looked yesterday, I would have said she would be here for weeks. I'll discontinue the breathing machine because I don't think she needs it anymore. Now it will all be on her to come out of her coma. Do you have any questions?" Dr. Fields looked at Trey and then back at Cat.
"No, I have no questions. Thank you for letting me know her results." Trey felt like hugging the stunned doctor.
After Dr. Fields left, other medical staff came in to remove the breathing machine. They turned it off and ensured Cat was breathing on her own, then pulled the tube out of her mouth. Her respirations remained strong.
They left the heart monitor on and said it would stay until she woke up. When they finally left him alone with his mate, he looked at her and couldn't believe how much better she looked. He took her hand again in his and started talking to her.
While he was talking about anything that came to his mind, he thought he felt something move. He saw her middle finger moving when he looked down at her hand and waited. He then looked up at Cat's face.
"Come on, I know you can do it. I know you want to come back. I love you, Cat." Trey stopped talking when he saw her eyes lids fluttering. He held his breath, afraid she would stop if he made any noise.
As he watched, her eyes started opening slowly. When they were completely open, he saw her looking around in confusion until her gaze landed on him. Trey had tears streaming down his face and almost lost it when she gave him a gentle smile while lightly squeezing his hand.
"I love you too, Trey," Cat spoke in barely a whisper, and her voice was very scratchy, but he heard her. That was all it took for him to break down. He leaned over and kissed her forehead as he cried.
